Boundaries, boundaries, boundaries! Mutual respect is vital to a good relationship in a work environment. You’ve got to respect your employees’ boundaries and they’ve got to respect yours. And it can come as a complete shock when someone doesn’t just step over the line of politeness and professionalism but practically leaps over it.
Redditor u/nuestl started up a viral thread on the 2.1-million-strong r/antiwork subreddit after sharing how a recruiter demanded to be shown around their room during the Zoom interview. Odds are, the vast majority of us would be a bit confused by this request. The r/antiwork crowd found it very strange, for sure, and it started a heated discussion about such a request. Scroll down to see what people had to say about it all.
Bored Panda got in touch with redditor u/nuestl, the author of the viral post, and they were kind enough to share their thoughts with us. They told us that they were “beyond shocked” at the amount of attention their post got online. You’ll find our full interview with the OP below, dear Pandas.
Interviews over Zoom have become more acceptable over the past two and a half years due to the pandemic
However, it’s also changed some people’s understanding of privacy. A job applicant shared how one recruiter completely stepped over the line
“I honestly only made the post because I wanted to know if this was normal and if anyone else had ever been asked this because it gave me such an icky feeling that I wasn’t sure I was entitled to. But I was shocked to see the numbers on that post,” redditor u/nuestl told Bored Panda that the way their story resonated with other internet users took them completely by surprise.
In the OP’s opinion, people definitely thrive in different environments. “A person’s home should be their own personal business,” they shared with us. “For me, my ideal environment is a room surrounded with posters/merchandise of kpop bands and movies and other franchises I love. I like the cluttered, colorful look and I feel cozy and at home surrounded by all these things, but someone who sees it could get an unfavorable impression when confronted with a room like that.”
However, at work, u/nuestl isn’t a cluttered person: they’re organized and methodical. “The point of work is to get something delivered to ANOTHER PERSON, but the point of a home is to be comfortable to ME personally.”
According to the author of the story, you can tell a lot by a person from the way their room looks, however, you won’t necessarily learn a lot about how they work. “The way you deal with others is a better measure of work potential because it is more relevant to the qualities that make someone a good employee.”
We were also curious to get the redditor’s opinion as to why the recruiter was so adamant about seeing the room. “I can’t speak for the recruiter, but I think she was just trying something new that she personally came up with, without realizing it was intrusive or unprofessional,” the OP mused.
“I think it’s important to let someone know when they’re going too far, but honestly, I’m not sure about the best way to tell them that, especially when there’s this power relationship between you of recruiter/potential employee, and you want the job. But I’ll trust that, if she’s interviewing other people, one of them will have more guts than me and stand up to her and say straight out that her request was unprofessional.”
Personally, I think it’s very unorthodox to ask someone to show their home via Zoom because the interview would otherwise be taking place face-to-face: there wouldn’t even be a chance to do this. You’ve got to respect the candidate’s privacy.
Background checks don’t take into account how often they wash the dishes or if they’d thoroughly cleaned the house in preparation for the online chat. I mean, you wouldn’t really expect the recruiter to give you a tour of their home now, would you? We also low-key think that the recruiter might have intentionally provoked the OP to see how they’d react to such a bizarre request. Though if they were serious, we’re not sure how the recruiter would ensure that any private information they’d see (e.g. sensitive documents on a table somewhere) wouldn’t be leaked.
Sure, you can technically tell a bit about a person from their work environment, but you’d only ever make superficial judgments. It’s only part of the equation. Different workers thrive in different environments. Some function best when everything is extraordinarily neat and tidy. Others like a bit of artistic chaos and creative messiness to get their imagination working better. Personally, I swing between the two extremes.
Besides, you should feel comfortable living in your own home; you shouldn’t be putting all of your energy into impressing others. For instance, dating expert Dan Bacon, from The Modern Man, explained to Bored Panda a while back during an interview that you will never be able to impress everyone with your home. He added that we can tell more about a person from how they behave when they have guests over than we can by taking a peek at what their home looks like.
“A man’s home is part of what people initially use to judge his social status and character. However, how he behaves and acts with the people who come over to his place says so much more about him,” the dating expert told us.
“A man might have a perfectly tidy, well-designed, and stylish home, but be very nervous and try too hard to impress people who come over. So, rather than seeing him as a cool, confident, successful man they can admire and look up to, most people just perceive him as a nervous, insecure guy with a nice place. Alternatively, they may see him as a guy who tries hard to please others with material things because he’s insecure about himself and doesn’t feel good enough in their eyes.”
