share your wacky interview mishaps

[stillsmilin]

inspired by the research share-and-tell thread, i thought it might be fun to share any weird/horrific experiences that happen along our interview trails . . . and might relieve the nerves of ppl just starting to interview.



ill get the ball rolling:

in a one-on-one, my eyes started to well up and my throat started to close . . . i was allergic to the researcher's office!! i tried to tolerate it, but eventually it was too much and i could barely get the words out, "im so sorry, im allergic to something here, could we take a walk?" we left the office and i was fine. moral of the story: dont be afraid to say the truth; the result of your allergic rxn may depend on it.

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[b&ierstiefel]

one of my faculty interviewers at an institution that shall not be named farted during my interview. no, i'm not joking...i'm totally serious. his office was a cramped room too and the door was closed when it happened. the stench was foul and we both proceeded to pretend it never happened. but the stench lingered and as the seconds ticked by, i found it harder and harder to keep a straight face. he finally could tell too since a lil while later he said, "maybe i should open the window."

 

[oasis786]

I spent a good hour in an interview discussing my research, his research, and for some reason, I never shifted my legs during this entire time (I was sitting with one leg over the other). Somehow, I managed to pinch something or cut off blood flow to BOTH legs, so that when I stood, I just collapsed, as if I didn't have any knees (kind of like what'd happen if someone kicked the back of both of your knees simultaneously). I think he didn't know what to do, as he pretended not to notice my ridiculously embarrassing situation (maybe he thought I dropped something and just had a peculiar way of going about getting it!). I picked myself up, we shook hands, and that was the end of that.

MORAL: those awkward moments are potentially just as awkward for the interviewer as they are for you!

 

[BDavis]

one of my faculty interviewers at an institution that shall not be named farted during my interview. no, i'm not joking...i'm totally serious. his office was a cramped room too and the door was closed when it happened. the stench was foul and we both proceeded to pretend it never happened. but the stench lingered and as the seconds ticked by, i found it harder and harder to keep a straight face. he finally could tell too since a lil while later he said, "maybe i should open the window."

Maybe he just wanted to play "turtle" with you and see if you would tap out after a while...

 

[b&ierstiefel]

Maybe he just wanted to play "turtle" with you and see if you would tap out after a while...

that's not right.

 

[BandGeek]

I have two stories

1.)
My interview was doubled booked, so while I was sitting in a session hearing about the medical school, I was supposed to be interviewing with the assistant director or the program. 15 minutes into the speaker's presentation, I just stood up and started to leave. When one of the program people noticed me, they asked why. I told them about the problem. Very embarassed, they rushed me to my interview. I was late for everything the rest of the day, but received a nice apology at the end of it.
Moral: Look closely at the schedule and make sure everything is ok. The secretaries are not always perfect.

2.)
My first interview did not cover travel expenses and was in the middle of the week, so to avoid a high bill I book a business flight. My interviews were scheduled to go until 3 on paper, and my flight was at 5. Given reasonable traffic, I would have had plenty of time to make it to the airport. I was horrified to discover, upon my arrival, that a "exit interview" with the program director was added to my agenda. This was supposed to be an hour, therefore making my flight plans very inconvient. Instead of freaking out, I informed the office, and they tried to change my flight. No other flights were leaving that night, so instead my "exit interview" was conducted in the program directors car while he drove me (very quickly and at high speeds) to the airport. What a way to learn about a program's philosophy and direction!

Moral of the story: Allow extra time when flying to an from interviews in case of mother nature or schedule changes.

Oh, I was accepted at both programs (my only two firm acceptaces).

Good luck to everyone interviewing this year!