WHO thinks up these HR interview questions???

[srferson]

For the last one I'd be so tempted to say "Well, I just explained a bunch of stuff to you five. Did you understand?"

Never be a wiseacre in an interview. It's a very effective way to not get a job.

I agree. That's why I used the word "tempted."

While I would never actually suggest being that must of a wiseguy (or do so myself) I do think that it is beneficial to try not to worry too much about what answer they're looking for and to be yourself. (This assumes that you are both lucky enough to be looking for a job you want, not just a job you need and interviewing with someone you'll actually be working with.) If you answer the questions your way and they hire you, I think the chances are much better that you'll be comfortable there.

 

[srferson]

My last Yob interview (panel interview...6 people) I was asked right off the bat...by the VP of Engineering the following question:

"Why?"

I answered: Because I'm the Dad and I say so!

I think the room laughed for 10 minutes.

Got the job...

Awesome.

 

[crashbb]

I just came back from an interview. One question was:

"How would you figure out how many phone books there are in New York?".

No, the job was not about selling phone books, printing phone books, or anything to do with phone books. Nor was it in New York (or at all related to New York).

 

[blanq]

My last Yob interview (panel interview...6 people) I was asked right off the bat...by the VP of Engineering the following question:

"Why?"

I answered: Because I'm the Dad and I say so!

I think the room laughed for 10 minutes.

Got the job...

Priceless! I would have hired you too.

 

[declansdad]

I just came back from an interview. One question was:

"How would you figure out how many phone books there are in New York?".

No, the job was not about selling phone books, printing phone books, or anything to do with phone books. Nor was it in New York (or at all related to New York).

Call the publisher.

 

[crashbb]

Call the publisher.

I said call the printer - but pretty much the same thing.

Since that seemed way too short, I suggested a method in case you couldn't just call someone (the job does involve biostatistics/epidemiology). Actually led to an interesting discussion about the census (currently a major issue in Canada), which let me show them I had been following current issues.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Worst question I ever had was

"Why are manhole covers round?"

Really? That's the one question I could answer with no thought (it's so the cover doesn't accidentally fall down the hole).

 

[Mickey Fliers]

Sometimes, it best just to answer the question.

"Manhole covers are round so they don't fall in the hole."

Oh, I knew the answer. I just thought it was a pretty silly interview question.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Worst question I ever had was

"Why are manhole covers round?"

I don't think that it is a bad question. It helps determine whether the person being interviewed has any concept of spacial relations. A better answer would be "Because any other shape would result in one axis being longer than another. That would mean that someone could align the short axis of the cover with the long axis of the hole with the result being that the cover would fall in."

I just came back from an interview. One question was:

"How would you figure out how many phone books there are in New York?".

No, the job was not about selling phone books, printing phone books, or anything to do with phone books. Nor was it in New York (or at all related to New York).

That's actually a pretty interesting question. It helps assess how the person being interviewed solves problems. A response like "call the publisher" indicates someone that solves problems by searching for information. An alternate approach would be a quick estimating exercise. You could estimate how many people are in the city, how large the average household is, how many phonebooks are in a typical house or office, etc. It helps to know how an interviewee solves problems and quickly they can work through them.

I've hired a lot of people in a variety of IT related positions. My preferred interview approach is to spend a few minutes tossing softballs to put an interviewee at ease. These are usually positive spin questions based on recent resume entries. Then I ask a series of technical questions to assess their technical knowledge. I vary the difficulty of those based on the responses I get. Then I move to a series of more open ended questions to understand how and how well the interviewee thinks. Finally, I move to questions on how the interviewee has handled past challenges that are relevant to what I expect them to face in the future.

I'm sure that some of the questions I've asked seem odd, but I always have a point in asking them and they are asked to understand how well the person will fit in the role. I have asked questions like "About how many gallons of gasoline are consumed in the US on a given day." Similar to the phonebook question, it has helped me see how people deal with requests for imprecise information. I've had good answers like "I'd search the BEA or API websites to see if they have the statistic" and "I'd do a quick estimate based on how much I think a typical person drives and what mileage they get and multiply that by the number of people in the country." I've gotten lousy answers like "I have no idea" or "Why would I need to know that?".