He stressed: “You will never make it [your home], furnish it, or arrange it in a way where everyone loves you for it and wishes they had it. Some people will love it, others will like it and some will hate it. So, just enjoy doing what you want to do. That’s the only way you’ll truly be happy.”
Here’s what some internet users had to say about this incredibly unusual behavior from the interviewer
During another interview, life coach Lindsay Hanson told Bored Panda that everyone is responsible for setting the boundaries that we’re willing to tolerate in the workplace. That means that you have to communicate these boundaries to others and enforce them. Nobody else will do that for us. So, for instance, if you’re uncomfortable about being asked to show the recruiter around your home and think that it’s a blatant breach of privacy, you have to be polite but clear about that. The same goes for other tense situations in the workplace.
“If you feel that there’s nothing you can do to change the situation and the company or people involved are unwilling to change, then you have to decide whether you’re willing to stay in that environment or not,” the life coach told Bored Panda.
“A good question to ask yourself is, even if this toxic situation were to change, would I still want to work here?” Lindsay noted what we have to ask ourselves. “Again, it comes back to what you’re willing to tolerate. You can do everything in your power to bring attention to the toxic situation and attempt to change it. And at the end of the day, you always have control over your own mindset, how you’re reacting to the situation, and how much you let it affect you.”
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Olympian Makes Stunning Admission After Judge’s Conspicuous Scores Ignite Cheating Accusations
If you have ever seen The Wolf Of Wall Street, you might remember the classic “sell me this pen” moment. In reality, it’s a good way of testing the abilities of a future salesman — if you can sell an ordinary pen, you can do pretty much anything in this profession. The knowledge of how to sell a pen might help you in the long run. There is no doubt about the effectiveness of this question.
The most stressful thing about a job interview is that you don’t know what the interviewing person will ask of you. Usually, if you apply for a sales or marketing position, high chances are — you will get handed a pen to sell to the interviewer. Job interview questions like these ask — do you have the skills required for this position? If you can nail the selling of a pen, the job will most certainly be yours.
“I was told that I was the owner of a pencil store, and my interviewer said that he only needed a pen. When I started to pretend offering him a selection of pens, I was stopped, “no your only inventory is pencils”, specifically the real life No. 2 pencil on the table between us. So I changed tactics. “If you are in that dire a need of a pen then I’m assuming that something must have gone wrong with your day. If everything was according to plan for you, you’d have a pen in your pocket and would have passed my shop by and gotten on with your life. But something went wrong, which happens. If I sold you a pen then it could break, it could ruin that nice suit and a 3 cent piece of plastic could cost you hundreds of dollars in the process. All because something simple went wrong. If something goes wrong with one of my pencils? The worst outcome that could come from a pencil? Here I hold out the pencil and snap it half. You just end up with two pencils.” I hate sales but I am still completely dorkily proud of that particular bullsh*t.”
Whatawaist Report
Sad-Piglet8543 said: “Easy, tell the interviewer you cannot because your sale method is not selling a customer something they do not need, but match the right customer to the right product at the right time.” AllofaSuddenStory replied: “They are so impressed they want to write that note on the back of your resume. Suddenly they do need a pen.”
Sad-Piglet8543 Report
obscureferences said: “Disassemble the pen and give them one part for free, and offer the rest in a series of microtransactions.” shawerma_sauce replied: “Congratulations! You’ve been hired by the EA sales department.”
obscureferences Report
saschaleib said: “— Would you really hire somebody who charges you 50 quid for a pen that was already yours to begin with? — 50 quid?!? — Alright, 30 for you. Deal?” WizardOfIF replied: “That’s how a guy got me to buy a camp trailer. He started the price out 3 grand over what I was wanting to pay then before I knew it he was knocking the price down without me saying anything. I felt like the best negotiator for getting the price I wanted and was driving it home before I realized I paid exactly what he asked for it.”
saschaleib Report
“I held it up like a dagger and told him I was going to stab him through the eye with it if he didn’t buy it in the next ten seconds. I did not get the job, but I got $417 and a nice watch for the pen.”
MarkHirsbrunner Report
dontbeglad said: “This pen has the antidote.” Shadow_Lou replied: “Remember your coffee from before the interview?”
dontbeglad Report
jez4prez said: “Me: “There is no pen. Do you believe in fate, Neo?” shawerma_sauce replied: “Did he buy the Red pen or the Blue pen from you?”
jez4prez Report
“I’m not gonna sell you this pen. I’m going to give it to you and sell you the paper. Don’t sell an object, sell a subscription.”
COmarmot Report
“I sold a guy a truck, about a week later he interviewed me for a job (didn’t know it would be the same guy) he asked me the pen question, paused and said “we did that last week” and moved on.”
