We’ve all been there – the sweaty palms, the racing heart, the dry mouth. Job interviews can be a nerve-wracking experience, no matter how well you’ve prepared.
But sometimes, despite your best efforts, one small slip-up can cost you the job.
One man has shared his cringe-worthy interview blunder that saw him lose out on a job within the first two minutes. He took to Reddit to share his tale of woe, explaining that he misunderstood a commonly asked question and gave an answer that left the interviewer less than impressed.
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The man explained that when asked: “How did you get here today? “, instead of discussing his career journey up until that point, he simply replied: “By bus.”
The realisation of his mistake hit him hard as he was met with a “I got a stone-cold stare as the realisation hit me… he meant in my career, not to the physical office. The remaining 58 minutes were just going through the motions.
While this unfortunate chap didn’t land the job, his story prompted more than 1,000 other Reddit users to share their own interview mishaps – including one who had a very similar experience.
One individual shared a humorous misunderstanding during a video call interview, stating: “I still haven’t recovered from that.”
They had mistakenly thought the employer was asking about their home decor when asked “What’s your background”.
Another person recounted an unfortunate incident when they were 18 and applying for a GP receptionist role. They said: “After about 10 seconds I say ‘So are you going to say something? What do you want? ‘ in an annoyed tone. Turns out it was the GP receptionist calling me to test my phone manner as a screening process. I didn’t get the job! “.
However, not all blunders ended in disappointment. One commenter shared a story of a friend who misheard a question during an interview but still managed to secure the job.
They explained: “Not me, but a friend. They got asked ‘How’s your grammar? ‘ They HEARD ‘How’s your grandma? ‘. So they answered ‘She’s fine, thanks…’ in a very confused tone. Thankfully the interviewers laughed, and they got the job.”