Woman issues interview advice after failing to get job for odd reason

Job hunting can prove an incredibly stressful ordeal.

Whether you’re desperately seeking any job that’ll have you or targeting a specific promotion or dream role, navigating the application process and enduring the wait for a response can leave you on edge – and that’s before you’ve even secured an interview.

The interview presents an opportunity to sell yourself and highlight the skills and expertise that make you ideal for the position, but it remains a nerve-wracking ordeal for most people.

As one woman discovered, you could end up disappointing the employer’s expectations due to something you weren’t aware you were being assessed on.

In a TikTok clip, the woman – who maintains anonymity on her social media accounts – revealed she had applied for a position at a pet store and received an invitation to a group interview at the premises.

She ultimately failed to secure the role, and when she requested feedback, she was informed she’d botched the job interview the moment she stepped through the door – rendering her performance during the actual interview completely pointless.

She revealed: “It was a group interview and everyone turned up at different times. I turned up a little bit early, and there were a few people there waiting around. I went in and [they told me] they were going to start in about 20 minutes.

“I was like, what do I do [until then]? So I just went and had a look at the animals. I had a little browse at all the animals, and then they got everyone together, and the interview started.”

The woman revealed the interview itself involved devising a product that each candidate then had to present to the rest of the group. The procedure was drawn-out and consumed most of her evening, but she believed she “absolutely smashed it”.

Warning: The video below contains strong language.

She felt she had delivered an outstanding performance with the presentation, and combined with her degree in animal management, she was reasonably confident in her capabilities. But she was subsequently informed via email that she was unsuccessful.

The woman emailed back to request feedback, and the response she received left her stunned. She’d been refused the position because she had appeared “disengaged” before the interview even commenced, when she was examining the animals in the shop.

She raged: “They said, ‘A few of the staff members thought you were quite disengaged when you came into the building’. Before the interview started. I still can’t get over that because it’s like, wow, all of that time and energy that I spent doing that whole thing was pointless because you’d already ruled me out.

“Because when I came into the building, I didn’t know what to do with myself, so I went and looked at the animals. I don’t understand why that’s a bad thing anyway. No one told me what I was supposed to do!”

Commenters on the post were sympathetic to the woman’s predicament. Many expressed that her actions prior to the interview shouldn’t be held against her, while others shared similar tales from their own interview experiences.

One individual commented: “I once got rejected because I turned up too early for a job interview. I was less than 10 minutes early.”

Another chimed in: “Nah, that’s so judgey before they’ve even spoken to you! Job interviews are scary enough!”.

A third remarked: “Familiarising yourself with the shop and the animals seems very engaged to me. Sounds like you dodged a bullet!”.