One of the most fascinating things about HR is the “H” part of the equation: humans.

Humans do and say interesting things, especially when they’re under stress.  And almost nothing is more stressful than interviewing for a job.

For your reading pleasure, we’ve collected some of the more humorous interview stories we’ve heard over the years.  Here’s a sampling . . .

• When an interviewer opened the blinds in his office, the candidate curled up into a ball, covered his eyes, pointed at the window and screeched:  “The light! The light!”
• A candidate invited to a “get-to-know-you” interview dinner at a prospective employer’s home dramatically decreased his chances of landing the job when he sat on and mortally wounded his potential new boss’ prize poodle.
• A candidate was unable to make any eye contact whatsoever during an interview due to her distractingly large fake eyelashes constantly getting locked together.
• A candidate presented herself well, had an excellent resume and answered all the interviewer’s questions with aplomb but, unfortunately, left behind a puddle of urine on her chair.
• Five minutes into an interview, a candidate refused to answer any more questions, opting instead to spend the remainder of the time glowering angrily at the interviewer.
• When a candidate looked like she might get sick, the interviewer asked if she would like to go to the bathroom.  The candidate declined and then promptly yuked in the interviewer’s office.
• An interviewer took a candidate to a fancy restaurant.  When the candidate discovered that both he and the interviewer had attended St. Olaf College, the candidate proceeded to stand up and belt out the St. Olaf fight song in its entirety, replete with multiple Um Ya Yas.  The interviewer declined to sing along.
• An interviewer interrupted an interview to call her attorney, asking: “I’m interviewing a woman who has a potentially offensive tattoo on the side of her neck. Is it OK if I ask her to disrobe just to make sure that she doesn’t have any other offensive tattoos?”
• A candidate requested water during an interview.  The interviewer discovered that he was out of cups and excused himself to get some more.  While the interviewer was gone, the candidate showed that he was a self-starter by fishing through the interviewer’s garbage can and finding a cup on his own.  The interviewer returned to find the candidate happily sipping out of a cup that had a giant lipstick smear across it.
• An HR manager informed a candidate that he had to take a drug test.  She handed him a cup and pointed him toward the bathroom.  The candidate returned a few minutes later with a cup full of poop.  Flustered, the manager gave him another cup and instructed him to pee into it.  A few minutes later he returned and handed the manager a second cup of poop.  Despite his efforts, he didn’t get the job.
• An HR manager interviewed the niece of a VP as a favor.  She was instructed to “just interview her and see if we can stick her somewhere.”  The candidate showed up dressed inappropriately and spent the entire interview cleaning out her purse, barely acknowledging the interviewer’s existence.  When the interview finally concluded, the interviewer stood to shake the candidate’s hand.  The candidate responded by shoving all the trash from her purse into the interviewer’s open hand, asking, “Would you mind throwing this away for me?”  Despite the interviewer’s less-than-glowing review, the candidate was awarded a position in Marketing.

Got a humorous or just plain strange interview story?  If so, please click on the handy button at the upper right of the Blawg or email it to Manpower’s Department of Collecting Humorous or Just Plain Strange Interview Stories at:  blawg@manpower.com.  If we publish it, we’ll send you a fabulous prize!