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Марія БровінськаWork
29 June 2025, 13:31
2025-06-29
"That's okay, I just have a long bathtub. And the acoustics are good." Interview in the bathtub, candidate in bed, rejection because of an astrologer, and a few more of the most non-trivial hiring stories from recruiters
Recruiter Margarita N. shared on LinkedIn a list of the strangest situations she’s had to interview candidates in. In the comments, hiring experts and IT professionals added to this list, and dev.ua also asked recruiters from large companies about the most interesting interviews they’ve had in their practice over the past year.
Recruiter Margarita N. shared on LinkedIn a list of the strangest situations she’s had to interview candidates in. In the comments, hiring experts and IT professionals added to this list, and dev.ua also asked recruiters from large companies about the most interesting interviews they’ve had in their practice over the past year.
«Here’s my personal top of unusual places or situations my candidates were in during interviews. And yes, some of them got offers,» she wrote and added a list.
On the beach on a deck chair (one of the best hires)
In bed in a cat costume with ears on the hood
In the corridor of the office center where the candidate worked at the time
In the bomb shelter
In the backyard of the house
On the playground
With a child in her arms
With a baby on her chest
Cafe (this is generally a classic)
In the car (including while driving 🙈)
With a cat walking on the table in front of the computer
With a cat on his neck
With a cigarette (vape), a bare torso — how could I do without it.
«And a bonus — personally, during the first six months of the war, I actually conducted interviews from a car, because in the villages where I was at that time, the Internet was not available indoors. The conclusion is that it doesn’t matter where and in what circumstances you find yourself. All this makes us human. Not perfect, confused, funny, but most importantly — very motivated,» she wrote.
In the comments to the post, IT users share their stories.
Project Manager Lyudmila Korzh said that she was interviewed with a child on her chest: «I pointed the camera at my face, and the child was not visible until she reached up and started playing with my face. I passed the interview, worked at the company for three years.»
«I was making patterns for bulletproof vests in the shop. There was a lot of work, so I didn’t stop, I talked and cut,» said CMO Kateryna Gladka.
QA Engineer Arina Fadeeva shared that she had a successful interview at the airport. «I planned to get to the apartment in time, but the plane was delayed, so I used roaming,» she noted.
«Recently, during my interview (I am a candidate), the head of one of the departments fell asleep. Literally: she closed her eyes for a minute or two, tilted her head… Her colleagues didn’t even blink, apparently this is not the first time they have seen such a picture. It was very motivating (no),» admitted technical manager Roman Oneshchuk.
Olena Oleksienko, Chief of People Team at EVO, told dev.ua that one of the most curious, but at the same time touching moments was an online interview where the candidate overslept. «When the recruiter called and woke him up, he connected to the video call right from his bed — disheveled, with a sleep mask on his forehead, not yet fully aware of what was happening. He sincerely tried to join the conversation, but his brain was still dozing. It was a little awkward, a little funny, but very sincere in a human way. This incident once again reminded us: we live in a time when working from home is not always „working from the office,“ and the interview can start right from under the covers,» she noted.
Ciklum reported that during one of the interviews, the candidate repeated literally every question the interviewer asked. «At first, it seemed like a failed attempt to apply techniques from communication training. But after just a few questions, it became obvious that the candidate was reading from the screen. It seemed that the questions were immediately sent to ChatGPT, and the candidate was simply reading the generated answers. However, as soon as the interviewer asked to talk about personal experience in projects, difficulties arose with the answer. There is no doubt that AI can be useful in various tasks, but it is definitely not worth using it in this format,» the company noted.
In turn, a recruiter with the nickname vivcharenko.di in Threads also describes interesting situations from interviews. «The candidate tried to pass the interview… lying in the bathroom. It was supposed to be a regular online interview. Junior Java. The camera turned on — I froze. The person was lying in the bathroom. In the background — tiles, shampoo, a towel on his head,» she said and quoted the dialogue.
— Good afternoon, can we start?
— And… are you comfortable?
— That’s fine, I just have a long bathroom. And the acoustics are good.
«Then he talked about microservices — and at the same time washed his neck. Can you imagine what it looked like from the outside? Because I–I still imagine it,» she says.
Another case — the candidate refused to sign the offer. Through an astrologer: «It was a FinTech startup. Senior React. 3 rounds. Offer for $4200. He agreed. And then… disappeared. I’m writing two days later:
— Sorry, I decided to refuse.
«Is something wrong?»
— The astrologer said that now is not my time for a new beginning. Mercury is still in retrograde. «At first I laughed. Then I didn’t,» the recruiter noted.
And also — she has a story about how a candidate came to an interview with his mother. «In 2025. No, this is not a joke. Junior QA. First job. Online interview, two people join at once,» the specialist said.
— Good afternoon! I’m with my son, he’s a little worried. — Mom sat next to me throughout the interview. She intervened, clarified details, sometimes answered for him. — He’s been very responsible since childhood.
— Yes, I know HTML.
— But he’s more into testing!
The interview lasted 17 minutes. There was no offer.
What interesting incidents have you had during interviews?
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