There are classics I can watch over and over for Halloween:

The Exorcist, Evil Dead (parts 1 & 2),  the original versions of Night of the Living Dead, Salem's Lot, and The Shining. Oh, and Pumpkinhead (yes, you heard me. Rent the first).

Anyway, I thought I'd bring back my classic horror stories for Halloween — scary job interviews.

They are all true and they happened to me.

Blown Off In The Windy City

Years ago when I was in between jobs, I got a call from a Chicago agency to come for an interview. So I got up early and drove five hours from Detroit. I arrived in plenty of time. The creative director didn't arrive at all. He decided on an impromptu vacation, so shortly after arrival, I drove back home. I barely had the money to cover gas and parking, so I didn't do any sightseeing. They never called back to reschedule. When I called, I was told the position had been filled.

Dead Silent

A Florida agency set up a time with me for a phone interview. Days prior, a bad cold had been building inside me. The day of my interview, my voice was completely gone. So when HR called, I could barely talk above a harsh whisper. She then promised to call back in a few days. She never did. In the middle of a Detroit winter, Florida sounded really nice.

Blown Off. Part 2

Months later, another Chicago agency asked me to mail my portfolio to them (portfolios weren't online back then). They later requested an interview. When I got there (another drive), the admin couldn't stop apologizing as she handed my portfolio back to me with a Post-It note on it from the creative director that said: Not Interested. That CD is currently unemployed according to her LinkedIn status — karma.

It's amazing I ended up working in Chicago after all of that.

The Blood! The Blood!

Once I cut myself shaving before an interview. I don't think I hit a vein, but I kept bleeding. So I stuffed tissue into my shirt collar and pressed my hand against my neck during the entire interview.

Office Disaster

I had a job interview for a communication specialist position at The American Red Cross. The supervisor asked me to take a seat. As I scooted my chair back to make room for my portfolio, my seat hit the shelf behind me and I knocked over some stuff, breaking the man's journalism awards. He still offered me the job — my first "real" job after college. Ironically, I was the communications specialist for Disaster Services for three years.

Even a bad interview can have a good ending.

Happy Halloween!