The best stories about the wild world of work. Hosted by Ken Monroe, CEO of Bchex, The Bad Hire Podcast unpacks the funniest, strangest, and most shocking hiring stories from offices, job sites, and teams everywhere. From outrageous rĂŠsumĂŠ lies to first-day meltdowns, these tales will make you laugh, cringe, and say, 'there's no way that's true.' Not just for HR or recruiters â it's for anyone who's worked with that coworker or made a hire they'll never forget.
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DonnĂŠes mises Ă jour le 06/11/2026
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On her first morning, she sent two emails. One thanked her new manager for the opportunity. The other told a friend the job was an easy paycheck: collect the free training and certifications, then leave for something better.
She mixed up the addresses. Her manager got the plan.
She lasted two and a half hours.
In Episode 56 of The Bad Hire, Ken is joined by Morgan and Emma, with guest clips from Litan Yahav, co-founder and CEO of Vyzer, for a round of stories about wrong emails, worse parties and fake credentials: a new hire whose emails went to the wrong people, a soon-to-be employee who got wasted at his predecessor's goodbye party, an airline pilot posing as a cardiologist, a bridge inspector with no degree who cost his firm $390,000, a strategy executive who left on day one to "get proof" of his qualifications, and a nurse on her third conviction for impersonating one.
You'll hear: ⢠Her thank-you email went to her friend. Her scheming email went to her manager. ⢠Two and a half hours in, she walked out on her own ⢠A new hire is invited to his predecessor's goodbye party before day one ⢠He gets obliterated and asks the head of HR to go home with him ⢠He shows up hours late, hungover, with a car-trouble story nobody believes ⢠Litan on having a hard, personal conversation with an employee ⢠An airline pilot teaching doctors as a cardiologist, with $2.8 million in grants ⢠One routine license check: he's not an MD ⢠A hire who turns confrontational the minute the job starts ⢠A bridge inspector with no degree worked on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor ⢠No verification, a forged diploma and a $390,000 settlement ⢠A strategy GM leaves on day one to get proof of his qualifications and never comes back ⢠Three jobs by deception and about $160,000 collected ⢠Litan on the title change that came back a year later as a raise request ⢠A fake nurse promoted to unit manager at a Michigan nursing home ⢠It was her third conviction for impersonating a nurse
Key Takeaways: ⢠Check the address before you hit send. Your employer can read your work email. ⢠Company events count, even before your first day. ⢠Verify degrees, licenses and certifications, especially for critical roles. It costs far less than skipping it. ⢠Prior convictions on public record only help if someone looks them up. ⢠Hard conversations go better when the person can tell you care. ⢠Small asks, like a title change, can carry big consequences later.
đ¸ Think you've heard worse? Submit your Bad Hire story at TheBadHire.com for a chance to win $10,000.
Need better background checks? BChex makes hiring safer, faster, and simpler. From visitor management to employee monitoringâBChex has you covered.
www.bchex.io
â
đď¸ Submit your own bad hire story for a chance to win $10,000 at TheBadHire.com
He Set the Same Dryer on Fire Twice⌠and Blamed the Switch
Saison 1 ¡ Ăpisode 54
mardi 3 novembre 2026 ⢠DurÊe 34:53
The dryer kept shutting off.
The safety switch said it was getting too hot.
So he took the switch out.
The clothes caught fire. They put it out, sat him down, and explained why that switch exists.
Then it happened again.
And he still thought the switch was the problem.
And somehow, that's only one of the stories in Episode 54.
This week on The Bad Hire, Ken and Nathan are joined again by Allen Darby, founder and CEO of Alaris Acquisitions, to react to a job offer sent to the wrong candidate, an employee who stole CBD oil on camera with his name tag showing, and a Gen Z hire who showed up late to his first meeting and later joined a video call from his unmade bed. Plus, the iced coffee interview debate that took over the internet, and why Allen leaves a Zoom call after five minutes.
