Dear Colleagues,
Could you please share any funny situations or incidents that have occurred during candidate interviews? For example, when someone introduces themselves as "Myself so and so, married with two daughters," we in HR always smile upon hearing this sentence.
Regards,
Pravez
From United States
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Could you please share any funny situations or incidents that have occurred during candidate interviews? For example, when someone introduces themselves as "Myself so and so, married with two daughters," we in HR always smile upon hearing this sentence.
Regards,
Pravez
From United States
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I could even take those lines on self-introduction (I mean, got so used to those types of answers and have stopped laughing too).. Actually stopped asking "tell me about yourself" question.
But the best was:
We have an application form that asks the person to map his organizational chart, highlighting his position, or at least map the reporting structure. (This is a part of the application form where the candidate is questioned about his current/previous work profile).
One candidate proudly completed his form, and we were having a discussion on his profile when I turned the page to see the organizational structure... I could not control my laugh. Tears filled my eyes - both out of sadness and laughter. He had drawn the map on how to reach his office from two main bus stops in Coimbatore.
The same application form (which is asked to fill only if the candidate qualifies pre-screening over the telephone) requests candidates to give references.
While interviewing him, I turned the page and found in the references part "will be provided on request."
Assuming that he did not understand that this will serve as a final application, and if selected, the references will be contacted - I explained to him to give references.
I got the same answer "Will give on request."
I told him: Boss, I am requesting you, please give references... he shivered... and said "I... err... I... will give upon request."
Seeing that innocence on his face, I understood that he never knew what that meant. He simply saw that on someone's resume and thought that was the answer!
It took me 15 minutes to help him understand why I need references... and he gave me his dad's phone number! He was serious this time!
Same tears, same laughter!
From India, Madras
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57But the best was:
We have an application form that asks the person to map his organizational chart, highlighting his position, or at least map the reporting structure. (This is a part of the application form where the candidate is questioned about his current/previous work profile).
One candidate proudly completed his form, and we were having a discussion on his profile when I turned the page to see the organizational structure... I could not control my laugh. Tears filled my eyes - both out of sadness and laughter. He had drawn the map on how to reach his office from two main bus stops in Coimbatore.
The same application form (which is asked to fill only if the candidate qualifies pre-screening over the telephone) requests candidates to give references.
While interviewing him, I turned the page and found in the references part "will be provided on request."
Assuming that he did not understand that this will serve as a final application, and if selected, the references will be contacted - I explained to him to give references.
I got the same answer "Will give on request."
I told him: Boss, I am requesting you, please give references... he shivered... and said "I... err... I... will give upon request."
Seeing that innocence on his face, I understood that he never knew what that meant. He simply saw that on someone's resume and thought that was the answer!
It took me 15 minutes to help him understand why I need references... and he gave me his dad's phone number! He was serious this time!
Same tears, same laughter!
From India, Madras
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I remember somebody said in an interview My name is XX and I have one mother and one Father............ It was just hilarious:) Deepa
From India, Hyderabad
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From India, Hyderabad
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Hi,
I remember one funny incident that happened during the interview, not from the candidate's side but from the interviewer's side. Or you can say a funny thing just happened that was not the interviewer's fault.
It was when I appeared for the interview for the post of insurance advisor (ICICI Bank), though I was not interested, I still went for the interview. I was not aware of the job description as the news ad was something like, "recruiters required."
The interviewer's age was somewhere between 40-45. It was a Sunday, a big office, and there were many tables, each with a PC.
Now, the interview began. He introduced himself, and then I introduced myself. Then he told me the job description. As soon as he mentioned that it's a freelancer job and I have to recruit my own team of insurance advisors, I was wondering why I came for the interview.
Suddenly, a song started playing on the PC on the table beside us. The song was from the film "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge," "Rukja aaie dil deewane."
At that moment, he was about to ask me the question, "Tell me something about yourself." I was trying to control my laughter. Then he immediately called the office boy and asked him to stop the music. After this, he tried to continue, but he was also struggling to hold back his laughter. For the next 2 minutes, he did the same thing. I was wondering if he would say anything further.
