**“The Strangest Job Interview I Ever Had—And Why I’ll Never Forget It”

When I applied for a small administrative assistant position in a local office last summer, I wasn’t expecting a five-star experience. I expected the usual: a waiting room, a handshake, some questions about Microsoft Word, and a polite goodbye. Instead, I got an experience that felt more like a prank show — minus the cameras.

It started oddly from the moment I arrived.

The office was inside a shopping plaza that looked mostly abandoned. There was a barber shop, a mobile repair shop, and a narrow staircase tucked between two cracked walls. I checked the address three times. Still correct. I climbed the stairs, wondering if I was about to get a job or a tetanus shot.

At the top, I found a door with a hand-written sign that read: “HR.” Just that. No company name. No logo. Just two letters in blue marker.

I knocked.

“Come in!” someone yelled from inside, not sounding particularly excited.

---

Where Am I?

I walked into a small room with no windows, one desk, and two chairs. A man wearing sunglasses indoors and chewing on a toothpick sat behind the desk. There was no computer. No paper. Just a single Rubik’s Cube in the middle of the table. I wasn’t sure if it was decoration or part of the test.

“You’re late,” he said.

“I’m five minutes early.”

He stared at me. I stared back. No one blinked.

Then he grinned. “Good. That was the first test. You passed.”

This wasn’t a joke. Apparently, arriving on time meant failing. Arriving early meant passing. That’s when I realized I had no idea what kind of job I applied for.

---

The Interview Begins

“Tell me why you think ducks don’t wear pants,” he asked.

I blinked.

He nodded seriously, leaning forward. “I’m waiting.”

I wanted to laugh. I wanted to leave. But I wanted the job, too — any job — so I played along.

“Because they don’t have pockets,” I said. “And they fly. Pants would be a hazard.”

He paused, then clapped. “You’re creative. I like that.”

Next, he pulled out a deck of Uno cards.

“We’re going to play a round. I need to see your decision-making under pressure.”

I wanted to ask if this was part of a new hiring trend or if I had entered a psychological experiment.

We played Uno for seven minutes. I won.

“That’s not great,” he said, frowning. “I need people who let the boss win.”

---

Things Get Weirder

After the card game, he handed me a piece of paper with a single question on it:

“If the office printer was haunted, what would you do?”

No context. No explanation.

I wrote: “Call IT first. Then, depending on how serious the haunting is, maybe a priest.”

He looked at my answer and nodded like I had just solved world hunger.

“You think logically but spiritually. Balance. We need that.”

Then, just when I thought the madness had peaked, he asked me to stand up and do five jumping jacks. No reason given. Just, “Let’s see your energy.”

So I did.

Right there, in my interview outfit, sweating under the fluorescent lights, I did five slow, awkward jumping jacks while he counted out loud.

---

The Twist

Finally, he stood up, shook my hand, and said:

“I’m not actually the hiring manager. I just like interviewing people. The real boss will see you next.”

What?

Before I could respond, a woman entered the room. She looked normal. Laptop in hand. Professional. She introduced herself as the actual HR director. The interview with her was short, standard, and shockingly boring after everything I’d just experienced.

As I left, I asked her quietly, “Is that guy… part of the process?”

She laughed. “Every new applicant meets him first. It’s our way of seeing how people react to unexpected situations. We work in logistics — every day is unpredictable. We need people who stay calm.”

---

The Lesson I Took Away

I didn’t get the job. They said I was “overqualified,” which I think might have been a polite way of saying I was too confused by the Rubik’s Cube and haunted printer scenario.

But honestly, I’m glad I went.

That interview reminded me that not everything in life is supposed to be serious. That sometimes, weird things prepare you for bigger, weirder things later. It reminded me to smile in strange situations and stay grounded, even when the floor doesn’t look too stable.

Would I do it again? No.

Would I forget it? Never.

---