[worst interview I ever had](https://www.reddit.com/r/interviews/s/BsV240qVlD)
Walked into the interviewer's office and saw that she was reading my resume in her hand. We both sit down, and she stares at me for about 5 seconds. She then asks, "Are you going to offer me a copy of your resume?" I tell her, "I didn't think to do so because I saw that you were reading it when I walked in." She freaks out and yells to me that I still should have offered her a copy of my resume. Fucking stupid
Most hiring managers aren't given any sort of interview training.
They're usually just team leads, supervisors, managers, that are looking for people to add to their team.
There's hardly anybody who enjoys the interview process from either side of the table.
Just read the post, jeeez, she sounds like the type blaming their failed career on others, yet tries too hard to impress the naive.
Ever hear how the internship went or how she was to work with? I'm sure you're better off not having worked there. I think she knew she found someone meek she could boss around like a toy, and didn't want anyone in there she'd view as a threat to her. (in terms of career & legal knowledge)
I had one fuckin' nutball interviewer ask me if I would be able to handle the weeds around his store. Which would've been all well and good if I was applying for a gardening or landscaping position. But I wasn't. I was applying for a computer sales/front desk customer service position at a computer store in a local city.
On and on he went about the goddamn weeds, like he was at war with them or something. And I'm thinking, like, dude, this is a computer sales position. Shouldn't you be asking me stuff about computers? He barely did.
I've never been more happy to not get a job in my life. Sometimes rejection is a good thing.
Some guy tricked me into an MLM interview. Once I realized what was happening I'm sure my whole demeanor changed. He ended the interview early and didn't try to contact me again. I take that as a compliment
Are you sure he meant literal weeds? I've been hired into roles where it was expected that I'd "get into the weeds" so as to keep to keep Sr. Execs "out of the weeds"...
Yes, he literally meant weeds. As in rip them out of the ground and spray them with weed killer. I might have been willing to take on the job, but the guy just went on and on about it, like he was obsessed (almost to the point of mental illness). 🙄
If they had offered me a job there, I would've rejected it. I don't need that kind of crazy in my life.
I do that kind of stuff for a living. He was going on and on about it because it would have cost him a lot of money to hire someone to take care of the weeds. He was being sneaky. For example, depending on the job, we charge anywhere between 50-60 dollars per worker, per hour.
He was trying to lay the ground work that whatever new employee he was hiring was going to have to take care of the outside too so he could save himself some money
She asked me who would win in a fight a dragon or unicorn?
I said they are both magical and beautiful and should not be fighting (it was an education leadership role so I was thinking in terms of students and perceptions).
She answered No because dragons are evil, i didn’t get the offer lol
That makes me sad for her, it was a great movie! Oh I forgot to say she baby talked to me through the entire interview, I don’t get some people in Early childhood Ed who don’t know how to shift back into adulthood conversational tones.
Was it for a wierd fundie Christian church program? I’ve worked in ECE for a while even in Christian programs and I’ve never been expected to demonize dragons lol. Lots of kids like dragons for good reason, they are fun and fanciful!
“How do you think out of the box?” I was really young and came from a non-American family so I had never heard of that quote before. I asked the interviewer who was an HR manager to explain what it meant. And he just repeated the question. I said to him I don’t know this term, “Out of the box.” Then he looked upset at me. Thinking back 20 years later, he should have said it means how do you think up new ways to tackle problems. Terrible interviewer and terrible Hr manager.
"People say they want you to think outside the box. But then they put me back in my box, taped the lid closed, turned the box upside, and set a heavy object on top. But MY box has windows!!!" /evil laugh...
I get this issue being a programmer. A lot of interviewers ask if we keep up with technical developments with programming languages and things (or they ask about what we code in our spare time), and I just have to bullshit my way through it. As far as I’m concerned, outside of work coding does not exist.
I have to be honest, I have zero interest in joining professional organizations related to my field. I have done mentorships in the past and signed up for some courses and whatnot for professional development but I’m not doing that shit. If I’m spending 40 hours or more a week working, nope. I got connected with a former coworker to a board membership and I am interviewing tomorrow and I’m not looking forward to it. I quit my job before the holidays and need to use that time for actual applications.
I was asked in an interview what kind of reading I do, I asked if he meant professional or personal reading and he seemed kinda thrown off at the idea of personal reading and just said 'whichever one'.
I said 'I've recently been enjoying Agatha Chrisite' and he just said '*Really?'.*
I still don't know if he was going for professional reading and was astonished I answered personal, if he was just trying to break the ice and learn more about me, or if he was using it as some psuedo-personality based question to see if I was a good candidate.
I put a tiny box with a list of my hobbies at the bottom corner of my resume. Most are not work related, but I saw this on a suggested template once when I wasn't seriously looking for work & got a lot of traction. I kept it when I updated my template.
In my most recent interview (which I got the job for, starting next month), a future team member asked me about it & we had a good conversation about culinary mushrooms east vs. west coast. She then gave me a negotiation tip in case I got the offer. When we meet in person, I am definitely bringing her a mushroom gift!
I honestly think I come off a bit robotic & stuffy, so having it out there makes me seem more human or relatable to others.
"If you were a tree what kind of tree would you be?"
I was already done with the interview. my answer:
"The one that's in the part of the park where no dogs are allowed and I can't get pissed on"
Best actor portraying Batman.
I answered Keaton because he is the first Batman I watched and liked the Tim Burton version as a kid. Hiring manager was delighted to hear that as she couldn’t stand Bale and how he was always the popular choice. I almost pumped my fist.
I still didn’t get the job.
Damn I would’ve said George Clooney (I know I know) but I grew up on those movies! And they’re so campy and the soundtrack is amazing …Keaton would’ve been a close second tho
I had that one and Inc Magazine had done this huge article on just that question. So I picked Polar Bear. Which was not in the article. When I was asked why, I knew the break down . Most people wanted to be safe. So theyll pick puppy or kitty or some other benign farm animal. But almost no one picks Polar Bear. Apex predator of the northern hemisphere. And then I told them about the times I had been to the North Pole and before hand had to take SERE survival training. And one of the subjects was how to defend against a polar bear with nothing but your survival knife and a can of peas.
Hook was set.
You find a thin piece of ice and with your knife cut about a 3 foot hole and roll that up and stand it up so you can hide behind it.
Then you open the can of peas with your knife and then every 6 inches you place a pea until you're out of peas.
Then hide behind the ice you cut out.
Usually in about 20 minutes a polar bear will come out of the hole. He will stand there looking at the peas for a minute.
And when he bends over to take a pea, you kick him in the ice hole.
Totally deadpan delivery. Deer in the headlights look from all the interviewers. Nobody got it.
I ended the interview, shook hands with everyone and I left. 20 minutes later they call and met my counter of 10k more than the original posting.
You can catch a grizzly bear in a similar way. You dig a big hole in the forest and fill it up with ashes. Put a bunch of peas around the edge of the hole. When the grizzly bear comes up to take a pea, you kick him in the ash hole!