So, I continued with my answer.
There are many more incidents that happened during interviews. I'll tell you some other time.
From India, Pune
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I remember one funny incident that happened during the interview, not from the candidate's side but from the interviewer's side. Or you can say a funny thing just happened that was not the interviewer's fault.
It was when I appeared for the interview for the post of insurance advisor (ICICI Bank), though I was not interested, I still went for the interview. I was not aware of the job description as the news ad was something like, "recruiters required."
The interviewer's age was somewhere between 40-45. It was a Sunday, a big office, and there were many tables, each with a PC.
Now, the interview began. He introduced himself, and then I introduced myself. Then he told me the job description. As soon as he mentioned that it's a freelancer job and I have to recruit my own team of insurance advisors, I was wondering why I came for the interview.
Suddenly, a song started playing on the PC on the table beside us. The song was from the film "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge," "Rukja aaie dil deewane."
At that moment, he was about to ask me the question, "Tell me something about yourself." I was trying to control my laughter. Then he immediately called the office boy and asked him to stop the music. After this, he tried to continue, but he was also struggling to hold back his laughter. For the next 2 minutes, he did the same thing. I was wondering if he would say anything further.
So, I continued with my answer.
There are many more incidents that happened during interviews. I'll tell you some other time.
From India, Pune
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One candidate applied for the post of Office Assistant.
Interviewer: "Do you know Microsoft Office?"
Candidate: "Sir, I'm not sure - if you provide the address, I will find it."
Regards,
Pankaj Chandan
From India, New delhi
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Interviewer: "Do you know Microsoft Office?"
Candidate: "Sir, I'm not sure - if you provide the address, I will find it."
Regards,
Pankaj Chandan
From India, New delhi
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Wow, this is really hilarious! Go ahead, everyone, keep pouring in as many experiences as you have.
My experience is not something highly funny, though I generally smile at the end of an interview because someone said something that amused me. In one particular season, I was going on a spree of campus recruitment drives, and in two campuses, I had a similar experience with a couple of candidates. We were interviewing as a panel - two technical seniors and one HR (me), and at the end of the interview, we used to ask, 'Do you have any questions for us?'
The candidate said, 'I want to go into management in your company,' smiling shyly. 'Which position?' Pat comes the reply, 'HR.' So it's the rest of our colleagues' turn to pull my leg, saying people are so impressed with your pre-placement talk that they don't want to be software professionals but they want to be in HR.
This was a few years back when a software professional's job was considered the most respectable.
From Korea, Seoul
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My experience is not something highly funny, though I generally smile at the end of an interview because someone said something that amused me. In one particular season, I was going on a spree of campus recruitment drives, and in two campuses, I had a similar experience with a couple of candidates. We were interviewing as a panel - two technical seniors and one HR (me), and at the end of the interview, we used to ask, 'Do you have any questions for us?'
The candidate said, 'I want to go into management in your company,' smiling shyly. 'Which position?' Pat comes the reply, 'HR.' So it's the rest of our colleagues' turn to pull my leg, saying people are so impressed with your pre-placement talk that they don't want to be software professionals but they want to be in HR.
This was a few years back when a software professional's job was considered the most respectable.
From Korea, Seoul
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Dear Folks,
Even I had a funny experience while interviewing a candidate. Once the candidate reached the office and settled in the conference room, he was served a glass of water and coffee. I knew that the candidate was from 15 km away from our office. I started the discussion with the question, "How was your day?" The candidate eagerly replied with a smile, "Yes, sir... today is Wednesday." It was so difficult for me and my colleague to control our laughter.
Krishnan
From India, Ahmadabad
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Even I had a funny experience while interviewing a candidate. Once the candidate reached the office and settled in the conference room, he was served a glass of water and coffee. I knew that the candidate was from 15 km away from our office. I started the discussion with the question, "How was your day?" The candidate eagerly replied with a smile, "Yes, sir... today is Wednesday." It was so difficult for me and my colleague to control our laughter.
