107,409g
214L
The Logic Behind 19 Common Interview Questions
Go on enough job interviews and you'll quickly learn most interviewers ask the same things. But what are employers really looking for when they ask things like "Where do you see yourself five years from now?" This graphic spells out the reasoning behind typical questions like that.
Sample Questionnaire provides this infographic covering different types of questions, from the straightforward ("Tell me about yourself?"—checking your communication skills and how you present yourself) to the challenging ("If you were shrunk to the size of a pencil and put in a blender, how would you get out?"—testing your problem-solving abilities). Know what the interviewer is testing or looking for and you could prepare better and answer the questions in the best way possible.
Here's the full image:
K
Why are manhole covers round? Because manholes are round. I've heard that question before (in reference to interviews, but not actually in one) and I've always seen it as kinda stupid. Same thing with the quarters and the Empire State Building — you tell me the thickness of a quarter and the height of the building and I'll do the math, but what else do you want here other than basic division skills (which I assume is included under "quantitative reasoning")?
Honestly I've actually heard very few of these in practice. Tuesday 7:52am
Honestly I've actually heard very few of these in practice. Tuesday 7:52am
Is that seriously the answer? I thought it had to do with the fact that because no matter what angle you turn the cover, it won't fall into the manhole but I guess that's more related to the manhole shape itself.
Empire State Building question yeah, I'd be like Ok let me look that up on my phone.. do you want me to just google the question itself or do the math.. Tuesday 8:09am
They're round because that's the only shape that won't allow it to fall through the hole (provided the larger-than-the-hole lip on the cover). Basic engineering that most people aren't aware of. Tuesday 8:09am
While I agree with the logic they've laid out, I don't know how "common" these questions really are. I've never been asked nor heard of people asking a lot of these. "If you were to get rid of one state..."?? Really? "How does your family or partner..." — this is an illegal question, at least in the US.Tuesday 7:35am
I thought that too about the family/partner one. The bizarre/challenging questions (manhole covers, quarters, blender) seem to be common, though. Tuesday 7:41am
Even those are becoming less common.Google has stopped using them for instance, and I think they sort of started that whole thing. Tuesday 7:52am
I don't know if I trust this, since the first question isn't just grammatically incorrect it's also unintelligible. Tuesday 7:53am
That sort of ruined it for me. It sounded like it was written by an ESL student.Tuesday 8:10am
Same. The "Tell me....?" questions reminded me of Anchorman - "I'm Ron Burgundy?" Tuesday 8:23am
I gave question 4Q major side-eye until following the link to see that the author works in London. It's still common to include age, family information, and a photo on CVs in Europe.
I hope (beg, plead, and pray) that US hiring managers know better than to EVER ask this.
I hope (beg, plead, and pray) that US hiring managers know better than to EVER ask this.
What, is it not common/expected/required to put your marital status and even age on your CV in the US? Really? I live in Europe and yes, this is always the case here, I've never known any better.
I can get it in the family status case, but how dow does the omitting age thing even work? Since you will put your high school and university years on the CV, and they will just substract 18 years from your listed high school graduation year and know your age. And if they see 10+5+10 years experience at three companies they will know you must be at least 40 years old, etc.
Or do you ommit the years you worked at companies, and obtained degrees, too in the US?
I have to say, though the marital status is listed on the CV, it has never come up in interviews for me (I've had quite a few now) - except once. It was very weird - I was 25 at the time and listed as not married on my CV, and the interviewer asked "do you have a boyfriend?". I felt very awkard. Not because of any impacts it could have on me getting the job or not, but because the interviewer was a man twice my age, and we were the only two people in the room, which was very small, and I began to wonder 'Is he coming on to me or something?'.
