10 Funny Job Interview Stories That Will Make You Cringe

funny job interview story with interviewers laughing
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Job interviews are some of the most stressful events in our lives. We worry about having the perfect answers to the questions, being on time, having an impressive portfolio and looking the part to impress the hiring manager and bag ourselves that dream job. As if that wasn’t bad enough, no matter how well you prepare for an interview, sometimes due to nature, nerves and plain stupidity, it can go mortifyingly wrong in a truly hilarious way.

A split seam and broken heel are one of the most common interview malfunctions, but these funny applicants take interview fails to the next level. Here we take at the 10 funniest stories circulating at the moment:

1. Gravity Takes the Lead

This candidate thought she had aced the interview. She spent 55 minutes firing answers back to their hard interview questions, and the pleased look on the interviewers face confirmed it. She told the social talent that: “they wrapped it up and stood to shake my hand. As I went to stand up myself, I realised that I had sat for 55 minutes straight with my legs crossed, unmoved. Needless to say, I didn’t even make it into a standing position. I crashed head-first into a filing cabinet, my legs still locked in a crossed position.”

2. Making a Sliding Entrance

Another applicant was interviewing at their dream school. He made sure he arrived early, but as he pulled up it began to pour with rain and ended up being drenched from head to toe by the time he entered the building. The deputy met him and the other candidates for a tour around the school. Just as the tour began he slid across the newly resurfaced floor in the main hall – landing on his hands and knees in a puddle.

3. Fainting Fail

Sarah Stevens was applying to be a developmental aide at a preschool for children with special needs. She was walking around the school with the hiring manager when she began to feel dizzy and hot. Seconds later, she was lying on one of the kid’s nap mats and was being offered a cup of orange juice. Sarah said: “Incredibly enough, I got the job. When I later asked her why, when I had actually PASSED OUT mid-interview, she said that when I came to and got a little juice in me, I looked her dead in the face and said: "So tell me more about your program." She said that anyone who could keep their sh*t together after something like that had what it took to work with special needs kids.”

4. The Strangest Interview

This job applicant heard back from a position she had applied for at a restaurant and was asked to pass by the following morning to see the manager. To her surprise when she got there he wasn’t in so the lady at the front desk called him on his phone and he said that he had forgotten about the arrangements and for the candidate to go and meet him on the golf course that he was at. She thought it was strange but decided to go. The day went from bad to worse as she couldn’t find him anywhere; when she eventually did she walked the course in her heels and answered some stupid interview questions while he continued to hit some balls. She told the Muse that when she got home “there was a message waiting for me from his boss saying that I was not to accept any offers until he could speak to me in person. Now, I was totally baffled! A few days went by, and the big boss called again and wanted to speak with me. Turns out, the manager was a drunk, and they fired him. They then offered me his job. I did take the job and worked for them for a couple of years.”

5. Flying Low

This interviewee had applied for a senior level position at a reputable company and decided to put on his best suit. He went to the bathroom before the interview and managed to break his zip while he was pulling it up. He began to panic looking for something to hold it closed but couldn’t find anything suitable. Having built up a big sweat, he had to walk into the interview room, red in the face, sweaty and with an open fly. He tried to hide it by folding his suit jacket over his arm, covering his crotch area. After the worst wardrobe malfunction, he actually managed to bag himself the position.

6. Toilet Malfunctions  

Oversleeping for an early morning interview can result in this rather unfortunate situation that one interviewee landed herself in. Desperate to make it there on time, Diane Saddler dressed quickly and fled her house, arriving just in time to be ushered in. On sitting down in front of the interviewers, she realised she was desperate for the toilet but was too embarrassed to excuse herself. “After all,” she says, “they would wonder why I hadn’t gone beforehand. It was about 15 minutes in when I felt something warm in my underwear and realised I was wetting myself,” Diane said. “I couldn’t stop and when I looked down at the floor there was a massive puddle.”

7. Setting Alarm Bells Ringing

Some of us are clumsy at the best of times, but nerves tend to heighten it. This is why it’s important to pay close attention when you’re on company premises. Gemma Stevens certainly wished she’d been more attentive at one of her interviews. She tripped coming out of the lift where she was having the interview and hit the fire alarm, which set it off. She told Total Jobs that “the problem was there was no one around, so everyone thought there was a real fire. I was far too embarrassed to tell anyone it was my fault, thinking it would certainly jeopardise my chances of getting the job.” After the interview that had gone wrong, she actually got offered the job but didn’t have the heart to reveal the truth to her employer.

8. Interviewer Down

It’s not just the interviewee who can embarrass themselves. During Diane Duthweiler’s interview, the hiring manager was leaning back in his chair when it tipped over. Mortified, she tried to help him up, but it was clear he was stuck and wouldn’t budge. She stepped outside to get help, where all the employees were laughing and asking what happened. Eventually, her interviewer freed himself and continued the interview (presumably in shame!).

9. Making a Not-So-Graceful Exit

Another applicant had aced the interview by giving perfect answers and oozing just the right amount of confidence. She shook the hands of the interviewing panel while making effective eye contact, stood up and turned to walk out – straight through the glass door, shattering it into tiny pieces. That’s one way to make an exit!

10. The Early Bird

This early bird didn’t catch the worm first when he arrived at his interview a day early. Dave Bradshaw thought he was 20 minutes late for an interview; he rushed up the stairs and apologized profusely only to receive a blank stare from the receptionist who advised that the interviewer wasn’t available. This dumb mistake cost him the job as it showed terrible organisation and attention to detail skills.

Have you had any interview disasters that are worse than these? If so let us know in the comment section below and tell us how you overcome the mortifying experience…