You'll hear: ⢠The job offer that went to the wrong person ⢠A chef's knife like a foreign object ⢠Name tag on, camera rolling ⢠"How'd you notice?" ⢠Two fires, one safety switch ⢠Late to his very first meeting ⢠The unmade bed on camera ⢠He used Allen as a reference ⢠Casual Friday, too casual ⢠Iced coffee in a job interview ⢠"Mental note, don't bring iced coffee to a meeting with Ken" ⢠Allen's five-minute Zoom rule
Key Takeaways: ⢠A safety switch isn't a suggestion. ⢠Keep your candidate stack organized. ⢠Your interview is your very best impression. ⢠On camera is still at work. ⢠Flexibility is a give and take.
She Got Her Husband on the Company Trip to Italy⌠as an Intern
Saison 1 ¡ Ăpisode 55
mercredi 28 octobre 2026 ⢠DurÊe 28:11
She handled a few supplier accounts. When the supplier's yearly appreciation trip to Italy came around, she wasn't on the list.
So she invited herself. It worked.
Then she asked to bring a plus one, an intern who needed shadowing experience. The intern was her husband.
In Episode 55 of The Bad Hire, Ken is joined by Morgan and Emma for a round of unbelievable workplace stories involving a new hire who wouldn't lift HVAC equipment at a job lifting HVAC equipment, an employee who talked her way onto a trip to Italy and listed her husband as an intern, a security-minded hire who plugged a stray USB drive into his work laptop, a quality inspector who showed up to his first shift smelling like a bar, a laundry runner who was in jail four days in, a burnout in the company parking lot, a microwave fire nobody would own, and an 18-year-old who wanted a plane to drop him off in Raleigh.
You'll hear: ⢠A new hire cites an OSHA rule he can't name to get out of moving a furnace ⢠He thought the job would be paperwork. There was a clipboard. ⢠Mass applying, AI agents, and fake job postings ⢠She invites herself on the supplier trip to Italy ⢠Her plus one, the "intern," is her husband ⢠Let go while she's still in Italy ⢠A zero-trust believer plugs in a USB drive from the parking lot ⢠One compromised laptop out of 40 employees tested ⢠Day one at an aluminum extrusion factory, smelling of alcohol ⢠He refuses the breathalyzer. He was celebrating the new job. ⢠The housekeeper's son shows off expensive new things before his first paycheck ⢠Four days in, he's fired and in jail for stealing from guest rooms ⢠A burnout in the parking lot after his first day. Fair reason to fire him? ⢠A microwave fire in front of witnesses, and he still won't own it ⢠An 18-year-old millwright gets homesick in Colorado and stranded in Las Vegas ⢠Why can't one of those planes drop him off in Raleigh?
Key Takeaways: ⢠Read the job description before you apply, then do the job it describes.⢠Be honest about who gets a seat, especially with a partner company.⢠Security training only works if you use it. Hand unknown devices to IT.⢠Owning a mistake goes a long way. Denying a fire in front of witnesses doesn't.⢠A little coaching can save a good hire. Not every mistake should end the job.⢠New hires, especially young ones, may need more support than you'd expect.