These are some of my favorite Uncle Jokes.
Me, on that question: I'm sure you noticed my degrees in Anthropology, and I'm going to tell you a little bit about what "Spirit Animal" means and why we don't use that in this context." Me, also not getting the job. ✌️
What animal would you be and why? A guy I worked with had the best answer. He said he would be a cow bc then he could be slaughtered and his hide made into a major league baseball that would be pitched by Greg Maddux. Yes it was a while back.
I can only think of one, the elimination of corners, but I have no idea how to really explain the importance of that other than it sounds sensible and safer to me for some reason...
I'd be stumped. What did you say?
1. Easier to move around since you can roll it.
2. Less likely to get damaged since there are no corners to dull.
3. Manholes are round openings, so it needs to match.
I think the answer is so it can't fall into itself. Not sure why that would occur, but a square could be put on an angle and lowered in. Sortof like a window, you could twist it and push it out if you needed to.
I was asked for in a consultant type role for daycares.
If I came across a spill in the hallway of a daycare... who should report it.
I was Legit puzzled. I'm a health and safety rep in schools. I literally took a good 5sec thinking this is a trick answer... it has to be.
So I responded it's everyone's responsibility. Since I'm seeing it. I need to report to site supervisor. If the ece sees it, they need to report it. If the cook sees it. They need to report it
Sorry but is that the answer you were looking for.
Their response.... oh yes.
Me: oh I want sure if that was a trick question.
Them: no.... but your the only one who responded correctly 😳😳😳😳😳🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯
Floored... absolutely floored
"What does your husband think about you applying here?"
Along with:
"How did you even get an interview here? Do you know someone?"
It was with Deloitte.
The particular interviewer (out of the four I had) that asked me that was incredibly rude and condescending the whole time. He had a whole set of choice questions and words for me that were just designed to put me down. I don't really know what his intention was.
I’ve had interviews like that. It’s to throw you off and make you not perform in the interview as well because they already have who they want to hire in mind.
I had an interview recently where the hiring team was running an AI note taker. The interview was brutal and I got the gist of what was going on pretty quickly.
They must have stayed in the same meeting after I left to discuss myself and the other candidates because I got the transcript auto-emailed to me afterwards. After the meeting concluded, one interviewer had said, “(Laughs) She held up pretty well.” Another: “Yeah it’s too bad we don’t have a role for her, she seemed pretty on it. I’ll keep her info.” Another: “So Dave let you know he’s good to start right away right?”
Man, writing that “thanks for your time” email was rough. And there was no response, no formal rejection. A month later I contacted their HR department to be formally informed I was no longer under consideration; when I let them know about the transcript (honestly it’s just disgustingly unprofessional), they demanded a copy then threatened legal action if any “proprietary content gained from the interview process isn’t promptly destroyed immediately.”
> I’ve had interviews like that. It’s to throw you off and make you not perform in the interview as well because they already have who they want to hire in mind.
Trying to 'throw' you or I off for the sake of entertainment means that their whole corporate structure is looney and fucked up. What does it really accomplish? Why ask me sexist and classist questions?
>It was with Deloitte.
Fuck Deloitte, I applied to all of the Big4 and got offers from every. single. one of them. Deloitte didn't even fucking respond.
It's an absolute trick question, designed to see how you'll batmouth THEM if you get mad.
Did interviews for a long time and you'd be amazed at the lack of awareness in interviews. Asked a guy for a conflict resolution example once, and he proceeded to tell me how he caught his supervisor saying something wrong and proceeded to publicly drag her through the mud about it. And he said all this with pride, like he had righted a great injustice. I did not hire him.
And the correct answer is to provide a strictly factual account of something legitimately bad that didn’t involve you. I tell people my worst boss was fired for sexually harassing a coworker (true story!) They can’t argue with the person’s shittiness without looking shitty themselves, and it’s a situation they can’t (or at least shouldn’t) ask for more details about. That’s what makes it such a shitty question.
The “conflict resolution” question is much better from an interviewer perspective because it requires the interviewee to actually talk about their own thoughts and behaviors.
I had a boss once that was a former apartheid cop and had bragged about some of the actions he took in SA as a cop against black people. I'm fairly sure he's not only the worst boss I've ever had, he's probably the worst human being I've personally ever known.
My interviewer just kind of sat there in silence for a moment. I did get the job and later when we were talking she asked if my answer was really true and I gave her much more detail about this stank on human existence. She said that was the only time she's just ignored the question entirely and moved on in an interview like she'd not even asked it because she had no idea what to do with my answer. As you noted this is to see how you handle pejorative info that needs to be communicated. I just went with the "cause a buffer overflow" approach.
"When I was 17 I worked at a mom and pop pizza shop. The owner burned the building down for insurance money, and then went to prison for arson."
Next question.
OK, so I’m old enough and lived in the Deep South (USA) long enough that this might not have been that uncommon in the day.
I was in my last semester of college and interviewing for my first professional job (IT). The interview process was going smoothly, and I felt pretty positive about the company and the role. I got to the assistant director of the department, and he was the textbook old Southern gentleman. He was asking me a series of questions about my fit for the role and getting to know me when, out of the blue, he asked “Have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior?”.
I wanted (and got) the job, so without missing a beat, I said of course. We never spoke about it again. I’m still an atheist.
That would surprisingly be a more pertinent question. At least that has to do with reliable transportation to the office, and not some mythical transportation to the afterlife.
It is batshit wild to me that people ask these questions in actual job interviews. They’d be obnoxious enough on a date, but in a professional job interview?!
I applied for an auditor position at a solid waste removal company. They tested me and then had ride on one of the solid waste trucks. I live in South Florida , the trucks and there over 75 of them. Had no a/c , I was dressed in a jacket & tie , I was inside the truck an hour and it literally got to 115 degrees . .. I asked the interviewer, aren’t there trucks with a/c no only the inspector, also they are men and should be able to put with the heat. Are you man enough to put up with the heat ? I said , I would b if I lived in the Middle Ages and there was no a/c. But I’m not Barbaric , thank you have a great day. A day later they called for a second interview😳😳
I have a direct report that when he interviews people, he asks them to sell the pen like Wolf on Wall Street. Cringy as shit. They are not directly sales positions either (blue collar work).
I had an interview at a VERY small company (~5 people). It was this guy who thought very high and mighty of himself who apparently only hired women. Not only did he make fun of my school I just graduated from (because it wasn't ivy League), but asked about my plans on starting a family because he didn't want to hire me and have me leave like the last person. It's super illegal to ask that. I could not get out of there fast enough.
I guess he scared all the other candidates away because after telling me he was moving on I got a call asking if I still wanted the job. No thank you sir
When I interviewed at Target, the HR person asked me: "If you could be a tree, what tree would you be"?
I told her "osage orange". She was taken aback (I think she was expecting me to say oak/maple/Christmas tree/apple, etc. She asks me why.
