tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3406509183596335885.post-40762371025481028512008-05-10T14:12:00.005-04:002008-05-10T15:55:57.671-04:00Interviews are stressful enough as it is, but some interviewers can be sadists. <a href="http://chronicle.com/jobs/blogs/onhiring/567">This post in the Chronicle of Education "On Hiring" blog</a> really brings to mind some of the bizarre and bewildering interview experiences I'm sure we've all had. There are a ton of questions everyone dreads, so I've broken them down into several categories.<br /><br />1) Questions that we knew were coming but that we still don't have a good answer for.<br />Examples:<br /><ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Name your greatest accomplishment.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Besides being able to name all 150 Pokemon? I can't think of anything else. ...Oh well, hope you're a fan.</span><br /></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">What is your greatest weakness?</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">So you want </span>me <span style="font-style: italic;">to tell </span>you <span style="font-style: italic;">why you shouldn't pick me? I don't think so.</span><br /></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Why are you interested in this school?</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Because it's ranked #1 in the nation? Because your brochures are 50% glossier than than that other school's? Because... wait, which school am I interviewing for again?</span><br /></li></ul>2) Questions that ask you how to do things you don't actually know how to do.<br />Examples:<br /><ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">How do they get the sugar coating on M&amp;M's to be so smooth? And how do they print that tiny m on millions and billions of M&amp;M's? </span><span style="font-style: italic;">They have little elves to do it for them? If I knew, don't you think I'd have opened up my own plant by now?</span></li><li><span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span><span>If you wanted to get more students interested in computer science, what would you do? </span></span></span><span><span><span>[I actually got this one. Gave a totally flustered answer. She pointed out some quite obvious flaws. I didn't get in.]</span></span></span></span></li><li><span><span><span><span><span style="font-weight: bold;">What problems do you see with the world today, and how would you solve them if selected for this program?</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Okay, that's it, I'm leaving.</span></span></span></span></span></li></ul>3) Questions that supposedly test how we think on our feet... but really just prove that interviewers get bored too.<br />Examples:<br /><ul><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">If I gave you an elephant right now, what would you do?</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Uh. Leave?</span><br /></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">So... tell me about your childhood.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Actually, can we skip straight to the inkblots?</span><br /></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Teach me how to do something, step-by-step.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Well you go like this, and the rabbit goes through the hole... I think...</span></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Describe yourself with a single four-letter word.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Is it important that I keep this PG? How about... 'sane'?</span><br /></li><li><span style="font-weight: bold;">What would you like to see on your tombstone?</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Dearly beloved. You will be missed by family, friends, and your pet elephant.</span><br /></li></ul>Lillian Zhouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10370597515524992139noreply@blogger.com