The New CFO Put His Tires on the Company Card⌠for the Points
Saison 1 ¡ Ăpisode 53
mercredi 14 octobre 2026 ⢠DurÊe 42:00
The company was growing fast. Startup to millions in revenue in about a year. So they hired a CFO who looked the part: glasses, rĂŠsumĂŠ, all of it. One month in, the credit card bill showed $2,800 in auto repairs. New tires. His car. When they asked him about it, he wasn't sorry. He said he thought they'd want the points. In Episode 53 of The Bad Hire, Ken and Nathan are joined by special guest Allen Darby, founder and CEO of Alaris Acquisitions, for a round of unbelievable workplace stories involving a job seeker who screamed at recruiters before she ever applied, a receptionist with a company card and a ceramic cow collection, a CFO who mistook the company card for a rewards program, a new hire who made a pass at a visiting director, and a cashier whose whole identity was borrowed for exactly one shift. You'll hear: ⢠A job seeker yells at recruiters for weeks without ever submitting an application ⢠"Terry" the receptionist hides the AmEx bill and buys ceramic cows on the company card ⢠Why her last employer never warned anyone, and what references really tell you ⢠Allen's CFO story: $2,800 in tires and "I thought you'd want the points" ⢠Why hiring is a skill, and why rĂŠsumĂŠs predict only 10% of success ⢠The paid, two-day working interview that sold both sides ⢠A new hire turns every task into a grievance, then corners a married director at the coffee station ⢠Allen on Alaris Acquisitions and leading M&A with compatibility instead of price ⢠A cashier with a borrowed Social Security number walks out with $4,000 ⢠Why "How much is your background check?" is the wrong question Key Takeaways: ⢠Hiring is a skill. Liking someone isn't the same as them being right for the job. ⢠RĂŠsumĂŠs are a weak predictor of success. Watch how people actually work. ⢠Employment verification confirms dates, not character. ⢠Fit first. When both sides want it, the outcome gets better. ⢠Not all background checks are equal. Know what yours actually covers. đ¸ Think you've heard worse? Submit your Bad Hire story at TheBadHire.com for a chance to win $10,000. ⸝ Connect with Us: đ Website: TheBadHire.comđ§ Email: đą Instagram: @thebadhirepodđ Facebook: facebook.com/thebadhirepodđľ TikTok: @thebadhirepodđź LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/thebadhireâSponsored by BChex:Need better background checks? BChex makes hiring safer, faster, and simpler. From visitor management to employee monitoringâBChex has you covered.www.bchex.ioâđď¸ Submit your own bad hire story for a chance to win $10,000 at TheBadHire.com
Federal Agents Arrested the New CFO on His First Day
Saison 1 ¡ Ăpisode 52
mercredi 7 octobre 2026 ⢠DurÊe 50:20
Four months of searching. Three prior CFO roles. References that held up. On his first day, he came in early, got his badge photo taken, and sat down with the quarterly numbers. Around 10 in the morning, four federal agents walked into the lobby and asked for him by name. He'd been in the chair for less than three hours. In Episode 52 of The Bad Hire, Ken, Nathan, and Kylie break down another round of unbelievable workplace stories involving a retirement question nobody saw coming, a cold call to the company's biggest client on day three, a rĂŠsumĂŠ skill learned on YouTube, a self-review two weeks in, an eleven-minute trip to the parking lot, and a CFO who didn't make it to lunch. You'll hear: ⢠A six-day employee asks the CEO when she's planning to retire ⢠A new sales hire finds the client list and cold calls a top ten account on day three ⢠Mackenzie, CEO of Sacramento Splash, on trusting your gut and hiring slow, firing fast ⢠A new hire's CRM "proficiency" turns out to be six hours of YouTube ⢠Ken on Good Job, BChex's behavioral assessment that finds the hidden gems ⢠A two-week employee submits his own performance review and rates himself exceptional ⢠A former manager calls HR after the hire is already made ⢠A first-day hire walks $100,900 out to the parking lot ⢠A fast food new hire gets sent home after three hours and takes it online ⢠Four federal agents walk the brand-new CFO out of the building on day one Key Takeaways: ⢠Every word you say to leadership carries an implication. ⢠Moving fast is not a defense for accessing data you weren't given. ⢠RĂŠsumĂŠs are a weak predictor of success. Behaviors are a strong one. ⢠Trust your gut, hire slow, fire fast, and keep the documentation. ⢠A standard background check doesn't include federal court records unless you ask. đ¸ Think you've heard worse? Submit your Bad Hire story at TheBadHire.com for a chance to win $10,000. ⸝ Connect with Us: đ Website: TheBadHire.com đ§ Email: team@thebadhire.com đą Instagram: @thebadhirepodđ Facebook: facebook.com/thebadhirepodđľ TikTok: @thebadhirepodđź LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/thebadhireâSponsored by BChex:Need better background checks? BChex makes hiring safer, faster, and simpler. From visitor management to employee monitoringâBChex has you covered.www.bchex.io
She Showed Up to Work in the Wrong City
Saison 1 ¡ Ăpisode 51
mercredi 30 septembre 2026 ⢠DurÊe 56:21
The job posting said Atlanta. The offer letter said Atlanta. The onboarding paperwork said Atlanta. The welcome email even included a parking map for the Atlanta office.