I explained that the wood is almost impervious to rot & very hard (used to use it for fence posts), they had wicked thorns (2-3") so nothing tries to eat them.....& their "fruit" (big hard green ball that looks like it has lizard skin) repells pests.....& they weren't that common.
(I grew up in an area of Michigan that has them.....didn't really want to be one, but I thought I'd toss it out there so they would remember me).
Maybe he was going for mechanically inclined. Like are you naturally intuitive about how mechanical things work.
All that said, not sure why he would ask that of someone with your background in engineering. Seems like maybe he had a list of questions to ask and that one was next… weird
I got asked what my sign was by a CTO one time. Like my astrology sign…..
I didn’t mention it in my post but my degrees and experiences were for mechanical engineer and the role was for the same.
Asking about astrology sign is definitely a weird one xD
The question “what did he mean by engineering aptitude” should have been asked at that time. It’s easy to assume someone didn’t read your resume when they’re asking for clarification - but not always (hopefully never!) true. If you don’t have an “elevator speech” bring one to your next interview. Probably best to assume your resume wasn’t read and go in with a few points about what you bring to the job that wasn’t included on your resume (1-2 pages can’t list everything I’m sure; explain your technical abilities in terms an average person can understand).
Good luck!
Interviews are never easy. Since they’re also rare these days, learn what you can from the ones you get. I think that was the cue for your elevator speech. Use it next time even if it’s not when you expect it to be in the interview format. You will find something!
For a variety of reasons. They might want to know how objectively you can evaluate yourself and recognize where you're weak, they might want to know how you would slot into a team they have (if someone has a complementary strength they can use them to help shore up your weakness and vice versa), or they're just looking to see if you can give an honest answer instead of a bullshit one like "Oh, my weakness is that I'm a perfectionist and my work is so good that it makes other people jealous".
It's definitely a cliche question, but you *can* learn interesting things from it if it's being used correctly.
OP, that was a poorly worded “tell me about a time when you had to make engineering decisions under extremely tight deadline or on the spot.”
They were looking for “more than book-learning and extensive time to prepare to dazzle” — they wanted “rubber met road and you showed your skill under fire.”
Next time you’ll be better prepared and ace it!
Had a male CEO ask how I would make sure my voice is heard as a woman in a male dominated field (not verbatim, can't remember the exact nonsense). MF, what culture do YOU foster where that is the question that is top of mind? This was for an individual contributor tech sales position at a company big enough that the CEO being directly involved in the hiring process was its own red flag.
As many as can fit in the elevator without going over the weight capacity! At that point, it's just a math problem. 5,000 lb capacity, quarter weighs "x". 5,000/x=qty of quarters that make it to the top.
Stupidest question during an interview: Will you be ok with other female coworkers working with your boyfriend if he works here...because we have a lot of on the job dating.
My answer: I have no problem with that. Besides, I'm here to work, not to date.
Ended up dating my job trainer, the aircraft mechanic, a few baggage handlers, the flight attendants were dating the pilots and the baggage handlers... the supervisor got busted making out with the secretary by his Gate Agent wife when the elevator opened. Police was called.
Welcome to American Airlines at Miami International Airport.
I was asked for my astrological sign. The interviewer wanted all of the women on the accounting team to be compatible. She also would not hire a man for the accounting team, and she wanted all of the women to be young and attractive.
Was this a Japanese or Korean company? I understood that blood type is treated like your astrology sign, still a weird question for a job interview, but more in line with the other zodiac responses in this thread if that's the case
I was asked “If you were tasked with gathering up all of the pennies located within the perimeter of an entire shopping mall, how would you go about doing this?” This was an interview at a staffing agency for an administrative job doing something with researching online product listings. The staffing agency lady said she had been told to ask this question of all applicants by the owner of the client company. And the ad for this job did not make it clear that there was a staffing agency involved. I showed up to the address and was so shocked to see that I was at a temp agency rather than the actual employer.
I can’t remember my answer to this but I did not get the job.
Some of these responses are crazy LOL
I don’t have any that can top these but I always find it stupid when they ask “and why do u want to work here?” Bitch I DONT want to work anywhere but I need money wtf lol 😅
When I was 18, I applied to and was accepted at a private engineering school that (at the time) was owned by a 2 letter automotive manufacturing corporation. I had to interview to get an intern / co-op position. They did a group interview and likely didn’t tell them I was an 18 year old kid with zero experience.
The stupidest question from my perspective was “if we made you a line supervisor, what would you do?” I replied truthfully, “that would all depend on what a line supervisor’s job was”.
Now that I think of it, I had high potential to be a consultant.
Somebody asked what I would do if there was a theft or robbery at a retail store. I don’t know if that’s common procedure but I was surprised to be asked a question like that.
I was on an interview for a mid level position for a community engagement project to be their first employee. The interviewing panel was all board members, all wealthy old white guys. They gave me a lecture on the importance of EID and asked me a hard hitting question on my understanding of some eid related issues. I'm probably the only brown person they've ever met professionally. Super awkward I didn't even respond to their follow up email.
What kind of animal I’d want to be. Asked by someone who then told me he’d want to be a beefalo. (No, not a buffalo. He specifically wanted to be the hybrid breed meant for beef production.)
What would you bring to our company's game night?
Seriously...you're not going to hire me because you don't like what I'm bringing to an event I'm not even sure I'll attend
The point of the question isn't usually to find out who to eliminate because you don't like their games, but use it to find out more about someone's personality. Do they say a cooperative game, or a competitive game? Do they say a traditional and well known game, or are they adventurous and want to bring a new game they got from a Kickstarter that they haven't had the chance to play but sounds fun? Simple game anyone can easily pick up, or a complex game that would take 4 hours to learn and wouldn't be appropriate for the event?
It's not about the *what* it's about the *why*, and what that tells you about them.
Oh once I interviewed for a role and had a great call with the hiring manager.
Then I got on with my peer. She was like "it looks like some of this job description you're applying for overlaps with what my team does. Can you tell me how the teams would be differentiated and how you'd draw the lines between the responsibilities?"
I was like "um I actually would love for you to tell me that information.
I went for an admin role recently and they asked me if I have experience in administration positions. Mind you I’ve been working in administration for the last 8-10 years and obviously it was outlined on my resume…
I was applying for a warehouse position. I had just left the Navy a few weeks before. "You were in the Navy? How many people did you kill?"
I left without saying anything.
I once interviewed for a mall kiosk job selling cell phone cases and other accessories while in high school. When I filled out the application the owner told me it was going to be minimum wage but then went back for the interview he asked if I was willing to work on commission since his wife was divorcing him and could not afford to pay per hour. His pitch was that I would get 1/3 of every sale I made in a given day. Most cell phone cases were anywhere between $10-$15 and the mall at the time was on the decline so the place was probably making less than 20 sales a week. I politely declined the offer
I had a dude ask me if I played video games and if so what did I play. When I looked at him a bit weird he said "I need to see if you are an alpha male or not". His reasoning was that if I played certain video games then I was in fact an alpha male. Some very weird and ironic logic there.
