Worst job interview story winner: The polka dot disaster
Each month in Off the Clock, our job seeker community section, we host a Share & Win! contest ripe with fabulous prizes and hilarious (and sometimes very embarrassing) stories. In June, we asked you to share your worst job interview stories. When we received your tales of opportunity flushed down the toilet (sometimes literally), we laughed, we cried, we cringed. We also had to take a cold shower and rent a priest afterward.
Job interviews can unfortunately be tough, grueling and unforgiving. And those are the positive ones. Luckily, they can sometimes be fun, uplifting experiences that you can one day look back on as highlights of your working life. But enough with all the positive positivity…
Our worst job interview accolades go to Melissa D. of Baltimore, MD. We’re pretty sure that the next time she goes dress shopping before a big interview, she’ll be all the wiser:
Last July, I had an interview for a promotion and decided to treat myself to a new dress. I found it at local “designer discount” store. The label was removed but it was a bargain, and it really was adorable: a black short-sleeved chemise with white polka dots. I had no idea what the fabric was, but the price was right and I decided to go for it. The day of my interview, the combination of my frock’s mystery fabric and the humidity of summertime in Baltimore made me sweat. My underarms felt wet, but I didn’t think any of the three people on the interview panel could tell; that is, until I got back to my office and my friend Patty exclaimed, “Oh my Gosh!” and dragged me into the bathroom. In the mirror, I saw in horror what my interviewers must have seen: My perspiration had reacted with something in the fabric and turned the armpits of my dress BRIGHT PURPLE! I wanted to die (or dye!). Patty didn’t even try to convince me that it wasn’t that bad, because it was. I didn’t get the promotion, and to this day, Patty calls me “Pits” when she wants to get a rise out of me. –Melissa D.
Melissa will go home with a $500 American Express gift card to buy a new work wardrobe and a gallon of bleach. “Thank you so much for turning my worst interview catastrophe into something I can now be proud of!” she told SnagAJob.com.
Good luck, Pits!
- Enter our new Share & Win! contest: Think you’ve got the quirkiest co-worker? Tell us about it and win a $300 American Express gift card.
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