In my last interview I was asked about the last book I read. First time I was ever asked a question like that.
In my last interview I was asked about the last book I read. First time I was ever asked a question like that.
The American way is to have the work done overseas
That one is funnyOriginally posted by javajuice1000
Yeah, that totally sounds like something he got out of a book. You can definitely tell when somebody is new to the interviewer process. I was in an interview once where one guy asked something so ridiculous that the other interviewers stopped and actually called him out on how stupid/irrelevent his question was. I can't even remember what it was because he turned me off on working there so badly (he would have been me direct supervisor) that I mentally checked out of the interview. People should realize that the interviewers are a reflection on the department/company.
In the beginning there was nothing...then Chuck Norris Roundhouse kicked that nothing in the face and said "Get a job". That is the story of the universe.
'What if someone told you, "No"?'
I was asked this just last week b/c apparently I have a reputation for not getting "No" too often. Talk about not being able to win! So what, people don't tell me "no", I manage to get what I want.....isn't that what I am supposed to be doing?
So I answered with something that came out of some management book and was asked, "what if they insisted they would not do what you asked?". I responded with follow policy for insubordination blah blah blah.....
Really I wanted to say I would kick their @ss - I am from the hood hahaha
were you interviewing at Black and Deckor or Rowenta?
I think I would have answered by writing an RFP..as it was not my expertise.
I was once asked how I maintained files.... just run...as the place must have problems.
I had an interview yesterday with my county's planning and economic development department and among the standard questions, I was asked if I have have had experience supervising others, my answer of, "Yes..." led to one of the interviewers (a woman) asking if I was ever in a position of responsibility over a woman (or women (I am a male btw)) and if my female charges ever began to cry and how I dealt with that.
Talk about odd questions!
That one would worry me! Sounds like they have some overly emotional women on staff
In the beginning there was nothing...then Chuck Norris Roundhouse kicked that nothing in the face and said "Get a job". That is the story of the universe.
I was asked:
"What is your favorite president of all time and why"
Answer:
"Warren G. Harding" Bwa Ha ha ha ha ha.......at least he was being honest by telling everyone he had no business being in that position
not really.......responded with old honest Abe as my go to president in a pinch......
Last edited by The One; 28 Mar 2007 at 4:36 PM. Reason: A break in the action
On the ground, protecting the Cyburbia Shove since 2004.
A Friend of mine came back from an interview ranting about the following questions:
"Are you addicted to a positive attitude? "
and
"On a scale of 1 to 10 how happy are you?"
She nervously BS'd answers, and we had a good laugh at the stupidity of the questions. Her answers must have been good, because she eventually got the job.
Disaster Planner, at a major downtown hospital.
What questions do you ask when the job skills needed are to spend a lot of time running smulations, and working on imaginary logistics, both of which assume that lots of people can or will die around you. In the event there is a serious Meltdown thousands of people may live or die based on your planning and reactions in a crisis. Perhaps happiness is a required trait.
this wasn't an interview question, but it came up after a recent interview and I am not sure how to handle it. The main interviewer asked me for references (no problem). However, he wanted current coworkers (ok), some academic refs (ok), and references from people (i.e., citizens) that I have worked with directly for their assessment of my ability(WHAT??). I have never been asked for that before. To be perfectly honest, I don't feel that is appropriate either. As a current govt employee, I don't see how I could call up someone (contractor, developer, etc) and ask them to serve as a reference for another job. Has anybody ever had to do this? I really want the job, but I don't think I can do this.
In the beginning there was nothing...then Chuck Norris Roundhouse kicked that nothing in the face and said "Get a job". That is the story of the universe.
One of the other threads got me to thinking about the interview questions that I hate most.
While I have had some strange ones that have caught me off-guard (hmmm, maybe that should be another thread), I have to say that the one I hate most is: "What is your biggest weakness?" and the follow up to it, "What are you doing to improve at it?"
It took me quite a while, but I came up with an answer that is not too damning, but at the same time shows that I have thought about it before.
