What do you think is the best way to answer this interview question?

[imported_Section8]

Thank you for helping me to decide not to work for your company. This interview is over, good day.

 

[IronWing]

Do you trim the crusts off before or after assembling the sandwich?

 

[oddyager]

Originally posted by: ironwing
Do you trim the crusts off before or after assembling the sandwich?

Depends on the peanut butter of course.

 

[BlackTigers]

1) Break into Song and Dance
2) Have the woman make me the sammich.

 

[Ramma2]

Originally posted by: TheKub

Originally posted by: demenion
List the steps you would take to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Remove 2 slices of whole wheat bread. Insert bread into and power up toaster. Ready PB and Jelly. Remove the now toast. Layer PB on one and Jelly on the other. Assemble. Enjoy. Ponder how I my improve the manufacturing process for future PB&J challenges.

You monster, you're not supposed to toast the bread for a PB&J! If you're making PB toast or jelly toast, then sure.

Oh the humanity!

 

[rasczak]

Originally posted by: ironwing
I was on the interview committee for our first IT manager. Yes, three clods who didn't know a router from a rooter got to pick the person to design and build a network from scratch. Anyway, the question I asked was "Could you install Doom on the network so employees could play against each other?" One guy said "Sure, if you want it." Another candidate waxed poetic on IT security, network control, and how he would monitor to make sure this type of abuse wouldn't happen. We hired the guy who said "sure". Our rationale was that we wanted a network admin who understood that our business was not running a network; that the network was simply a tool to get our business done, and that the network admin's job was to serve the needs of our company, not control folks. Worked out great.

:thumbsup: Did you guys get to play Doom?

 

[Ness]

Depends on the position. I've seen a training session where someone asked this question, followed their steps closely but without common sense and some ended up with a peanut butter sandwich with jelly on top... with not too much jelly and a WHOLE lot of peanut butter. spread ALL OVER the bread. Some people acted frustrated because they didn't know they were supposed to get the jelly and bread out of the fridge and the peanut butter out of the cupboard. (Which was a bit extreme for the exercise, but the point was taken.) If it's for a help desk job or something, they probably want to see how thorough you can be so as not to lose the average user in jargon and such. Some people really do need things spelled out. As such, here's what I'd say for such a position:

First confirm that you have all necessary ingredients so you don't get started only to find that you can't complete the project. You will need 2 standard slices of bread, about 1 cubic inch of peanut butter, 1 cubic inch of jelly. More peanut butter and/or jelly can be added to suit your personal needs. Once you have located all ingredients you can move on. If you cannot locate the ingredients, please ask for assistance.

Preparation:
Find a clean surface to prepare your sandwich. Some ideas include a plate, a cutting board, or the kitchen counter. Preparing the sandwich in your hands is not recommended as it may cause sticky hands, loss of materials or personal injury.
Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly. Preparing foods with unclean hands can lead to ingestion of bacteria and dirt.
Obtain a knife and a spoon. CAUTION: Knives are sharp. Be careful while using them to avoid injury.

Once you have the required ingredients and taken note of the safety precautions you are ready to begin assembly.

- Lay the two slices of bread side by side on your clean surface.
- Hold the knife by the handle and use it to remove approximately 1 cubic inch of peanut butter from the peanut butter jar. Apply the peanut butter to ONLY one side of of one of the slices of bread. Use the knife to spread it evenly. More peanut butter may be applied if desired.
- Hold the spoon by the handle and use it to scoop approximately 1 cubic inch of jelly from the jelly jar. Apply the jelly to ONLY one side of the slice of bread that does NOT have the peanut butter on it. Use the rounded back of the spoon to spread the jelly evenly on the face of the bread.
- To complete the sandwich, hold the slice of bread containing the peanut butter by the edges so you do not put your fingers in the peanut butter and place it on top of the slice of bread containing the jelly so that the peanut butter and jelly are facing each other.

You should now have a complete peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You are ready to consume it. Be sure to properly clean your preparation area when you are finished and wash the knife, spoon, and any other dishes you may have used in the process.

Could probably be perfected a bit, but you get the idea of how thorough they want someone to be.

 

[xboxist]

Originally posted by: darkswordsman17
I'd probably start by asking if the person interviewing me seriously believes how I answer this question will give them any real insight into how I would fit in working for them. Aside from a position as their peanut butter jelly sandwich maker, I'd have to say that its pointless. If they answer yes, I'd probably stand up, thank them for their time and leave. If they say no, I'd then ask if we could move on to the real part of the interview.

