‘I was asked to crawl on the floor and moo like a cow’: Applicants reveal the worst job interviews ever

From being asked to moo like a cow to a fake cancellation, applicants have revealed their worst job interview experiences. 

Going for a job interview is often the most stressful part of a job application and every applicant has had their own bad job interviews. However, for some people this experience can be downright bizarre. 

Aixin Fu had her own nightmare job interview when she applied for a minimum wage job as a university student ambassador. Ms Fu says that during a group interview they were asked to crawl around on the floor on their hands and knees and ‘moo like a cow.’ 

Speaking to BBC News Ms Fu said:  ‘We did that for about three to four minutes.

‘At the time, I was quite annoyed. It was highly inappropriate.

‘But there was a bit of peer pressure because everyone else was doing it.’

The interviewer told the group the strange cow-related activity was to see if the candidates were ‘fun.’ However, Ms Fu believe the interviewer could have been on ‘a bit of a powertrip.’ 

After the interview, Ms Fu has learnt to challenger interviewers if they ask her to do ‘bizarre’ or ‘unreasonable’ things during the interview.  

If Ms Fu’s experience is not alone in her weird interview techniques. In Lae’s case she never even got to the interview process. 

Lae arrived for a job interview at a law firm in Bristol early only to be told after waiting 20 minutes that it had been cancelled and she should come back tomorrow. 

After leaving feel understandably upset, she was left even more distressed when she received a message telling her the so-called cancellation was a test and she had failed and she did not get the job. 

Lae described the experience as ‘totally bizarre’ and afterwards she decided to set up her own business where she uses more typical hiring styles. 

Other people can experience prejudice during the job application process as was the case for Pearl Kasirye. 

Ms Kasirye, who was born in Uganda but moved to Europe as a child and now lives in London, was asked about her heritage during an interview for a PR role at a fashion brand in Milan. 

The interviewer for the remote job was insistent she was paid in a Ugandan wage rather than a London wage. After this she chose to withdraw her application. 

Meanwhile, a lot of women during the interview process face sexist comments about their marital status or if they have or plan to have children – which is illegal for employers to ask. 

Data from the hiring platform Applied found that nearly one in five women have been asked during interviews whether they have children or plan to have children. 

Applied’s own chief executive Khyati Sundaram says she has been asked that question ‘more times than I can count.’ 

Ms Sundaram claims this questions is often asked due to concerns over maternity leave. 

She said: ‘The higher the pay, the more maternity you have to pay while finding a cover, and they don’t want the hassle.’  

In 2022, people from across the UK took to Reddit to reveal their worst job interviews. 

One person wrote: ‘I got interviewed at Toys R Us before and the woman interviewing me asked why I didn’t have a job for a year or so. I told her it was because my mother had died and my mind was a bit messed up at the time.   

‘Her next question ‘how did your mother die?’ I replied and told her it was a heart attack and she came out with, ‘Oh so it was a painful death then’.’

‘I left the interview there and then, and went to speak to her manager about what she said. I don’t know what happened after that, I’m assuming f*** all though.’

Another wrote: wrote: ‘Delivery driver for Iceland. Had to do all the sit in a circle and talk about yourself stuff, what animal would you be s****, build a tower with newspaper and sellotape b*******. Didn’t stay to the end.’