There are many stupid interview questions, what kind of animal would you be and why, for instance. I’ve always thought that anyone who asks this sort of thing is more interested in appearing clever than genuinely learning about the candidate. Intimidating a job seeker for a reaction is next-level bullshit. And I have to wonder if anyone really uses these techniques or if they’re just made up Reddit stories.
Have you ever been subjected to interview shenanigans or used them yourselves, Deadsplinters?
i hate the why do you want to work here question
or better put….i hate that they expect you to come up with some bullshit making them sound like some fantastic opportunity for personal growth and new challenges
yeah fuck that….i need to make rent and am qualified….if not working was an option thats what id be doing
Yeah, they’re definitely looking for ass kissers with that one.
Trent Innes, current chief growth officer of hotel commerce platform SiteMinder, explained: “You can develop skills, you can gain knowledge and experience but it really does come down to attitude, and the attitude that we talk a lot about is the concept of ‘wash your coffee cup’.”
uhhh…holy shit
dont offer someone a drink if you expect them to then wash the cup
thats a host duty
i always refuse drinks during interviews anyways….but wtf?
like i even know where your sink is
(i mean…dont get me wrong…a polite guest offers to help with the washing up…but thats got fuck all to do with a job interview)
Right? I thought that was very obnoxious.
Never been asked that.
Most unprofessional interview(s) were at the current workplace:
1) Mocked for applying for jobs that I’m actually over qualified for (was asked “Do you know what the definition of insanity is?” after he asked about how many positions I had applied for over the years. At that point I realized that this was pretty much a joke interview, rolled my eyes and said yes.)
Went down from there.
2) The other was allegedly serious till I was in the middle of answering the question “What three skills you bring to the job?” (BTW, my answers were great communication skills, planning and coordination between depts.) The interviewer (director of engineering) didn’t want to hear any of it and I realized that I was there to be a sacrificial goat/lamb (a loser candidate who’s supposed to be outshined by the person he really wanted to hire.)
The director saw how pissed I was and realized I figured out what the purpose of this interview was so he said “You’re a really smart guy.”
I jabbed a finger in his chest and said “Yeah, I’m smart and don’t waste my time next time” with less than subtle subtext of “Get fucked you asshole.”
Which is why I’m pretty much shadowbanned from any position in engineering at current work.
I guess I showed him I have quite a temper.
Wow, those are both really offensive behaviors.
Man, I could talk about interviews all day. I’ve had every type imaginable. In general:
1. Cutesy questions generally mean you’re not getting the job. When they start with “what kind of animal” shit you may as well say any damn thing because it’s over. They’re not interested in learning about you.
2. If they’re serious about hiring you, you’ll have a conversation. It will revolve around work, but it’s going to be a give and take process. If you’re just answering rote questions while somebody checks them off a list, again, you’re in for an uphill battle.
3. The best interviews are with experienced people (duh). They’ll have interesting questions about you and your work. Worst interviews start with “tell me about yourself.” Problem is, the worst interviews far outnumber the good ones. (Pro tip: have a 30-second elevator pitch ready for the “tell me” question). If they’re working off a list of questions, it’s an inexperienced interviewer. You’ll have to take control of things.
4. On that note: One really good tip I got a long time ago was that most questions fall into 6-8 categories (it was from a book called Knock ‘Em Dead, which is still the best jobhunting book I ever read). His advice was craft answers for the categories (he lists them out and yeah, the “tell me about yourself” is one) and then whatever question they ask, you’ve got a response ready. Along that line, you don’t always have to answer the question they ask. Answer the question you WISH they had asked. Once you get things going, they’re almost never going to backtrack and try to nail you down. I’ve had a ton of success with that and ending by “I’m not sure that answered your question — did I miss something?” and they’ll tell me no, that’s great.
5. Obvs but if you don’t see any people that look like you, you’re probably not going to get the job and heck, you probably don’t want it. My category is middle-aged (or older) employees. I can’t tell you how many times I went on an interview to a tech company and everybody was 20s-30s. The second I saw that, I knew I was wasting my time. I’ve even walked into offices and people reacted with shock. I went through the motions because I’m polite, but if I’d just said y’know, I don’t think this is for me, the results would have been the same.
