Job Interviews: The Worst Answers to Avoid

Anyone who has ever looked for work knows there are ways to answer an employer's questions gracefully, even the notorious question about your “weaknesses.” But just as there are good answers, there are terrible ones. Business Insider spoke to hiring managers, recruiters and executives about the worst answers they had heard during interviews.

Here are answers you should avoid if you want to get hired:

“What's it to you?” — Asked about hobbies outside work

Danielle Kunkle Roberts, founder of Boomer Benefits, said she used to ask candidates: “Tell me a little about yourself outside of work.” She believed the answer could reveal someone's mindset, outlook and whether they were more extroverted or introverted. One sales candidate badly misjudged the question. She rolled her eyes and responded: “I don't understand why interviewers ask irrelevant questions. Why do you care what I do outside work?” Although the candidate eventually shared some personal details, it was too late to make a good impression on Roberts.

“Your company isn't the worst in the market.” — Asked why they wanted the job

William Taylor, career development manager at MintResume, recalled a candidate who said: “I searched for jobs on Google, and it looked like there were companies worse than yours.” The same candidate arrived late and could not answer basic questions about the company. “There's no excuse for failing to prepare,” Taylor stressed. “If you're unwilling to make an effort during a job search, how do we know you'll make an effort at work?”

During an interview, a woman admitted that she was actually there on behalf of her husband, who wanted the job

“When I asked how she would contribute to the company, she answered that she had actually come on behalf of her husband because they thought he would be an excellent candidate,” recalled Anita Chaudhuri, CEO of ArgoPrep. It was extremely confusing: her resume was in front of the interviewer, and several minutes of the meeting had already passed before it emerged that she was representing her husband's candidacy.

A candidate admitted that he had lied about having a university degree

“I noticed that a candidate had attended a particular university and asked what degree he had,” recalled Martyn Bassett, CEO of Martyn Bassett Associates. The reply: “Oh, is that still on there? I don't actually have a degree. My previous job required applicants to have one, so I made it up.”

A candidate described winning an NBA video game — Asked about an achievement involving teamwork

“After a long, quiet pause, he answered: ‘When I play an NBA video game with my friends, we have to work together to beat the other team,’” said Phil Risher, owner of Phlash Consulting.

A woman said she loved receiving unemployment benefits because she was paid to do nothing

During an interview for a marketing job, a recruiter noticed that the candidate had not worked for six months and asked what she had done during that period. She cheerfully explained that she had been laid off and was enjoying unemployment, although her benefits would soon end. She added: “I love being unemployed. I get paid to do nothing. It's fantastic!”

A candidate said he would do his new job while at his current job

A recruiter interviewed a candidate by phone for a remote position and asked how he would fit the work into his current schedule. The candidate said there was no need to worry because he did very little at his present job and had plenty of time for extra tasks. The interviewer considered that reason enough to reject him.

“I drank ten barrels of beer.” — Asked about his greatest achievement

Alan Mularky, vice president of business development at Messina Group, had heard many strange answers to the question “What's your greatest achievement so far?” But one stood out: “Once I managed to drink ten barrels of beer, and I didn't even have a hangover the next day.”

A candidate admitted to slashing her ex-partner's tires — Asked whether there was anything about her not mentioned on her resume

She answered: “My ex got a restraining order against me after I slashed his tires, because that jerk cheated on me!”

“I'm too sexy, and people can't handle it...”

That may not be an appropriate response to a simple question about weaknesses. A candidate interviewing for a waiter position said: “I'm too sexy, and most people can't deal with it. It causes problems.”

Candidates who admitted their dream was to sit on a sofa watching television all day

At two different interviews, two candidates were asked about their dream jobs. Both earnestly replied that they wanted to sit on a sofa all day and watch television. One was a man and the other a woman. The recruiter tried to offer them an alternative by asking whether they wanted to become TV critics. Both said no: they simply wanted to be paid to watch television.

A candidate wanted to stay in the office after the interview and have a beer

“One candidate asked if it would be all right to take a beer from the office refrigerator and hang around for a while,” recalled a surprised hiring manager. “My jaw dropped, for obvious reasons.”

Based on reporting by Calcalist.