After being a participant on both sides of the interview table many times, I have heard many questions (and responses) that have made me go "huh?". What is the strangest question you have heard?
I think the strangest I have heard was "Do you like Chinese food?" I got the job, but never was able to find out why they asked it...
Last edited by Planderella; 15 Aug 2007 at 12:08 PM. Reason: Merged double post
"Future events such as these will affect you in the future."
I think we have covered this before...
http://www.cyburbia.org/forums/showt...ight=questions
Too lazy to beat myself up for being to lazy to beat myself up for being too lazy to... well you get the point....
"if you could be a cookie, what kind of cookie would you be.... and WHY?"
Moderator note:
Threads merged.
EDIT:
Moderator note:
I decided to merge all the interview questions threads into one. There were too many of them with very little difference between them. Please use this thread to discuss all types of interview questions be it odd, favorite, worst, etc. Thanks!
"A witty woman is a treasure, a witty beauty is a power!"
Is there a book on dumb questions that don't really matter? 101 ways to make interviewers cry? 10 Highly effective habits of making people feel small and insignificant? Really? I guess this is welcome to the world of post-college.
[I] would have just laughed at that question. Seriously
I HATE that question, as I hate all those other "standard" bs interview questions. It's a canned question that usually gets nothing but canned responses. I don't know how you can honestly evaluate someone that way. I prefer interviews that are more like actual conversations, with give and take. I think it is a better way to evaluate people, based on how well they can articulate a subject and interact. Spitting out answers to standard questions just seems so worthless to me.
In the beginning there was nothing...then Chuck Norris Roundhouse kicked that nothing in the face and said "Get a job". That is the story of the universe.
And you don't think the hiring authority can't identify canned responses?
The direction of "standardized" questions typically comes from the HR dept in an effort to gauge applicants on a level playing field. It's the responsibility of the candidate to "shine."
A nuisance may be merely a right thing in the wrong place — like a pig in the parlor instead of the barnyard.
I was thinking the same thing. Very well put RJ.
Ditto here as well.
"Growth is inevitable and desirable, but destruction of community character is not. The question is not whether your part of the world is going to change. The question is how." -- Edward T. McMahon, The Conservation Fund
Perhaps, but I think canned questions are as lame as canned answers, and make me not want to work for you.
Do you want to pet my monkey?
Go back and read the thread again. It's not our responsibility to bring out your best qualities; it's the interviewees'. When you arrive at that point of the interview and are asked, "What do you want to know about me," and "Is there anything else you want to tell us about yourself that we haven't covered," it's your time to shine. Those are the two questions you get from me and you better respond with some "sell yourself" lines if you want the job because I'm not gonna beg you to work for us. Plenty of fish in the sea. (Oh wait, that line goes in the Dating Thread.)
A nuisance may be merely a right thing in the wrong place — like a pig in the parlor instead of the barnyard.
I have been troubled in my past interviews with the lack of the employer "selling" themselves to me. An interview serves not only for you to look at me, but an opportunity for me to look and you. I have turned down several job offers because the employer did not demonstrate that this was the best place to work. If you are of the opinion that there are plenty of fish in the sea, I likely don't want to work for your organization.
I have never been in a position to interview people. I have always been the interviewee and I have never thought of an interview as a place for the company/muni to sell themselves to me. Maybe at an executive level this could potentially be the case.
Now, for odd interview questions. I have been asked if I smoked. Um...no. I can only presume that they were thinking of my impact on their health insurance???
I wonder what the look on my face was when they asked that question.
I'd be more apathetic if I weren't so lethargic.
Ahhh....generational differences in job expectations.
I look at it this way, if the position is upper level, or if there's a limited applicant pool, then the people hiring should "sell" the job at least a little bit. If it's a lower level position, or there's a large pool of qualified applicants, don't expect a "sales" job from those doing the hiring.
Bottom line for me in hiring....if you haven't already determined that you want to work for me and my organization, you're not going to get hired.
"Growth is inevitable and desirable, but destruction of community character is not. The question is not whether your part of the world is going to change. The question is how." -- Edward T. McMahon, The Conservation Fund
Quote
