Blog Post: It's Not Funny in an Interview

This past weekend, I was watching the movie, You, Me and Dupree which is about an unemployed friend, Dupree, who lives with a married couple and lounges around the house all day.  When Dupree goes in for a job interview he tells the interviewer that he is not a work horse, prefers to live than work, and needs to have Columbus Day off.  Needless to say, he did not get the job.  I know that it is just a movie but you’d be surprised of similar circumstances I’ve encountered when interviewing people where the candidate said something inappropriate that he or she had meant to be funny. 

Maybe you pride yourself on your great sense of humor or maybe you just start cracking jokes when you’re nervous.  However, the types of jokes that you can get away with when talking to a friend or co-worker will not always fly in an interview.  I was interviewing a person for an Accountant position and when asked what his short-term career goals were, he answered that he wanted to be laying on a beach somewhere.  I smiled and waited for the real answer.  He said, “No really, I prefer to just hang out and be unemployed.  But I guess I have to work.”   

It is great to use analogies and examples in order to try to connect better with the interviewer, but don’t use examples that can be construed as offensive or just plain creepy.  A man that I was interviewing for a sales position started telling me how closing a sales deal was similar to getting with a woman.  He went on to describe in graphic detail the reason for this analogy and the more he talked, the more I was compelled to hang up the phone.  Even if it doesn’t offend the interviewer, he or she is going to see you as a liability when it comes to speaking with customers or co-workers. 

Unless you are a seasoned storyteller, the interview is not the time to ad lib on a story that you’re not sure is appropriate or to come up with a metaphor.  Stick to what you have prepared. 

Now I’m not saying that you shouldn’t laugh or let your sense of humor shine through.  There’s nothing worse than someone who is stoic throughout the interview.  But there’s a fine line between what’s funny and questionably inappropriate in an interview.  If you have to think about whether or not you should say it, keep it to yourself.