Interview questions that you hate...

[daveshel]

The question I always hate is "And how much did you have to drink to prepare for this interview?"

 

[Mrvile]

Originally posted by: minendo

Originally posted by: Cabages
I have an interview Monday. Im fairly confident that i'll get the job, and there were some cuties I saw working there when I went in.

Whats your ways of getting around the biggest flaw question?

Using a positive and flipping it as a flaw.

That's a pretty good suggestion...

 

[TheChort]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: TheChort

Originally posted by: Cabages
I have an interview Monday. Im fairly confident that i'll get the job, and there were some cuties I saw working there when I went in.

Whats your ways of getting around the biggest flaw question?

"I tend to work late hours, and try to go beyond what's expected of me. It tends to make it difficult to have a good relationship with my peers/family/friends"

"I will go out of my way to watch out for my peers and on one occasion that led me to trouble in not finishing my own work."

Not the best answers, but you get the idea... say something that could be interpreted as both positive and negative.

Not to slam..

#1:
Relationships with your peers/family/friends is more important than anything else you do. This statement portrays an isolationist that is difficult to work with.

#2:
that's a positive, you always watch out for your own.

again, it's a matter of interpretation
If you worst trait can be interpreted as a positive thing, then that shows the employer that you have high standards for yourself.
As far as #1, some employers might be happy that you are willing to work extra hard for you job, even if it's at the expense of friends.

 

[Argo]

Q: What's your biggest flaw?
A: I'm better than everybody else.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: tfinch2
What is your biggest flaw?

I cuss too much, bitch.

I've said many times here that this is my least favorite as well.

The "standard" answer is a flaw that makes you look good. But that's a lie. No one is devoid of flaws that make them look bad, and a flaw that makes you look bad is worse than a flaw that makes you look good. So essentially you're expected to lie. I'd have a hard time respecting someone who asks me a question and expects a lie in return.

Fortunately I don't respect HR people anyway.

 

[Corporate Thug]

whats your weakness?

B!tch, I'm perfect.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Mrvile

Originally posted by: minendo

Originally posted by: Cabages
I have an interview Monday. Im fairly confident that i'll get the job, and there were some cuties I saw working there when I went in.

Whats your ways of getting around the biggest flaw question?

Using a positive and flipping it as a flaw.

That's a pretty good suggestion...

If I asked you that question and you answered that way, you definitely wouldn't get the job.

If you gave me a REAL flaw and told me what you do to overcome it, I might consider you.

If you went off on a 5 minute rant about how that's the worst interview question ever, I'd give you the job on the spot.

 

[TheChort]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: Mrvile

Originally posted by: minendo

Originally posted by: Cabages
I have an interview Monday. Im fairly confident that i'll get the job, and there were some cuties I saw working there when I went in.

Whats your ways of getting around the biggest flaw question?

Using a positive and flipping it as a flaw.

That's a pretty good suggestion...

If I asked you that question and you answered that way, you definitely wouldn't get the job.

If you gave me a REAL flaw and told me what you do to overcome it, I might consider you.

If you went off on a 5 minute rant about how that's the worst interview question ever, I'd give you the job on the spot.

what if i just went off on a rant about how i hate interviews in general ... and I could make it last 15 minutes

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: TheChort

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: TheChort

Originally posted by: Cabages
I have an interview Monday. Im fairly confident that i'll get the job, and there were some cuties I saw working there when I went in.

Whats your ways of getting around the biggest flaw question?

"I tend to work late hours, and try to go beyond what's expected of me. It tends to make it difficult to have a good relationship with my peers/family/friends"

"I will go out of my way to watch out for my peers and on one occasion that led me to trouble in not finishing my own work."

Not the best answers, but you get the idea... say something that could be interpreted as both positive and negative.

Not to slam..

#1:
Relationships with your peers/family/friends is more important than anything else you do. This statement portrays an isolationist that is difficult to work with.

#2:
that's a positive, you always watch out for your own.

again, it's a matter of interpretation
If you worst trait can be interpreted as a positive thing, then that shows the employer that you have high standards for yourself.
As far as #1, some employers might be happy that you are willing to work extra hard for you job, even if it's at the expense of friends.

Not really IMHO. You're portraying a "doesn't work well with others" and premedonna attitude. Relationships are everything.

Your worst trait cannot be turned into a positive if you are truly honest with yourself. It's not a matter of interpretation, it's a matter of perception. Perception is reality.

 

[TheChort]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: TheChort

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: TheChort

Originally posted by: Cabages
I have an interview Monday. Im fairly confident that i'll get the job, and there were some cuties I saw working there when I went in.

