Worst interview ever

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I had to sit in on an interview this last week where the potential hire, when asked about what she enjoyed most in past jobs, informed us that she didn't like any of her old jobs because her coworkers were idiots and her managers were either lazy or "another word for the plural of sphincters."

It was the most surreal experience. I've been in wonderful interviews and awkward ones, but never one this uncomfortable. The manager and other charge nurses were stunned. What's the worst interview you've ever witnessed or participated in? Most of the others that were odd were due to unprofessional attire or just awkwardness or nerves. I've never seen someone tank an interview like this before.

Specializes in Med/surg, Quality & Risk.
Wow, my worst one doesn't stack up to these! But I'll offer him up, anyway:

I was part of a panel that was interviewing Shiny New Grad; as a charge nurse for the floor he's applying for, I'm involved. We were still asking stupid questions like "where do you see yourself in five years?" (does anyone ask that anymore? Maybe....).

Anyway, imagine my surprise when he told us that he expected to be in CRNA school.....he was "only doing the required time" in Med-Surg before going to ICU! And here I was, interviewing a prospective new nurse FOR my Med-Surg unit. So....thanks for telling me you "only" want to "do your time" while I put MY time into training you, etc, only to have you run to ICU at your next opportunity.

I know we ASKED him where he expected to be, but he sure didn't have to be quite THAT honest, LOL.....a more vague explanation of his future plans would have sufficed ;)

He didn't get the job with us, AND he didn't get hired anywhere in our hospital. Gosh, wonder why...

Yep, that question is dumb and I hate answering it, but occasionally you get someone dumb enough to answer it honestly. LOL

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Specializes in ICU.

Oh, yes, I am from the Pittsburgh area originally. Die hard Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates fan here. Now I live out in Indy and fortunately Steelers fans travel well so it's no big deal that I am from another area. We love our sports teams. If you walk around the mall from my hometown everyone has something Steelers on.

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

The competing children's hospital in our city has laid off an enormous number of nurses in the past few months. So we get a lot of these 'refugees' applying for our vacant positions.

My go-to question (feel free to steal this) is "Tell me about the last journal article you've read."

One refugee answered, "I don't really read journals." Yikes!

Then my manager asked her "What would your co-workers say about you?"

Refugee says, "I don't know- I don't really talk to them."

Guess who was not hired?

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Specializes in Emergency/Trauma/Critical Care Nursing.
The competing children's hospital in our city has laid off an enormous number of nurses in the past few months. So we get a lot of these 'refugees' applying for our vacant positions.

My go-to question (feel free to steal this) is "Tell me about the last journal article you've read."

One refugee answered, "I don't really read journals." Yikes!

Then my manager asked her "What would your co-workers say about you?"

Refugee says, "I don't know- I don't really talk to them."

Guess who was not hired?

The journal question is a great interview question, however, I'm afraid I might fail miserably! Although I am constantly reading about nursing/medicine, for the life of me I have the hardest time remembering details on things like that unless a certain subject was brought up in discussion and it reminded me. Blame it on my ADHD, but I might just fail your interview sad to say.

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Specializes in Gerontology.

We had someone who, when at the end of the interview was asked if she had any questions/comments said: "the questions you asked are too hard". Yeah she didn't get hired.

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Specializes in PDN; Burn; Phone triage.
Another interviewer for a new grad Med-Surg position asked how I would handle combative patients.

I don't really think that's an inappropriate question, actually.

I work in burn ICU and the first question in my new-grad(ish) interview for the job was "So, how did you like your psych rotation in school?"

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

Yep, the combative question is a good one, in my opinion.

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I was interviewing for a job I really wanted in a city 1000 miles away from where I lived, worked and went to school. By some coincidence, the interviewing assistant manager had graduated from my school, two years ahead of me. I walked in thinking this was going to work in my favor.

As she looked over my resume, the interviewer said, "Oh, your name is Ruby Coe. You must be Professor Coe's daughter! I dated your brother my last year in nursing school."

Not my father, not my brother. My father-in-law and my husband. Whom she dated the year we got married. Before AND after. I didn't get the job and the marriage didn't last much longer, either.

I'm sure she thinks *I* was the worst interviewee ever, because I told her she'd been dating my HUSBAND.

Wow! I've always said the world is too small, but I thought things like THIS only happen in soaps on TV. Sounds like something that would happen to me!