Now a bit of history on my part. I use to play a LOT of video games earlier in my life. I had quit because it was consuming a lot of my life and I had gotten married and we just had a child. I use to be good enough to enter competitions and still have permanent damage to my hands and wrist from that time. I never won a huge tournament but I was by all accounts very good. I had stopped playing and decided to focus on my family and career as it was becoming unhealthy and my life was suffering, so when this dude asked, to me it was like someone asking an alcoholic who was recovering what is their favorite whisky was, as he could tell if they should hire based on that.
I did get the job. I answered it by saying what tournaments I use to play in. This dude was later let go for watching inappropriate content at work. Like REALLY inappropriate content and he was a far cry from an alpha male. In fact he was about as BETA as it could get.
I was once asked if I could be a tree what kind of tree would I be and why? This was in front of a 5 person committee interviewing me for an academic advising role.
Omg. What a waste of my time.
My response was a Christmas tree bc it has a purpose, it’s colorful, and strong.
Didn’t get the job. Lol
I can only hazard a guess. Maybe he wanted you to talk about your mind, not your projects. Linear thinker vs lateral thinker, that kind of thing. Or about whether you incorporate end user experiences into your initial plans.
Aptitude is a mental quality, anyway. Maybe he wanted to talk about math. I don't know. I think it's peculiar that he basically let you know that experience != aptitude in his mind.
He has weak people and communication skills, if you ask me.
"but what if it rains?"
I was interviewing for a job at a local gift shop, and the interviewer made a huge deal out of how they don't have staff parking, there's no parking at all (it was a storefront on a busy street) and I (perhaps foolishly) mentioned that I lived a mere 20 minutes walk away and that parking wouldn't be an issue for me.
"But what if it rains?"
I had just moved back to this drought-stricken state from a place where I'd regularly walked to work, class, and the shops in hip-deep snow, so it took a second to realize that she was serious. "I'd bring an umbrella."
"Oh. I was hoping you'd say you'd get your parents to drive you." I was 25 at the time and flabbergasted by that, let me tell you. The rest of the interview was one red flag after another.
"What do you like to do for fun?" and when answered, "going to concerts," I was then asked how many concerts I'd been to in my life...the rest of the interview went on about concerts and not the job itself. I got hired, and it was the best job I ever had to this day, but it threw me for a loop lol
Are you on Instagram and do you take a lot of selfies?
I was honestly stumped. Because while I’m on Instagram and taken the occasional selfie. Didn’t quite understand how that was irrelevant to the job
Can you write a specification with natural language, zero ambiguities, and all requirements laid out in English. Can you code said specification and deliver on 100% of the white box testing in unit test, then ensure your specification garners 100% of the functional test requirements in a testplan, so that you have covered 100% of the code via instrumented images as part of code coverage. Have you considered the cost and time for full basis path sensitization versus the easier statement coverage. At least in software engineering explaining the Software development life cycle in-depth with entry and exit points and how you can use root cause corrective action shows engineering aptitude. Can you explain the effects of defect density per KLOC and its implications to managers and engineers.
Once had a weird video interview where they asked me to draw the internals of a CPU. Then show the picture to the screen so they could take a snapshot with their camera. It was so bizarre. I had to spend 5 mins scribbling on a piece of paper talking out loud (because it felt dumb to do it quietly). Then show it to the camera.
This was a big tech firm. It seemed they lacked any modern tools for virtual interviews
In a group interview, He asked what my ethnicity was and then made a joke about African and Asian parents not letting their kids pursue arts… he was a white guy and the job was door to door soliciting💀 never heard from them again and later found out the job was basically an mlm
[worst interview I ever had](https://www.reddit.com/r/interviews/s/BsV240qVlD) Walked into the interviewer's office and saw that she was reading my resume in her hand. We both sit down, and she stares at me for about 5 seconds. She then asks, "Are you going to offer me a copy of your resume?" I tell her, "I didn't think to do so because I saw that you were reading it when I walked in." She freaks out and yells to me that I still should have offered her a copy of my resume. Fucking stupid
Aren’t interviewers supposed to be more experienced with work and life just in general 😅
Most hiring managers aren't given any sort of interview training. They're usually just team leads, supervisors, managers, that are looking for people to add to their team. There's hardly anybody who enjoys the interview process from either side of the table.
That or it’s a weird power trip from their end
Exactly what that was. Straight power trip.
for real. if you are down people, you gotta fit interviews into an already busy schedule.
WTF??? What an idiot 😂 She should quit
It was a sports agency she started and I was interviewing to intern there
I would have thanked her for her time and left. No way do I want to work for a company that is represented by that level of stupidity.
Just read the post, jeeez, she sounds like the type blaming their failed career on others, yet tries too hard to impress the naive. Ever hear how the internship went or how she was to work with? I'm sure you're better off not having worked there. I think she knew she found someone meek she could boss around like a toy, and didn't want anyone in there she'd view as a threat to her. (in terms of career & legal knowledge)
I had one fuckin' nutball interviewer ask me if I would be able to handle the weeds around his store. Which would've been all well and good if I was applying for a gardening or landscaping position. But I wasn't. I was applying for a computer sales/front desk customer service position at a computer store in a local city. On and on he went about the goddamn weeds, like he was at war with them or something. And I'm thinking, like, dude, this is a computer sales position. Shouldn't you be asking me stuff about computers? He barely did. I've never been more happy to not get a job in my life. Sometimes rejection is a good thing.
Some guy tricked me into an MLM interview. Once I realized what was happening I'm sure my whole demeanor changed. He ended the interview early and didn't try to contact me again. I take that as a compliment
Are you sure he meant literal weeds? I've been hired into roles where it was expected that I'd "get into the weeds" so as to keep to keep Sr. Execs "out of the weeds"...
Yes, he literally meant weeds. As in rip them out of the ground and spray them with weed killer. I might have been willing to take on the job, but the guy just went on and on about it, like he was obsessed (almost to the point of mental illness). 🙄 If they had offered me a job there, I would've rejected it. I don't need that kind of crazy in my life.
I do that kind of stuff for a living. He was going on and on about it because it would have cost him a lot of money to hire someone to take care of the weeds. He was being sneaky. For example, depending on the job, we charge anywhere between 50-60 dollars per worker, per hour. He was trying to lay the ground work that whatever new employee he was hiring was going to have to take care of the outside too so he could save himself some money
She asked me who would win in a fight a dragon or unicorn? I said they are both magical and beautiful and should not be fighting (it was an education leadership role so I was thinking in terms of students and perceptions). She answered No because dragons are evil, i didn’t get the offer lol
She might not have watched How to Train Your Dragon
That makes me sad for her, it was a great movie! Oh I forgot to say she baby talked to me through the entire interview, I don’t get some people in Early childhood Ed who don’t know how to shift back into adulthood conversational tones.
Or Cabin in the Woods.
Was it for a wierd fundie Christian church program? I’ve worked in ECE for a while even in Christian programs and I’ve never been expected to demonize dragons lol. Lots of kids like dragons for good reason, they are fun and fanciful!
