Interview Pet Peeves

[trickykitty]

Pet peeve: being asked in a job interview, "So I see that you haven't been working since October. Why are you looking for a job?"

Yes, I was asked that.

Not "Why did you choose to apply for this position?"
Not "What are you looking for in a position?"
Not "What attracted you to our company?"
Not "Did you win the lottery?"

It reminds me of the Bill Hicks' Waffle House million-dollar question of the day: "Watcha readin' fer?"

How the hell do I answer that without totally mocking my questioner and without sounding like a desperate money whore?

Pet peeve: being asked the very trick question, "So I see that you were working with the YMCA for many years. Did you like it there?"

This one sucks because it's a great one to ask to put the interviewee on her toes, but it's such a black pit, foot in mouth type question. If I say yes I liked it, then questioner wonders if I will be happy at another job or if I'm likely to leave quickly if the YMCA offers me another position. If I say no I didn't really like it, the questioner wonders if that came across as shoddy work or attitude and that I might do the same in this new position.

Pet peeve: Not being interviewed by the person who would actually be your boss.

Now, this is a special case, because in some larger companies there may be multiple interviews scheduled and you have to work through each level of the interview hierarchy. This is understandable, but not in a three-person office. Even more annoying is when said boss was to attend the interview and then just didn't show up.

So what interview pet peeves have you ever encountered?

Comments

[jdack.livejournal.com]

So what interview pet peeves have you ever encountered?

Having to ever go to an interview at all.

Srysly. There's not a single thing about the process that doesn't make me anxious and stabby. I hate being examined, whether it's by a doctor, or a potential employer.

[trickykitty.livejournal.com]

I don't think I mind the examination process itself as long as I feel comfortable that I can do the job. For me it's the interviews in which you are made to feel like a very little person just on the premise that you don't already work there and are not a part of THEIR team. It's like trying to get accepted into a clique that quite frankly isn't any better than any other clique job in the metroplex for which you seek membership employment.

(Did you know that the DFW area uses the term "metroplex" so much that it's the example given at dictionary.com? I really want to get into the habit of using the term metropolis. I think that would be fun.)

[sclerotic-rings.livejournal.com]

"So...I see that you used to be a journalist. What's keeping you from leaving us if a perfect journalism job comes along?"

"Well, other than taking a 60 percent pay cut in a business that's dying..."

"But what if someone offered you that perfect job?"

(Always, always, ALWAYS asked by an interviewer who's a wannabe writer. S/he'd escape the moment that mythical "perfect job" came through, but since there's no market in Wesley/Worf slashfiction, s/he's standing back, getting more and more bitter about how everybody else is getting book and magazine deals.)

[trickykitty.livejournal.com]

Yep, another classic catch-22 question.

[mobobocita.livejournal.com]

Rank your creativity without using numbers.
And then they didn't like my answer. Bah.

My favorite though was when they were explaining the ladder they used for employees, I asked what happens when you hit the final tier and he said "People like YOU won't ever get that far".

And then he gave me an IQ test.

[trickykitty.livejournal.com]

o.O

Wouldn't it be nice if we had the guts at that moment to just stand up and say, "People like ME don't really want to work for someone like YOU after all."

I know I don't have those kind of guts, especially if I really am desperate for a job and figure that will just be the jerk-off that I will focus my hate towards if I do get the job.

[mobobocita.livejournal.com]

I actually went into the second interview just for the experience.

Then I took the job and wasted 3 years of my life. In the last year, i=I've double my salary and quit letting people walk on me. It's amazing.

[the-paco.livejournal.com]

"Why should I hire you even though you've had no experience in this type of position?"
My answer:
"Because I know what I'm doing. I know from the look in your eyes that you've been interviewing about 20 too many people who think a mouse is a foot pedal. This job involves talking to people who are depending on you to know what you're talking about. I do. Even when I don't, as far as the customer knows, I do. I'm that damned confident, it borders on arrogance. You put me on the problem and I WILL solve the problem."

I got the job too, which pissed me off. I was burning the interview because so far every question was establishing that I do indeed have a 3rd grade education. Oh well, got $15.50 an hour out of it for about a year.