11 Interview Horror Stories That’ll Keep You Up at Night

The scariest horror stories are the ones that are true. Gather 'round as we get into the spooky spirit, and share interview tales that will haunt you forever. That’s right  — we’ve gathered the most haunting of interview stories we've ever heard, and we fully believe they rival the most chilling Halloween legends (I mean, who's scared of Chucky when a cold-call gone wrong is a possible reality?). 

From sexist remarks to unprepared interviewers to actual urine, the stories you’re about to read are not for the faint of heart. Readers beware. 

1. I interviewed for the wrong job.

“My worst job interview consisted of being interviewed around this huge conference table with 15 people interviewing me at the same time,” Helen Godfrey from Texas told Fairygodboss. “That was already terrifying, but it's not the worst part. Later on, after I had been interviewing the entire day with different stakeholders, I happened to learn during a casual conversation that I was being interviewed for a position that I hadn't even applied to. I had applied for a different role!"

2. The interviewer kept asking about my husband.

“The interviewer kept asking about my husband’s job and his line of work, and wasn’t focused on me at all,” said Heidi McBain from Texas. “I didn’t get the job, but I left there not wanting it either!”

3. Papers were flying everywhere.

“Part of the way through an interview, something I said reminded the HR guy of something,” said Julie Bane from Minneapolis. “He got up while I was still answering a question and started rummaging on his desk for something. Papers were flying everywhere. I wasn’t sure if I should continue on with my answer or get up and help him look for whatever it was he was looking for.”

4. My suit was stolen.

“As I’m driving home the night before my interview, I stopped to get dinner, only to come back to find that someone broke into my car while it was parked and stole my brand-new suit,” Allyson Sasse told Fairygodboss.

5. They asked about my lowest point in high school.

“The CEO of a small ad agency I was interviewing for had a string of terrible interview questions,” said Lauren de Wet. “My personal favorite was ‘What was your lowest point in high school?’ He then followed up with ‘What was your lowest point in college?’” 

6. I got urinated on.

“It happened near the end of an all-day, ride along interview,” said Jamie van Cuyk from Florida. “I had decided hours ago that it was not the job for me, but I was stuck until the end of the day. When we finally started to head back the office, the interviewer stopped to pick up her brand-new puppy. At first, I didn’t mind because the puppy was very cute. Then, it urinated in my lap. Not only did I spend my whole day in an interview for a job that I would never accept, but I also went home with a wet skirt.”

8. I waited for 45 minutes in an empty lobby.

“I waited 45 minutes beyond the proposed start time, alone in an empty lobby,” Katie Achille told Fairygodboss. “Finally, the interviewer came out to get me. I presented my portfolio and got ready to go through the motions. About five minutes in she said something to the effect of, ‘Well, we'll keep talking, but this role was pretty much filled last week.’”

9. They said they couldn't imagine a woman in the role. 

“It was the early 1980s. I was interviewing to be a lab assistant at a chemical lab,” Holly Wolf told Fairygodboss. “I was basically going to be washing glassware and instruments, putting them away and logging things in a book. When the man said 'I just can't imagine hiring a woman in this role,' I knew the interview was over."

10. The interviewer told me he didn’t like me.

“We’d been talking for maybe 20 minutes – him doing most of the talking – when he said, ‘I don’t like to hire people I don’t get along with, and I can tell we wouldn’t get along,’” said Hollis Heavenrich-Jones from Illinois. “He could tell he’d thrown me off balance and followed up with, ‘You can’t have everyone like you!’"

11. They told me they usually make people cry.

“I showed up for my interview and waited in the lobby for nearly an hour before either of the owners showed up to meet with me. Once the owners did show up, they looked at my resume, slid it back across the table to me, and said ‘Well you're obviously qualified,’” said Sunny Lake Hahn from Washington. “They didn't ask me any questions about my experience, why I was applying, etc. They had no real answers for any of my questions. They did, however, say that they usually make people cry.”

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