stupid interview questions

[chodan9]

after reading gympunks thread I wonder how many of you have had the stupid interview questions that left you scratching your head later.
At the time you cant say "I cant believe you asking me this" but later your like "was the interviewer smoking crack??"

If you could be an animal what would you be?
hint: dont say sloth

where do you see yourself in 5 years: working at a much better company than this one!
not an inherently bad question but one that everyone will lie about.

whats some good ones you have heard?

[dbx]

A President of a company was interviewing me when I was about 28yrs old. He asked me, "Do any of your friends call you a smart-ass?" > Day-um! I freaked, I froze, and then looked at him with that "WTF?" look. I mean, this was totally out of the blue. He then assured me that it was a compliment . He said he noticed that I was ahead of him on every question he'd asked, but in a way he found showed intelligence, not over eager or annoying. I got the job .

And I will never forget that interview for as long as I live

[gbg]

A President of a company was interviewing me when I was about 28yrs old. He asked me, "Do any of your friends call you a smart-ass?" > Day-um! I freaked, I froze, and then looked at him with that "WTF?" look. I mean, this was totally out of the blue. He then assured me that it was a compliment . He said he noticed that I was ahead of him on every question he'd asked, but in a way he found showed intelligence, not over eager or annoying. I got the job .

And I will never forget that interview for as long as I live

Sounds like he had you pegged

[dbx]

Sounds like he had you pegged

[Keltron]

I hate those questions like, "name a time when you faced difficult challenge on the job? How did you handle it?" It's not a bad question but geez, it sure as hell leaves you blank.

[Keltron]

If you were trapped in an elevator, would you rather be w/another person or a computer?

I said, "What about both? Like a cyborg... A hot female cyborg... with an adjustable bust size... that would be awesome."... I didn't get a call back.

[dbx]

I hate those questions like, "name a time when you faced difficult challenge on the job? How did you handle it?" It's not a bad question but geez, it sure as hell leaves you blank.

Ummm...you're supposed to know that you may be asked those types of questions, and that you've already got an answer for those

[Tallgntlmn]

The one question/statement that I HATE is "so tell me about yourself." I hate that because I'd rather be asked detailed questions. Like if you want to know something about me, just ask. Is that a question to detail your professional life or personal or both? I usually go with a professional synopsis. It seems to be that question is to pass the few minutes that they review the resume. Maybe that's an IT guy trait to like detail as opposed to vagueness. I'm not sure. What are you guys who are interviewers looking for with that question/statement?

I doubt "I like to hit the gym, surf BB.com, watch something on the TiVo, and try to find out the most I can about the newest technology out there." is a good answer. Or "I like cooking, trying to lift heavy weights, the internet, learning new things, the song Simple Man hits home, and I am damn good at what I do." I doubt that's right either.

I've never been asked the animal question. I wouldn't say sloth, but I am not sure Doberman would be right either.

The tough situation is an easy one for me but my answer is getting dated as it happened in '99. I need think of another one but that one is one where I went the extra mile, made sure the customer was happy but broke company policy in doing so. I was commended for it later by management.

[StressMonkey]

I got asked "What do you consider teamwork?"

[bamaborn67]

I had been working for a company for about 6 months as an electronic tech and the maintenance superintendent calls all the electronic techs in his office for an interview/review and he says to me "So you are one of the electronic techs huh?" I told him no, that I was afraid to even plug in an extension cord. So he ask me" Why did we hire you?" I told him that they hired me to take his job!
I only got to work for the company one more week.

[bebeklein]

The one question/statement that I HATE is "so tell me about yourself." I hate that because I'd rather be asked detailed questions. Like if you want to know something about me, just ask. Is that a question to detail your professional life or personal or both? I usually go with a professional synopsis. It seems to be that question is to pass the few minutes that they review the resume. Maybe that's an IT guy trait to like detail as opposed to vagueness. I'm not sure. What are you guys who are interviewers looking for with that question/statement?

I doubt "I like to hit the gym, surf BB.com, watch something on the TiVo, and try to find out the most I can about the newest technology out there." is a good answer. Or "I like cooking, trying to lift heavy weights, the internet, learning new things, the song Simple Man hits home, and I am damn good at what I do." I doubt that's right either.

I've never been asked the animal question. I wouldn't say sloth, but I am not sure Doberman would be right either.

The tough situation is an easy one for me but my answer is getting dated as it happened in '99. I need think of another one but that one is one where I went the extra mile, made sure the customer was happy but broke company policy in doing so. I was commended for it later by management.

There's lots on the interenet abput the "tell me about yourself" question.

This article is a little different in that it suggests you tailor your response to the person doing the interview (e.g. initial screening with HR, then later your manager, etc).

http://www.careerbuilder.com/Article...me_about_your_

But you are right to keep the topic focused on your professional details.

[Marius_Ursus]

"You're given a black box with a red light, a switch, a green button, and a yellow button. How do you test it?"

[Bando]

"Why are manhole covers round?" I was never asked that but I think it's a great one to see if if you can think under pressure.

[SP1966]

"You're given a black box with a red light, a switch, a green button, and a yellow button. How do you test it?"

Throw it across the room if it doesn't fall appart it works?

[...Kennedy]

Interviewer: "What do you consider your weaknesses?"

Kennedy: "I tend to spend more time working on projects to ensure that they surpass expectations of quality, even if that cuts into my personal time. I am not assertive enough when it comes to claiming credit for implementing a new program or procedure, even when not doing so results in increased accolades to my coworkers or supervisors."

