This isn't really a horror story, but I had a final round interview for an in-house counsel position that I really wanted. I met with the guy I would be reporting directly to for about an hour and a half. Towards the end of the interview, the guy asked if I had a family, I said yes and that I have one son. He asked how old and I said 15 months. His eyes widened and he said OHHH so do you have child care worked out? I said yes. He then said "Oh well when my wife had our second child, she stopped working to stay at home full time."

I just sat there and didn't really respond. There is NO WAY he would have said that if I were a man. I did not get the job.

In my next two interviews I was also asked if I had children. I didn't get those jobs either.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Years ago, interviewed for a marketing position at a local performing arts center. Got to the interview and the HR person and the person who was currently in the job (who was moving due to husband's job) casually mention that the job included staying most nights to schmooze with members and for the performance and then cleaned up after various receptions, usually until around 11. And it was also a regular office job during the day. Um, what? No mention of this in the ad or the phone screen. I ended the interview and told them I was not able to comply with the requirements.

Weirdly, they kept trying to sell me on the job like that was no big deal. Finally, I just stood up and walked out and told them that that was a critical piece of information that should be shared with candidates up front.

Rhymes with Gulf Rap.

Wolf Trap doesn't really rhyme with Gulf Rap.

Golf Clap would have made more sense.

You figured it out, didn't you?

A few years ago I interviewed for a senior admin position with a large nonprofit. The first two interviews were pretty standard, but the third one had a round robin, all day interview process with four candidates in the building simultaneously, all going to different departments to answer questions. We weren't supposed to see each other or acknowledge that we were all even there at the same time, but of course we did and of course I knew two of the other candidates. And they put us all in the same waiting area in between interviews so we could just stare awkwardly. After that mess, I was told that one candidate would be sent to meet with the board chair and that would be their final pick and a formality, so I was elated when I got that meeting, until I got a call after my "final interview" that actually two of us had interviews with him and not one (and I ran into the other guy showing up for his interview as I was leaving, so the addition wasn't as a result of a poor interview from me), and could I come for more series of interviews in the near future? At this point it had been months, and so I called to withdraw my name from consideration for the position, but the person hiring begged me to give it another day or two. And then, two days later, I got the call that I did not get the position. They ended up offering the position to a person from NY who ended up not working out (or never starting?) and then the person who was responsible for the hire was fired shortly afterwards.

In retrospect, I think I dodged a bullet on this one.

Anonymous wrote:I had a job interview for an entry level position where I was berated by the receptionist for being early (less than fifteen minutes early) and told to stand in a hallway, then during the interview they where they kept emphasizing that they wanted someone who "didn't ask too many questions". I then had to do a test using their unique database system with no instructions. A friend of mine knew someone who had interned there and eventually got a job there, and that girl was sleeping with the CEO.

Do you think it was some sort of corrupt place and they wanted to know if you'd keep your mouth shut about that?

During one interview, I was having lunch with the 6 partners, and my back molar broke in half while I was chewing. They were all looking at me during the conversation, so I had to swallow it.

Well, I had a horror story as the interviewer...I was 30 weeks pregnant and interviewing a person for a position in our company when....SWOOOOSH! My water broke! And not a little trickle. A HUGE GUSH. Fortunately, the interviewee was a mother of two and while understandably surprised, then offered to help if she could. I dismissed her to a co worker and got myself to the hospital. We DID hire the woman. She definitely proved she could keep her cool in odd situations.

I interviewed in September for a Congressional staffer position. They asked me if I had any vacation plans for the coming year. I told them it was my grandma's 90th birthday but I probably wouldn't take off any days since it was around the 4th of July (a federal holiday). They told me that just wasn't going to work for them and I needed to be more flexible.

And I laughed because I thought it was a joke. I didn't get the job.