You sound like you'd be a great co-worker.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: Ness
Depends on the position. I've seen a training session where someone asked this question, followed their steps closely but without common sense and some ended up with a peanut butter sandwich with jelly on top... with not too much jelly and a WHOLE lot of peanut butter. spread ALL OVER the bread. Some people acted frustrated because they didn't know they were supposed to get the jelly and bread out of the fridge and the peanut butter out of the cupboard. (Which was a bit extreme for the exercise, but the point was taken.) If it's for a help desk job or something, they probably want to see how thorough you can be so as not to lose the average user in jargon and such. Some people really do need things spelled out. As such, here's what I'd say for such a position:

First confirm that you have all necessary ingredients so you don't get started only to find that you can't complete the project. You will need 2 standard slices of bread, about 1 cubic inch of peanut butter, 1 cubic inch of jelly. More peanut butter and/or jelly can be added to suit your personal needs. Once you have located all ingredients you can move on. If you cannot locate the ingredients, please ask for assistance.

Preparation:
Find a clean surface to prepare your sandwich. Some ideas include a plate, a cutting board, or the kitchen counter. Preparing the sandwich in your hands is not recommended as it may cause sticky hands, loss of materials or personal injury.
Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly. Preparing foods with unclean hands can lead to ingestion of bacteria and dirt.
Obtain a knife and a spoon. CAUTION: Knives are sharp. Be careful while using them to avoid injury.

Once you have the required ingredients and taken note of the safety precautions you are ready to begin assembly.

- Lay the two slices of bread side by side on your clean surface.
- Hold the knife by the handle and use it to remove approximately 1 cubic inch of peanut butter from the peanut butter jar. Apply the peanut butter to ONLY one side of of one of the slices of bread. Use the knife to spread it evenly. More peanut butter may be applied if desired.
- Hold the spoon by the handle and use it to scoop approximately 1 cubic inch of jelly from the jelly jar. Apply the jelly to ONLY one side of the slice of bread that does NOT have the peanut butter on it. Use the rounded back of the spoon to spread the jelly evenly on the face of the bread.
- To complete the sandwich, hold the slice of bread containing the peanut butter by the edges so you do not put your fingers in the peanut butter and place it on top of the slice of bread containing the jelly so that the peanut butter and jelly are facing each other.

You should now have a complete peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You are ready to consume it. Be sure to properly clean your preparation area when you are finished and wash the knife, spoon, and any other dishes you may have used in the process.

Could probably be perfected a bit, but you get the idea of how thorough they want someone to be.

Also, the answer may vary based on who the interviewer is. They may want you to first ask if there is a SOP or Work Instruction for this procedure. For a position that interfaces with mgmt, they want someone who doesn't go into the details (or get too technical). The opposite for someone that needs to interface with developers, researchers, engineers.

 

[jjones]

Why make one when it can be outsourced for cheaper?

 

[TheKub]

Originally posted by: jjones
Why make one when it can be outsourced for cheaper?

Lead contaminated PB FTL.

 

[vi edit]

It's actually a great question and they are just looking to see how clearly and coherently you can describe a simple task.

At my first "real" job out of college I got the spot over 40 other people because I answered the pencil question better than anyone else. It was simply - "How do you sharpen a pencil?"

I had to role play with the interviewer on how to sharpen a pencil without a pencil sharpener.

They were trying to see how well you handled yourself in the most simple of situations walking a total idiot through a mundane task. Which is what I was going to be doing working support for the users they had.

 

[hiromizu]

mush the two stuff together and stick two breads on each side of them

 

[Ness]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
Also, the answer may vary based on who the interviewer is. They may want you to first ask if there is a SOP or Work Instruction for this procedure. For a position that interfaces with mgmt, they want someone who doesn't go into the details (or get too technical). The opposite for someone that needs to interface with developers, researchers, engineers.

Exactly.

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: BlackTigers91
1) Break into Song and Dance

This is the first thing that came into my head. I think they'd hire me if I did this.

KT

 

[MisterJackson]

Start twitching, then say:

"My mom killed my dad with the peanut butter knife after he complained one too many times about the jelly being the wrong kind....."

be sure to stare off into space and then snap back making eye contact and say...."I'm sorry, what was the question again??"

 

[Pardus]

Originally posted by: demenion
List the steps you would take to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

been on dozens of interviews, no one ever asked me anything like that... were you interviewing with Skippy?

 

[torpid]

I'll go with the procedural approach:

