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Job interviews remain the ultimate meeting point for recruiters and job seekers. And over the years, there have been a lot of stories about the weird interview experiences.
Google receives search queries daily from job seekers around the world, looking for tips on how to ace their next job interview or negotiate an offer. Basically, the job interview platform is one that matters in everyday conversations.
Many of the stories we hear, however, are from job seekers, and most times, they are tirades about how recruiters treat them. So, for this article, I wanted another face to the conversation. I asked 5 recruiters in Nigeria to share their weird interview experiences with me and I got their responses. While some of these are actually hilarious, they are the top reasons why some seekers do not get feedback from recruiters.
“This candidate’s mother came with him for the interview” -Agnes/ Startup HR
What they say about African mothers doing the most is accurate because why would you come to an interview with your son? On his resume, he wrote a Lagos address but apparently, he came from another state, and I understand that because we are all fighting for the few jobs out there. But why did your mother have to come into the office with you? She actually entered the room with him until I walked in and asked her to wait at the reception. She didn’t create any scene or try to cajole me to give her son the job afterward sha, but I was expecting it, Lol. He didn’t get the job, and honestly, it wasn’t because of that. There was just a better fit.
“I interviewed someone who burst into tears during the interview” -Oluwatoni/ Startup Recruiter
“I had a candidate who started crying midway through the interview. I wasn't sure what to do, so I just let her finish her story. I can’t even remember what question was asked, but it led her to tell her life story and how she got to that point of desperately seeking a job. It was cringing and embarrassing for me and I wished we would all just disappear. I felt for her o, don’t get me wrong, but it was just somehow jare. She didn’t get the job and I imagine that she would have thought we were cruel. But what can we do? We are not hiring out of pity, we needed experienced and efficient hands on deck.
“The candidate seemed so disinterested in the job” -Agnes/ Head of Media and Content
In this guy’s defense, he applied for a production role which he actually didn’t meet the requirements for, but his application presented him as a great fit for an editorial role. I worked with HR in hiring a team for my company early last year and we needed an editor for a publication. We made sure to include the role we would be interviewing him for in the email we sent, but he still came thinking it was a mistake. The interview felt forced. The only answer he gave correctly was his name and his experience. In hindsight though, I don’t fault him. But I expected a little effort at least. It was so obvious we were all wasting our time.
“The candidate took over from us during the interview” -Jide/ Head of People and Culture, Creative Agency
I may not be able to describe this as funny as it was that day, but trust me we laughed. This candidate was actually brilliant and knew what he was doing, but it was too much. He was hyper active. At first, it was interesting to see a candidate who wasn’t intimidated by a three-man panel, but it was just too much. At some point, you would wonder if we were in an interview or debate about agencies and clients. The big mistake I made was asking if he had any questions afterward. God! This guy asked and even started to advise us. Honestly, it wasn’t what he said that made it weird, but he was just lousy about it. We stopped being nice and just told him to leave when his time was up. We couldn’t even let the next candidate come in immediately, my colleagues had been holding their laughter for so long. And it’s painful because he was the kind of candidate who would probably get employed for a higher role than he applied for. We offered him the job, and he accepted, but later declined before onboarding. We had to go through the stress of looking for the next suitable candidate but I was so relieved, to be honest.
“I pray I will never have to interview a familiar person again” -Francis*/ Startup recruiter
So, I didn’t do this interview, but somehow I was involved. She is the daughter of a family friend that had become even closer than family, and she’d been job-hunting for a while. I had actually shared her CV with a couple of HR friends, but she didn’t get any. Eventually, there was an opening at my place and I didn’t want to be there so there won’t be any case of familiarity. I didn’t mention too that I knew her. Even though it was a virtual interview, she didn’t do well at the interview at all. She couldn’t even defend what was on her own CV and kept mentioning my name like she deserved the job since I’m her brother. After the interview, I got a call from my colleagues reporting the whole situation to me and how that could have messed me up. Thank God for the reputation I had. I didn’t even know how to scold her afterward, but she got the memo because I reported it to her parents. I pray I will never have to interview a familiar person again.
Recruiters have a hard time picking the best fit for the open roles too. While most times, it is due to scarcity of the perfect candidate for a role, there's also the challenge of the hiring process and how it affects the company they are hiring for.
Are you preparing to hire for your company? You should check this: Recruitment and Selection for Startups: Key Steps to Hiring the Best