Stupid interview questions...

[Kiwi]

Im in the middle of going through interviews (I hate job seeking) and had two call backs....

I was put forward for a receptionist/admin assistant job by an agency I signed up with, the business is HUGE over 50 000 employees world wide and in an industry I have never dealt with before. Most of my work has been in creative fields because im a creative person.

In the interview she said "what made you apply for this job" ....

ummmm.......

I know I cant say because your hiring (even though thats really why)

I said that when my job agent had told me about the job I had researched it online and it turns out they seem like a really great company, and that I really respected their values and mission, plus the fact they did charity projects and were enviromentally responsible.

She liked that answer but then I added "Ive never thought about working for a ******* company before but when I read about the reputation of ***** I felt like I could be proud to say I worked here."

which was totally honest, I was offered a job last week with the tax department (YUCK) and turned it down flat.... where I work is important to me

but she cringed.... she cringed!!!!!!

Seriously why do they ask a question if they dont want to hear and honest answer! I have never thought about ***** industry before, I try to steer clear of big businesses!! The interview was going really well until I said that...

Oh well if they dont want me because im honest, then I dont want to work there!!!
But seriously what was wrong with me being honest???

[draftermatt]

Nothing. I'd much rather a person I'm interviewing be honest. But really, the reason she cringed could be that she's heard people say "I've never thought of working..." before and they didn't work out.

Honesty is best, because if you lie, and it comes back to bite you in the ass, firing might be next on the agenda.

I bull shit on interviews. Don't exaggerate, just tell them what they want to hear.

[Gurndigarn]

I was put forward for a receptionist/admin assistant job by an agency I signed up with, the business is HUGE over 50 000 employees world wide and in an industry I have never dealt with before. Most of my work has been in creative fields because im a creative person.

In the interview she said "what made you apply for this job" ....

ummmm.......

I know I cant say because your hiring (even though thats really why)

Yeah, you can. Wanting a paycheck is a good thing in many interviewers' eyes.

I used that question in almost every interview. I managed an arcade. I wanted people who were willing to work, rather than people who wanted to get paid to be around video games. So anyone who said "because I like video games" got a black mark. Anyone who said "I want a paycheck" got a minor white mark.

[NightAngel]

Honestly, I ask that question during interviews and you'd be surprised how often I get this response:

"Uhhh...." blank stare/slack jaw.

Seriously, if you can't come up with anything to say then I'm pretty sure I don't need you. Plus, it shows me what kind of response my customers are going to get from you when they ask questions.

I'd rather hear, "Because I really need work- my bills are behind and any paycheck is a good paycheck." That would at least tell me you're serious about showing up and doing what needs done to GET said paycheck.

[MadRocketScientist]

I had one interview as I was getting ready to graduate with my BS in Engineering back in 2000. There was a local company in Madison that was small but did a lot of work with my department and hired a lot of graduates from my department. I knew a lot of the people who worked there and a few of them had helped me to get an interview for one of the engineering positions available.

SO happens the interview I got was first thing in the morning with one of the two owners of the company. I thought, Great! Just the guy to talk to. Uh-hu, yeah right.

He obviously never read my resume or cover letter (that he'd had for over a week) and had no clue who I was or what my history was. After the initial greetings, his first question to me was:

"So what sports did you play in High School?"

WTF?! What does that have to do with the price of tea in China? I told him the truth, I took second place in the state Forensics competition in High School (Demonstration Category) and I practiced Tae-Kwon-Do. I was 90 lbs soaking wet in HS (I did not pack on mass until I was a junior in HS, and nothing really significant until I was in the Navy training to be a Diver), contact sports was suicide, basketball was a no go (unless the team needed a three-point King, I could sink those all day long). Not to mention, for me, by this time, HS was almost a decade ago. My resume showed when I graduated HS and when I was in the military.

Turns out the guy who was interviewing me played football for his Alma Mater and placed a lot of importance on HS sports. Even though HS was completely irrelevant to me, he was obviously no longer interested in me after learning I did public speaking and not football.

[powerboy]

I always bull shit them also, if I want the job. I found when I am honest, they do not want me.