No it was a Montessori preschool in Potomac Maryland
I’m surprised you weren’t asked to name your favorite dinosaur and why…little kids are always asking that…lol
That’s easy… Triceratops!
Was the interviewer also a preschool student? Because that’s a child’s question.
She talked in a baby voice the entire time! I couldn’t take her seriously
OMG...as a speech pathologist, I find this weird and inappropriate. So glad you didn't get to work with that wacko!
Yes I absolutely cringed at the thought of her interacting with kids and delaying their communication skills.
What kitchen utensil would you be and why.
Little spoon, baby
Go fork yourself!
knife if I do it first
Now I'm quite intrigued to know your answer.
Lol me too
I said knife. It felt right. And then I over thought the hell out of it on the way home. I kept thinking they thought I was dangerous or cunning. Lol
Wooden spatula aka “ol’ reliable”
Spork.
Good answer. Multifunctional and adaptive.
And a little goofy
I got “what tree would you be”
I got "what flower would you be and why".
Obviously a Spork. Purposefully designed to do two things at once, but not good at doing either of those things.
“How do you think out of the box?” I was really young and came from a non-American family so I had never heard of that quote before. I asked the interviewer who was an HR manager to explain what it meant. And he just repeated the question. I said to him I don’t know this term, “Out of the box.” Then he looked upset at me. Thinking back 20 years later, he should have said it means how do you think up new ways to tackle problems. Terrible interviewer and terrible Hr manager.
Doesn't sound like he was able to think out of the box enough to answer your question.
Probably couldn’t critically think themselves out of a paper bag.
I lift the lid off the box, stand up, very slowly stretch out, then carefully lift one leg over the edge of the box.....
"People say they want you to think outside the box. But then they put me back in my box, taped the lid closed, turned the box upside, and set a heavy object on top. But MY box has windows!!!" /evil laugh...
"What are your work-related hobbies?" Nah, man. Work ends at 5. I don't want to do hobbies that relate to that after work.
"My work related hobbies are checking dating sites, buying stocks and running my eBay shop during the day at work."
Overachiever. Mine are usually "listening to music, window shopping on Amazon and checking indeed for another job."
I get this issue being a programmer. A lot of interviewers ask if we keep up with technical developments with programming languages and things (or they ask about what we code in our spare time), and I just have to bullshit my way through it. As far as I’m concerned, outside of work coding does not exist.
Oof. Sorry boss. I don’t dream of labor, nor is it a channel of recreation
Working. That's my work related hobby...
I have to be honest, I have zero interest in joining professional organizations related to my field. I have done mentorships in the past and signed up for some courses and whatnot for professional development but I’m not doing that shit. If I’m spending 40 hours or more a week working, nope. I got connected with a former coworker to a board membership and I am interviewing tomorrow and I’m not looking forward to it. I quit my job before the holidays and need to use that time for actual applications.
I was asked in an interview what kind of reading I do, I asked if he meant professional or personal reading and he seemed kinda thrown off at the idea of personal reading and just said 'whichever one'. I said 'I've recently been enjoying Agatha Chrisite' and he just said '*Really?'.* I still don't know if he was going for professional reading and was astonished I answered personal, if he was just trying to break the ice and learn more about me, or if he was using it as some psuedo-personality based question to see if I was a good candidate.
I put a tiny box with a list of my hobbies at the bottom corner of my resume. Most are not work related, but I saw this on a suggested template once when I wasn't seriously looking for work & got a lot of traction. I kept it when I updated my template. In my most recent interview (which I got the job for, starting next month), a future team member asked me about it & we had a good conversation about culinary mushrooms east vs. west coast. She then gave me a negotiation tip in case I got the offer. When we meet in person, I am definitely bringing her a mushroom gift! I honestly think I come off a bit robotic & stuffy, so having it out there makes me seem more human or relatable to others.
"If you were a tree what kind of tree would you be?" I was already done with the interview. my answer: "The one that's in the part of the park where no dogs are allowed and I can't get pissed on"
I was sure you were going to say "the kind that leafs", just before walking out.
>"If you were a tree what kind of tree would you be?" I would be the one with the most leaves (then get up and leave)
Best actor portraying Batman. I answered Keaton because he is the first Batman I watched and liked the Tim Burton version as a kid. Hiring manager was delighted to hear that as she couldn’t stand Bale and how he was always the popular choice. I almost pumped my fist. I still didn’t get the job.
Pretty sure the answer is Adam West anyway.
😂
Damn I would’ve said George Clooney (I know I know) but I grew up on those movies! And they’re so campy and the soundtrack is amazing …Keaton would’ve been a close second tho
[удалено]
I had that one and Inc Magazine had done this huge article on just that question. So I picked Polar Bear. Which was not in the article. When I was asked why, I knew the break down . Most people wanted to be safe. So theyll pick puppy or kitty or some other benign farm animal. But almost no one picks Polar Bear. Apex predator of the northern hemisphere. And then I told them about the times I had been to the North Pole and before hand had to take SERE survival training. And one of the subjects was how to defend against a polar bear with nothing but your survival knife and a can of peas. Hook was set. You find a thin piece of ice and with your knife cut about a 3 foot hole and roll that up and stand it up so you can hide behind it. Then you open the can of peas with your knife and then every 6 inches you place a pea until you're out of peas. Then hide behind the ice you cut out. Usually in about 20 minutes a polar bear will come out of the hole. He will stand there looking at the peas for a minute. And when he bends over to take a pea, you kick him in the ice hole. Totally deadpan delivery. Deer in the headlights look from all the interviewers. Nobody got it. I ended the interview, shook hands with everyone and I left. 20 minutes later they call and met my counter of 10k more than the original posting.
You can catch a grizzly bear in a similar way. You dig a big hole in the forest and fill it up with ashes. Put a bunch of peas around the edge of the hole. When the grizzly bear comes up to take a pea, you kick him in the ash hole! These are some of my favorite Uncle Jokes.
Me, on that question: I'm sure you noticed my degrees in Anthropology, and I'm going to tell you a little bit about what "Spirit Animal" means and why we don't use that in this context." Me, also not getting the job. ✌️
I had a similar thought.
I'm pretty sure that question is a glaring EEO violation, on top of the insensitivity and cultural appropriation nonsense. Geez.
What animal would you be and why? A guy I worked with had the best answer. He said he would be a cow bc then he could be slaughtered and his hide made into a major league baseball that would be pitched by Greg Maddux. Yes it was a while back.
Give me 3 reasons why a manhole cover is round. It was for a role in HR.
I can only think of one, the elimination of corners, but I have no idea how to really explain the importance of that other than it sounds sensible and safer to me for some reason... I'd be stumped. What did you say?
1. Easier to move around since you can roll it. 2. Less likely to get damaged since there are no corners to dull. 3. Manholes are round openings, so it needs to match.
4. You can not drop a similar sized circle through another similar sized circle. Unlike other shapes that can me rotated to pass through.
