When entering a job interview, we are always concerned that we won't make the right impression on the one conducting the interview.
Leading us to go over and over in our heads the things we need to make sure to say, and what to avoid at all costs.
What we often forget is that an interview is ultimately every bit as much about determining if a certain company is a good fit for us.
And we, the interviewees, aren't the only ones with the potential to shove our foot directly in our mouths.
Redditor Correct_Spray5890 was eager to hear about the absolute dumbest questions people were ever asked at a job interview, leading them to ask:
"What is the dumbest question you’ve been asked during an interview?"
Taking Lowballing To A Whole New Level...
"'Are you sure you want to start at the top of the salary band?'"
"That won't give you much room for growth."- Xaphhire
Har No.
"Manager: 'Would you be willing to work for $X.XX per hour?''
"Me: 'That is below the legal minimum wage'."- Zelnite
To Be Fair, Didn't Really Answer The Question
"If you were a Star Wars Character would you be Luke, Leia, Hans, R2, or C3PO?"
"I didn't get it probably because I said Wedge Antilles and went on for quite some time of the strength of being a competent background character that didn't feel the need to be a main character of every story."
"The interviewers had no idea who Wedge was."- varthalon
star wars cinema GIF by VueGiphy
Priorities People!
"'If someone tried robbing us, how would you protect the cash register?'"
"They didn't like my reply 'I wouldn't protect it'."
"I thought this was some test but it wasn't they actually wanted their employees to put their life on the line for whatever money would be in the cash register at the time."
"This was a minimum paying job btw."- Retro1989
Relevant Experience...
“'Name a time where you gave back to your community'."
"I was 15 and applying to Dairy Queen."- Double_Entrance4559
"I Have A Feeling That We've Met Before..."
'Not a specific question, but I'm a teacher and I live in New Zealand."
"We have a law here that if there is a teaching job available, a school has to advertise it and let people apply, even if they already have an employee they want to give it to."
"That includes if someone is working in a fixed term role (usually covering while someone is on extended leave) and that role becomes permanent."
"They can't just give them the job to the person who has been doing it."
"I was fixed term for the first 3 years of my current job."
"I've been permanent for the last 4."
"Each of the 3 years was a different contract."
"My school takes the application law very seriously."
"They made me reapply and interview for the job I was already doing 4 times."
"Each time, they interviewed me and pretended not to know me, and I had to answer the questions like I was a brand new person."- AriasK
Confused Anna Chancellor GIF by PBSGiphy
...WHAT?!?!...
"'If you needed to eat an elephant, how would you go about it?'"
"I guess this question could assess problem-solving skills or your approach to seemingly insurmountable tasks, but I could think of better questions for that."
"I ended up quoting that one Shel Silverstein poem about the girl who wanted to eat a whale, and how she ate it one bite at a time."
"They seemed to like that answer."- ConstantlyNerdingOut
Gross...
"Where I live, if I had a boyfriend and what my father does for a living."- ThatMeasurement3411
They Could At Least Be Original
"'If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?'"
"At Walmart."
"I sh*t you not."- Awkward-Motor3287
Growing Amazon GIF by amaliavornicuGiphy
One Imagines In That Moment They Saw Red...
"I was asked to name my favorite color and then defend that choice."
"I was applying to be the controller of the accounting department."- mereshadow1
Beat Them At Their Own Game!
"Interviewer: 'Give me one good reason why I should give you this job'?"
"I replied 'Give me one good reason why I should accept it'?"
"I got the job."- Efficient-Loquat399
Apparently, There Isn't Life After High School...
"'If I asked your friend what you were like in high school, what would they say?'"
"I ended the interview right after that."- eliphas0
mean girls ugh GIFGiphy
Detecting Bad Work Environments?
"'What's your superpower?'"
"This was one of only two questions in the interview."- LimaBeanLola
For Heaven's Sake!
"The silliest question I ever got was whether I wanted to apply for the job."
"For context, I was in a beer distributor buying beer, wearing ripped jeans and a t-shirt."
"Owner mentions he has a job opening and asks if I want to apply."
"Needing a job at the time, I said sure."
"So he sits me right down for an interview only to tell me, 'Sorry, I just don’t like the way you’re dressed'.”
"Bro, then don’t ask me to apply!"- Ineedyoursway
Did They Want To Start A Fight?
"'What's the most dangerous animal you'd be willing to fight?'" and when I told them people that was apparently the wrong answer."-ThadisJones
Martin Lawrence Fighting GIF by MartinGiphy
Always remember, an interview is a two-way street.
The one interviewing you might determine early on that you are not the right fit for them.
But it could likewise become readily apparent to you that certain companies are not worth even a moment of your time.
@kileywrestling/Bluesky