[JustADude]

I always bull shit them also, if I want the job. I found when I am honest, they do not want me.

Ditto for me if I'm completely honest. Of course, I don't lie, I just use the same bit on them I'll use on the customers. I tell them the truth in a way that sounds like what they want to hear, and makes them do what I want.

That's half the interview process, to see if you can bullshit well enough to keep the Plastic Smile Of DOOOM™ on in front of the customers.

[wagegoth]

The odds are they're not being 100% honest with you, I mean, how many of you have started a new job with a written job description, only to find yourself doing something else entirely? I ran into this a lot with temp assignments.

An important thing to remember is to answer the question, include an example or another sentence or two fleshing out your answer, then end the answer. Don't elaborate unless you're asked to. You can over-answer. End the answer while the interviewer is still smiling.

[Sableonblonde]

I don't think there is anything wrong with what you said...it sounded like a good answer to me. Hmmmmmm.

I'm not sure where or how I picked this ability up, but somehow I've always been able to totally BS my way through interviews and know the exact things to say and the right buzzwords to throw around. A few years ago I applied for this data entry job and managed to dazzle during the interview despite the fact that at the time I was suffering through severe agoraphobia and was experiencing waves of panic attacks the entire time I was in the building. The interviewer actually made a comment to me that even though she really liked me and was going to hire me, she wasn't sure if I would like the job because it was very solitary and I seemed like "such a people person." It took all of my will not to burst out laughing...it was the first time in my life that I had ever, and will ever, be referred to as anything like a "people person." I'm still amazed at how I managed to come across that way - I must be goooood.

And the truth is, I feel really bad actually - because I am able to put on such a good show for the interview, but the reality is that any company that has ever hired me has lived to bitterly regret it. I'm manic-depressive, which I definetly don't disclose during the interview, and I usually become whacked-out within a couple of months or so. They never see it coming.

[Kiwi]

haha I told them my cockroach story....

they actually laughed for 10 mintues and the interviewer had to go get some water to calm down

hopefully thats a good sign?

[South Texan]

I got a call a few years ago from a department manager of a company who had found out about me from someone I had done some contract work for. I had no idea the company even existed, but they were interviewing for a full time position in my field and wanted to speak with me about it.

That manager was not present when I went for my interview, and the first question out of the HR interviewer's mouth was, "So, why did you apply here?" When I told him the truth that I had been requested to come in, he frowned and the interview went down the drain after that.

[CancelMyService]

Personally I hate the "So what are your flaws?" type of question. I don't know what the point of them are other than asking for a list of reasons for you to not what to hire me.

[Imogene]

Personally I hate the "So what are your flaws?" type of question.

I was advised (though it hardly ever seems to work for me) to answer that with things that are actually good things about you, but could be annoying if taken too far. "I'm early. Constantly, by an hour or more for any appointment/shift I have" ; "I'm cheerful, to the point of giving others diabetic comas..." ; "I follow instructions to the letter, not necessarily the spirit, and that tends to end up with whomever gave me the instructions re-phrasing their request and me repeating roughly the same thing, only to have the requester find out he still wasn't specific enough."
Stuff like that.

[Gurndigarn]

Personally I hate the "So what are your flaws?" type of question. I don't know what the point of them are other than asking for a list of reasons for you to not what to hire me.

Yeah, roughly. Also to see how you react under pressure.

I was advised (though it hardly ever seems to work for me) to answer that with things that are actually good things about you, but could be annoying if taken too far.

Which will make the interviewer's eyes glaze over, because he's heard it way too often. According to one of my friends who's an HR director at a decent-sized utility, that type of question has become rare because it doesn't tell you anything, espeically now that everyone is anticipating it. (Keep in mind that this is for a big place, so the smaller places that don't try to keep on top of every new thing will take a while before it filters down to them.)

[Bagga]

My flaws?

Let me think...

Modesty.
Over-dedication. Sometimes my colleagues find it hard to keep up with me because I work so hard.


and so on

Although, I must admit I was amazed to get the job where my answer to that question was "I don't suffer fools gladly".