 

[lovesmurfs]

I'm sure that some of the questions I've asked seem odd, but I always have a point in asking them and they are asked to understand how well the person will fit in the role. I have asked questions like "About how many gallons of gasoline are consumed in the US on a given day." Similar to the phonebook question, it has helped me see how people deal with requests for imprecise information. I've had good answers like "I'd search the BEA or API websites to see if they have the statistic" and "I'd do a quick estimate based on how much I think a typical person drives and what mileage they get and multiply that by the number of people in the country." I've gotten lousy answers like "I have no idea" or "Why would I need to know that?".

What types of gasoline and for what use? From your question, you probably shouldn't just assume that it's automobile. What about other fuels such as propane or gas heat? How will you use the information (i.e. what's the question you're trying to answer?).

If interviewing for a position involving statistics and research, it's really important that the candidate doesn't just blindly spit out answers to questions -- that they'll look and think more deeply and look to the reasons behind the inquiry so that incorrect statistics aren't quoted.

 

[castleview]

Thank you for reminding me that when I enter the job force again to find a company that doesn't have an HR department. No offense to people in that business, but they've never reflected the needs/wants of any of the companies I worked for.

I remember one of my first interviews out of college, the HR assistant gave me a written test and then told me what benefits the company offers. She then said the department that was looking for a new employee (the one I applied for) wasn't available so that would be it for today. Nothing like wasting my time.

 

[declansdad]

Thank you for reminding me that when I enter the job force again to find a company that doesn't have an HR department. No offense to people in that business, but they've never reflected the needs/wants of any of the companies I worked for.

I remember one of my first interviews out of college, the HR assistant gave me a written test and then told me what benefits the company offers. She then said the department that was looking for a new employee (the one I applied for) wasn't available so that would be it for today. Nothing like wasting my time.

HR departments can only reflect the needs and wants of the company if they are allowed to. HR has become much more strategic than the old personnel department days. In those days, HR was mostly administrative. To understand the role of HR now, you need to look at the big picture.

 

[crashbb]

Thank you for reminding me that when I enter the job force again to find a company that doesn't have an HR department. No offense to people in that business, but they've never reflected the needs/wants of any of the companies I worked for.

I remember one of my first interviews out of college, the HR assistant gave me a written test and then told me what benefits the company offers. She then said the department that was looking for a new employee (the one I applied for) wasn't available so that would be it for today. Nothing like wasting my time.

The HR department of the company for which I interviewed is great (at least my contact there has been great). I thought the interviews (I've now had two) were well run and informative (even the odd ball question).

 

[SKWDW]

I agree with PP that the OP's ?'s were not BS. The flower and newspaper questions along with a few others were a bit odd.

One of my favorites to ask in interviews (for IT Techs) is "What's the biggest mistake you've ever made?". Their answer to that question isn't really important, though it is often entertaining. It's really just a setup for the important question which is "What did you learn from that mistake?". Several employees I hired mentioned remembering that question over all others and some of them even use it now.

 

[dejr_8]

I am in management, and have hired plenty of people over the last 13 years. The questions that you posed above, and call BS, are not BS questions at all. The last one in particular totally relates to the position you are applying for. Let's see...you are applying to be an instructor (which I assume requires that you impart information to others that they will need to remember) and the interviewer had the gall to ask you a question about how well you are able to explain (communicate) with others? If you did not take these questions seriously (which I question since you stated to us they were BS) to see through to what the interviewer was asking, my guess is this interview might not have been too successful for you.

As I admitted, I screwed the pooch on the interview. No, I took the interview seriously but I am not "wired" to give the responses that an HR person would find "correct".

The "have you ever explained something" was one of the questions that I answered strongly. But as a hiring manager, if someone gave you a smooth, silver-tongued answer to that question how do you know that what they said was truthful? You have no frame of reference. That is why I find these questions to be b.s.

I've seen too many people hired because they gave polished answers to these types of question but when it came time for them to provide technical leadership or guidance they fell flat on their face.

