tell me about your most embarrassing job interview!

Nurses Job Hunt

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my friend who is a RN , went for a job interview . the person who was interviewing her asked her , now that you left your last job what would they be saying about you? she said " what do you mean?" the lady said to her well , would they be saying your mean , or rude or will they say your bad to work with and on and on. well she said she sat there stumped not knowing what to say. then said i always thought they liked me and the lady said " well what are they saying? she said i don't know and started crying. the poor girl had no idea what this lady wanted her to say. then the lady said " all i wanted to know what are your strengths and weaknesses? the girl said to her why didn't you just ask that? i felt so bad for her. i told her ya know what ,that was a stupid question. i have never been asked that in a interview have you? she said she doubts she will get the job . i said so what big deal. tell me about your embarrassing interview !! thank you !!

Specializes in family practice and school nursing.

Early 80's...one of my 1st interviews just out of nursing school....talking about clinical rotations.. different medication storage/dispensing methods I encountered. I was stating how strange it was at one location I had clinical at ...how they kept stock bottles of all the medications in a big cabinet arranged aphabetically. Well it turns out that was how they stored their meds too! oops, didn't get that job...

Specializes in Emergency; med-surg; mat-child.
My worst job interview was when the interviewer asked me if I was married or had kids as it is always more difficult to accommodate the schedule needs of nurses with families.

WHOA illegal question.

When I was a new grad I FINALLY scored an interview. The interviewer started asking me all kinds of questions about my experience at xy and z all places I had never worked. I gave her a copy of my résumé and then she started yelling at me that I was not the right person. She then Called HR and the hr lady came And they screamed at each other like I was not there. Apparently there was another candidate with the same first name as me that was the person she wanted. No one apologized or anything they just told me to leave they don't hire new grads. I cried the whole way home. Guess where I NEVER want to work! That manager was dreadful and not at all professional.

Wow some of those are ridiculous. When I was 16 I really wanted a job and a local place was hiring. I was so nervous I made my mom come with me so she could wait in the car while I picked up an application. It was for a wedding venue. Anyways, I walked all the way to the door and then ran back crying because I was scared. Not only did the owner/manager see me and come out she also asked what was wrong. I claimed allergies, I looked like a mess! The owner/manager interviewed me right on the spot without a resume and hired me. My mother had stepped out of the car and also talked to the owner/manager so I felt more comfortable. My mother laughed at me the whole way home. I worked their 5 years before quitting to work as a Medical Assistant and continue going to school. To this day I can't believe how ridiculous I was. Thankfully I've had 2 decent interviews since then, both resulting in jobs.

After I had been home with my kids for years, I decided to go back to the hospital per diem. I sent in a bunch of resumes and applications. I wasn't hearing back from any places, but I knew that the job market was very different than it was in the past. Finally, I got a phone call from a hospital, asking me to come in for an interview! I had applied to their hospital online, completing the application and attaching a resume. I was thrilled. So, the day comes, and I was totally excited. My parents were watching the kids so I could go on my very first job interview in years. I was so ready for my "new beginning".

I got there, waited, then took a med calculation test. Finally, I was called in to speak with the HR woman. She began with your standard interview type of questions. Then she starts looking at my paperwork and says, "You haven't worked in 7 years?" I told her that was true, thinking it was strange that she hadn't noticed that on my application or resume. She tells me, "I'm sorry, but they never should have called you in for an interview. You'll need to do a refresher course before we could even consider hiring you." She did seem a bit flustered and embarrassed herself. I don't know how that bit of info escaped everyone's attention.

Anyway, I was absolutely, positively humiliated!! Here I was, all dressed up in my interview clothes. I had been giddy about this interview for days. I felt like such a fool. I gathered up the last scrap of my dignity and went to my car, where I called my husband and burst into tears. Plus, I knew that when I got home, my parents would excitedly be asking how it went... Talk about having your bubble burst!

FWIW, I did end up doing a refresher class, and getting a per diem position at a different hospital. So, all's well that ends well... But I still cringe when I remember that interview.

UGH!!!! The only other interview I've been on was at a hospital in Torrance. I get there super excited because I loved that hospital. I precepted there my senior year. So... I get there in a suit, no perfume, light make up, hair out of my face. The very first thing the recruiter says to me as I sat down and she looked over my app... "We probably won't hire you because you live in Garden Grove." From then on she just picked at every single one of my responses. I was livid. She was so condescending and couldn't be bothered to actually give me a chance.

Specializes in Aesthetics, Family Medicine.
UGH!!!! The only other interview I've been on was at a hospital in Torrance. I get there super excited because I loved that hospital. I precepted there my senior year. So... I get there in a suit, no perfume, light make up, hair out of my face. The very first thing the recruiter says to me as I sat down and she looked over my app... "We probably won't hire you because you live in Garden Grove." From then on she just picked at every single one of my responses. I was livid. She was so condescending and couldn't be bothered to actually give me a chance.

