Craziest thing a potential employer has asked you to do

Was a good paper once.
How did it make your list?

 

Being asked to critique sections seemed like a routine thing for copy desk candidates, although I never had to do an entire week's worth (usually just two daily sections and the Sunday section). In fact, it was so commonplace that when I went on an interview and didn't have to do a critique, I asked the sports editor about it. He said they'd been burned by a candidate who'd caught all sorts of mistakes on the critique but turned out to be "the worst desk hire we've ever made" when he had to work under pressure. So he ditched the critiques and primarily relied on word of mouth from people he knew in the business.

 

Provide the name of my kindergarten.
This was something he did on all interviews, I was told in advance.

 

Asked if I would be willing to wear the giraffe suit. I said only if they didn't mind having a giraffe with a cane. This was Toys R Us, by the way.

 

Craziest thing about the critiques was this one..... Did a week's worth of papers. Was very thorough, page by page. Paper was not very good and I politely made A LOT of comments of how it could be improved. Figured no way they would hire me after I ripped them so much. Hired me anyway. Then didn't want to hear any more suggestions on how we could improve after I joined the staff.

 

I was asked to critique a paper by the ME who then said he didn't agree with many of my suggestions. Five minutes later, I was asked to sit on a daily planning meeting, he recited my suggestions almost verbatim. Glad I didn't get that job.