Many people don’t really like HR specialists and assume they’re mean because they ask so many tricky questions. But sometimes, applicants literally drive recruiters nuts, making their chances of getting the job minimal.

At Bright Side, we think that both parties should express their views, so we decided to find out what kinds of applicants irritate recruiters the most. As a bonus, we’ll prove that employers can also be understanding and give an applicant a second chance — even if they made a terrible first impression.

1. They don’t know how to make a CV.

I received a CV that had only 3 lines in it saying, “I will say everything at the interview with my future boss.” Why are they so self-assured? What are they counting on?

Recently, we’ve been hiring for a new position at my startup. While the position is demanding, we advertised the role with no salary for the first few months, which was also written clearly in the ad. From the get-go, the guy said that “his time was valuable” and that “he wanted to get straight to the gist.” Then he said he didn’t want to work for a startup. Afterward, he said that he offered IT consulting services and charged $58/hour and that he would take work on that basis.

I saw someone listing the fact that they were a mother as a qualification. Almost all of her experience was with kid-related tasks. It might fly for a nanny role or something, not so much the admin role she’d applied for.

I was looking for a manager. I got a CV saying, “I can type text on PC, work in text editors, I know English orthography and punctuation. I used to work as a typist.”

My friend works as a recruiter in a big company. She once told me a story. A guy sent an excellent CV as an IT specialist. They called him for an interview. He couldn’t answer any questions and was very sullen. She thought he was another liar who copied someone else’s CV. But still, she asked, “Why should I hire you?” The guy was smug and said, “I know that you pay your IT personnel this salary, and I also want to have it.” She had never met anyone so arrogant.

6. Their punctuality is questionable.

The working day for someone working in HR is very tight and every minute is precious. If someone is late, the whole schedule can be disrupted. However, those who like to arrive an hour earlier can also cause trouble. The early risers need something to keep them busy so that they don’t ask if they can get in every 5 minutes.

It’s best to arrive 10-15 minutes before the scheduled slot in order to have time to get to the necessary office. But if your plans have changed, it’s polite to let the recruiter know in advance.

We were waiting for a girl for the position of a marketeer. She had an excellent CV, we had a good interview over the phone, and everything seemed nice — but she was 30 minutes late, then she called us and asked how to get to our office. It’s the twenty-first century, the era of gadgets and Google. Even the simplest phone has GPS. Shouldn’t a marketeer know how to use Google Maps? That was a real test drive.

I had an interviewee coming in for an entry-level, customer service position at a large company. She showed up to the interview 15 minutes late in Hello Kitty pajama bottoms, a matching backpack, a bright pink hoodie, and warm fuzzy slippers.

A woman came to an interview for the position of office manager. Everything was fine in her CV as well as during our conversation over the phone. But when she came in, she was dressed in a blouse made of translucent fabric, her hair was dirty and disheveled, and she smelled somewhat unpleasant. She was adequate during her interview but if hired, the entire office would have to deal with her every day, and her desk was right at the entrance, making her the face of the company.

A guy assumed he had the job during the interview so he was very relaxed. He leaned back in the chair, showed up late, and was texting the whole time. Another candidate told my fellow interviewer she could get paid on her voice alone. Neither of them got the job.

I was interviewing applicants with my female boss and I go out to call this guy in for his interview. As we enter, I say, “Hello, I’m Mr. Barnidge…” and before I can finish, he says, “Hello, and who’s the little lady?” At that moment I heard a snap, which I later found out was my boss breaking a pencil under the table. When the interview was over, she just said, “No, no, no!”

A weird guy was coming to a bank for 2 years. He wanted to work in the telemarketing group but he had inflated self-esteem. When the HR manager said she couldn’t read his questionnaire because of his illegible handwriting, the guy replied, “Of course, you can’t. I am a genius.” He didn’t get that job.

10. They get angry when they’re asked tricky questions.

© Depositphotos

Recruiters may ask, “Where do you want to be in 5 years?” or “How do you fit an elephant into a fridge?” These questions aren’t to make you angry or to find a reason to reject you. Such questions help them to find out how an applicant reacts to unforeseen circumstances, to assess their creativity, and to understand whether they fit in with the team. This is an excellent chance to show yourself off and get extra points from the HR worker.

The question, “Why should we hire you?” usually dumbfounds. This is a trick to make you demonstrate your personality traits that weren’t mentioned in your CV. One of our applicants passed the interview successfully after he replied, “Because I’m dressed in the corporate colors of your company.” © Alvarorecoba20 / Pikabu

Bonus: a story that proves you can land the job even if the HR manager is against you

Many years ago, my partner, David, was a shop manager and was advertising for a full-time shop worker. One morning, this kid came into the shop in dirty jeans and a T-shirt and asked about the job. David gave him an application form and told him to complete it, which the kid did straight away. David said that he was starting interviews that afternoon and arranged a time. The interview time approached. The kid turned up on time, still wearing the same clothes, and now smelling of offensive body odor.

The first question was: “What have you done?” He answered, “I’m just out of prison.” He was in prison for multiple counts of shoplifting! “Why didn’t you change or look smart for the Interview?” David asked. “Because I live several miles away and I didn’t have the bus fare to get home and back. So I hung around in town all day.” David hired him. HR was very very worried.

Years later, the man was still employed and was the assistant manager. He turned out to be one of the most reliable and honest employees David had ever hired. One day, he admitted that he turned to shoplifting when he was younger so that he could get caught and be taken away from his abusive father. He was safer in prison than at home.

So he was the worst-looking candidate with the worst CV, but he turned out to be the best employee. © Richard Stubbings / Quora

Have you encountered any funny or weird situations during an interview? We’d be happy to read the opinions from both applicants and recruiters.