[dbx]

Interviewer: "What do you consider your weaknesses?"

Kennedy: "I tend to spend more time working on projects to ensure that they surpass expectations of quality, even if that cuts into my personal time. I am not assertive enough when it comes to claiming credit for implementing a new program or procedure, even when not doing so results in increased accolades to my coworkers or supervisors."

Exactly. I thought everyone knew how to play the game?

[Tallgntlmn]

I've been asked the following in an interview:

You have two buckets, 3 gallon and 5 gallon. I need you to get me exactly 4 gallons of water. How do you do it?

I had to remember McClain and Zeus and how they did it. Luckily I had seen Die Hard not too long before that interview.

[dbx]

I've been asked the following in an interview:

You have two buckets, 3 gallon and 5 gallon. I need you to get me exactly 4 gallons of water. How do you do it? .

You could have just said, "****, that's why I'm gonna insist you give me a damn secretary."

[Bando]

Interviewer: "What do you consider your weaknesses?"

Kennedy: "I tend to spend more time working on projects to ensure that they surpass expectations of quality, even if that cuts into my personal time. I am not assertive enough when it comes to claiming credit for implementing a new program or procedure, even when not doing so results in increased accolades to my coworkers or supervisors."

"Thanks for taking the time to interview with us today, please return your parking pass to the receptionist, leave the campus and never return"

I've served on several search committees and value a strong character much more than someone who can't do their job in the course of a normal day. This loosely translated is "I like work more than my family, I'm unappreciated though it's my fault, My co-workers take credit for my ideas."

[Bando]

I've been asked the following in an interview:

You have two buckets, 3 gallon and 5 gallon. I need you to get me exactly 4 gallons of water. How do you do it?

I had to remember McClain and Zeus and how they did it. Luckily I had seen Die Hard not too long before that interview.

I suspect you fill each 1/2 way and pour the smaller into the larger?

[dbx]

"Thanks for taking the time to interview with us today, please return your parking pass to the receptionist, leave the campus and never return"

I've served on several search committees and value a strong character much more than someone who can't do their job in the course of a normal day. This loosely translated is "I like work more than my family, I'm unappreciated though it's my fault, My co-workers take credit for my ideas."

LOL, I didn't take him too literal . Just reinforcing that making a weakness a positive can be a great idea if cleverly done and not too over the top.

[Iron Barbarian]

I always liked this one. My answer is taking your job away from you....

where do you see yourself in 5 years?
not an inherently bad question but one that everyone will lie about.

[Iron Barbarian]

Another one is "What do you consider your weak points?"

I have a really low tolerance level and want to put my foot in peoples' asses when they ask me stupid questions. How's that for you buddy?

[Tallgntlmn]

I suspect you fill each 1/2 way and pour the smaller into the larger?

IIRC it goes something like this: Fill the 5g, then pour into the 3g, leaving two gallons in the 5g. Empty the 3g and pour in the two gallons from the 5g, leaving space for one gallon in the 3g. Refill the 5g and pour water from it into the 3g until it is full. That leaves 4 gallons in the 5 gallon.

It's a tough one to think of on the spot. I ended up drawing it on a board and thinking it through. There are a couple different ways to do it.

[NotTooLate]

I got asked the animal question. I said Giraffe. They looked at me and laughed out loud LOL They said no one had ever given that animal as an answer before. I said well I'm skinny and have a long neck and I like giraffes! LOL Obviously I don't excel at interview questions LOL

[Minotaur]

I had to take a test for a systems technical support position, for which I was a frontrunner. I was left alone in a room. One of the questions asked if I turned the hot water knob on a bathtub faucet by a certain amount, and the cold water knob by a certain amount, what temperature would the water come out? :facepalm:

I left the booklet open, pencil on top of it, got up and walked out. The interviewer had the coconuts to call the recruiter and ask why I did that.

But God works in mysterious ways, because you see, it was a company that later moved to the World Trade Center. That stupid question may have saved my life.

[...Kennedy]

"Thanks for taking the time to interview with us today, please return your parking pass to the receptionist, leave the campus and never return"

I've served on several search committees and value a strong character much more than someone who can't do their job in the course of a normal day. This loosely translated is "I like work more than my family, I'm unappreciated though it's my fault, My co-workers take credit for my ideas."

Ha ha! My post was very tongue-in-cheek. As you can probably guess, I'm self-employed.

[StressMonkey]

Mercifully I've never been subjected to any of those puzzle questions. I'm already freaking nervous when in an interview. The last thing I want to be judged on is choking when asked how many quarters would fit into the empire state building.

[ntallyfl]

Question: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Answer: In prison for embezzlement from the company.

Question: What is one of your weaknesses?
Answer: Currently, unemployment

Question: How did you handle a difficult tasks at your last job?
Answer: I applied for a job with this company.

Question: What would are you expecting for a starting salary?
Answer: What you are offering plus 15%.

Question: What would you do with a ________?
Answer: Depends on the salary.

Question: What are your strengths?
Answer: I take credit for ideas I steal.

Question: Do you support diversity?
Answer: Yes, by way of alimony when my wife/husband caught me with another lover.

Question: When can you start?
Answer: When can you pay?

Question: Are you a teamplayer?
Answer: Yes, usually I am voted MVP.

Question: Why did you leave your last job?
Answer: To spread my charm to other employers.

Question: What is your biggest regret?
Answer: Not asking for a bigger salary at my last job.

Send'em to me I'll give you the answers.

[chodan9]

http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article...n-an-Interview