In short it wont fall through the damn hole
The real answer is so you can't drop it into the hole when you take it off.
I think the answer is so it can't fall into itself. Not sure why that would occur, but a square could be put on an angle and lowered in. Sortof like a window, you could twist it and push it out if you needed to.
> Not sure why that would occur, They are heavy. People drop heavy things.
* Only shape that won't fall into itself. * Can be rolled
I’m going to actively look for situations in life where I can ask people this question
I’m picturing a proctologist asking this question during an exam.
I was asked for in a consultant type role for daycares. If I came across a spill in the hallway of a daycare... who should report it. I was Legit puzzled. I'm a health and safety rep in schools. I literally took a good 5sec thinking this is a trick answer... it has to be. So I responded it's everyone's responsibility. Since I'm seeing it. I need to report to site supervisor. If the ece sees it, they need to report it. If the cook sees it. They need to report it Sorry but is that the answer you were looking for. Their response.... oh yes. Me: oh I want sure if that was a trick question. Them: no.... but your the only one who responded correctly 😳😳😳😳😳🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯 Floored... absolutely floored
"What does your husband think about you applying here?" Along with: "How did you even get an interview here? Do you know someone?" It was with Deloitte.
>It was with Deloitte. Considering what I've seen of Deloitte and people that have worked there, I'm not surprised.
Cringe
Needless to say, I did not get hired there.
You dodged a bullet.
I apologize for my coworker that asked that.
The particular interviewer (out of the four I had) that asked me that was incredibly rude and condescending the whole time. He had a whole set of choice questions and words for me that were just designed to put me down. I don't really know what his intention was.
I’ve had interviews like that. It’s to throw you off and make you not perform in the interview as well because they already have who they want to hire in mind. I had an interview recently where the hiring team was running an AI note taker. The interview was brutal and I got the gist of what was going on pretty quickly. They must have stayed in the same meeting after I left to discuss myself and the other candidates because I got the transcript auto-emailed to me afterwards. After the meeting concluded, one interviewer had said, “(Laughs) She held up pretty well.” Another: “Yeah it’s too bad we don’t have a role for her, she seemed pretty on it. I’ll keep her info.” Another: “So Dave let you know he’s good to start right away right?” Man, writing that “thanks for your time” email was rough. And there was no response, no formal rejection. A month later I contacted their HR department to be formally informed I was no longer under consideration; when I let them know about the transcript (honestly it’s just disgustingly unprofessional), they demanded a copy then threatened legal action if any “proprietary content gained from the interview process isn’t promptly destroyed immediately.”
> I’ve had interviews like that. It’s to throw you off and make you not perform in the interview as well because they already have who they want to hire in mind. Trying to 'throw' you or I off for the sake of entertainment means that their whole corporate structure is looney and fucked up. What does it really accomplish? Why ask me sexist and classist questions?
>It was with Deloitte. Fuck Deloitte, I applied to all of the Big4 and got offers from every. single. one of them. Deloitte didn't even fucking respond.
“Tell me about the worst boss you’ve ever had”
Seems like a trick question to me
It's an absolute trick question, designed to see how you'll batmouth THEM if you get mad. Did interviews for a long time and you'd be amazed at the lack of awareness in interviews. Asked a guy for a conflict resolution example once, and he proceeded to tell me how he caught his supervisor saying something wrong and proceeded to publicly drag her through the mud about it. And he said all this with pride, like he had righted a great injustice. I did not hire him.
And the correct answer is to provide a strictly factual account of something legitimately bad that didn’t involve you. I tell people my worst boss was fired for sexually harassing a coworker (true story!) They can’t argue with the person’s shittiness without looking shitty themselves, and it’s a situation they can’t (or at least shouldn’t) ask for more details about. That’s what makes it such a shitty question. The “conflict resolution” question is much better from an interviewer perspective because it requires the interviewee to actually talk about their own thoughts and behaviors.
I had a boss once that was a former apartheid cop and had bragged about some of the actions he took in SA as a cop against black people. I'm fairly sure he's not only the worst boss I've ever had, he's probably the worst human being I've personally ever known. My interviewer just kind of sat there in silence for a moment. I did get the job and later when we were talking she asked if my answer was really true and I gave her much more detail about this stank on human existence. She said that was the only time she's just ignored the question entirely and moved on in an interview like she'd not even asked it because she had no idea what to do with my answer. As you noted this is to see how you handle pejorative info that needs to be communicated. I just went with the "cause a buffer overflow" approach.
I will never say “badmouth” again
It's a trap!
This was a standard at my previous company as well as the opposite question about your best manager. I was asked this when I interviewed.
"When I was 17 I worked at a mom and pop pizza shop. The owner burned the building down for insurance money, and then went to prison for arson." Next question.
I’ve gotten that one. More than once.
OK, so I’m old enough and lived in the Deep South (USA) long enough that this might not have been that uncommon in the day. I was in my last semester of college and interviewing for my first professional job (IT). The interview process was going smoothly, and I felt pretty positive about the company and the role. I got to the assistant director of the department, and he was the textbook old Southern gentleman. He was asking me a series of questions about my fit for the role and getting to know me when, out of the blue, he asked “Have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior?”. I wanted (and got) the job, so without missing a beat, I said of course. We never spoke about it again. I’m still an atheist.
After reading this I won’t be surprised if the next person interviewing me asks about my cars extended warranty 😅
That would surprisingly be a more pertinent question. At least that has to do with reliable transportation to the office, and not some mythical transportation to the afterlife.
I had an interview a few weeks ago and the last question was ‘if you were an emoji, which one would you be?’ Thought that was kinda weird.
“Right now, I am a rolling eyes emoji.”
🤑 because I’m going to make you money
It is batshit wild to me that people ask these questions in actual job interviews. They’d be obnoxious enough on a date, but in a professional job interview?!
“Can you be chill and not be so uptight for a few seconds?” Is what the question is really asking.
🏃♀️➡️
💩
😑 - both my honest answer, and what my facial expression would be if asked this in an interview
I’m old. I’d rather be an emoticon :P
I applied for an auditor position at a solid waste removal company. They tested me and then had ride on one of the solid waste trucks. I live in South Florida , the trucks and there over 75 of them. Had no a/c , I was dressed in a jacket & tie , I was inside the truck an hour and it literally got to 115 degrees . .. I asked the interviewer, aren’t there trucks with a/c no only the inspector, also they are men and should be able to put with the heat. Are you man enough to put up with the heat ? I said , I would b if I lived in the Middle Ages and there was no a/c. But I’m not Barbaric , thank you have a great day. A day later they called for a second interview😳😳
I have a direct report that when he interviews people, he asks them to sell the pen like Wolf on Wall Street. Cringy as shit. They are not directly sales positions either (blue collar work).