0. Create empty shopping list
1. Determine availability of inventory:
1A. Open Refridgerator and look for Trader Joe's Asiago Peppercorn Sourdough.
1Ai. If bread found, check whether bread is usable
1Aii. If bread is not usable, place bread into trash receptacle and proceed to 1B, else remove from fridge, place onto kitchen counter, and proceed to 1C
1B. With refridgerator still open, look for La Brea Bakery Sourdough
1Bi. If found, check whether bread is usable
1Bii. If bread is not usable, add "Bread" to ShoppingList object, proceed to 1C, else else remove from fridge, place onto kitchen counter, proceed to 1C
1C. Open Refridgerator (if closed) and locate jelly
1Ci. If multiple jellies found, sort according to tastiness (see procedure JAM01), choose first (most tasty) jelly, remove from refridgerator, close fridge, and place onto kitchen counter, proceed to 1D
1Cii. If one jelly found, remove from refridgerator, close fridge, and place onto kitchen counter, proceed to 1D
1Ciii. Else: no jelly found, add "Jelly" to ShoppingList, proceed to 1D
1D. Open flatware drawer and attempt to locate butter knife
1Di. If butter knife found, remove from drawer, close drawer, place knife on kitchen counter, proceed to 1E.
1Dii. If knife not found and dishes clean in dishwasher, open dishwasher and attempt to locate knife. If found, close dishwasher, place knife on counter, proceed to 1E
1Diii. If knife not found and dishes unclean in dishwasher, clean dirty butter knife using procedure DISHCLEAN01, place on counter, close dishwasher, proceed to 1E
1Div. If no knife found, throw "IHaveBeenRobbed" exception
1E. Open fridge (if closed), locate peanut butter
1Ei. If found, place peanut butter on kitchen counter, close fridge, proceed to 1F
1Eii. If not found, add "Peanut Butter" to ShoppingList, proceed to 1F
1F. Check ShoppingList. If empty, proceed to 2.
1Fi. If not empty, place any items in kitchen counter back into respective storage location, go shopping using procedure SHOP01, then proceed to 0
2. Open bread container and slice bread using plastic cutting board and serrated Forschner bread knife
3. Place bread slices side by side on cutting board
4. Open jelly, insert knife, swish, remove knife with adequate jelly, and spread evenly on one slice of bread using knife
5. Close jelly
6. Rinse knife in sink to remove all jelly remnants
7. Open Peanut Butter, insert knife, swish, remove knife with adequate peanut butter, spread evenly on second slice of bread using knife
8. Rinse knife. If dishes in dishwasher are dirty, place knife in dishwasher
9. Place jelly side of first slice of bread face down so that it contacts the peanut butter side of the second slice. Smush
10. Place completed sandwich in right hand. Rinse cutting board using left hand, and place into "Cutting Board Drying Location"
11. Determine sandwich recipient
11A. If girlfriend, take enormous bite from sandwich, then deliver directly to recipient
11B. If self, eat sandwich over sink
11C. Else, open dish cabinet
11Ci. Attempt to locate small plate
11Cii. If plate found, remove plate from cabinet, close cabinet, place sandwich on plate, deliver to recipient
11Ciii. Else, if dishes in dishwasher are clean, open dishwasher, remove small plate, close dishwasher, place sandwich on plate, deliver to recipient
11Civ. Else, sigh, deliver to recipient

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Skyclad1uhm1

And regarding the PB&J sandwich: Only Americans eat that combination, so I would not make it in the first place.

Ah, so it's an attempt to find out the person's national origin without being sued.

 

[sdifox]

You answer with "Can you define Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwich for me since users usually don't know what they want?"

 

[spidey07]

That's a great question. They're basically asking you if you understand how to create a work breakdown structure (WBS). These kinds of questions are always used to teach project management.

Pretty ingenious way of the interviewer to gauge your strength in this area.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: spidey07
Pretty ingenious way of the interviewer to gauge your strength in this area.

Don't give the interviewer too much credit, he got the question out of a book or off the Internet.

 

[IronWing]

Originally posted by: rasczak

:thumbsup: Did you guys get to play Doom?

Yes. The boss liked Doom so we got to play on our lunch hour.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: PokerGuy

Originally posted by: darkswordsman17
I'd probably start by asking if the person interviewing me seriously believes how I answer this question will give them any real insight into how I would fit in working for them. Aside from a position as their peanut butter jelly sandwich maker, I'd have to say that its pointless. If they answer yes, I'd probably stand up, thank them for their time and leave. If they say no, I'd then ask if we could move on to the real part of the interview.

See? You just proved it's a very good question to ask. Your argumentative and irritated response would be a clear indicator to me that you are inflexible and generally a pain in the butt, so I'd have my answer: do not hire.

Right. Save me the psycho-analytical BS. Not only that, but its interesting that you would assume I was being argumentative about it. It's really not difficult to respond with a neutral tone and straight face what I said when asked such a silly question. Perhaps if you spent less time asking frivolous questions and more time showing the potential hire what they would be doing and asking if they're familiar with it and if they think it would be trouble for them to handle you might have a better idea of how well they'd fit in with your company. I've talked to quite a bit of people who own their own companies and do all the hiring for them and they all tell me that those questions never give them any actually useful information about the person (a few told me they started out doing that and they'd know the people worth hiring by them asking if they wanted a serious answer as those people were typically more of the let's get to business mentality). I'm not saying ask the same old stupid crap that they know you know how to answer, but there are plenty of other things that will be more beneficial than a question like that.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: spidey07
Pretty ingenious way of the interviewer to gauge your strength in this area.

Don't give the interviewer too much credit, he got the question out of a book or off the Internet.

Exactly, you're giving someone a lot of credit if you assume they even know how to properly interpret various answers. For me, it would be a tipoff that this person is new to hiring and is relying on crap they learned at trade show seminars or the internet.