OMG: I hate job interviews

[AgentJean]

Ok, so I had a job interview today for this tech support position.
I was expecting to be racked over the coals with technical and customer service questions.

No! I was asked stuff like "Who inspires me and why." "Tell me a joke" "List 3 of your greatest accomplisments"

I couldn't think of a joke(nothing tastefull anyways) I could only list 1 of my greatest accoplishments and my insperiation was a genertic text book answer.

What does that have to do with my ability stop a server meltdown?


I kind of think I blew this interview
This looked like a good opportunity with some nice pay(a rarity in this area)

 

[Hyperlite]

eh that sucks. kinda threw you a curveball...i know, its hard to come up with random stuff like that on the spot.

 

[Platypus]

It was a behavioral interview to see how you reacted, there was no right answer, rather the way you answered.

 

[rstrohkirch]

The last one is common enough that I've gotten in my last two interviews

 

[Riverhound777]

Maybe he was testing you to see if you had the balls to ask him for some real questions, or why he was asking these kinds of questions. Instead of tried to actually answer them and failed. No worries, I would probably have done the same.

 

[brikis98]

well, if you can't answer simple questions about yourself in a pressure situation... and i mean - those really are simple questions - then maybe you can't handle the server meltdown

 

[AgentJean]

Originally posted by: Hyperlite
eh that sucks. kinda threw you a curveball...i know, its hard to come up with random stuff like that on the spot.

A curveball is bad enough when playing baseball.
It's even worse when your expecting to play football.


At least he didn't ask me for a one of my favorite quotes.

 

[Syringer]

Originally posted by: AgentJean

Originally posted by: Hyperlite
eh that sucks. kinda threw you a curveball...i know, its hard to come up with random stuff like that on the spot.

A curveball is bad enough when playing baseball.
It's even worse when your expecting to play football.

:laugh: I like that.

 

[Chrono]

Know why? Because knowledge is one thing but also a person's character is another. Let's say they hired you because of your knowledge but your character was cold as a fish, then obviously working with you would suck.

 

[AnyMal]

Originally posted by: Platypus
It was a behavioral interview to see how you reacted, there was no right answer, rather the way you answered.

Exactly. They knew what questions OP expected and wanted to test his critical thinking skills.

 

[desy]

Yep its how you think on your feet questions.
If your a fire fighter IT that is . . .
Sometimes people are book brilliant and common sense stupid or social misfits.
So questions like that get you inside the head quicker.

Like at the wife's work yesterday two of the 23 yr old girls crazy glued fake eyelashes on. . How do you get to that age and not know that is wrong ? and both these girls have degrees btw. . . :roll:

 

[Cal166]

I went on a Job interview for a Field Technician Position, the guy asked me to tell him all the steps on how I would brush my teeth. He basically told me at the end that he wanted to see if I am work detailed orient and if I can do my job in steps by steps instead of jumping all over the place to find a solution.

 

[AreaCode707]

Sounds like they've got a ton of people who are capable at the job and they want to find one who will fit into the team. Given your attitude about it, doesn't sound like you.

 

[Jeeebus]

just understand, I hate interviewing you just as much as you hate being interviewed. Why not throw in a few curveball questions to break the momotonous chime of 500 applicants telling you why they want to work here?

 

[AbsolutDealage]

Unless I was desperate for a job, I think I would blow off those kinds of questions. I think that you can determine a person's social demeanor without having to ask them a bunch of BS questions like that. Having a simple conversation with them should be enough to determine whether or not they will fit in.

 

[AreaCode707]

Originally posted by: AbsolutDealage
Unless I was desperate for a job, I think I would blow off those kinds of questions. I think that you can determine a person's social demeanor without having to ask them a bunch of BS questions like that. Having a simple conversation with them should be enough to determine whether or not they will fit in.

Ever done any hiring? Ever gotten stuck with a complete idiot who seemed nice enough in the half hour interview?

 

[Descartes]

As someone responsible for a lot of hiring in IT, I think those are reasonable questions. Your response to them was not reasonable, in my opinion. Someone that doesn't know three note-worthy accomplishments would seem rather suspect to me. The joke question seems to be more about trying to determine your personality. My company has a lot of out-going people that like to have fun, and almost everyone could come up with a silly joke that would make everyone laugh in an instant. He just wanted to know if you would fit into the culture.

Seriously, there is a lot of technical talent floating around out there. Being technically proficient was enough a decade ago, but now people realize that it's really not the most important facet of someone's career; rather, how well you work with others and how you manage the social dynamic is paramount.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: AbsolutDealage
Unless I was desperate for a job, I think I would blow off those kinds of questions. I think that you can determine a person's social demeanor without having to ask them a bunch of BS questions like that. Having a simple conversation with them should be enough to determine whether or not they will fit in.

