What’s the weirdest or most challenging interview question you’ve ever gotten?

Hey folks,

I’ve got an interview coming up for a role that’s all about executive-level data visualization in enabling areas for Deloitte.Has anyone been through something similar? • What was the interview process like (tech test, case study, presentation, etc.)? • Did they focus more on tools (Power BI/Tableau/SQL) or more on storytelling & exec communication? • Anything you wish you knew before going in?

Any advice or personal experiences would help a ton. Thanks in advance! 🙌

Just dropped from a call a little after 5 minutes where the interviewer was a no show - for a 45 minute interview.

Wondering if I should have a little more time.

(I've followed up with the HR person I've been dealing with)

I need to do a 5 minute pitch in an interview, but was told this can be delivered in any format. Any ideas? Any suggestions are much appreciated. Interview will be on Teams.

I recently came across an essay where someone wrote about preparing for two months only to realize it wasted someone’s 15 minutes. Would love feedback on whether it resonates. Here’s the link.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot after a few recent interviews that felt… off. I prepared like crazy, dressed well, nailed the technical parts, but the interviewer just seemed distracted, rushed, or like they’d rather be anywhere else. One even cut the interview short after glancing at their phone the whole time. A week later? Rejection email.

It got me wondering: how much of our job search struggles come down to stuff we can’t control, like an interviewer’s mood, burnout, or schedule? We’re told to focus on perfecting our answers, but no one talks about how human bias and bad days on their side can completely change the outcome.

Has anyone else felt like they were rejected because of something other than their actual skills? Should companies train interviewers better or is this just part of the game?

Curious if anyone else has been through this?

I have had steady interviews for months. …. But… apparently I suck at interviews because I couldn’t land them. It was frustrating and disheartening.

Then one day I decided to type the job title I am looking for in the search box on LinkedIn. I saw a few recruiters post about job openings in the post with no job links and so I reached out. I’ve done this a few times. I’ve gotten a few interviews this way. One I tanked and it was a bummer too because the CFO said “yes! We were excited about this interview. Your background fits with our needs!!” with an immediate “not moving forward email after the interview. Like I said, apparently I can’t sell myself 😭

FINALLY after months of this one lands! I got an offer!!

Shortly after that offer I get an email asking to schedule an interview for a job I applied for. I remembered this job, the posting asked for FL residents and I live in CA. Still I figured, I’d apply, why not?! In my interview I noted from the start that I was not willing to relocate. Let me tell you I was surprised to hear that they were ok with it. In fact they were willing to be remote.

Long story short, man just apply! Apply to it all! You have nothing to lose! I went from so many rejections to two offers!

No real purpose for this post but to hopefully wish you luck and to stress…. Just apply!

Hi everyone, I don’t mean to hijack this thread, but I am desperate for any advice or help.

I have been stuck in entry level healthcare administration for over 9 years. Yesterday, I submitted my 5500th application only to be quickly rejected in about 2 hours.

I am a seasoned healthcare professional starting from the age of 15. I am college educated and possess almost a decade of clinic supervision experience, revenue cycle management, patient care experience, and hosptal Marketing experience.

Despite all of this, as well as a practice manager certification, I cannot seem to break into any mid level healthcare admin position. I’m 30 now and have never made more than 18 dollars an hour.

Throughout this nightmare, I’ve reached out to over 100 talent acquisition specialists on LinkedIn and Instagram offering breakfast, coffee, lunch, etc in exchange for 10 minutes of advice and not a single one has ever responded. I’ve had my resume (which is actually damn good) re done professionally a dozen times. Written over 5000 cover letters and still to this day I’ve only had 6 total interviews, 3 of which resulted in the jobs that encompass my Resume for a total of 9 years of experience.

I am at my wit’s end and I do need have the means or funds to return to school or change course.

If anyone in this thread has any sort of advice I would be forever appreciative.

I have over 20 years experience in software and hardware. This week, I had a virtual interview with an Nvidia hiring manager for a software engineering position. They showed up 10 minutes late for a 45-minute slot, and asked "what was one thing you did at <last job> that you were proud of?" That was the entirety of covering my 20+ years of experience and how it might relate to the role I applied for. Didn't make it seem like they read my resume at all.

Next was a coding exercise that I solved with one line. They said I couldn't do it that way, and the entire time that I had to try to solve it their specific way. I attempted to talk through my code and reasoning, all the while they were clearly staring at their second monitor and typing emails, IMs, whatever. Clearly had no interest in being there whatsoever. At the 45-minute mark, they said "sorry we're out of time and you don't have any time to ask questions about the company or the role. I'll provide feedback to the recruiter, have a good day," and promptly left.

I seriously sat there stunned. It completely ruined the rest of my day. I went out to eat with my wife and kids later that evening and the only thing I could do is sit there flabbergasted. I felt so shitty and even worse that I was completely distant with my family for the rest of the night. I even woke up the next day feeling like shit.