Whats your ways of getting around the biggest flaw question?

"I tend to work late hours, and try to go beyond what's expected of me. It tends to make it difficult to have a good relationship with my peers/family/friends"

"I will go out of my way to watch out for my peers and on one occasion that led me to trouble in not finishing my own work."

Not the best answers, but you get the idea... say something that could be interpreted as both positive and negative.

Not to slam..

#1:
Relationships with your peers/family/friends is more important than anything else you do. This statement portrays an isolationist that is difficult to work with.

#2:
that's a positive, you always watch out for your own.

again, it's a matter of interpretation
If you worst trait can be interpreted as a positive thing, then that shows the employer that you have high standards for yourself.
As far as #1, some employers might be happy that you are willing to work extra hard for you job, even if it's at the expense of friends.

Not really IMHO. You're portraying a "doesn't work well with others" and premedonna attitude. Relationships are everything.

Your worst trait cannot be turned into a positive if you are truly honest with yourself. It's not a matter of interpretation, it's a matter of perception. Perception is reality.

isn't perception really just a matter of interpretation?
sorry, I'm just playing word games here

 

[PrinceofWands]

"How will you handle the stress of this job?" or similar questions about the stress, importance, etc of the job. I've had stressful jobs, I've had important jobs...after them most jobs are nothing by comparison. If I won't be fighting for my life at least once a week, or in some way participating in the possible deaths of thousands of people, there is no stress nor importance to the job. At the very least it has to be a job with real personal impact for me to consider it even remotely important.

 

[skim milk]

I hate all behavioral questions

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Great thread.

I went for my first interview after I got out of the Navy (a year ago on the 21st of this month), and I did alright until they asked me the "five words to describe yourself" question. Man, I screwed that up. But my organizational skills, and the fact that I had a 3-ring binder with all my information related to the interview with me, got me the job.

 

[MikeyLSU]

what is your biggest flaw?

I hate it and if I ever get in a managment position I would either:
1) eliminate the question
or
2) eliminate any person who gives a fluffed answer like the ones above. Give me a real flaw or just don't answer. Most common answer to this question is "I work too hard" which is not a flaw.

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: her209
Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

A: In your position, biatch!

While looking at picture of family on desk:
*don't say doin' your wife, don't say doin' your wife...*
"Uh, doin' your... son?"

 

[Madwand1]

If I'm every hiring again, I'll think of asking:

"What's the interview question you hate the most?"

"What's your answer to that?"

No bonus marks for smartasses who answer my questions with my questions..

 

[torpid]

My worst flaw = my real worst flaw = I often put the needs of the end users of applications above the word of managers who tell me to do things that will be detrimental to the users. An example being managers who tell me to make it so users can't use the back button for no reason, which has happened a few times. Another being managers who complain that when they set their text size to XX-Large the web site looks crappy and tell me to make it so the font stays the same size to prevent it from looking bad when people have XX-Large set. True story, sadly.

 

[teddyv]

I'd recommend handling interviewers who work out of the "How to Interview For Dummies" book by turning answers into questions.

The best interviews I've had were where I did some detailed research, went in with some good questions and put the interviewer on the spot. The flip side was asking a Partner about the impact of the fresh indictment of one of his clients, and I guess he hadn't heard about it yet.

 

[Zolty]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: minendo
I hate it when they ask salary expectations. Don't want to lowball myself nor do I want to talk myself out of a job.

What questions do you hate?

NEVER give a number. EVER. Just give the stock answer.

questions I hate:
1) describe a scenario where you failed and what you learned
2) A peer level's personell is blowing you off, how do you handle them? What channels would you employ?

That isn't quite accurate, if you have specific knowledge of what the range is and what they pay then I feel like you should be able to give them a number on the high end to start with.

 

[j00fek]

everyone of them

 

[RightIsWrong]

Are you drunk now?

 

[mh47g]

I hate the "What technology has most influenced you" question.

The question is easy as hell to answer in your head, but when it's actually asked it's like duhhhduhduhhhh

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: Fullmetal Chocobo
...and I did alright until they asked me the "five words to describe yourself" question. Man, I screwed that up.

"I like to work...a lot.......fuck!"

 

[Gibson486]

so...tell me about yourself....

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

What's your biggest flaw?

I sometimes struggle to rely on others, like on a collaborative project. I always feel an urge to get involved with every facet to ensure that it is done properly, and I often spread myself too thin doing so. It's something that I am conscious of, and I am making determined efforts to focus my energies on my individual responsibilities only, while allowing others to do the same with theirs.