Undoubtedly, one of the most stressful times you will ever have in your life is when you are looking for a job. It doesn’t matter how prepared you feel, you are never quite prepared for the feeling you get when you’re sitting in the hot seat.
Nobody knows this better than a man named Guy Goma. He was heading for an interview back in 2006, but thanks to a case of mistaken identity, he ended up being a viral sensation.
Goma was heading to the BBC IT department to interview for a data support cleanser position. He arrived in London at the television center and was sitting in the waiting room.
Incidentally, this was also on the same day that the showdown between Apple and the Beatles record label, Apple Corps had come to a head. BBC wanted to interview a technology expert, Guy Kewney, about the situation.
Can you see where this is going?
In a last-minute effort to get things together for the interview, a producer went to the lobby to get Guy Kewney and put him on the camera. When he entered the lobby, the receptionist pointed toward the “other” guy, Guy Goma.
Initially, Goma thought that it was all part of the interview process. He did feel that it was strange that he was suddenly sitting in front of a camera and wearing a microphone, but he still thought he was being interviewed for the job.
When the journalist, Karen Bowerman, came on camera and introduced him as Guy Kewney, a tech expert, Goma realized that there was a mixup in the making. The problem was, he was already in the chair and the camera was rolling.
Goma wasn’t completely without knowledge of the subject. Back in 2006, digital music downloads were a hot-button topic and since he was an IT expert of sorts, he was able to give some relatively interesting and knowledgeable answers to the questions.
After Goma wrapped up the interview on camera, he went for the job interview but didn’t get the position. He was back at BBC News 24 about a week later, however, to talk about the experience and it is considered to be one of the best bloopers in television history.