Then today, I had an interview with a hiring manager at Microsoft. It couldn't have went any better than I could imagine. The HM was super chill, explained absolutely everything about the role they were hiring for, did a deep dive into the skills of all of the roles that I've held over the past two decades. Super friendly person, was clearly interested in what I had to offer, and was basically a 45-minute back and forth two-way discussion of the role and how my skills were directly applicable. I couldn't have asked for more out of an interview with a HM. It completely changed the course of my day after waking up still in a shit mood from my Nvidia interview.

I guess the moral of the story is, if you had a bad interview, flush that shit and keep on going.

Last week I got an offer and I went ahead and accepted because I didn’t have any others on the table. Fast forward to this week, I got another offer that is 10% more base, has an annual bonus and equity whereas company A’s offer is only base.

In this scenario since I already accepted company A’s offer, is it too late to negotiate the salary to get closer to company B’s offer? If so, any advice on how to navigate this sort of situation? Anyone else go through this before?

Is it a good sign I got an email saying the hospital wants to offer me the position but waiting on recruiter to give me the details and formal offer letter. Does this usually happen without hiccups? Or is this offer not sure yet

I have interview at amex for financial analyst role. Can anyone guide?

Traditionally, I’ve always taken my notes on a pen and paper.

Slowly but surely I’ve made my way to the digital note taking era for my professional and personal life.

Is it ok to mention to the interviewer I’ll be taking notes on the computer or does that look distracting?

The interview went really well. I forgot to mention that I want to make a career out of working there, but I did bring up some good points that I am reliable and I would come to work on time. I would say I had a great interview experience with them, very different than the one I had 2 years ago. I won't know anything until next week. Hopefully it rules in my favor!

So I had a final round interview last week and was told I'd hear back this week with an update, well the recruiter reached out today but it was only to schedule an update with the hiring manager for next week. I feel like its going to be a rejection call, I'm getting flashbacks to the last couple rejection calls I've gotten. I've been very anxious this whole week and now I'm annoyed that I'll have to wait til next week. I know its out of my control and I should just move on and continue applying for other roles but its definitely easier said than done...

I have a third/final round with a great place next week. Great role, people, company, remote. Understanding it’s a meeting for culture fit, and I’ve researched the SVP thoroughly to prepare.

What question types should I expect from a 45-minute interview with an SVP?

literally 9 30 at night been wearing it all day and went to an interview i think my hair was was covering the tag though so i dont think anyone noticed and the interview didnt even go well so i dont think i was gonna get that job anyway

I had a good interview with a recruiter a couple weeks ago. She emailed today to give me a heads up that the next round (Zoom with the org’s hiring committee) would be the same day or shortly after a major surgery I learned I need. She asked me to let her know my availability.

Recovery is likely to take several weeks (two weeks totally out of commission, 4-6 weeks additional mostly at-home recovery (remote work, can’t lift more than 10lbs, etc.)). But the recruiter also said to think about availability for the final round (in person, about an hour drive) - when I mayyyy be ok for this sort of thing, but also might not (around the 5 week mark).

How do I broach this? It’s for a C-level position if that matters. Thanks!

(Edit for clarity)

I kept hopping jobs cause if it wasn't the low pay, my manager was a total nut job.

First shop: low pay of $13/hour cause no experience. I was told if I took on the responsibility of organizing the tire warehouse, then keeping it that way, I'd get a raise. But by assistant manager, not the main one. But I didn't think about this. I just worked my ass off to get it done. 2 weeks later of me doing this alone, the main manager told me the district manager is pretty happy with my work on the warehouse. I asked about the raise. He looked at me, incredibly confused. Said hes never heard anything about a raise. I started looking for a new job.

Second shop: safety was the last concern here. I would be doing box truck tires all day. Id jack up the box truck with a regular jack, and then spend 5+ minutes looking for a jack stand so the jack doesn't drop it. They only had like 2, despite us doing back to back box trucks all day. The district manager himself discouraged me from taking the time to get a jack stand under a truck. I stuck one under the truck anyways. When I stood back up, the guys shaking his head at me like I'm a moron. It wasn't the main reason I quit though. My weekends were just me in pain, not wanting to leave the house, cause of pain. My back HURT. I couldn't walk sometimes. Id just be hoping my back would be okay by Monday.

Third shop: so now..we get really bad. Within 2 weeks, I watch my boss shove a bleeding squirrel inside the lead techs toolbox. I complained about it, saying it's fucked up. Said to just put the little guy out of his misery. Boss said "fine, you wanna be such a bitch about it" and then he tossed the squirrel into the center of a car bay and started shooting. He hit it on the face. The squirrel didn't die though, and tried to crawl away. My boss begins to laugh his ass off. This shit was HILARIOUS to him. I could really sit here giving you multiple stories like this, and many other subjects, about this guy. He also openly told us, in a bragging way, he talked someone into suicide. Yes. Suicide. He seemed incredibly proud of it. Dude would probably wear that like a badge if he could.

4th shop: I would get into arguments every other day with my manager. We'd argue about shit like plugging tires in the shoulder. He'd get mad as fuck at me for refusing to plug the tire. Got mad when I handed him the plug and tool, and told him to do it. They had a 5 year employee who would break shit on people's cars, and show up 2-3 hours late on a daily basis. The final straw for me was my boss with holding everyone's bonuses so he could add it to his paycheck. Before this started he was telling everyone about a 500,000 home he's applying for. Theeeen our bonuses stopped coming. When we asked about them, he'd act like he has zero idea what we're talking about. He was the district managers nephew, which is how he would've been able to get away with this.

