Is it really a good idea to tell a joke at a job interview?
Well, the people you’re about to hear from sure thought so and they ACTUALLY WENT THERE.
I don’t think I’d have the guts to pull something like that off, but I guess you have to give these folks some credit.
Let’s see what went down when AskReddit users told jokes at job interviews.
1. It worked!
“Interviewer asked me “are you gonna be a pain in the *ss or someone I won’t have to worry about?”
I replied “probably both” and was offered the job shortly after.”
2. You’re hired.
“Printed my resume accidentally on cardstock. (Thought it was resume paper). Interviewer, while turning it around in his hands, “wow this is some thick paper.”
I said, “makes it harder to crumple up.”
He laughed. I got the job.”
3. Didn’t last long.
“The hiring manager interviewing me said “The job is great most days, but there are the days where you will wanna pull your hair out.”
He was bald so I said “That must’ve happened to you already.” He had a great sense of humor so him and the trainee manager sitting in on the interview laughed and he told me at the end of the interview my personality and credentials were exactly what they were looking for.
I got the job and left after 3 months because it really did make me wanna pull my hair out.”
4. Getting in there the right way.
“Honestly, I picked up on context clues in his office that the interviewing manager played a lot of Blizzard stuff, so I started using terms like “Zerg Rush” and “Turtling”.
He laughed at them, I laughed at them, and then the guy who actually owned that office walked in and laughed at the last joke.”
5. Fuzzy side up.
“I was being interviewed for a sales position at a floor covering company.
My dad had been in the industry for years and had a loose acquaintance with the individual who was interviewing me. At the end of the interview, I told him that my Dad told me everything I needed to know about carpet just before the interview.
He said, “oh yeah, what was that?” My response, “fuzzy side up.””
6. Not a jerk…
“Had the owner and what seems to be salesperson interviewing me. Salesperson was quietly judging me the whole time. I asked about the culture at the startup.
Response was on how he was not going to say we are family or anything silly. More importantly, won’t be a jerk about asking to get work done.
I said “Great!”, then looked down, pretend-write in my notebook, and said out loud, “‘Not… a… jerk'”. Both interviewers laughed. Salesperson burst of laughter was especially shocking.
Owner later teased me by pulling the same joke, and I was hired later that day.
He was an amazing person to work with. Great company and team.”
7. The intimidation game.
“Whenever I’d have one where there were a lot of people on their side of the table/room I’d say something like “Well, this isn’t intimidating.”
Almost every time people would chuckle and it broke the ice a little, as intended.
But one time the men blankly stared for a moment and then just asked me to sit down. Did not get that job.”
8. Tell us a joke.
“They asked me to tell them a joke (ice cream parlor).
On the spot, the only thing that came to my head was “why do gorillas have large nostrils? Because they have such big fingers”.
They looked at me in awkward silence and I told them I didn’t want the job anyway.”
9. A good, clean joke.
“At the end of an interview I did in college for an internship, the three interviewers said they ask the interviewee at the end to either sing a song or tell a joke.
I opted for telling a joke. I told my favorite, cleanest joke ever.
Why does a chicken coup have two doors?
Because if it had four doors… It would be a chicken sedan*!
Anyway. The internship involved working with kids and I think they wanted to see how quickly we could entertain a child without any planning really.
They loved the clean joke and I followed up with “I think its important to memorize 5 clean jokes that you can tell to any audience.” And proceeded to tell four more clean jokes.
I got the internship.”
10. Not well…
“I had an interview that I was already bombing, then they asked how I do under pressure.
I responded with “Not well apparently.”
Didn’t get it.”
11. Okay, this is good.
“Can you perform under pressure?”
“No, but I can do a decent Bohemian Rhapsody.”
12. Just hire him!
“Interviewing for my current job with the owner of the company and the manager I’d be working under, owner asks me, “How well do you work with people who annoy you?”
I respond with, “Well, that’s pretty much everyone, so pretty well”, manager belly laughed and said “Just hire him!””
13. No problem at all.
“I was interviewing for a dispatch position where I have to talk to gas technicians.
Interviewer was saying, “The techs can be highly stressed in the field, some of them can get rude and unpleasant on the phones at times. They can be quite un-politically correct. Are you able to handle people like that?”
Me – “Oh so just another conversation with my parents, that’s no problem for me”
I suppose she wasn’t expecting that answer and burst out laughing. I ended up getting the job. Am still there now, but now I’m part of the recruitment team so I get to see the other side!”
14. Boom!
“My mom worked with a Korean lady named Soyoung. When she was interviewing for the job, my mom’s older boss asked her how she said her name.
She said, “I am Soyoung, like you are so old.” It landed her the job instantly.”
Have you ever told a joke at a job interview?
If so, how did it go?
Spill your guts to us in the comments. Thanks a lot!