BTW, I answered 'no', he went on, business-like, to the next question, I didn't end up getting the job (for other listed reasons) and I'm sure, in hindsight, not any come-on was intended. But it still was a weird question. Tuesday 11:32am
BTW, I answered 'no', he went on, business-like, to the next question, I didn't end up getting the job (for other listed reasons) and I'm sure, in hindsight, not any come-on was intended. But it still was a weird question. Tuesday 11:32am
Age isn't something I usually see posted in a CV. Marital status definitely not. The reason is that the US has a lot of equal opportunity employment laws. Employers cannot discriminate based on family history, sex, race, national origin, or religion. If a person is over 40 they're also protected from discrimination based on age. So yeah, the reason why it isn't discussed in interviews is because it's pretty much illegal. Tuesday 11:53am
If I answered the manhole question by saying, because manhole openings are round, would they think I was a dick, stupid, or thinking abstractly? Tuesday 7:54am
That's the only answer I can think of. If they don't "accept" that one, I don't know what their problem is. Tuesday 8:02am
The answer they're looking for is because it can't fall through the opening. Turn a square lid on edge and at an angle, and it can fit through a square opening.Tuesday 8:07am
This isn't the stupidest set of interview questions ever. But it's definitely in the top three. Tuesday 4:51pm
It takes 176 quarters ($44) to get to the top of the Empire State Building. Tuesday 8:50am
That's actually a great answer and funny - it show you think outside the box and have a sense of humor! Double score.Tuesday 9:03am
When I saw that, I had the same rationale of interpreting it as how quarters it'd take to pay. I estimated it'd be $20, but $44 is insane. It's only $27 for Top of the Rock which is actually a better experience, IMO, since you're closer to the center of the city.Tuesday 9:36am
Q: What are your weaknesses?
A: You'll see! Tuesday 10:21am
A: What kind of idiot would reveal their weaknesses to someone they just met?Tuesday 11:12am
Right? Like you'll say "I suck hard at deadlines... Always miss them... I also sweat a lot when I'm in the presence of execs. Oh yeah... If I eat bread, I get gassy and fart a lot". Tuesday 12:10pm
My answer to 4Q is "Where is the exit?"Tuesday 8:15am
I thought the same. It's not much different than asking if you're married which you're not allowed to do. Tuesday 8:28am
Bingo. Tuesday 9:28am
Honestly if I ever get asked one of those stupid "Why are manhole covers round" questions during an interview, as long as I'm not 2 seconds away from destitution and starvation and absolutely needing this job to survive right this moment, I will stop the interview and leave.
I did not study a company, tweak my resume, research available jobs, apply, await a response, and iron my interview clothes for that shit. Can I answer your stupid, stale "outside the box" questions? Sure. But will I?
Nope. Nopenopenope. Go fuck yourself, interviewers who pull this.
Also do not dance around any questions that pertain to my marital status/fecundity, etc. You will get no answer, or straight up lies, because that shit is illegal and I'm sick of companies trying to slyly get information they're not technically allowed to ask.
"Oh but what does your husband think about..." Who gives a shit. You're not talking to my husband, you're talking to me. And who says I have a husband? Next you'll start fishing for dates so you can figure out how old I am and when you think I'll start having kids so you can screw me out of a job.
Nope.
Go. Fuck. Yourself. Tuesday 2:35pm
I did not study a company, tweak my resume, research available jobs, apply, await a response, and iron my interview clothes for that shit. Can I answer your stupid, stale "outside the box" questions? Sure. But will I?
Nope. Nopenopenope. Go fuck yourself, interviewers who pull this.
Also do not dance around any questions that pertain to my marital status/fecundity, etc. You will get no answer, or straight up lies, because that shit is illegal and I'm sick of companies trying to slyly get information they're not technically allowed to ask.
"Oh but what does your husband think about..." Who gives a shit. You're not talking to my husband, you're talking to me. And who says I have a husband? Next you'll start fishing for dates so you can figure out how old I am and when you think I'll start having kids so you can screw me out of a job.
Nope.
Go. Fuck. Yourself. Tuesday 2:35pm
To be fair, if that simple question is enough to completely set you off (and it seems it has), they wouldn't want to hire you anyway. Any employer would see entitlement issues like that in a heartbeat.Tuesday 3:49pm
I'm entitled because I don't like it when interviewers waste people's time with hackneyed, out-of-date "special" questions and/or fish for illegal information? Yup, you sure got me pegged.
I've never been asked one of these time-wasters before (thankfully I've only interviewed with companies who seemed interested in asking questions that are actually relevant to the job, or who can manage to suss out my personality without beating around the painfully unoriginal bush.) But I've had my fair share of sneaky questions trying to figure out if I'm married/planning to have kids, and that's straight up illegal.
Crappy hiring practices don't need a white knight. Hand in your lance. Tuesday 4:14pm
I've never been asked one of these time-wasters before (thankfully I've only interviewed with companies who seemed interested in asking questions that are actually relevant to the job, or who can manage to suss out my personality without beating around the painfully unoriginal bush.) But I've had my fair share of sneaky questions trying to figure out if I'm married/planning to have kids, and that's straight up illegal.
Crappy hiring practices don't need a white knight. Hand in your lance. Tuesday 4:14pm
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.