Wild-Attention2932 Report
“A very very attractive candidate actually once seductively tried to do the whole “S*xy Pen Sale” thing. She was promptly told to leave the interview as it was not appropriate. Kudos to the hiring HR rep actually.”
TwistyMaKneepahls Report
“I did this once. I didn’t take it seriously at all, since it was for selling advertising on the eighth ranked country station in a small liberal town. Instead of selling the guy a pen, I got him interested in buying a pontoon boat (as he mentioned having a bass boat earlier in the interview). He was like, “sell me this pen”, and I said, “why? Are you in the market for a pen right now? Is that a problem you’re having a hard time solving yourself?” And then we started talking about free time and hobbies. It totally worked, and I don’t know how, and I also didn’t care because that job s*cked.”
Hob_O_Rarison Report
“Be more creative with your interview questions.”
Tamacat2 Report
SwaggermusPrime said: “Sorry this is not my pen selling it would be a crime under (local law).” SinkTube replied: “Interviewer to self: “Unwilling to commit crimes on our behalf. Mark for rejection.”
SwaggermusPrime Report
“Not me, but a former sales manager was a d**hebag who prided himself on being the greatest and the only one who knew everything about sales and tech (he didn’t, hence the word “former”). He was trying to find a new salesperson but rejected nearly every resume I put in front of him for nitpicky bullsht until one day he announced that he’d found the perfect candidate and was bringing him in for a formal interview but he was pretty sure he was going to hire him on the spot. He kept going on and on about how this guy was perfect and why couldn’t we find him someone like this and blah blah blah. Whatever, fine, just get it done. He bought the guy in, sat him down and said “sell me this pen.” The guy picked up the pen, handed it back and said “I don’t play pen games.” Then he walked out and we never heard or saw him again.”
Empkat Report
votemarvel said: “I asked “may I see it?” I then put it in my pocket. He asked for the pen back and I tried to charge him £10 for it. I didn’t get the job or get to keep the pen.” Commenter replied: “Can I get the pen back?” “What pen?”
votemarvel Report
SheriffLobo3 said: “I would tell them that I had already created a website to purchase pens called Pen Island. And would encourage them to visit Pen Island.com” shawerma_sauce replied: “You sumb*tch I actually fell for that…”
SheriffLobo3 Report
“I heard it being asked at a group interview by the new lady from HR… I shot her a “wtf” look she asked a different question instead.”
StanMarsh02 Report
JesusIsMyHotRod said: “I asked them “Why? You already bought it.” They told me I had to prove my salesmanship skills. So I said “Why? You already paid for it. Clearly the product speaks for itself. Just like our product does.“I got the job. But it turns out I was actually interviewing to be a janitor and they got me confused with someone else.” shawerma_sauce riplied: “Obviously you were overqualified.”
JesusIsMyHotRod Report
Repres3nt2 said: “I said “What do you need a pen for?” Best sales strategy is to ask questions before you make your approach.” PaulClarkLoadletter replied: “It must be pretty great if you want it. I don’t know if I even want to sell it now. I think I’m going to keep it.”
Repres3nt2 Report
“I have been in sales for about 30 years. Never been asked that question but if they did, I would get up and walk out. I don’t like gimmicks. Anyone asking that kind of question during a job interview doesn’t sound like a job I would want. It’s amateurish.”
Playteaux Report
“You wanna see a magic trick?”
nrkey4ever Report
““I saw Wolf of Wall Street too. Job please.” or “…I’m going to need you to sell me on the rest of this interview.””
Tadhgdagis Report
legsjustwannahaverun said: “I don’t have to, you already bought it. I got the job. " boredcircuits replied: “The real trick is making people pay for something they already own. Like BMW having a subscription service to use the heated seats.”
legsjustwannahaverun Report
“Not a pen, but… I was in a group interview for my first job in high school, the interviewer looks at me and gestures to a large fake potted plant decoration next to where we were sitting and said “Sell this to me.” I was caught off guard and froze so we all sat there in silence for a few seconds until I finally just blurted out the first thing that came to mind; “…Wanna buy a plant?” I’ve been with the company going on 5 years now.”