Krishnan
From India, Ahmadabad
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Hi,
Once we were in a marathon walk-in interview. It was really hectic and boring. One guy entered the room and was very enthusiastic. My boss was asking about his family background, to which he mentioned that his father is a film distributor. Our boss was excited by this and exclaimed, "Wow, that's wonderful!" Then he turned to us and shared that it was his dream to become a hero. Turning back to the candidate, he said, "Mr. X, could you please ask your dad to consider me for a hero role in his next film?"
The candidate replied that perhaps his father wouldn't mind. After a pause, he revealed that his father is a distributor of adult movies!
!&$ ? :(
Thank you.
From India, Hyderabad
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Once we were in a marathon walk-in interview. It was really hectic and boring. One guy entered the room and was very enthusiastic. My boss was asking about his family background, to which he mentioned that his father is a film distributor. Our boss was excited by this and exclaimed, "Wow, that's wonderful!" Then he turned to us and shared that it was his dream to become a hero. Turning back to the candidate, he said, "Mr. X, could you please ask your dad to consider me for a hero role in his next film?"
The candidate replied that perhaps his father wouldn't mind. After a pause, he revealed that his father is a distributor of adult movies!
!&$ ? :(
Thank you.
From India, Hyderabad
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Hey,
Even I got one. It was a busy day with a series of interviews to be conducted. The pretty lady walks in, and I asked her to take 5 minutes and tell me about her life. She was 27. She told me about herself in less than 30 seconds. I then asked her, "27 years of life and is this all you have to say about yourself?"
And I get this from her, "What will you do if I keep talking!"
And my mind goes *$@%&*^%$........
From India, Panipat
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Even I got one. It was a busy day with a series of interviews to be conducted. The pretty lady walks in, and I asked her to take 5 minutes and tell me about her life. She was 27. She told me about herself in less than 30 seconds. I then asked her, "27 years of life and is this all you have to say about yourself?"
And I get this from her, "What will you do if I keep talking!"
And my mind goes *$@%&*^%$........
From India, Panipat
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Dear Ash,
It is not funny in respect to your Second Interview case. I would like to correct you in this regards.
I was cheated by the CEO of the well reputed company and faced a very bad situation. Regarding this I also posted the reality in CiteHr to have views and found valuable suggestions. Please go through it – I am sending herewith the link
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]https://www.citehr.com/showthread.php?t=126982]
Interviewer use this kind of tricks often
Regards
Pankaj Chandan
From India, New delhi
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It is not funny in respect to your Second Interview case. I would like to correct you in this regards.
I was cheated by the CEO of the well reputed company and faced a very bad situation. Regarding this I also posted the reality in CiteHr to have views and found valuable suggestions. Please go through it – I am sending herewith the link
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]https://www.citehr.com/showthread.php?t=126982]
Interviewer use this kind of tricks often
Regards
Pankaj Chandan
From India, New delhi
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Oh dear Chandan,
I feel really sorry for that incident.
In this case, where I asked for references – it was actually a fresher. He had just passed out of college. I was expecting him to give at least his HOD's reference. The reason is – I told him the importance of a reference, someone who would know him well and can vouch for him. He gave me a really innocent answer, "his dad's reference". He innocently said, "you can call my dad and ask him about me..."
From India, Madras
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I feel really sorry for that incident.
In this case, where I asked for references – it was actually a fresher. He had just passed out of college. I was expecting him to give at least his HOD's reference. The reason is – I told him the importance of a reference, someone who would know him well and can vouch for him. He gave me a really innocent answer, "his dad's reference". He innocently said, "you can call my dad and ask him about me..."
From India, Madras
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Hi, Pals.