On her first day, she showed up in Charlotte.
She had assumed the job was remote. It wasn't.
In Episode 51 of The Bad Hire, Ken, Nathan, and Emma break down another round of unbelievable workplace stories involving first-hour critics, rearranged offices, references who never agreed to be references, a four-day resignation letter with headers, and a Slack channel no new hire should have ever seen.
You'll hear:
⢠Employees submit ideas for a $1,000 bonus, and the company uses them to eliminate their jobs
⢠A new analyst tells his trainer the process is how his old job did it, but worse, in his first hour
⢠Forty minutes into her first day, a new hire disappears to rearrange the office
⢠A candidate lists references who didn't know they were her references
⢠A new hire emails senior leadership a formatted critique after four days
⢠A new hire is accidentally added to the executives' private Slack channel
⢠A new hire shows up to her first day in the wrong city
⢠Mackenzie, CEO of Sacramento Splash, on hiring a close friend who went a year over budget
⢠A new hire rewrites his NDA before signing his day one paperwork
Key Takeaways:
⢠Sometimes a bad hire is really a bad manager.
Fired on Day One for Going Home on Time
Saison 1 ¡ Ăpisode 50
mercredi 23 septembre 2026 ⢠DurÊe 53:12
She worked a nine-hour first day for $28. Not $28 an hour. $28 for the whole day.
She stayed until 6:30, a half hour past quitting time, and went home.
At 7:30 that night, one of the partners called and told her to come back to the office. No emergency. No crisis. When she said she couldnât make it back, he fired her over the phone.
In Episode 50 of The Bad Hire, Ken, Morgan, and first-time co-host Trey break down another round of unbelievable workplace stories involving disastrous first days, bold demands, no-shows, leaked secrets, and a few new hires the hosts actually defend.
Youâll hear:
⢠An intern get fired on day one for going home on time
⢠A fired employee demand $50,000 on his way out the door
⢠A networking hire keep disappearing from networking events
⢠A security guard insist he couldnât be fired because he never technically started
⢠A new hire insult the ownerâs wife and brother in his first two hours
⢠A development director spend three months on coffee and bring in zero new donors
⢠A new hire present a five-year promotion plan on day two
⢠A new hire time his start date around a medical procedure
⢠A product manager leak the company roadmap on LinkedIn before her first day
Key Takeaways:
⢠First impressions start before day one.
⢠A good answer about a rÊsumÊ gap still needs to be verified.
She Took the Job Just to Meet Men
Saison 1 ¡ Ăpisode 49
mercredi 16 septembre 2026 ⢠DurÊe 46:07
She interviewed well, got the job, showed up for her first day⌠and then asked one very important question:
Where are all the men?
Turns out, she had taken the job expecting a large company to be the perfect place to meet someone. There was just one problem: her department was almost entirely women.
So she left.
In Episode 49 of The Bad Hire, Ken, Emma, and Kyrie break down another round of unbelievable workplace stories involving bizarre motivations, expensive mistakes, open mic disasters, employee theft, fake credentials, and some truly unforgettable first days.
Youâll hear:
⢠A receptionist go on an office supply spending spree
⢠A woman take a job because she wanted to meet men
⢠An employee trash the boss without realizing everyone could hear
⢠A booking agent redirect a client deposit into his own bank account
⢠A forklift driver somehow get worse every single hour
⢠A new hire completely fabricate his college education
⢠An employee accidentally reveal a restraining order HR didnât know existed
⢠A call center employee take the job to sell products to coworkers
⢠A technician insult a client while standing inside her bathroom
Key Takeaways:
⢠People donât always take jobs for the reasons you think they do.
