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[Johnny English]

Just got a call from Quatar with a new job opportunity and the other side of line was a guy with very strange dialect (arabic maybe) I'm being not native speaker so this interview was a real pain and became a nightmare soon when the guy told me "not a big dildo"    Errmm....What the hell... after some question turned out that he told me "not a big deal though" ... 

Have you ever been in similar situation during a job interview? 

[TheBoy]

I remember turning up for my (current-ish) job interview, forgetting my tie. Never fear, I was in my BT van, so had the corporate clothing clip on tie in the door pocket

Halfway through the interview I looked down, and remembered I'd used it to clean the headlights a few days earlier 

[Gaffers]

Frequently, but not in job interviews thankfully.

Being married to an American, I work in france with people from all over the world, with different cultures, ideals and priorities.

What is to misenterpret?

[Andy B]

....

Being married to an American,  ....

Britain & America ....... divided by a common language   

[pscocoa]

I had an interview for a biggish job in 1983 and in the final stages I was in a meeting with the Chairman. The interview panel asked me what car I had and I said "a Rover". The Chairman then spoke to his colleagues and then reverted to me with " we cannot go to a Roller"

I did get the job

[Shackeng]

Just got a call from Quatar with a new job opportunity and the other side of line was a guy with very strange dialect (arabic maybe) I'm being not native speaker so this interview was a real pain and became a nightmare soon when the guy told me "not a big dildo"    Errmm....What the hell... after some question turned out that he told me "not a big deal though" ... 

Have you ever been in similar situation during a job interview? 

Not involved with the new railway project perhaps?

[Shackeng]

I remember turning up for my (current-ish) job interview, forgetting my tie. Never fear, I was in my BT van, so had the corporate clothing clip on tie in the door pocket

Halfway through the interview I looked down, and remembered I'd used it to clean the headlights a few days earlier 

 

[Shackeng]

Frequently, but not in job interviews thankfully.

Being married to an American, I work in france with people from all over the world, with different cultures, ideals and priorities.

What is to misenterpret?

 

[Johnny English]

Just got a call from Quatar with a new job opportunity and the other side of line was a guy with very strange dialect (arabic maybe) I'm being not native speaker so this interview was a real pain and became a nightmare soon when the guy told me "not a big dildo"    Errmm....What the hell... after some question turned out that he told me "not a big deal though" ... 

Have you ever been to similar situation during a job interview? 

Not involved with the new railway project perhaps?

I don't know, they offered me a land rig electrician position for almost nothing money (70  USD per day) but in the Near East everything is possible.
70 USD and 56 days on / 28 days off rotation is not the best though unless you are from Indonesia or some African country where the work-life balance means nothing.

[Gaffers]

....

Being married to an American,  ....

Britain & America ....... divided by a common language   

11 years on and we are still finding phrases that have completely different meanings either side of the pond.  Which means we have unknowingly been misunderstanding each other........

....that figures.....

[Sir Tigger KC]

In 1995 I jacked my job in London and decided to go on a round the world trip.  So I had a massive sale of all my stuff which included a pool table.  An American guy phoned me about it and we did a deal over the phone which was a 50/50 payment. The first up front and the second on delivery.

He gave me an address in The City to go and see him the next day to collect the first part and when I got there it was a dealing room for a hedge fund or something like that.  I was shown into the guy's office and he sat back, looked me up and down and just said "So what have you been up to?"  I thought this was a bit odd, but as he was a Yank thought he was just being friendly, so I proceeded to tell him about my job etc.  He started asking some pretty searching questions and I started to think that he was a bit weird, after all I'd just gone there to pick up a cheque!  So I decided I needed to cut him short and said something like " Well yes it's been good experience, but I want to travel, so that's why I've handed my notice and I'm selling....."  He stared at me and then yelled "Your the guy about the oppsing pool table!!!"  I looked at him and said "You thought I was here for a job!!"  Much mirth and laughter and he gave me a Coutts & Co cheque and sent me on my way! 

A few days later I hired a van rustled up some mates and we took the pool table to his lavish residence in Stockbroker Surrey-parts, set it all up for him, had a game of pool and a beer, during which he said to me "If you change your mind about the bumming around thing, give me a call as you did the best interview all day!" 

If I'd have taken up his offer I wonder if I'd be driving a 14 year old Omega now? 

[aaronjb]

I work in an office filled with French, German, Hungarian, Romanian, Lithuanian, Russian, Polish, Dutch, Swedish, all sorts of African countries, China, Japan.. if you think of a country it's probably represented.

Oh, the hilarity.

[Gaffers]

The latest incident at work came to a head this week.

Been working on a project with a russian project manager whose grasp of english is less than good.  She has been asking me to create a job 8. I had no idea what she meant despite several attempts by her. I tried a few documents based on her broken English but no joy.  2 weeks later she writes a complaint to my boss and then I understood what she wanted. It was a Job Aide! Basically a reference document for the help desk staff.

[Rog]

I work in an office filled with French, German, Hungarian, Romanian, Lithuanian, Russian, Polish, Dutch, Swedish, all sorts of African countries, China, Japan.. if you think of a country it's probably represented.

Oh, the hilarity.

Welsh ? Now that would be really cosmopolitan  . . . . .

Builder turned up this morning for some outside rendering on the house. Nice chap, but I couldn't place his accent. Welsh-Polish he came here nine years ago with zero English so he's learned it with a boyo accent