What interview question has given you trouble in the past?

2017-10-19T06:23:07-04:00

Response by Capt Ross Nussbaum made Oct 19 at 2017 8:13 AM

2017-10-19T08:13:32-04:00

Tell me about yourself! Not because I don’t know myself but because as a Marine Officer the last skill I had was to speak about myself and my accomplishments. It was always about my team.

Response by CPT Lawrence Cable made Oct 19 at 2017 8:57 AM

2017-10-19T08:57:27-04:00

"Where do you see yourself in ten years"?
Apparently the right answer isn't on a beach in Belize collecting workman's comp.

Response by Maj John Bell made Oct 19 at 2017 9:17 AM

2017-10-19T09:17:09-04:00

I have been on both sides of the interview process. I planned for my separation from service and started interviewing two years in advance of my intended separation. I knew I could jump if the right offer came along. Out of 23 interviews I was extended an offer in 21 cases. I think the interview process told me more about the potential employers than they learned about me. For the most part the interviewers were in my opinion unartful and their questions were contrived.

Two companies impressed me. They did not conduct normal interviews. From resume's, they narrowed the field to half a dozen or so candidates. Then the candidates spent a day individually job shadowing people that held the position they were trying to fill. That narrowed the field to 2 or 3 candidates, who then spent the day job shadowing the person who would be their supervisor.

For me the process was so distasteful that I decided to go into business rather than become an employee.

As a potential employer, the interview consisted of such highly contrived and rehearsed answers that it only served to annoy me and waste my time. For Blue Collar placements I went strictly to skills testing, done by my staff. For White Collar placements (my market was around the $100,000 dollar mark in service industries in the mid nineties) I had a hard sell. I spent a great deal of time getting to know HR professionals well enough that I was allowed to job shadow for the position, and with the potential supervisor. I then conducted a resume screening and picked the three candidates that were the best match. Then they went through the job shadow instead of interviews. I didn't waste my time on employer's that conducted conventional interviews, because one bad interview could severely damage my reputation.

Response by SSgt Ryan Sylvester made Oct 19 at 2017 9:23 AM

2017-10-19T09:23:31-04:00

Trouble questions I've had revolve around giving examples from past work experience toward some HR-measuring stick goal. Example, "Give me an example of a time you had a communication failure that affected your work, what you did to resolve the issue and what the results were." Or somesuch. What makes it difficult for me is, most of my job experience was in a classified work environment, so it's difficult sorting through what I'd done in prior work for relevance, with what I could actually say to an interviewer... you know, without risking going to jail. It's especially bad because the question changed during every interview, so any story I might have had prepped wasn't relevant to the question, and I would have to come up with another example off the cuff. Which meant sorting through all the prior experience and figure out another example I could use without possibly landing me in the Grey Bar Hotel.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Oct 19 at 2017 10:44 AM

2017-10-19T10:44:07-04:00

The one's I hated are the illegal/improper ones. Do you go to church? Where did your wife come from? Are your kids decent? I tended to push back on those knowing they just told me that I didn't want to work for them. Probably happens less nowadays but would still exist around the small mom and pop businesses. I also hated the "superior knowledge" questions like how would you respond to this EEO issue given insufficient information. I'd just respond that Title VII wasn't intended to be applied through armchair generalizations. Did you have a process question?

I sat, chaired, or reviewed a large number of hiring actions, especially for technical and engineering. Past the skill thing was trying to figure out if the candidate could communicate at the level the resume was indicating. Amazing the number of ghost writers out there. We tended to see if you couldn't communicate, you couldn't integrate. So a piece of is the answer itself might not be as important as your ability to verbalize it.

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made Oct 19 at 2017 11:21 AM

2017-10-19T11:21:22-04:00

The one I hate answering, "What are your weaknesses?" Every answer for that question is a two-edged sword.
-If you say "I'm willing to work long hours to complete a job on time", then you are either a workaholic or not able to prioritize.
-If you respond, "I sometimes take on too much responsibility and ignore my family commitments." The you aren't family oriented and can't prioritize your life.
-If you are bluntly honest and say "I have a hard time selling things to people." then you won't be able to grow business.
-If you say "I sometimes get absorbed in the programming and analysis I'm doing" then you're anti-social.
-If you answer, "I drink too much Mountain Dew" then you're a computer programmer.

I never used that question.

Response by Sgt Wayne Wood made Oct 19 at 2017 12:22 PM

2017-10-19T12:22:46-04:00

What is your strong point? (Followed closely by) What is your weakness?

Response by SP5 Peter Keane made Oct 19 at 2017 12:28 PM

2017-10-19T12:28:09-04:00

What have you been doing since HS Graduation ? this one got me the door most times than not.

Response by SGT Dave Tracy made Oct 19 at 2017 1:08 PM

2017-10-19T13:08:44-04:00

"Why should we hire you over someone else?" Not a very worthwhile question to even bother asking frankly.

I once responded, (to the effect of): "You shouldn't if they're a better fit." I did get a job offer, but it probably had more to do with the strength of my education and experience than the answer to their question.

Response by CPT Jim Schwebach made Oct 20 at 2017 9:10 AM

2017-10-20T09:10:44-04:00

"When did you stop beating your wife?"