Article created by: Gabija Palšytė
According to data collected by Zipia, a platform that matches job seekers with businesses, it takes the average person 24 weeks of active searching to land a position. During that time, they get a fair share of rejections. In fact, a job seeker has a 36.89% chance of receiving an offer after having one interview. So they're more likely to get a "no" than a "yes."
What's even more frustrating, sometimes it seems that this number is so low because recruiters simply don't know any better. Recently, Reddit user PeepsAndTreats made a post on the platform, asking everyone, "What's the most laughable reason you've been turned down for a job?" And as many of the answers reveal, there are plenty.
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I recently interviewed for a job that wanted me to stay for like five years. They said that they wanted someone to stick around way more than one year, "preferably five years or so because even after a year, we lose money training someone new." I decided to make a joke of it and said, "unless my husband and I get divorced, I'm not going anywhere" because they knew we had moved to the state for his job. I guess to them that translated to "my husband and I are having marriage issues, and I hate this town too much to stay here for any reason other than him." Only the latter half of that statement is true. I think expecting someone to be all excited to stay in the same position for five years without even knowing anything about how the managers or company runs things is pretty ridiculous.
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I worked for the company recently but had to be off for 6 months before I could apply again. Got told my husband almost dying and having a failing liver wasn’t a good enough reason to take time off and live off my savings. They wanted someone who would put the company first. I’m never putting a company first (and yes I’m only there for the money!).
I applied for a job clipping newspaper articles for businesses. Back in the day, before Google, businesses would hire this company to go through all major newspapers, magazines, professional journals and clip out any articles related to the business or their products. Then once a month they'd get a big envelope with all their clippings.
Anyways, I went for the interview and the old man interviewing me said he thought I was capable of doing the job but that the work was soul crushing and the other people who worked there were so bitter that it would break my spirit and I was too young for that. I was around 25. He was very sweet about it and right as I left, two employees got into a shouting match over a pair of scissors and I realized I was really grateful for not getting hired.
I wouldn’t hold the interviewer’s hand and asked him to please not touch me. It was a lab job studying fertility and he wanted to hold my hand while explaining the 4 phases of the menstrual cycle to me (I’m a female).
ETA he told me I was a beautifully qualified candidate and that he would’ve picked me had I been friendlier. Ew
ETA 2: I was only 20 at the time.
After being turned down for a job I was highly qualified for, one of the employees reached out to me 'off the record' just to tell me why I was turned down. It turns out they wanted to give the job to the director's friend, and the job posting was because they were required to do that legally, to 'show' that nepotism or favoritism does not exist. Then he proceeded to tell me to keep applying and not get discouraged. I cried so hard that day after thanking him for being honest. I applied to their sister company and got the SAME job, making more than double the pay. I guess things work out the way they are supposed to for a reason.
"you are overqualified for this position and you aren't likely to stay long term".
It was a seasonal role for 3 months. I was in college and needing a summer job. It's EXACTLY what they asked for.
"I'm not hiring you because your achilles is strained and you need a cane to move around."
For a data entry job.
"You don't have reliable transportation"
Job site was literally 2 blocks from my house
I said I wouldn’t leave a $46k /yr job for $30k and no benefits with a “promise of more as they grow”. But they wanted someone with experience. Seems I wasn’t the right fit😂
The one that still gets me is when I first entered the workforce and got turned down for entry level retail and fast food jobs because my only reason for wanting to work there was to get money. I remember one manager told me "we don't want people that are only motivated by money to work here".
I took about 6 years off from working full time to be a foster parent for teenagers.
Apparently to hiring managers, this means I'm unreliable . . .
Meanwhile, I had to buy a minivan to drive them, their friends and their stuff all around. I drove them to thousands of medical, dental, vision and therapy appointments. I sat through hundreds of meetings with teachers and school principals. I bargained shopped for clothes, backpacks, and more since the DCS clothing budget was $25 per month for each kid. I coordinated bio-parent meetings, testified in dozens upon dozens of court cases and set up sibling playdates.
Terribly unreliable, huh?
Some job recruiter gave me shade because I wore a red jacket to my interview and she specifically said that's why I wouldn't be right for the job. 🙄 Whatever, enjoy being crazy
I was offered a job, but it was then revoked immediately because I told her I would need to give notice at my current job. I told her the fact that she thinks it's ok for me to just ghost my current job and start immediately tells me everything I need to know about how she operates her business, then wished her luck.
I was once rejected for not giving enough examples to answer a question.
They asked me for an example, singular, not plural.
My background was from industries where you follow instructions exactly or people can die.
Another time I was rejected for giving an incorrect answer to why something was magnetic. The next day I asked a colleague who knew magnetism inside out if I was wrong. I wasn’t.
I showed up too early.
My interviewer told me, he didn't appreciate me hovering before the interview.
I had just been sitting on a chair for half an hour
That my answers weren't detailed enough. It was a shelf stacking job in a supermarket and I already had half a year of retail experience. I'm so sorry that I didn't go through a detailed analysis of how I pick up boxes, take the products out and and put them on display.