My daughter has been looking for another job, I’m going to mention that book to her. And pass along your interview tips. It sounds like you know a lot about the process.
I used to teach business communication at a community college, and one of the units I included was writing a resume and interviewing. I pretty much co-opted everything from that book (the author is Martin Yate) and added my own experiences. The students really liked it — they kept saying I was the only professor that acted like I cared if they got a job. Plus this was an English class, so none of them ever expected to get anything useful from it. I was pretty popular, but I only taught one class a semester as an adjunct.
Interviewer: “If you could be any animal, what would you be?”
Applicant: “A lemur.”
Interviewer: “And why is that?”
Applicant: “No lemur has ever had to sit through a job interview.”
😂
Less bad interviews, but more about just the agonizing wait to hear anything. My company has now streamlined the process a bit, but I went through 3 different interviews over multiple weeks and it was like “How much more do you need to know about me?”
That seems to be typical these days and I’m not sure why. First there’s the HR phone interview, then a one on one, then the dreaded panel interview. And who knows who makes the decision in the end. 🤷🏻♀️
YES. It took me 3 months to get my current job. Should not have taken 3 weeks.
i got laid off at my last job on friday and hired at my current one on monday….no questions asked….team lead at last job told current job to hire me
that was nice
course…. my current team lead is my last team leads wife
and her wifes brother is the company lead….
welp…suits me fine
It’s worse when they never get back to you at all. I’ve been consistently amazed at how many companies simply never send you any follow-up at all. And I’m not talking mom-and-pop operations, either. Major corporations.
I don’t expect a response for submitting a resume. But if I take the time to talk to someone, I feel like the company owes me a form email saying “Hey, thanks but no thanks.” The number of times that did not occur in my last job search really surprised me.
Worse, my wife did an in-person interview for a job that was an hour’s drive away. They kept her there for about four hours. She never heard a single word from them. Nothing at all. That’s just utterly reprehensible.
It’s happened to me too, but it’s generally a shorter interview and one of those situations where five minutes in, all parties realized that this wasn’t right. If you spend most of a day talking to people, they should give you an answer.
That’s a great indication that they treat their workers poorly.
No and no. When I get interviewed I very quickly turn the tables and become the interviewer. I want to know all about how the company functions, how the hierarchy works, what the interviewer likes about their job and their boss and what they don’t, etc. They spend all their time answering my questions, while I spend maybe 10% of the time answering theirs. Also, because these things usually have a hard time limit, I come away with much more information that will tell me if I actually want the job. Everything they need out of me they can get from my resume. It’s worked well so far.
Sound advice, you and @bryanlsplinter should be career coaches.
One time I got “What cartoon character do you identify with?” I said Charlie Brown. I did not get the job.
ive not had that one
but….taz
There are worse answers.
That answer is only for people vying for CEO.
I would have said Ziggy.
reminds me of this I saw the other day:
Lol, and yet they still waited weeks to reject him. Bullet dodged.
I had a former boss who loved the “what kind of animal would you be?” Or “if you were a superhero, what powers would you have?”
Dude loved those kinds of questions because of watching whether or not the person seemed to struggle to find the *good* answer or just was willing to have a strong opinion and run with it.
Nowadays I think I’d answer the animal question with human just to see their reaction.
welp….im doomed
after having a bigly argument with shop staff about my beer suddenly being like 50cents more expensive per can
turns out i took home the 8% stuff
might be a sick day in my immediate future
tomorow morning is going to be an experience
Ooh, that’s a strong beer!
yeah……why would they put them in identical cans?
well…almost…this one says stronk 8% in small print on the front
like……if your gonna look that fucking similar you better make damn sure you put things in the right place no?
going to have one hell of a headache in the morning…..assuming i wake up in the morning
already warned the missus i may be pulling a sickie…..hr hates me…..if in doubt stay home….they cant pin anything on me then
before any of yous get funny ideas
it is all my fault for not paying attention
on me this one…..i fucked up
I’m so glad I’ve moved beyond working at a “job”. I feel for all of you though, and the indignities you have to deal with in the workplace and prospective workplaces.
Capitalism sucks.