No, it's really not... at all. It might be sufficient to determine if someone can flip burgers, but in a corporate setting there is a lot more to a potential hire.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: HotChic

Originally posted by: AbsolutDealage
Unless I was desperate for a job, I think I would blow off those kinds of questions. I think that you can determine a person's social demeanor without having to ask them a bunch of BS questions like that. Having a simple conversation with them should be enough to determine whether or not they will fit in.

Ever done any hiring? Ever gotten stuck with a complete idiot who seemed nice enough in the half hour interview?

so you hire people based only on how nice they are?

 

[yowolabi]

Originally posted by: AgentJean
Ok, so I had a job interview today for this tech support position.
I was expecting to be racked over the coals with technical and customer service questions.

No! I was asked stuff like "Who inspires me and why." "Tell me a joke" "List 3 of your greatest accomplisments"

I couldn't think of a joke(nothing tastefull anyways) I could only list 1 of my greatest accoplishments and my insperiation was a genertic text book answer.

What does that have to do with my ability stop a server meltdown?


I kind of think I blew this interview
This looked like a good opportunity with some nice pay(a rarity in this area)

The questions weren't pointless.
They were to judge things about your personality and behavior, which some feel is every bit as important as your technical knowledge. But you're right if you think shutting down and panicking was a good way to blow it.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Descartes

Originally posted by: AbsolutDealage
Unless I was desperate for a job, I think I would blow off those kinds of questions. I think that you can determine a person's social demeanor without having to ask them a bunch of BS questions like that. Having a simple conversation with them should be enough to determine whether or not they will fit in.

No, it's really not... at all. It might be sufficient to determine if someone can flip burgers, but in a corporate setting there is a lot more to a potential hire.

but still, how does me telling you who my heroes are or what my greatest accomplishments are have to do with how well i will fit in with people? i mean, unless you're only hiring overachievers and they hate anyone that isn't an overachiever, i don't see the point.

 

[yowolabi]

Originally posted by: AbsolutDealage
Unless I was desperate for a job, I think I would blow off those kinds of questions. I think that you can determine a person's social demeanor without having to ask them a bunch of BS questions like that. Having a simple conversation with them should be enough to determine whether or not they will fit in.

It's not enough, hence the questions. People are prepared for the standard questions they'll get. You'll be able to get rid of the obvious losers, but you won't be able to tell the people apart who have done some preparation. If you would blow your chance at a job because you were unwilling to answer a few non standard questions, you are exactly the type of person those questions are supposed to filter out.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: HotChic

Originally posted by: AbsolutDealage
Unless I was desperate for a job, I think I would blow off those kinds of questions. I think that you can determine a person's social demeanor without having to ask them a bunch of BS questions like that. Having a simple conversation with them should be enough to determine whether or not they will fit in.

Ever done any hiring? Ever gotten stuck with a complete idiot who seemed nice enough in the half hour interview?

That's kind of why I think companies should ask questions with more substance... because we HAVE hired complete idiots who seemed nice in the interview, and asking some harder questions would have exposed that.

 

[InlineFive]

"Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, too much of it dear, too much!"

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: Descartes

Originally posted by: AbsolutDealage
Unless I was desperate for a job, I think I would blow off those kinds of questions. I think that you can determine a person's social demeanor without having to ask them a bunch of BS questions like that. Having a simple conversation with them should be enough to determine whether or not they will fit in.

No, it's really not... at all. It might be sufficient to determine if someone can flip burgers, but in a corporate setting there is a lot more to a potential hire.

but still, how does me telling you who my heroes are or what my greatest accomplishments are have to do with how well i will fit in with people? i mean, unless you're only hiring overachievers and they hate anyone that isn't an overachiever, i don't see the point.

A lot more than you think. If you allow me something of a straw man argument, if someone tells you their greatest fan is Hitler in an interview, it's quite obvious that you're probably not likely to be much of a fit; conversely, if you're interviewing in an IT position and your hero is Richard Stevens or Don Knuth (he's not mine, but I respect his work and he just came to mind), it might make more sense. It gives people a sense of who you are and what your personality is like.

I've learned a lot in this business, but one paradox rings absolutely true: The most successful ITers aren't necessarily the most talented. It's the ones that understand the social dynamic that succeed, and people that want to run a successful IT group understand this. This is the reason Microsoft acts silly questions in their interviews and it's the reasons OP was offered such questions as well.

As far as I'm concerned, an interview is like a first date. Both sides are trying to determine if they want to spend more time with one another, and so it's prudent to ask such questions to see if the personalities are similar enough to warrant such. People go into an interview expecting to be asked questions to test what they say they know, but all that really says is whether you're honest about what you know or not. That's another topic though...