5th shop: 3/5 days of the week by shift that's supposed to be 8 AM - 6 PM would turn into a 8 AM - 7 PM shift, sometimes even as late as 8 AM -8 PM. Quite often I would also go the entire time without taking a break at all. I started making homemade jerky and bringing yogurt to work for my lunch, cause that's all the time I would have. After a year of putting up with this, they tell us that we will no longer get commission. This took about $200 out of my paycheck every week.

6th shop: I didn't want to come here, but everything I had been applying for wasn't calling me back. And the 5th shop let me go. So a manager I worked with before offered a sales job. But turns out the guy has the temper of a child. I haven't seen someone have a mental breakdown of this level in quite a while. He creates a lot of awkward situations with his behavior that I have to go fix, and pretend I don't know what they're talking about when they ask about my managers attitude.

So now I'm trying to just leave the industry, go into a new career path. But zero idea what I want to do right now.

Managers will ask why I'm leaving

And anything I say just feels like bitching.

Navigating the Fall/Winter Job Market in Canada: Strategies for Success | Clutch Jobs Blog

Had my interview at best buy for about a week ago at this point and still haven't gotten a word back from them

Should I be worried?

What kind of questions do they ask in hackerrank OA in Java? I tried searching online but couldn’t find much info. There will be 2 coding questions to solve in 2 hours. Recruiter said an engineer would manually review your code, so it’s not just a test score.

Does anyone know what criteria they look for in the Java solution and what type of coding questions to prepare for OA? Thank you!

I’m in a bit of a tricky situation, and I’d really appreciate some advice. If you’ve been through something similar, what did you do and how did it turn out? And if not, what would you do in my shoes?

I’m a recent graduate and have been applying for jobs for months with little luck—no interviews until recently. I finally got an interview with a local media group for a web development role about 1hr drive away. Throughout the process, they repeatedly mentioned how many applicants they had and told me I’d hear back in about a week after each stage—but in reality, they always followed up within a day. This led me to think they might not be being the most honest with me.

For example, today I had another interview. The interviewer was late, explaining that it was because they were juggling so many candidates. She told me I’d hear back by next Tuesday. Yet only two hours later, I received a job offer with the condition that it must be signed by next Tuesday or it’s void. During the interviews, it also became clear that the person who would be my direct manager doesn’t really understand websites or coding. This leads me to believe I will be on my own in this role.

Here’s the complication: right after my second interview with Job #1 (just two days ago), I got a call from my dream company for a position I’ve been pursuing for months. I’ve been in touch with recruiters there for a while, and they told me the role wasn’t posted publicly—most applicants so far have been internal and under-qualified. I start interviewing for that role the same day I’d have to sign the offer from Job #1.

This “dream job” would pay 40%+ more, offer better benefits, be fully remote, have strong growth opportunities, and give me a manager who’s knowledgeable and could be a real mentor. The only drawback is that, in an economic downturn, this role might be more vulnerable than Job #1.

So I’m stuck:

• Do I accept Job #1 for security and because I need something now, but potentially back out if I get Job #2? (I’d feel guilty, since they clearly need someone badly.)
• Do I accept Job #1 and stop pursuing Job #2 altogether?
• Or do I try asking Job #1 for more time, even though I already said I was available ASAP and know they’re eager to fill the role?
• This is kind of a secondary question, but how should I feel about job #1 with little help in the position, and the feelings of dishonesty and desperation?

Sorry for the long post, but I’d love to hear your thoughts, advice, or experiences. Thanks!

Please send good vibes, I'm hoping one of these is the one. I'm so tired of the job search.

Edit: you are all very kind people and I wish you all luck as well :)

For context: I’m 23 years old, currently employed, but the pay is crap and I don’t enjoy the job at all. I may have to pick up a second weekend job soon just to make ends meet. About two weeks ago, there was an opening for a position that I’ve wanted for a long time. The pay isn’t amazing, but it’s much better than what I make now. Plus, it’s a great job to have on your resume and I know many people who have built great careers off of it. I applied the evening after it was posted, two days later I got a response saying they wanted to interview me on Monday of the following week.

On that day (which was last week) I showed up to the interview on time, and it went really well. The interviewer said they really liked me and that I had a great resume. They said they would reach out to me and let me know what the next step would be (likely they would have the top level boss meet with me). I felt really enthusiastic and excited about the possibility.

However, to this day, I still haven’t heard back from them. On Tuesday, I sent a follow up email thanking them for the interview and kindly asking for an update on the status of my application, but I haven’t received a response so far. I’m giving up hope that I’m gonna get this job, which really sucks. I was so looking forward to it, and like I said, the job I’m at now is underpaying and exhausting. Since there is one more day of the week tomorrow, there is a possibility that I will hear back that they want the follow up interview, but at this point I’m no longer optimistic.

I guess that’s about it, just needed to vent about it.