DonoMalone Report
“I once had a job of a shtty office supply company - you know the one - where it was our literal job to sell pens to people AND try to up sell them on stupid sht they didn’t need/or want. It was all randomized and scripted though as to what it would try to upsell them on. “I see you’ve bought a bulk package of 100 Bic Pens today (for like $8.99)…Would you like to purchase 4 micro-point, gel ink, 4-colour pack of pens for $11.99?” It was absolutely ridiculous. I almost always refused to do it, because it was stupid and the customers generally appreciated the fact I wasn’t reading them some pre-scripted bullsht on some garbage they didn’t want/need. My stats were fantastic, but because I didn’t do the upsell bullsht, I was eventually fired… And not because of that, they decided one day I had a customer on hold too long (4-6 minutes) while trying to find them an answer to their question that required me to get up from my “desk” (cube), track down my supervisor who then had to track down the manager… F*ck that place.”
CrazyIslander Report
“I leave. I’m in sales and anybody that thinks this question has any value past 1995 isn’t someone worth working for.”
sandy666888 Report
ReadyThor said: “So you entrust me to sell you this pen? Yes. Do you want this pen for $5? No. puts pen in pocket and walks out” obscureferences replied: “$2? 50c? How about I give you a dollar to take it, because if you don’t buy this pen I’m out of a job.”
ReadyThor Report
taggart52 said: “I made it emotional. Through some internet research (corporate people put everything on LinkedIn) I learned that his high school age daughter was really into horses. I asked him to picture himself writing a check with this pen for a perfect saddle for his daughter while she looked on in admiration and think of all the hard work and sacrifice they had both made to make that happen. And told him that now whenever he looked at that pen he would remember that feeling. Was told later that the only part of that whole conversation that mattered was I did my research before hand and was able to use it on the fly. Turns out his daughter is a spoiled brat and he could care less about another saddle.” shawerma_sauce replied: “I’m pretty sure your “Research” is considered (Stalking), but if you got the job, then that’s what matters.”
taggart52 Report
AskMeHowsItGoing said: “Sign this piece of papers.” User No 2 replied: “I can’t, I don’t have a pen. Ohhh…..!”
AskMeHowsItGoing Report
RamsesThePigeon Report
“Literally quit the interview. The first reason beeing, that I did apply for a position, which should not have a lot to do with sales and they kept pushing this “how would you sell people stuff” since the beginning of the interview. So not what I was looking for. Second reason: I assume you are not qualified to hold interviews, if you only copy paste standard stuff, that is outdated already and pretty much a meme. I also assume it won’t be different working for a company like this. Just random stuff they found on “employee management for dummies” and only adopted, because it’s written in a book. Not a thought if it fits for their employees or company, but Prof. Dr. very important businessman said it so it must be the only way to manage a company.”
Angangseh_ Report
CDC_ said: “But sir, I applied to be a janitor.” SPP_TheChoiceForMe replied: “Look here sonny, sales isn’t just a job it’s a way of life!”
CDC_ Report
harrison_wintergreen said: “Tell them the pen scks because it’s probably some Bic piece of crp, and offer to sell my Uniball JetStream, which is the best lower-price pen on the market.” Commenter replied: “See, you get the job because you’re a person of distinction, going with the Uniball.”
harrison_wintergreen Report
“I was once at a job fair where this wasn’t even attached to an interview, it was more like an open-mic night kind of thing. I skipped it. On another job, a customer told me that my describing my dislike of upselling was a bonding experience with the customer (who doesn’t want to be upsold) and thus a really slick sales tactic. He didn’t seem mad. So, either sales is really 12th-dimensional zen chess and I accidentally made a good play or he was just messing with me. I don’t know.”
Current_Poster Report
“Take the pen and package it with thousands of other pens. Sell the package as a security to a pen broker.”
yaosio Report
“Oh, I just looked at it, tried writing with it, clicked it a few times, bounced it on the button and then tossed it at the trash bin. “You don’t want that pen.” pulled out my own “You want this pen.” and I laid it on the table, when they reached for it I snatched it away and did all the things again but showed that it didn’t make any grinding noises, wrote fluently with no force at all, bounced beautifully on its much shorter button when retracted. Then I let them write with it. I’m a hardware technologist at my base, I know machines and manufacture practices. He asked where to get the pen.”
prjindigo Report
“I thought the interviewer was joking because I was a teenager applying for position at a fast food restaurant. So I (jokingly) hammed it up like a cheesy commercial, but the interviewer never laughed or smiled and that’s when I realized they were serious. Long story short, it was one of the most awkward interviews I’ve done, but I got the job anyway.”
–strawberry_milk– Report
“I took it home with me. Later, when the interviewer phoned me and asked for it back, I said “£50 and its yours.””
mykeuk Report
mozgw4 said: “You’re not my market. I can get more elsewhere. I’ll keep it for now, thanks.” Commenter replied: “Instantly hired.”
mozgw4 Report
“#1 - I’m not interviewing to be a salesman, asking me to sell you a pen would be a total waste of my skills and talents. #2 - If you are in the habit of buying things which YOU already own, I’m afraid to know what other poor business decisions you make on a daily basis. Either way, I’m surprised the company isn’t circling the drain already, no wonder you hiring.”
