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I don't see it as a trick question. I see it as a personality question.
Given a choice between two equally qualified tech writers, I would
prefer the one who's curious about all sorts of disparate technologies.
That said, I wouldn't expect the tech writer to already know how a
toilet works, but I would prefer the tech writer who's interested to
know. "I simply don't care" isn't the response I would hope for.
When I think of trick questions, I think of the square manhole cover
thing, which tests something else altogether.
-----Original Message-----
From: Joyce.Fetterman
Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2012 9:51 AM
To: Chris Despopoulos; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: Interviewing technical writers
That part of your reply caught my attention. I completely disagree. I
have plenty of technical curiosity about things that interest me. I
simply don't care how a toilet works. I do, however, know how to ask
questions and do research, so if I ever NEED to know how a toilet works,
I can definitely (and quickly) find out. Isn't that a more important
attribute, especially in our line of work?
I dislike the trend toward asking nonsensical questions in an interview
just to see the reaction. Interviews are difficult enough. Throwing out
a ludicrous question won't give you a true idea of how well the
interviewee will respond once she or he is no longer worried about
securing a paycheck. BTW, I do very well in interviews and I've managed
similar questions without any problem, but I still think it's
ridiculous.
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