She Faked Her Childâs Death for Money
Saison 1 ¡ Ăpisode 48
mercredi 9 septembre 2026 ⢠DurÊe 38:20
What do you do when an employee tells everyone she adopted a child, lost everything in a house fire, and then tragically lost the child â only for HR to discover that none of it ever happened?
In Episode 48 of The Bad Hire, Ken, Nathan, and Kylie break down another round of unbelievable workplace stories â from a new employee lighting a cigarette next to 10,000 liters of acetone to a worker who leads police on a high-speed chase and decides the best place to hide is his own office.
But one story takes things to another level. A well-liked warehouse employee convinces her coworkers to donate money after a supposed house fire. Weeks later, she tells them her adopted child has died, and they rally around her again. Then HR uncovers the truth: there was no adoption, no fire, and no child.
Youâll hear:
â A new hire who lights a cigarette next to 10,000 liters of acetone
â An employee who publicly trashes his new company on his first day
â Jason Bivins on a high-performing recruiter who becomes toxic to everyone around her
â A Subway manager who catches two employees stealing in two completely different ways
â A new hire who ignores safety policy and sends a semi-trailer sliding off the dock
â An employee who fabricates an adoption, house fire, and childâs death to collect money from coworkers
â A drunk new hire who shows up 12 hours early for his first shift
â An employee who leads police on a high-speed chase straight back to work
â A workplace situation where red flag after red flag eventually leads to an uninvited cross-country trip
She Faked a Carjacking to Get Out of Work
Saison 1 ¡ Ăpisode 47
mercredi 2 septembre 2026 ⢠DurÊe 33:13
What do you do when an employee calls in claiming she was just carjacked and needs the entire week off⌠only for her boss to call her actual phone 30 seconds later and hear, âHey, Iâm driving. Whoâs this?â
In Episode 47 of The Bad Hire, Ken, Morgan, and Nathan break down another round of unbelievable workplace stories â from an employee who intentionally shot himself with a nail gun because of a wasp to a senior developer caught downloading five years of company source code onto his personal USB drive. The Bad Hire - Episode 47 - Video .txt
This episode has fake emergencies, terrible judgment, security disasters, and hiring lessons that prove sometimes the truth is stranger than anything you could make up.
Youâll hear:
â A production worker who shot himself in the hand with a nail gun trying to kill a wasp
â A client referral who conveniently left out a serious felony conviction
â An employee who faked an entire carjacking to get a week off
â Alexandraâs perspective on why broken hiring processes create bad hires
â A Sonic employee who handed a customerâs used drink directly to a health inspector
â An IT employee who dropped a monitor, then cursed out his manager before the manager could even react
â Judithâs reminder of why you should never skip that final reference check
â A senior developer caught copying five years of proprietary source code onto a personal USB drive
â Why background checks can uncover information an interview never will
From ridiculous split-second decisions to potential threats to an entire companyâs intellectual property, Episode 47 is a reminder that hiring is about much more than finding someone who interviews well.
â
Sponsored by Bchex:
Need better background checks? Bchex makes hiring safer, faster, and simpler. From visitor management to employee monitoring, Bchex has you covered.
www.bchex.io
â
đď¸ Submit your own bad hire story for a chance to win $10,000 at TheBadHire.com
đ¸ Think you've heard worse? Submit your Bad Hire story at TheBadHire.com for a chance to win $10,000.
⢠Fresh ideas land better after you've learned how things work.
⢠Always tell your references before you list them.
⢠If you end up somewhere you're not supposed to be, get out.
⢠Put it in writing, and then make sure they actually read it.
đ¸ Think you've heard worse? Submit your Bad Hire story at TheBadHire.com for a chance to win $10,000.
⸝
Connect with Us:
đ Website: TheBadHire.com
đ§ Email: team@thebadhire.com
đą Instagram: @thebadhirepod
đ Facebook: facebook.com/thebadhirepod
đľ TikTok: @thebadhirepod
đź LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/thebadhire
â
Sponsored by BChex:
Need better background checks? BChex makes hiring safer, faster, and simpler. From visitor management to employee monitoringâBChex has you covered.
www.bchex.io
â
đď¸ Submit your own bad hire story for a chance to win $10,000 at TheBadHire.com
⢠Ambition is great. Timing and delivery matter.
