this tread is really funny and educative. i've just overlooked it all this while. i have learnt some though. i havn't had embarrassing moments/exxperiences at interviews but i have taken notes here.
thanks all

So much to learn from interviews
A friend of mine was bounced from one of the bank"s interview cos of his suit. First they said the suit is not looking nice, then they accused him of drinking and smoking and keeping late nights. You can imagine how he felt when he came home.
So be very careful cos even the most little things matter

In my 1st interview (with STB),the guy who entered b4 me had no socks on-thats why he actually got booted.
Learning point---be prepared in every way---boy scouts honour

was fresh from NYSC and being who i am, i felt nobody could make me sweat

i got to the interview and one of those bank guys asked me if i was a popular joint the other weekend. i quickly said NO

he said he was sure i was the person he saw in the midst of some gurls. i said NO

he now later told the other guys, " this guy looks like Shayo"

i was like damn!!! who the hell is this Satan?
i didnt get the job o

if i catch that guy, meeen, na wahala for tht guy o
nyways, its 4 years now n i dont have regrets at all

great lesson, i pray other people will learn frm it.

Whilst reading all the posts here, I couldn't help but laugh and feel horrified at the same time.

The other day, someone told me what a multinational company MD said about Nigerian graduates and I honestly couldn't help but agree. He said the jobs are there that in fact they really need people seriously in their firm but they just couldn't get capable people to fill in the positions. I agree with him because:

1. I have had experience with recruiting and its really really tough getting someone with adequate capabilities
2. Going by the experiences highlighted so far, its easy to see why.

So, here's my own two naira worth of advice to you interviewees:

1. When you are attending any interview, read up as much as you can about the organisation, don't wait until you are called a day before the interview, do this as soon as you send out your cv, if you are really serious. You ask how many companies you want to study on? Well, you don't have to study on any of them, just seek information on them (almost any serious organisation has a website), print out a page or so on the company and keep it, then keep it until a day or two before your interview.  When I was going for my interview, I found some bit of information about the organisation in a magazine and i just wrote it down and filed it away, such that at the interview, i appeared to know something about the company. It always amazes me when I ask interviewees who the MD of the company they want to enter is and they have absolutely no idea. It tells me they are not serious. And more than likely I would not pencil them down for the next level.

It was funny though but no be only you go that interview bro, you're been escorted by some spirits hahaha

2. It is not mandatory for you to know the answer to every question you are asked at an interview, if you do not know simply say so. I usually prefer it to you giving me a long history in nonsense. Just ensure that it is not every question you respond to with an I don't know!

3. Just like a poster said, invest in a good suit, it doesn't have to be expensive, just clean and decent and good looking. The other day I saw a young man wearing a suit with the labelling on his sleeve - that tells me he bought it at a bend down low shop". Even if you bought your suit for 1k, clean it very well, dry clean if possible, invest in a simple bottle of perfume (a lot of people ooze out very bad body odour). Finally buy mint or tom-tom or something you can pop in your mouth minutes before its your turn to be interviewed o you mouth smells nice too. Please do not chew gum for whatever reason, don't even have the sweet in your mouth when you go in for your interview.

There was a young man in my office who came to work smelling no, reeking all over of smoke. We asked and he said his house got burnt over the night. Duh! He was lucky he already had the job (even though we asked him to go home for the day or something like that, as we can't have clients wondering about the smoke). Anyway if he was a job seeker, hands down he would have lost the job at that moment. So don't smoke or drink, and if you must don't do it at least a day before your interview!

Method-Man:

@Poster

I threw up on the Director and the HR Manager conducting the interview

you're joking, right?

Oh My God, i almost laugh off my seat while reading dis thread,
honestly u may never really get a hang of what will be throw at you during an interview, it actually depends on the position applied for and the mood of the interviewers, i ve learnt a couple of things about these interviews:

1. be bold coz it not a do or die affair
2. dress comfortably not dressing to kill though.
3. don't wear shoes that hurt your feet
4. never accept to take tea or coffee if offered to you, plsssss switch off your phones,
5. maintain a steady smile
6. laugh lightly about even the driest joke made by them
7. Never interrupt or argue with them.
8. Make sure you ask very reasonable question ( pls make ur early enquirers about them before going)
9. DONT ever blow too much of your trumpet but NEVER say you cant perform a task
10. NEVER condemn your former boss or office ( they will see you are as a sour grape)

@topic,

I read through the poster's first submission and scanned through the responses. One thing that seems to jump out at me from all the responses is the fact that many refer to the poster's experience as funny.

Is it just me or does anybody else notice how the poster cannot even construct a good sentence and write them appropriately? To make the issue worse, this is supposed to be a graduate who has served out his term in the NYSC. Is this the quality of graduates we are now churning out in our universities?

Someone should please help me here. Why don't I find this funny at all?

tkb417:

was fresh from NYSC and being who i am, i felt nobody could make me sweat

i got to the interview and one of those bank guys asked me if i was a popular joint the other weekend. i quickly said NO

he said he was sure i was the person he saw in the midst of some gurls. i said NO

he now later told the other guys, " this guy looks like Shayo"

i was like damn!!! who the hell is this Satan?
i didnt get the job o

if i catch that guy, meeen, na wahala for that guy o
nyways, its 4 years now n i don't have regrets at all

,  , what a luck. Some interviewers could be biased. That intewrviewer is not a true professional.

