10 Unforgettable Job Interview Walkouts That’ll Leave You Speechless

Job interviews can take unexpected turns, but imagine an interview so bizarre that walking out seems like the best move. Some Redditors opened up about similar unexpected experiences.

From learning about unreal job role expectations to hearing odd questions from the interviewer, people have witnessed all kinds of things while interviewing for a job they thought was the perfect opportunity for their career growth.

Minutes after their interviews began, these job candidates realized the workplace and job description differed from what they had in mind. At that point, these people thought the only way to save themselves from getting into trouble was to stand up and leave. They didn’t care about the consequences of walking out of a job interview.

Comments have been edited for clarity and grammar.

u/D-1-S-C-0: I walked out of an interview because the interviewer shouted at me. He explained my day-to-day as colleagues will send me tickets, and I’ll do what they want, to the letter, within a set timeframe. No communication.

I politely asked if there was any room for collaboration or giving input, and he slammed his fists on the desk, saying, “THAT’S NOT HOW WE WORK HERE!”

I laughed (I couldn’t help it because it was so unexpected) and told him I didn’t think this role was for me. He sent me a rejection email a week later.

u/David2022Wallace: I applied for a particular position in a sporting goods store. It was for the hockey/skates section.

It turned out the manager posted the wrong position. It was supposed to be in a department I knew nothing about.

Then, she got mad at me because it was (apparently) my fault that she messed up on the job ad. She was legitimately angry, saying I was wasting her time and stuff.

u/IdgePidge: I had an interview for a teacher training position and was still recovering from a major surgery, so I was still on crutches.

They had asked me to arrive at the campus 20 minutes beforehand so they could photocopy my documents. I arrived 30 minutes early.

They got copies of my certificates and transcripts and then told me that the interview was taking place in a different building on the polar opposite end of the campus.

When I asked if they had any form of help with transport, I got a weird look, and they said, “It takes less than ten minutes to walk there.” It took me nearly half an hour.

When I arrived, the two other candidates and the head of the faculty were already there, who welcomed me with “glad you decided to join us finally.”

Then, we headed upstairs. Again, no help, so I was the last one up. We had to do presentations, and I was told, “It’s only fair, last one in first one up.”

I did my presentation, sat through the others, and then went in for my interview with the faculty head and another man. The first question was, “Do you make it a habit to be the last one everywhere?”

At that point, I’d had enough. I asked the interviewers if it was their habit to discriminate against people with disabilities.

They had no idea it was just surgery recovery and iterated that I had no interest in being educated by an establishment that ridiculed people for something they had no control over. Then, I hobbled out.

A week later, they offered me a place on the course. I rejected it, wrote about my grievances, and never heard back.

u/feliciates: The interviewer insisted on knowing why I left graduate school. Now, I left graduate school because my advisor died in a car accident.

After that, the whole small department was thrown for a loop, and no one seemed to know or care what would happen to me or my just-started research project.

The interviewer wouldn’t even accept “My advisor died suddenly” and dug into the gory details until I was almost in tears (even intimating that I must have had “feelings” for my advisor.)

I couldn’t wait to get out of there, and in my haste to leave, I knocked some solutions off a cart (which had no business being in his office, BTW) on my way out. I had never been so humiliated in my life.

u/VH5150OU812: I arrived five minutes before the appointed time and checked in with reception to notify my interviewer of my arrival. I was told to have a seat.

After 20 minutes, I confirmed with the receptionist that my interviewer knew I had arrived. After 20 more minutes, I started wondering about the professionalism and whether I wanted to work there.

I knew some days were just a disaster, and managing that must take priority. At the hour mark, I stood up and left.

Even if there had been some sort of crisis, nothing could stop them from telling me they were dealing with something and would not be able to go ahead with the interview that day. So I left.

This was before mobile phones were prevalent, so I got home to find the light on my answering machine blinking.

The message was the interviewer screaming at me for having wasted her time. She promised I would never work in the industry and that she would make it her mission to ruin my career.

Twenty-five years later, the career has seen some ups and downs, none related to her. She has completely disappeared from view.

Besides, the company rather spectacularly imploded, resulting in criminal charges for many senior executives. I’m so glad I walked away.

u/lookssharp: I sat down with the owner for an interview, and his first sentence was, “I don’t hire people with beards.” I said okay, got up and walked out.

u/willuminati91: I had a telephone interview for an IT technician position for a design company. They mentioned the following stages would be two more interviews and a full-day trial shift. I ended the call and emailed the recruiter, saying it wasn’t for me.

u/Flashy_Adeptness8597: During an interview, they asked me to remove my shirt to prove I didn’t have a gang tattoo. I walked out without saying another word.

u/RumBunBun: Years ago, I went to an interview and sat down with the man who had to interview me.

We sat in silence while he read something on his computer for a few minutes, then waited for a minute or so while he looked over my resume (it was a small business, and he was the same person who called me to set up the interview. He had the resume for a few days).

He finally looked up at me and said, “Well, I’m not sure why you applied for this job; you don’t have any of the skills or experience I’m looking for.”

He was arrogant, and I felt he was trying to make a power move to make a lowball offer. I didn’t apply for any job that I wasn’t qualified for.

I was angry that he was playing games. I calmly said, “Then I’m not sure why you’re wasting my time,” before I stood and walked to the door. He said something like, “Oh, no, let’s talk,” but I told him I wasn’t interested in working for him.

u/No-Detective1810: I was on a phone call with an internal recruiter about a remote role. When I asked questions about the role and how many people would support me, he apologized, said he wasn’t sure, etc.

Every single question I asked, he said the same: that he couldn’t answer and that it would be covered when I came to the interview.

When I said, “I thought you said it’s remote-based,” he replied, “Oh, no. There’s an office, and the role is office-based.”

I told him that he should include all the facts the next time he pretends to have a first-stage interview (which he said in his email).

He started to get annoyed and changed his tone. I sarcastically laughed and thanked him for wasting my time. The job is still up with the same info. What a loser!

u/Karbar049: I’m a vet tech. I was interviewed at a primary care, single-doctor practice. The manager was over 25 minutes late for my interview.

While I waited for her, the front desk staff ignored me while they talked badly about the techs, manager, and clients.

The manager said they did not believe in referring to any specialists because “Dr. A is a specialist in everything from grizzly bears to canaries.”

To be honest, he was not. He hadn’t even done a rotating internship or a residency program. I had already worked in a toxic clinic, but at least the doctors were competent.

When the manager asked if I had any questions, I just asked her if I could have my resume back so I didn’t waste the paper.

As we wrap up these incredible job interview stories, it’s safe to say that anything can happen while you sit in the conference room, wondering if you will get selected for the job. Each story shared by these brave Redditors showed how some interviewers can make you abandon the hiring process.

Have you ever found yourself walking out of a job interview? Share your own remarkable stories in the comments below. It might just inspire and resonate with someone navigating their career journey.