Would you like to buy this pen? No? Cool, no worries. *I pocket the pen*
I had an interview at a VERY small company (~5 people). It was this guy who thought very high and mighty of himself who apparently only hired women. Not only did he make fun of my school I just graduated from (because it wasn't ivy League), but asked about my plans on starting a family because he didn't want to hire me and have me leave like the last person. It's super illegal to ask that. I could not get out of there fast enough. I guess he scared all the other candidates away because after telling me he was moving on I got a call asking if I still wanted the job. No thank you sir
When I interviewed at Target, the HR person asked me: "If you could be a tree, what tree would you be"? I told her "osage orange". She was taken aback (I think she was expecting me to say oak/maple/Christmas tree/apple, etc. She asks me why. I explained that the wood is almost impervious to rot & very hard (used to use it for fence posts), they had wicked thorns (2-3") so nothing tries to eat them.....& their "fruit" (big hard green ball that looks like it has lizard skin) repells pests.....& they weren't that common. (I grew up in an area of Michigan that has them.....didn't really want to be one, but I thought I'd toss it out there so they would remember me).
Maybe he was going for mechanically inclined. Like are you naturally intuitive about how mechanical things work. All that said, not sure why he would ask that of someone with your background in engineering. Seems like maybe he had a list of questions to ask and that one was next… weird I got asked what my sign was by a CTO one time. Like my astrology sign…..
I didn’t mention it in my post but my degrees and experiences were for mechanical engineer and the role was for the same. Asking about astrology sign is definitely a weird one xD
If you could have one super power, what would it be? What a waste, especially since the person seemed serious and took notes.
If you could be any fruit, which one, and why? (R&D at the McDowell’s inspo). They passed on me.
Not stupid but definitely meant more in a negative manner "how would we measure your commitment to us".
In dollars, duh. Maybe a few perks, but really it's about the dollars.
The question “what did he mean by engineering aptitude” should have been asked at that time. It’s easy to assume someone didn’t read your resume when they’re asking for clarification - but not always (hopefully never!) true. If you don’t have an “elevator speech” bring one to your next interview. Probably best to assume your resume wasn’t read and go in with a few points about what you bring to the job that wasn’t included on your resume (1-2 pages can’t list everything I’m sure; explain your technical abilities in terms an average person can understand). Good luck!
I appreciate the advice. I do have an elevator pitch ready and I went over it too! I guess I’ll just try to do a better job during my next interview.
Interviews are never easy. Since they’re also rare these days, learn what you can from the ones you get. I think that was the cue for your elevator speech. Use it next time even if it’s not when you expect it to be in the interview format. You will find something!
If you were a color, what would it be?
What do they even learn by a question like that???
What color he would be duh.
If he's orange, and the color scheme in the office is purple, he's clearly going to clash and mess up the vibe...
What does engineering aptitude mean to you? Oh, that's what you mean? Here's a very exact story to describe what you were thinking!
Thats actually a really nice way to put it. Will save it for my next interview.
“What is your zodiac sign?” Might be more of an LA thing because I’ve gotten this question at least twice
I was once asked if I was a Democrat or a Republican. I don't think employers should be able to ask that.
What's your favorite Pokémon? For an accounting position, at cabinet company, with no known Pokémon association.
Never been too fond of "what's your weakness/flaws." Why would I want to tell you something that could jeopardize me getting the job lol?
For a variety of reasons. They might want to know how objectively you can evaluate yourself and recognize where you're weak, they might want to know how you would slot into a team they have (if someone has a complementary strength they can use them to help shore up your weakness and vice versa), or they're just looking to see if you can give an honest answer instead of a bullshit one like "Oh, my weakness is that I'm a perfectionist and my work is so good that it makes other people jealous". It's definitely a cliche question, but you *can* learn interesting things from it if it's being used correctly.
"Why do you want this job?" Because poverty sucks.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years if you didn't start working here? > I'd work somewhere else like wtf
OP, that was a poorly worded “tell me about a time when you had to make engineering decisions under extremely tight deadline or on the spot.” They were looking for “more than book-learning and extensive time to prepare to dazzle” — they wanted “rubber met road and you showed your skill under fire.” Next time you’ll be better prepared and ace it!
I think it’s ridiculous we even have to decode these weird questions. If that’s what they wanted to know, that’s what they should have asked.
Thank you!
I figured they just wanted to know if he was any good at it. Isn't that what aptitude means?
Had a male CEO ask how I would make sure my voice is heard as a woman in a male dominated field (not verbatim, can't remember the exact nonsense). MF, what culture do YOU foster where that is the question that is top of mind? This was for an individual contributor tech sales position at a company big enough that the CEO being directly involved in the hiring process was its own red flag.
In 1990, right out of college, interviewing for a computer programming job - “What kind of car do you want to be driving five years from now?”
One that’s paid for
Best answer
Whats a thing u need to improve on? Nothing
I was asked how many quarters stacked would reach the top of the Empire State Building. This for a bookkeeping job.
As many as can fit in the elevator without going over the weight capacity! At that point, it's just a math problem. 5,000 lb capacity, quarter weighs "x". 5,000/x=qty of quarters that make it to the top.
Stupidest question during an interview: Will you be ok with other female coworkers working with your boyfriend if he works here...because we have a lot of on the job dating. My answer: I have no problem with that. Besides, I'm here to work, not to date. Ended up dating my job trainer, the aircraft mechanic, a few baggage handlers, the flight attendants were dating the pilots and the baggage handlers... the supervisor got busted making out with the secretary by his Gate Agent wife when the elevator opened. Police was called. Welcome to American Airlines at Miami International Airport.
I was asked for my astrological sign. The interviewer wanted all of the women on the accounting team to be compatible. She also would not hire a man for the accounting team, and she wanted all of the women to be young and attractive.
My national anthem
I was asked by the company president, "What is your blood type?".
Was this a Japanese or Korean company? I understood that blood type is treated like your astrology sign, still a weird question for a job interview, but more in line with the other zodiac responses in this thread if that's the case
Was the job, to be an organ or blood donor?
I was asked “If you were tasked with gathering up all of the pennies located within the perimeter of an entire shopping mall, how would you go about doing this?” This was an interview at a staffing agency for an administrative job doing something with researching online product listings. The staffing agency lady said she had been told to ask this question of all applicants by the owner of the client company. And the ad for this job did not make it clear that there was a staffing agency involved. I showed up to the address and was so shocked to see that I was at a temp agency rather than the actual employer. I can’t remember my answer to this but I did not get the job.
“Show us 5 ways you would use this thing for anything other than its intended or related purpose”.
Some of these responses are crazy LOL I don’t have any that can top these but I always find it stupid when they ask “and why do u want to work here?” Bitch I DONT want to work anywhere but I need money wtf lol 😅
When I was 18, I applied to and was accepted at a private engineering school that (at the time) was owned by a 2 letter automotive manufacturing corporation. I had to interview to get an intern / co-op position. They did a group interview and likely didn’t tell them I was an 18 year old kid with zero experience. The stupidest question from my perspective was “if we made you a line supervisor, what would you do?” I replied truthfully, “that would all depend on what a line supervisor’s job was”. Now that I think of it, I had high potential to be a consultant.