 

[Ceila]

As I admitted, I screwed the pooch on the interview. No, I took the interview seriously but I am not "wired" to give the responses that an HR person would find "correct".

The "have you ever explained something" was one of the questions that I answered strongly. But as a hiring manager, if someone gave you a smooth, silver-tongued answer to that question how do you know that what they said was truthful? You have no frame of reference. That is why I find these questions to be b.s.

I've seen too many people hired because they gave polished answers to these types of question but when it came time for them to provide technical leadership or guidance they fell flat on their face.

Just out of curiosity, since I'm out of the HR field now...what would you consider to be good interview questions? I'm not being snarky, I just find it interesting to see what other people's perspectives are.

 

[dejr_8]

Just out of curiosity, since I'm out of the HR field now...what would you consider to be good interview questions? I'm not being snarky, I just find it interesting to see what other people's perspectives are.

When I interview people I never ask specific HR style questions. I ask some technical questions because I am in a technical field but for most of the interview I focus on having a conversation with the person.

We could end up talking about TV, sports, vacation, pets, who knows what but I find that to be far more of an indication as to how the person would fit into my group.

So for example in my particular case. If they would have asked me about where I liked to vacation we could have talked about Disney for an hour and they would have learned a lot more about me - the person- than having me answer canned questions with canned answers.

That's just how I see things.

 

[blanq]

As I admitted, I screwed the pooch on the interview. No, I took the interview seriously but I am not "wired" to give the responses that an HR person would find "correct".

The "have you ever explained something" was one of the questions that I answered strongly. But as a hiring manager, if someone gave you a smooth, silver-tongued answer to that question how do you know that what they said was truthful? You have no frame of reference. That is why I find these questions to be b.s.

I've seen too many people hired because they gave polished answers to these types of question but when it came time for them to provide technical leadership or guidance they fell flat on their face.

I absolutely agree with you about your "no frame of reference" comment, but I think that companies that only base their hiring decisions on an interview are nuts to begin with. I personally think you need to include a number of components including looking at recent performance evaluations, asking for work samples (or even a portpolio, depending on the position). I often include writing samples, or exercises that provide me with insight into an applicant's critical thinking skills. I sometimes include a brief phone interview to hear how people come across absent their non-verbal communication because that also is a critical component of the majority of the positions I hire for.

I think that interviews work on the side of interviewees who are extroverts, but not so much for introverts, so I often allow candidates about 10 minutes to review the questions for the first interview part of the hiring process as I think it levels the playing field. The 2nd interview they have to think on their feet more. Some people are tremendous BSers; they talk a good game but are not much good for anything else, so there is oneous on those hiring to learn to see through that kind of thing. Even with the experience I now have, I still somewhat feel that every hire is a crapshoot.

I have one employee, who has been with me for over 10 years now. I was more inexerienced when I hired her and she was third on my list of candidates. The top two candidates declined my offer, so I offered it to her but with hestitation. She was not a great interviewer, and seemed low energy to me but is the best performer I have. I would like 14 more of her!

I am not in HR. We do have an HR department where I work as we have over 1000 employees. HR does the posting and screens the applications just to make sure they meet the minimum qualifications. I then get the applications/resumes and interview for the positions I will actually supervise. I would have a fit if HR did the hiring for me!

 

[runwad]

Yikes I'd be terrible in an interview with those questions because I would be nervous and couldn't think fast enough, my mind would go blank. I've pretty much always got jobs because of who I knew. I'm a good worker and an asset to a company but not sure that would come out in an interview if you didn't know me and my work ethic :0(

Good luck to all you out there interviewing.

 

[srferson]

I think that interviews work on the side of interviewees who are extroverts, but not so much for introverts, so I often allow candidates about 10 minutes to review the questions for the first interview part of the hiring process as I think it levels the playing field. The 2nd interview they have to think on their feet more. Some people are tremendous BSers; they talk a good game but are not much good for anything else, so there is oneous on those hiring to learn to see through that kind of thing. Even with the experience I now have, I still somewhat feel that every hire is a crapshoot.

Have to say, as an introvert, I appreciate that you think about that.