Job seeker bolts mid-interview after two bizarre questions that had nothing to do with the job
'These questions are ridiculous and are not remotely suitable for an interview,' the candidate said.
An individual (u/vnheuj) showed up for an interview they were already hesitant about, but walked out mid-discussion after the interviewer asked questions they hadn't expected at all. The outrageous story, shared on Reddit in August 2025, sparked widespread discussion on the internet, with people praising the candidate for storming out of the interview halfway.
Since the beginning, the candidate had been skeptical about the company; not only did the organization have low Google ratings, but it had also been fined multiple times for noncompliance with legal obligations. Despite initial hesitation, the candidate decided to attend the interview due to its tempting salary and location. "A part of me thought I might be able to drive change in the office. I figured that, best case, I’d improve operations within the branch; worst case, they would continue not to care, and the role would be an easy ride," they wrote. Nevertheless, the candidate was still concerned that the company's presence on their CV would affect their future career; however, silencing second thoughts, they went for the interview.
The woman in the session asked something that people don't usually expect in interviews. They asked the candidate to narrate a time they had disobeyed their manager for the company's benefit. The candidate replied, "A manager once asked me to complete a task directly through Outlook. I knew from experience that using RPS would allow us to have a more accessible log that would be useful if other colleagues..." The interviewer interrupted, clarifying, "We want you to tell us about a time when your manager told you to do something and you flat-out refused."
The candidate then responded, saying they hadn't disobeyed their manager, and if they had work-related concerns, they would try to solve them in private. To this, the interviewer said, "OK, but we want you to tell us about a time when you actually disobeyed an order. If you want, we can come back to this question later." Moving on, the Interviewer asked, "Can you tell us about a time when you did something illegal, but felt it was the right thing to do?" The candidate explained that they hadn't done anything illegal and would never do that in the future. The interviewer wasn't really convinced and insisted that the candidate share about it. "Everybody’s done something illegal. We want you to share your story," they said. The candidate who had had enough said, "These questions are ridiculous and are not remotely suitable for an interview. I'm ending it here."
The candidate's current manager and some of their colleagues who knew they were leaving supported them for walking out mid-interview. "What would others have done in this situation?" the candidate asked. Most working professionals have had some bizarre interview experiences. In fact, a survey by Jobscore found that only 24% of candidates are happy with the interview process. They also found that 43% of candidates admitted that a recruiter’s attitude or behavior would cause them to withdraw; this explains why the author, who felt disrespected when the interviewer asked the same weird question repeatedly, opted out of the recruitment process.
Supporting the author, u/mamasqueeks commented, "I have walked out of interviews. Once, I was interviewing for an HR director position, and the interviewer was asking blatantly illegal questions. First, I thought it was a test. I called them on it. The second time, I said, 'This question, like the first, is illegal to ask.' Their answer was, 'I know, but if you want to answer...' I said thanks, but no thanks, and noped out of there. If you have a bad feeling, there's no reason to waste your time." u/counther said, "The only time it would be 'unprofessional' to walk out of a job interview would be if you had even the slightest inkling you wanted the job. Otherwise, when questions are inappropriate, when you're being treated rudely or unprofessionally, etc., it is appropriate to end the interview and save everyone involved from wasting more time."
u/sickpenguin1998, who had a similarly weird experience, shared, "I was asked last week in an interview for a real estate agent position what my religious beliefs were and my sexual orientation. I said those are illegal questions. My 8-minute interview came to an abrupt end. I had to chuckle when I arrived; the interviewer was sitting at the receptionist's desk... She asked me my name three times but didn't tell me hers. She was angry that I was 10 minutes early. She made me sit in front of her for 10 minutes until she was ready. I didn’t get the job and was rejected by a receptionist. The worst interview I ever had. I think I dodged a bullet."
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