Let me share with you all. I was taking an interview for a very senior position. In one day, I had to make sure all rounds were complete, and I didn't have to ask them to come again for further rounds. There were 5 candidates I shortlisted. I announced a lunch break and asked them to meet me after 1 hour for their final round. In the row, there was a guy (very senior in his mid-fifties). He approached me and asked, "If you don't mind, lady, can I have 2 minutes of yours? I just want to talk one on one."
I said, "Yes, why not."
He said, "Can I have the contact number of your father?"
I replied, "But why?"
He said, "I have a son of mine who would like to put a proposal for you if you don't mind and you are not married."
My expressions were, "@#$%^&*......"
He didn't get selected, and I was relieved.
From India, Mumbai
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Let me share with you all. I was taking an interview for a very senior position. In one day, I had to make sure all rounds were complete, and I didn't have to ask them to come again for further rounds. There were 5 candidates I shortlisted. I announced a lunch break and asked them to meet me after 1 hour for their final round. In the row, there was a guy (very senior in his mid-fifties). He approached me and asked, "If you don't mind, lady, can I have 2 minutes of yours? I just want to talk one on one."
I said, "Yes, why not."
He said, "Can I have the contact number of your father?"
I replied, "But why?"
He said, "I have a son of mine who would like to put a proposal for you if you don't mind and you are not married."
My expressions were, "@#$%^&*......"
He didn't get selected, and I was relieved.
From India, Mumbai
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Once I had gone for an interview. I was on time, so I was asked to wait. That's normal, but what wasn't normal was that I was asked to sit at the reception... on the receptionist's seat :) I sat there for half an hour feeling funny and answered a couple of people who came to the reception to ask something that "I'm not the receptionist, I've just come for an interview"...
From India, Mumbai
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From India, Mumbai
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Hey, thank you, buddy. But if you had been there, you would have fallen laughing. My colleagues saw me with that expression, and they said it was like I was saying to him, "I HATE YOU, DON'T TALK TO ME... :-x."
From India, Mumbai
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From India, Mumbai
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Somebody can be unmarried/single and have 2 daughters..... so whats funny abt being married and have 2 daughters.
From Singapore
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From Singapore
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Somebody can be unmarried/single and can have 2 daughters..... so whats so funny abt "married and having 2 daughters".
From Singapore
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From Singapore
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Hi all!
I had this really hilarious experience when I joined my first job.
My friend and I got placed in this company, and it was our first day in the office. We were completing the joining formalities, signed a copy of the offer letter and other relevant documents, and gave them to the HR.
She returned the offer letter to us and asked us to write "ASEPTATE" where we had signed. Both of us didn't understand what she meant. We asked her again, and she repeated, "Write aseptate." I am a biology student, and I knew that in scientific terms, "Septate" means a "DIVIDED UTERUS!"
In our first job, we found it somewhat embarrassing to ask her again, so we just kept staring at each other! After some time, she came back to take the offer letter and noticed that we had not followed her instructions.
She took my friend's offer letter, wrote something on it, and showed it to me. "Write this!" she said. I read it, and both my friend and I could not control our laughter.
She had written "ACCEPTED"!
Both of us still have a hearty laugh when we talk about this incident! 😄
From India, Pune
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I had this really hilarious experience when I joined my first job.
My friend and I got placed in this company, and it was our first day in the office. We were completing the joining formalities, signed a copy of the offer letter and other relevant documents, and gave them to the HR.
She returned the offer letter to us and asked us to write "ASEPTATE" where we had signed. Both of us didn't understand what she meant. We asked her again, and she repeated, "Write aseptate." I am a biology student, and I knew that in scientific terms, "Septate" means a "DIVIDED UTERUS!"
In our first job, we found it somewhat embarrassing to ask her again, so we just kept staring at each other! After some time, she came back to take the offer letter and noticed that we had not followed her instructions.
She took my friend's offer letter, wrote something on it, and showed it to me. "Write this!" she said. I read it, and both my friend and I could not control our laughter.
She had written "ACCEPTED"!
Both of us still have a hearty laugh when we talk about this incident! 😄
From India, Pune
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