Just to share some levity, here are some of the worst interviews I’ve had over the past recruiting cycle. What are some of your worst ones?

Interview 1: I interviewed with an investment firm and had previous experience working at an investment firm within the sectors they want. The interviewer pushed the interview by 30 minutes, which already made me nervous. Then the interviewer proceeded to ask about a project I did. I mentioned a project I did for one of my summer internships for my freshman year of college 4 years ago, which was an investment case study on the company. Then the interviewer, no kidding, literally proceeded to ask me the stock price and what the company was trading at, as well as relevant multiples as of the day of the interview. I really couldn’t say anything, I blanked out. The funny thing is I’ve interviewed with lots of investment firms, and they never ask questions like that; they may frame it more like “tell me about a company you are following.” There was no way I could lie because she could fact check me immediately.

Interview 2 (The humiliation ritual): I was interviewing for a startup role in the healthcare industry. It was supposed to be a 30 minute interview. The interviewer spent the first 5 minutes giving an overview of the firm and what they do. She then proceeded to ask one basic question, TMABY, and that was all the questions she had for me. There were 20 minutes left on the call. I basically spent the remaining 20 minutes just interviewing myself, giving examples of projects I did and how they fit the role, even though she wasn’t asking anything. It was so awkward.

Interview 3 (The late interviewer): I was interviewing for a product development role in New York City. It was a 30 minute call, and my interviewer didn’t show up until 20 minutes in. It completely threw me off. It was so embarrassing, and she was so unprepared, basically pulling questions out of nowhere and asking niche questions like interviewer #1. It was awful.

Interview 4: I was interviewing for a role at an investing startup firm in New York City. I joined the call, same thing, overview of the firm, then basic questions. At the end of the interview, the interviewer said they weren’t even sure what they were looking for or who they wanted, and that they might have to change the years of experience they were targeting. It was such a mess.

These were all pretty legit jobs and roles, so it wasn’t a scam. I guess some days are just…