Kevlar5427 Report
“What’s my commission? Zero? F*ck you, sell it yourself.”
QueerWorf Report
“It was soo awkward! Interviewed for position in call centre and I was like “Well you should buy this pen, cause it’s blue and that is very nice colour. Also you can see from shape, that you can write very fast with it…” Then I realized how stupid those sentences sound and my mind went blank. Interviewer waited like at least half a minute, if I somehow continued talking, which was neverending nerve-wracking moment, then he cut it. I got the job and then was fired week after, because I just couldn’t sell people sh*t they didn’t need or want.”
existentialcarrot Report
“I used to work the tech side of sales. My job was to demonstrate the software, consult, help with sizing and installation, stuff like that. I never got the question in a real interview, but in one of our training sessions. Leader: Sell me this pen. Me: ok, this is a nice pen and it is pretty good for the job. Let’s use it to design a system. (Make some drawings and purposely spell something wrong everywhere). Looks, good, let’s build it. Oh crap, we need to fix the spelling of this word, it is everywhere. If you use this pen, you have to start over, but if you had used (our product) you would fix it once and move on. I know you wanted me to sell you a pen, but I’m here for the long hall. I’m not going to give you something you don’t need, even if it will get me a big commission check. That isn’t how I do business. My team mates laughed, my boss laughed, my client exec took me out for drinks. The trainer was pissed.”
umlguru Report
“I asked if they had another pen, they said no. I pointed out the papers in front of them that they’d be diligently writing and signing on and that without a pen their job just became impossible. I then offered to sell them my pen instead, it had more ink and a rubber grip. It was customer service and sales for a telecomm and my bonus checks from sales were chunky.”
ThunderPantsDance Report
“If someone asked me that in a job interview, I’d get up and walk out on the motherf*cking spot. If you watched that movie and came away with the conclusion that Jordan Belfort is an awesome salesman, then I definitely do not want you as a boss.”
emueller5251 Report
“I was asked this question during a group interview for a front desk job at my universities rec center. I asked them if there was any type of sales work in the job description and they said no. So I just got up and walked away. Not gonna deal with that bs.”
avnscyrrej Report
“I haven’t been asked but I would take the pen. Ask them if they had a pen. Which they now do not. “Ah ok, you hace anything important going on today?” Inevitably they say yes. “Wow sure sounds like you might need to take some notes for that”…. I have this pen but it’s not for sale. Good luck! Walk out. Free pen. Hooray!”
valgme3 Report
“49.99 and it’s yours. All the other guys ask 50.”
bravebeing Report
““Do me a favor and write your name down right there.” Noticing he needs the pen, exactly, supply and demand.”
KingNereids Report
“During a interview for an electronic sales job the interviewer asked me to take home a fairly expensive floor model of blue-ray player and come back the next day with a sales pitch. It was very strange to put trust in me as he had just met me in the interview 5 minutes ago. I came back the next day with a bunch of product knowledge and landed the job. Worked there for several years and often times the boss would send us home with cool new electronics to try out (sometimes even keep!). It was a rewarding place to work and also a great way to get product experienced sales staff. Ran out of business by best buy unfortunately.”
satan_66666 Report
“Not quite the same, but I was filling out an application for a job once when the owner came back where I was and said “if you can name the song on the radio right now, you can have the job.” I was able to name it and started at five that night.”
eclispelight Report
“As an engineer, I’ve never had this question asked of me. That’s because engineers aren’t good with people, so you have a people person like Tom Smykowski to sell the pen.”
eaglescout1984 Report
“I failed tbh but I was taken from a fast food joint and then thrown in to sales.”
Falcorn042 Report
“In this pen is a USB drive with the footage of what you were doing with that frog.”
duskhelm2595 Report
“Sir or ma’am, I’ve never thought that small. How can me or you make money if my ambition was limited to a onetime sale of a $2 pen? My sales model is to establish a relationship, understand your needs and sell you a goddamn building.”
atomoboy35209 Report
“Stood up and fcked off out of there. It was a job for truck driving. What a cnt.”
reddit.com Report
“You’re not my market. I can get more elsewhere. I’ll keep it for now, thanks.”
mozgw4 Report
“I said “Get your own pen.””
YourMom12062003 Report
“I would do a stock market chant while beating my chest then stand up yell “I’m not f*cking leaving”! “Tootsie”?”
mr-lazy_eye Report
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