I threw up on the Director and the HR Manager conducting the interview

4. never accept to take tea or coffee if offered to you, plsssss switch off your phones,

rubbish

I have not had any terrible and embarassing interview experience. The ones i have had were memorable cos i kept the interviewers spellbound

I have not had any terrible and embarassing interview experience. The ones i have had were memorable because i kept the interviewers spellbound

what are u now doing on ths thread

Your experiences sure made me laugh and it worth learning from.
My experience was with an IT/Accounting firm in V.I. I didn't put on a suit to the interview, and I was asked by one of the interviewer(Four in number)about my suit.I didn't expect the question so I told him I wasn't feeling well so in a hurry I left my suit.The guy practically told me to go back home and get prepared,that it obvious i wasn't ready.I thought the guy was joking until he asked others(was still smiling) and they chorused the same answer.Omo I couldnt tell them at home,it was very shameful and annoying.

omg!  I went in to interview for Countrywide Financial and the interviewer asked, "Why do you want to work for Countrywide?"  And before I tell you my response, know that I was, at the time, a newbie in the workforce _{as you will obviously soon tell} .  Anyways, I responded, "I feel that God is behind your company because you do right by your customers."  Boy!  I was in for a big surprise when I found out, months later, that Countrywide wasn't doing "right by its customers".  I'll never regret what I said because it was pure from the heart but I do regret saying in such a setting.  Oh yeah, I didn't get the job _{as if you didn't already know that}  

@ all,
my secrets with questions i dont know the anwers to, simply: Just say nonsense with confidence

this thread is really funny,for someone not to find this thread funny :-Xthx for the info guys

i hope people learn from this post!

nice one men. i like what he said about win or loose and all those good advice, hope ur working now?

Tayo-D:

@topic,

I read through the poster's first submission and scanned through the responses. One thing that seems to jump out at me from all the responses is the fact that many refer to the poster's experience as funny.

Is it just me or does anybody else notice how the poster cannot even construct a good sentence and write them appropriately? To make the issue worse, this is supposed to be a graduate who has served out his term in the NYSC. Is this the quality of graduates we are now churning out in our universities?

Someone should please help me here. Why don't I find this funny at all?

One or two persons already mentioned the grammer issue and from the way many of the responses are contructed one would see that those who are responding to this post (most of them at least) are very much capable of identifying bad grammer when they see one, they have just chosen to ignore that and focus on the main purpose of the post ,that is how they have been able to find this thread funny and they are apparently having a nice time.Maybe you should do the same, not only on this thread but with life generally.

@topic,

I read through the poster's first submission and scanned through the responses. One thing that seems to jump out at me from all the responses is the fact that many refer to the poster's experience as funny.

Is it just me or does anybody else notice how the poster cannot even construct a good sentence and write them appropriately? To make the issue worse, this is supposed to be a graduate who has served out his term in the NYSC. Is this the quality of graduates we are now churning out in our universities?

Someone should please help me here. Why don't I find this funny at all?

we aint here to x-ray all those. just share ur experience or quietly walk away

Just so we dont stay out of track on this thread, i'd like to reiterate the poster's submission on lessons to be learnt from his embarassing job interviews.
Rule number 1; during a job interview, learn to be engrossed with the thought of past work experiences or academic qualifications as the case may be; all these propel or demonstrate your drive and spirit of your technical skills and ability to fit in your prospective employment, rather than focus your thought on salary or benefits, since the employer would bring this up at the end of the interviewing process when they are making an offer.
Rule number 2; To address your misguided dress sense; dress for the occupation; wear to the interview what you would wear on the job. You may even want to dress one step above that depending on the position. If you are still unsure, visit the organization and observe what others in similar positions are wearing, but be careful not to overdress and especially not to out dress the person interviewing you. Do you remember that saying of first impression counts.
I guess I have dealt with specific areas of concern of the poster, and may of course feel obligated to address other job interview issues when I find time. I am not an H&R expert, but God help my recollection I am going to be analyzing my past job interviews and those of my colleagues.

Babree
thanks for the advice.

You are a disgrace to the Nigerian workforce.

Ashame.
dnt count your chicks b4 they harsh.

c as u destroyd d engish language.
r u a janitor?
lol

mine was quite embarrassing, i was asked how much i will collect and the first figure that came to my mind was 30k, when i said it i was ashamed of my self how would a chartered accountant like me make that mistake.

i will always tell anyone going for an interview believe that he is going to have fun.
he should bear the following in mind

i)       never be shy

ii)      never be scared

iii)      the person interviewing you is not better but oppourtuned to be there

iv)      you cant lose what is not yours i.e never be scared of losing the job because the job is not yours u are just trying to get it, if u dint u just got
          experience and meeting new people    

v)       you should not be overwhelmed by anything u see just be yourself in all u do.

vi)       when asked how much u will collect just tell them that they have a salary scale with which they pay that they should be in a better position to determine that

vii)        and most of all be natural in all u do