⢠If you share something confidential in an interview, say itâs confidential.
⢠Low pay doesnât make the experience worthless.
đ¸ Think youâve heard worse? Submit your Bad Hire story at TheBadHire.com for a chance to win $10,000.
⸝ Connect with Us: đ Website: TheBadHire.comďżź đ§ Email: team@thebadhire.com đą Instagram: @thebadhirepodďżź đ Facebook: facebook.com/thebadhirepodďżź đľ TikTok: @thebadhirepodďżź đź LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/thebadhireďżź â Sponsored by BChex: Need better background checks? BChex makes hiring safer, faster, and simpler. From visitor management to employee monitoringâBChex has you covered. www.bchex.io â đď¸ Submit your own bad hire story for a chance to win $10,000 at TheBadHire.comďżź
⢠A great interview doesnât guarantee a great employee.
⢠Skipping normal hiring procedures can become expensive fast.
⢠RÊsumÊs and credentials still need to be verified.
⢠When someone starts showing red flags, pay attention to the pattern.
đ¸ Think youâve heard worse? Submit your Bad Hire story at TheBadHire.com for a chance to win $10,000.
⸝
Connect with Us:
đ Website: TheBadHire.comďżź
đ§ Email: team@thebadhire.com
đą Instagram: @thebadhirepodďżź
đ Facebook: facebook.com/thebadhirepodďżź
đľ TikTok: @thebadhirepodďżź
đź LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/thebadhireďżź
â
Sponsored by BChex:
Need better background checks? BChex makes hiring safer, faster, and simpler. From visitor management to employee monitoringâBChex has you covered.
www.bchex.io
â
đď¸ Submit your own bad hire story for a chance to win $10,000 at TheBadHire.comďżź
Key Takeaways:
⢠Safety training only works when employees actually follow it.
⢠A high performer can still be destructive to the culture around them.
⢠Early red flags can become much bigger problems when they form a pattern.
⢠Trust and compassion can unfortunately be exploited.
⢠Past experience doesnât give someone permission to ignore company policy.
đ¸ Think youâve heard worse? Submit your Bad Hire story at TheBadHire.com for a chance to win $10,000.
⸝
Connect with Us:
đ Website: TheBadHire.comďżź
đ§ Email: team@thebadhire.com
đą Instagram: @thebadhirepodďżź
đ Facebook: facebook.com/thebadhirepodďżź
đľ TikTok: @thebadhirepodďżź
đź LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/thebadhireďżź
â
Sponsored by BChex:
Need better background checks? BChex makes hiring safer, faster, and simpler. From visitor management to employee monitoringâBChex has you covered.
www.bchex.io
â
đď¸ Submit your own bad hire story for a chance to win $10,000 at TheBadHire.comďżź
đ¸ Think youâve heard worse? Submit your story at TheBadHire.com for a chance to win $10,000.
Key Takeaways:
⢠A great interview canât reveal everything about a candidate.
⢠Reference checks are worth finishing â even when the first two are perfect.
⢠Security policies only work when employees actually follow them.
⢠How someone reacts to a mistake can reveal more than the mistake itself.
⢠Strong hiring processes require both HR expertise and department-level knowledge.
⸝
Connect with Us:
đ Website: TheBadHire.comďżź
đ§ Email: team@thebadhire.com
đą Instagram: @thebadhirepodďżź
đ Facebook: facebook.com/thebadhirepodďżź
đľ TikTok: @thebadhirepodďżź
đź LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/thebadhireďżź
â
Sponsored by BChex:
Need better background checks? BChex makes hiring safer, faster, and simpler. From visitor management to employee monitoringâBChex has you covered.
www.bchex.io
â
đď¸ Submit your own bad hire story for a chance to win $10,000 at TheBadHire.comďżź
