The Daily WTF: Curious Perversions in Information Technology

Recent Tales from the Interview

Job interview stories.

The Interview For Hell

by Alex Papadimoulis in Tales from the Interview on 2007-06-21

“So, let me guess, ahhhhxxxCCxxshheeecczzzahhhhem,” started Mr. Thompson, Ed B’s prospective boss, pausing to make the most vile power-snorting, throat-clearing, wet-cough noise ever heard. “You’re Edward – cxxxxshxxx cxxxxcaaaheem – and you’re here for a job interview? A harr harr harr!”

Ed forced a smile as Mr. Thompson half-laughed/half-coughed at the apparently funny joke: moments earlier, the receptionist called to say that Ed had arrived for the interview. Before even sitting down, Ed knew he could never work in that office, for that man.

60 comments - Last comment @ 2014-08-22

You, Jeepies?

by Alex Papadimoulis in Tales from the Interview on 2007-06-12

“You know,” Rich Z thought to himself as he cruised down Highway 23, “I think this job might be the one!” he was on his way to interview for a “PHP Programmer” position at a trucking/logistics company. They were apparently impressed with by resume, and he was impressed by the small company and obvious open-source philosophy. But what had him exited at the time was the forty-five minute commute through a beautiful, traffic-free rural landscape.

Rich got off the highway at Birch Road to head East for “six… maybe seven miles,” then “hang a left at the grocery store,” and finally “make a right at the Big Brick Bank Building.” From there, he “couldn’t miss it.” Obviously, those weren’t MapQuest directions. Chuck, the Head of HR, insisted that “those internet directions” are always unreliable and never work out in the country. Of course, neither did the ChuckQuest directions, either.

109 comments - Last comment @ 2014-08-22