We have heard of many incidents involving embarrassing job interviews, but the latest one could be the best of all. Laura MacLean, a 21-year-old Scottish student, showed up for a Microsoft job interview a full month early.
Here’s what happened at the Microsoft job interview
MacLean studies management and marketing at Robert Gordon University in the U.K. She has an interview with Microsoft’s University Recruitment team scheduled for Feb. 18. The job offered her the chance to work for a full year at the tech giant. However, she presumably botched it up by appearing for the Microsoft job interview a month before the scheduled date.
MacLean shared details about the incident online with screenshots of the emails she exchanged with the company. She also recounted the whole thing to BuzzFeed News. Here is what happened;
all dressed up ready n freaking out for my big skype interview with Microsoft and this happens. possibly the biggest noob on this planet hahahahaha if you don’t laugh you’ll cry pic.twitter.com/OKn2n8i39z
— laura maclean (@lauramacleann) January 18, 2019
MacLean said she mistakenly started preparing for her Microsoft job interview a month early, thinking her interview was a day away.
“I pride myself in being very prepared and an organized person,” she told BuzzFeed News when recounting the whole incident.
A full one-month before her scheduled Skype interview, or the day she thought was her interview day, MacLean logged into her Skype account and waited eagerly for the interview call from the recruiter. She started to panic when there was no call 15 minutes after the set time, so she decided to contact the recruitment team to ensure everything was in order.
She then fired off an email at the company, saying, “I haven’t received a Skype call yet for my interview? Just wondering if it’s working?”
She soon got this reply from the recruiter: “Our interview is scheduled for 18th of February at the same time. We look forward to speaking to you then.”
Even after the recruiter stated that the job interview was set for the 18th of February, MacLean didn’t realize that it still is January. Instead, she appears to have assumed some problem on the recruiter’s end.
She sent another email, saying, “It is the 18th of February and it was scheduled for 11am. I am just slightly confused.”
The recruiter then patiently replied that it is Jan. 18 and that February is next month, leaving MacLean extremely embarrassed.
“When the team emailed back reminding me it was in fact January and February was the next month, I quite frankly wanted to disappear into thin air,” she said.
She believes she has already lost the job “as I thought Microsoft would think I am an idiot.”
What makes her blunder even more embarrassing is that her birthday falls on Feb. 14.
“….So somehow I had managed to skip turning 22,” she joked.
MacLean’s blunder is not the most embarrassing job interview
Despite all the embarrassment, what was laudable was her courage to share the whole incident online, and her story has now gone viral. MacLean’s Twitter post got more than 180,000 “likes” and over 35,000 retweets. Her post also attracted a wide range of comments ranging from people creatively mocking her to some trying to highlight a silver lining to the incident.
You were a month ahead of your deadline, that’s impressive tbh
— Kev (@Kevin_J96) January 18, 2019
My last Skype interview with Microsoft was rescheduled but nobody told me, so I waited, dressed to the 9s at 7am local time, thinking I’d been rejected already for sure.
I got the job.
Don’t sweat it, you’ll be fine. The interviewers are all remarkably human ?
— David Wengier (@davidwengier) January 24, 2019
Some even shared details about their own embarrassing job interviews. One incident which comes close to the intensity of MacLean’s story came from a Twitter user named Alasdair Allan, who tweeted that he “flew from London to New York a month early for a meeting.” Thus, MacLean’s story is probably not the most embarrassing job interview after all. Based on the responses her post received, it seems her decision to share the incident was a good one.
“It’s lifted my spirits knowing I’m not alone,” she said.
She also learned later that the job opportunity she thought had slipped away may not have. First, the recruiter told MacLean that “some mistakes just happen.”
Later after her post went viral, Microsoft’s Twitter account sent this comforting reply: “Can’t wait to laugh about this on the 18th. Of February.”
Moreover, Microsoft’s head of global talent acquisition, Chuck Edward, told BuzzFeed News that they are always on the lookout “for candidates who have a growth mindset.” He also wished MacLean best of luck for the interview on Feb. 18.