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Education.
Not me, but a friend had what I think must have been right up there with the worst job interview ever. She was interviewing with an insurance company for a management position, and during her interview experienced a totally unexpected flood of menstrual blood. I mean, a soaking-through-the-suit-skirt-into-the-chair-upholstery, running-down-the-pantyhose-to-the-calves FLOOD. She said there was nothing much to say except apologize, but she was being interviewed by a nurse who said, well, what the heck. She got the job.

Oh, wow. Just wow! At least they knew she could handle pressure, anxiety, AND blood.

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Not me, but a friend had what I think must have been right up there with the worst job interview ever. She was interviewing with an insurance company for a management position, and during her interview experienced a totally unexpected flood of menstrual blood. I mean, a soaking-through-the-suit-skirt-into-the-chair-upholstery, running-down-the-pantyhose-to-the-calves FLOOD. She said there was nothing much to say except apologize, but she was being interviewed by a nurse who said, well, what the heck. She got the job.

I'm not sure if I would except the job after having this happen to me, I would be absolutely mortified! On the other hand, that would really say something about the people (At least the interviewer) you would be working for though. That's a hard one..

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I'm not in management, so I've never been on the better end of an interview, but I can certainly think of the worst interview I've had. It was for my prospective admission to grad school. I had absolutely no idea what kind of stuff they were going to ask so my plan was just to get very zen before my interview and hope that the right answers just somehow flowed to me (foreshadowing). Then I was in a rush so I skipped breakfast but did manage to gulp two glasses of coffee on the way and just prior to the interview. I was obviously extremely nervous and when I went in I was greeted with three faculty, one of whom seemed INCREDIBLY bored and actually made zero eye contact, asked me zero questions, and yawned through the entire thing (I'm still not really sure why he was wasting his time). Anyway, one of the first questions was "What are your biggest strengths?" Ugh, most basic interview question ever--well, instead of giving some safe canned answer, I kept thinking, "THIS IS FOR PSYCH" and was trying to incorporate my psych experience somehow. I ended up prattling on and on about how I had never done any med surg-type work and somehow this was some sort of strength because I was able to be so super-duper focused on psych issues instead (I guess??)--as if that weren't bad enough, I next went on (and on and on) to talk about how I have a hard time not letting myself be manipulated by borderline patients because I'm just so nice (ahem, enabling) and this was apparently coming to mind as a strength of some kind as well. I dunno, ack. Anyway I went on and around and about for awhile and then when I was finally finished I said, "That was rambly, wasn't it?" and one of the instructors (who had a really incredulous face through most of my interview) asked, "Are you nervous?" and I said yes and also that I probably shouldn't have juiced up on coffee right before coming in as well. They had a little laugh and the rest of the interview didn't go QUITE so badly, and I did end up getting accepted, but I was sure worried for awhile there that I had come across way too crazy to be a psych provider.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
I'm not in management so I've never been on the better end of an interview, but I can certainly think of the worst interview I've had. It was for my prospective admission to grad school. I had absolutely no idea what kind of stuff they were going to ask so my plan was just to get very zen before my interview and hope that the right answers just somehow flowed to me (foreshadowing). Then I was in a rush so I skipped breakfast but did manage to gulp two glasses of coffee on the way and just prior to the interview. I was obviously extremely nervous and when I went in I was greeted with three faculty, one of whom seemed INCREDIBLY bored and actually made zero eye contact, asked me zero questions, and yawned through the entire thing (I'm still not really sure why he was wasting his time). Anyway, one of the first questions was "What are your biggest strengths?" Ugh, most basic interview question ever--well, instead of giving some safe canned answer, I kept thinking, "THIS IS FOR PSYCH" and was trying to incorporate my psych experience somehow. I ended up prattling on and on about how I had never done any med surg-type work and somehow this was some sort of strength because I was able to be so super-duper focused on psych issues instead (I guess??)--as if that weren't bad enough, I next went on (and on and on) to talk about how I have a hard time not letting myself be manipulated by borderline patients because I'm just so nice (ahem, enabling) and this was apparently coming to mind as a strength of some kind as well. I dunno, ack. Anyway I went on and around and about for awhile and then when I was finally finished I said, "That was rambly, wasn't it?" and one of the instructors (who had a really incredulous face through most of my interview) asked, "Are you nervous?" and I said yes and also that I probably shouldn't have juiced up on coffee right before coming in as well. They had a little laugh and the rest of the interview didn't go QUITE so badly, and I did end up getting accepted, but I was sure worried for awhile there that I had come across way too crazy to be a psych provider.[/quote']

Ok, I'm sorry, I just had to...

All that begs the question...

How many cups of coffee did you have before you wrote that post?

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