Posted on 07/16/2014 8:48:07 PM PDT by CharlesOConnell
Ummm ... my biggest failure? That would be NOT telling the last jerk that asked me all these question - what an idiot he was!
Bump
I’m in a job search situation (and starting a small business at the same time) and appreciate this article. I’m going to have to read more from this author.
Failing and learning from it is the only positive thing about failure.
Good grief!
I have been pretty annoyed lately about the way our company operates. Thought regularly about moving to a smaller company that is closer to home.
When I started working for them (40 years ago) there was no drug testing or psychological questions during an interview. I just knew someone that worked there that told me they needed help in the office. Talked to the department head and went to work the next day.
I have decided to finish out my working life there and quit griping about the current politics. Better the devil I know that the one I don’t. Even if the commute is hellish! It’s only about five years...and the way time is speeding by it will seem like tomorrow.
Had a guy crash and burn in an interview on this very question. In his answer he blamed basically everyone else on the project, didn’t take any responsibility. It was obvious he didn’t learn anything and he doesn’t pay well with others.
these don’t seem like trick questions. either give the correct answer from experience, or lie convincingly.
She knows there's no success like failure
And that failure's no success at all.
It seems to go in trends....."behaviorals" are big right now. I've taken the Wonderlic several times (my high score with no wrong answers got me one job), and I've had lots of "gotcha" brain-teasery type questions......"how many golf balls fit into a 747", etc. )
The strangest interview I've had recently was an "Apprentice-style" round table with about 10 candidates - I was the only female.
It was a mix of a few older guys who probably had a ton of experience but were beaten down by being downsized, young, inexperienced guys, a couple of uber-competitive blowhards and me. Questions were directed either to a specific person or to all.
The owner of this company swore that this method got him great hires. I didn't get the job (wouldn't have wanted it after that session), but I would bet he took the biggest blowhard,(the guy was a butt kissing jerk) and it probably didn't work out that well.
More intricate.... extremely so.
So much so, that people not in the author’s field could not begin to follow it... much less remember it.
(Yes, I’m a non managerial techie)
Was the job that you were seeking a tech job or non tech job?
I’m an engineer.... I know if I were faced with the kind of question about “how many golf balls fit into a 747”?
I would respond with :
“In order to accurately answer that, I will need the specs on the interior volume of a 747, and the specs on a standard golf ball. “
I’ve had those kinds of questions for both technical and non-technical positions.
Easy answer: second wife who was a stripper. NEXT!
And the idea behind most of those questions is not that you arrive at a particularly accurate answer, but to see what questions you ask to clarify (Seats or no seats? Filling the cabin only? etc.) or how your thought process works.
Based on your experience with that type of question (# of golf balls fitting in a 747, etc), what worked for you?
And what, in your estimation, would the response to my answer be?
Interviewee: My greatest fault is my honesty.
Interviewer: But that’s not a fault ...
Interviewee: I don’t give a rat’s arse what you think.
Had a guy crash and burn in an interview on this very question. In his answer he blamed basically everyone else on the project, didn’t take any responsibility.”
Wow - so you interviewed Obama. That must have been interesting.
I was asked once in an interview what my greatest weakness was. I looked down at my lap and paused. Then I said “well, ummm, uhhh, it’s kind of hard to talk about but I have this birthmark...” and I brought my hand up with my thumb and index finger showing about a 2 inch gap. He started laughing and we both laughed for about 5 minutes and we giggled through the rest of the interview. It was good clean fun but I accepted another job offer the next day.
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