School's out and the job hunting season is here......

Amusing Anecdotes from the Field
edited by Roberta Chinsky Matuson
Monster HR Careers Expert
You say you've heard it all. Well, here are some more unexpected (and
amusing) answers given by candidates during the interview process. We
couldn't have made these up if we tried.

I recently needed to call an applicant to inform him he was not
eligible for employment with us because his drug test was positive.
He called me back 10 minutes later and said, "If I study real hard,
can I come back in two weeks and take the test again?"

In my early days, when it was legal to have boxes on the top of the
application that asked for name, Social Security Number and sex, one
woman put "three times a week." I told her what we wanted was M or F
for male or female. She replied, "Well, I did think it was kind of
personal, but I need a job so I answered honestly."

One of the questions we ask when interviewing someone is, "What
brought you to our company?" By this we mean motivation. I had a guy
look at me and answer, "Oh, I drove myself."

A little old lady came in one time to apply for an ad we had run for
a material handler. I asked her what she thought her qualifications
were for this position. She responded that she had been sewing for 40
years!

We recently asked an applicant to give us an example of how he would
cut and paste something in MS Word. We were trying to gauge his
knowledge of the software. He replied, "Using scissors and glue."
Next!

In reference to the employment application question, "Have you ever
been convicted of a felony? If so, please state the circumstances,"
an applicant looked puzzled. He turned over the application to see if
there was more room to write on the back, and said, "You only want
the felonies?" This was for a banking position. Needless to say, he
didn't get hired.

At a catalog retail distribution center, a new hire was asked to fill
out paperwork that included Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
reporting information. On the ethnicity line, the employee
wrote "Hillbilly."

Interview question: "Have you had any jobs since high school?"

Answer: "I recycle metal I find along the highway."

Two days later, the interviewee was arrested for stealing tractors.
Technically, I guess you could say he was recycling metal from along
the highway.
lol, yydd