Ugh. Sorry you went through that.

I said what ended up sounding like I would call a code blue on an O2 sat of 88%. I only remember half the interview, because I had come off my fifth night shift right to the interview. Obviously not on my "A" game. Needless to say, I did not get the job...

Specializes in ICU/CCU/CVICU.

Had an interview for CRNA school. It was a panel interview. One interviewer asked if I had ever shadowed a CRNA. I replied, "yes, I shadowed Brian (name changed) and he went to this school... a while back though."

Interviewer: "Oh come on it wasn't that long ago I was in his class!!"

Yikes. Insert foot into mouth. Still got in to the school though but the whole panel thought it was pretty funny.

My worst job interview was when the interviewer asked me if I was married or had kids as it is always more difficult to accommodate the schedule needs of nurses with families.

They legally can NOT ask you that!

I had an interview at a doc office scheduled for 3:30. At 4:15 I get looking around and notice the waiting room is pretty full of well-dressed people. At 4:20 the front desk person announces the doc is stuck in traffic and will be late but to sit tight. At 4:45 the doc finally gets there and starts the interview process. There's 14 of us scheduled for the interview at the same time, but doc only does one at a time. He talks to each person, privately, for 5 minutes. First question asked is what salary we are expecting; second is what is the lowest we'll accept. I told him my lowest and he laughed at me, said there's one person willing to accept $10/hour so why should he pay me $15/hour? He asked why I wasn't working, I explained maternity leave and staying home with my baby the first six months. He asked who would watch my baby if he gets sick because he had to let too many people go due to sick kids and missing time. He then asked what I like to do for fun, I reminded him I have two kids including a baby and don't get out, he asked what I did before the kids. I said I used to go dancing and he said "good, come back tomorrow for a working interview." He called his two MAs in and told them I'd be back the next day for a working interview, but when they came in he introduced them as "Dumb and Dumber" and got their names mixed up. My working interview was two hours long and drove me up the wall. The MA I was with made up vital signs (new pt coming in, she'd ask if they had any BP issues and put 128/64 if normal BP) and there were so many things wrong with that office. The doc called the MA into his exam room, in front of the pt, to show the MA how she missed a diagnosis on the pt's last visit and ran down the s/s again to ask what the MA should have done. Apparently, the MA was supposed to diagnose a migraine and order CT Angiogram of the brain but because the MA didn't the pt could be permanently deaf. The doc called me that night to offer the job and got mad when I wasn't jumping up and down with joy. He demanded an answer immediately, not like most places where they give you a day or two to think, and I accepted it. I called the next day to decline it though.

Specializes in ICU/CCU/CVICU.
I had an interview at a doc office scheduled for 3:30. At 4:15 I get looking around and notice the waiting room is pretty full of well-dressed people. At 4:20 the front desk person announces the doc is stuck in traffic and will be late but to sit tight. At 4:45 the doc finally gets there and starts the interview process. There's 14 of us scheduled for the interview at the same time but doc only does one at a time. He talks to each person, privately, for 5 minutes. First question asked is what salary we are expecting; second is what is the lowest we'll accept. I told him my lowest and he laughed at me, said there's one person willing to accept $10/hour so why should he pay me $15/hour? He asked why I wasn't working, I explained maternity leave and staying home with my baby the first six months. He asked who would watch my baby if he gets sick because he had to let too many people go due to sick kids and missing time. He then asked what I like to do for fun, I reminded him I have two kids including a baby and don't get out, he asked what I did before the kids. I said I used to go dancing and he said "good, come back tomorrow for a working interview." He called his two MAs in and told them I'd be back the next day for a working interview, but when they came in he introduced them as "Dumb and Dumber" and got their names mixed up. My working interview was two hours long and drove me up the wall. The MA I was with made up vital signs (new pt coming in, she'd ask if they had any BP issues and put 128/64 if normal BP) and there were so many things wrong with that office. The doc called the MA into his exam room, in front of the pt, to show the MA how she missed a diagnosis on the pt's last visit and ran down the s/s again to ask what the MA should have done. Apparently, the MA was supposed to diagnose a migraine and order CT Angiogram of the brain but because the MA didn't the pt could be permanently deaf. The doc called me that night to offer the job and got mad when I wasn't jumping up and down with joy. He demanded an answer immediately, not like most places where they give you a day or two to think, and I accepted it. I called the next day to decline it though.[/quote']

Yikes. I'm glad you declined the job offer. Sounds like you dodged a bullet there!

They legally can NOT ask you that!

Well they legally can't discriminate based on where you live or went to school or what degree you hold but it's been done to me.. :/

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