I once went to an interview for a sales job at a car dealership. I was told to sit and wait for the manager, and even though I arrived at the specified time, 45 minutes went by. Eventually, I get asked to go ascend the staircase to the manager's office. Inside, he tells me that I failed the interview, which was a shock because it hadn't felt like it had started yet. And he was like, 'I've been observing you since you got here,' to which I replied, 'I've been waiting since I got here.' He goes, 'That's the problem.
I walked into the interview, sat down and the guy looks at me and the first thing he said was "I'm not hiring you, you're not aggressive enough"
And I said "okay" and left.
I was “too qualified” for the job. After getting a unanimous approval from everyone that interviewed me the hiring manager turned me down cause it was be too easy to promote me and raise my pay. That’s literally what they said to me.
I applied to work at a gunshop when I was 22, they told me I didn’t meet the criteria and they were looking for more experience in sales. Fast forward 10 years and one of the guys who told me that is applying for the company that I work at where I am the lead salesman. He didn’t meet the criteria I was looking for.
I went through 4 rounds of interviews for a startup to be an entry-level sales rep. I've worked in sales for 8 years. They wanted someone with more experience. For entry-level.
When they asked why I left my last job my reason was that the company shut down and everyone was laid off. They said that my answer was negative and was trying to shift the blame.
I didn’t badmouth them or even complain, I actually said I loved it there which was true, but they decided that for some reason saying that they shut down was negative.
Turned down a job offer due to not being ready to work 70-80 hours a week in a country where its indeed illegal to work that long, also unpaid overtime...
"I don't have time to train you " so why did you offer me the job ?
Chemist with 6 years of experience at the time. Got turned down for a job because "you seemed overconfident in your abilties"... This was a place that was doing the exact same stuff I have been doing. They even had the models of instruments I use every day. I brought them through how to operate it to demonstrate my knowledge in the interview. How is knowing what you know "overconfident"?
Also, that is the first time someone has ever called me overconfident in my life and it sent me reeling for weeks. I suffer from a great lack of confidence.
I was turned down for someone who came to the interview in a dirty shirt because I was 'too intelligent' and would 'leave within six months for a better opportunity.' The guy they hired quit on day two. They called me back and pretended like I was their first choice. This was around the beginning of COVID, and I needed a job, so I took it. I worked there for two years and was always gassed up about being promoted and such, but nothing ever happened. The first job I applied to was a work from home job with a 40% increase in pay. I was interviewing for an office job promotion, and they were telling me that they needed to interview more people. I gave them an ultimatum: Give me the job at the same pay that I'm being offered and make it work from home, or I am leaving. They declined. I told them I would have to resign. They asked me to stay on for two weeks to help them out. I didn't show up the next day. They ended up giving the job to my supervisor at the time, and he gets to work from home full time. I should have left after six months.
I didn’t get a job teaching Computers 101 for a nonprofit because I couldn’t produce references for a job that I left several years before that had gone out of business.
I tried to get a job at a local lawn mower/small engine repair business working their front desk. Owner questioned if “I know computers well.” I said I do, I asked what software they used primarily. He said he just wanted to make sure I could “move around on the computer, and open programs in their computer version.” I replied I think I can manage that. He asked” what programs do you know,” to which I said well the standard things like word, excel, PowerPoint, email, etc, but I might just need a quick once around whatever sales program they might have.
He said “well we use windows 95, so I don’t think this is going to work out.”
Several years ago- they were eliminating part rime positions at the drug rehab facility I worked for or so we were told . They had limited spots and despite it being internal only they wanted to interview everyone. The job would come with benefits and a shared office, things we didn't have as part time employees.
I was passed over because I privately told another employee that I had to to get this position for financial reasons and she snitched on me. I still don't get how that was a bad thing. They even brought it up in the interview so I know she snitched.
Turns out the part time jobs weren't at risk. After, my boss was like I can give you 39 hours a week! It'd like working full time. I was like yeah just with no benefits I'll stick to my 32 hours like normal. What clowns. I left pretty quick for an actual fill time job and finally got full health insurance.
Like a month-long interview process, 3 candidates for 2 open positions, finally heard back, "We're going with (name) down the hall, so she can really hit the ground running"
Always ask if there's an internal candidate being considered for the job.
I got turned down at a well known tractor company because the job description said "Associates of Sciences or similar degree is required" and I have Associates of Sciences but in the interview I was turned down because I didn't have a bachelors degree. I'm like, "so the job description should say Bachelors degree required then? lol". The guy sounded like he wished he could have hired me because I had experience and passed all the tests they gave but his bosses would not let him hire someone without at least a 4 year degree.
I'm sure whenever I get my degree and if I apply again, it will change to Masters. Maybe PhD just to turn a few wrenches lol
I was once not hired because I did not have a masters degree. I didn't ever get a masters degree but applied years later and got the job pretty much on the spot. Same title and position. Same pay.
Turned down... "failed the psychological assessment" I did get a job once where when i asked about if i would be considered for the job the incumbent in the positon told me I wasn't aggressive enough to get the job and my boss at the time told me I was too aggressive to get it. I got it.