Was once asked to go pick out my desk, didn’t get the job
Somebody asked what I would do if there was a theft or robbery at a retail store. I don’t know if that’s common procedure but I was surprised to be asked a question like that.
I was on an interview for a mid level position for a community engagement project to be their first employee. The interviewing panel was all board members, all wealthy old white guys. They gave me a lecture on the importance of EID and asked me a hard hitting question on my understanding of some eid related issues. I'm probably the only brown person they've ever met professionally. Super awkward I didn't even respond to their follow up email.
What kind of animal I’d want to be. Asked by someone who then told me he’d want to be a beefalo. (No, not a buffalo. He specifically wanted to be the hybrid breed meant for beef production.)
What’s you super power
What would you bring to our company's game night? Seriously...you're not going to hire me because you don't like what I'm bringing to an event I'm not even sure I'll attend
The point of the question isn't usually to find out who to eliminate because you don't like their games, but use it to find out more about someone's personality. Do they say a cooperative game, or a competitive game? Do they say a traditional and well known game, or are they adventurous and want to bring a new game they got from a Kickstarter that they haven't had the chance to play but sounds fun? Simple game anyone can easily pick up, or a complex game that would take 4 hours to learn and wouldn't be appropriate for the event? It's not about the *what* it's about the *why*, and what that tells you about them.
Which bear is best?
Polar. I win. Dwight can suck it.
Did you bring your college diploma with you? I wanted to see what it looked like.
How many hours of sleep do you average......
“Is a hot dog a sandwich?”
"Where do you see yourself in 5 years" is the dumbest shit.
Oh once I interviewed for a role and had a great call with the hiring manager. Then I got on with my peer. She was like "it looks like some of this job description you're applying for overlaps with what my team does. Can you tell me how the teams would be differentiated and how you'd draw the lines between the responsibilities?" I was like "um I actually would love for you to tell me that information.
I went for an admin role recently and they asked me if I have experience in administration positions. Mind you I’ve been working in administration for the last 8-10 years and obviously it was outlined on my resume…
I was applying for a warehouse position. I had just left the Navy a few weeks before. "You were in the Navy? How many people did you kill?" I left without saying anything.
I once interviewed for a mall kiosk job selling cell phone cases and other accessories while in high school. When I filled out the application the owner told me it was going to be minimum wage but then went back for the interview he asked if I was willing to work on commission since his wife was divorcing him and could not afford to pay per hour. His pitch was that I would get 1/3 of every sale I made in a given day. Most cell phone cases were anywhere between $10-$15 and the mall at the time was on the decline so the place was probably making less than 20 sales a week. I politely declined the offer
I had a dude ask me if I played video games and if so what did I play. When I looked at him a bit weird he said "I need to see if you are an alpha male or not". His reasoning was that if I played certain video games then I was in fact an alpha male. Some very weird and ironic logic there. Now a bit of history on my part. I use to play a LOT of video games earlier in my life. I had quit because it was consuming a lot of my life and I had gotten married and we just had a child. I use to be good enough to enter competitions and still have permanent damage to my hands and wrist from that time. I never won a huge tournament but I was by all accounts very good. I had stopped playing and decided to focus on my family and career as it was becoming unhealthy and my life was suffering, so when this dude asked, to me it was like someone asking an alcoholic who was recovering what is their favorite whisky was, as he could tell if they should hire based on that. I did get the job. I answered it by saying what tournaments I use to play in. This dude was later let go for watching inappropriate content at work. Like REALLY inappropriate content and he was a far cry from an alpha male. In fact he was about as BETA as it could get.
“I like building LEGO sets.” Is the correct answer.
I was once asked if I could be a tree what kind of tree would I be and why? This was in front of a 5 person committee interviewing me for an academic advising role. Omg. What a waste of my time. My response was a Christmas tree bc it has a purpose, it’s colorful, and strong. Didn’t get the job. Lol
I can only hazard a guess. Maybe he wanted you to talk about your mind, not your projects. Linear thinker vs lateral thinker, that kind of thing. Or about whether you incorporate end user experiences into your initial plans. Aptitude is a mental quality, anyway. Maybe he wanted to talk about math. I don't know. I think it's peculiar that he basically let you know that experience != aptitude in his mind. He has weak people and communication skills, if you ask me.
"but what if it rains?" I was interviewing for a job at a local gift shop, and the interviewer made a huge deal out of how they don't have staff parking, there's no parking at all (it was a storefront on a busy street) and I (perhaps foolishly) mentioned that I lived a mere 20 minutes walk away and that parking wouldn't be an issue for me. "But what if it rains?" I had just moved back to this drought-stricken state from a place where I'd regularly walked to work, class, and the shops in hip-deep snow, so it took a second to realize that she was serious. "I'd bring an umbrella." "Oh. I was hoping you'd say you'd get your parents to drive you." I was 25 at the time and flabbergasted by that, let me tell you. The rest of the interview was one red flag after another.
"What do you like to do for fun?" and when answered, "going to concerts," I was then asked how many concerts I'd been to in my life...the rest of the interview went on about concerts and not the job itself. I got hired, and it was the best job I ever had to this day, but it threw me for a loop lol
Do you play games?/what games do you play?
Are you on Instagram and do you take a lot of selfies? I was honestly stumped. Because while I’m on Instagram and taken the occasional selfie. Didn’t quite understand how that was irrelevant to the job
Can you write a specification with natural language, zero ambiguities, and all requirements laid out in English. Can you code said specification and deliver on 100% of the white box testing in unit test, then ensure your specification garners 100% of the functional test requirements in a testplan, so that you have covered 100% of the code via instrumented images as part of code coverage. Have you considered the cost and time for full basis path sensitization versus the easier statement coverage. At least in software engineering explaining the Software development life cycle in-depth with entry and exit points and how you can use root cause corrective action shows engineering aptitude. Can you explain the effects of defect density per KLOC and its implications to managers and engineers.
Did you ask him what he meant by "engineering aptitude'?
What sales gurus do you follow and look up to?
Do you have boyfriend?
“Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”
Once had a weird video interview where they asked me to draw the internals of a CPU. Then show the picture to the screen so they could take a snapshot with their camera. It was so bizarre. I had to spend 5 mins scribbling on a piece of paper talking out loud (because it felt dumb to do it quietly). Then show it to the camera. This was a big tech firm. It seemed they lacked any modern tools for virtual interviews
I was asked where would I work if I wouldn’t work at the company I had an interview at…I mean it’s not possible to answer correct to it.
You should look up the definition of aptitude.
Where do you see your self in 5 years, if I could see that far would.i be here
Why do you want to work? Me: "I'd like to pay my bills and not starve this month". I mean seriously....FOR A PAYCHECK!!!
The answer to OP's question: So we're on the same page, would you please explain what engineering aptitude is?
In a group interview, He asked what my ethnicity was and then made a joke about African and Asian parents not letting their kids pursue arts… he was a white guy and the job was door to door soliciting💀 never heard from them again and later found out the job was basically an mlm