Re: Interview Questions

[Pat Anderson <panders -at- AW -dot- SGI -dot- COM>]

>John Gilger wrote:
>
>> The questions I have liked best are:  1. You are in a sailboat over
>> the
>> deepest part of the Pacific Ocean.  You drop a 10 lb. cannon ball over
>> the side.  How long will it take to hit bottom?  and 2. Using a dummy
>> had grenade, ask the interviewee to sell you the grenade.
>>
David Dvorkin replied:
>
>I have to say that interview questions like that would tell me
>immediately that I didn't
>want to work in that place.
>
And that's a valid response. An interview is looking for the "best fit" --
both for the candidate and the interviewer. If a candidate doesn't feel the
company's a good fit because of the interview, then it probably isn't.

If someone who I thought was a good candidate were to get up and leave
because of the plasticine exercise, it would be an improvement over hiring
the candidate and having him/her leave after six months of training because
the fit wasn't right.

The one thing I worry about is honesty -- on both parts -- in an interview.
Is the company truthful and forthcoming about working conditions, career
pathways, employee development, projects, and so on? Is the candidate
truthful and forthcoming about his/her involvement in given projects,
responsibilities, and reasons for leaving previous positions?

Yes, an interview is an unusual situation where both the interviewer and
the candidate are selling. And BS on either's part can result in a
mismatch, which is expensive for both.

...pat.



----------------------
Pat Anderson,
Documentation Manager
Alias|Wavefront, an SGI Company
(416) 362-8558  ext. 8375
panders -at- aw -dot- sgi -dot- com