Job interviews are consequence-free zones.
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GoodSarmatian
Jokerfied Western Male
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Stuff like what's your biggest weakness ? Perfectionism, of course ! The punchline is that it's actually almost true (tied with procrastination) for me, and it is an actual weakness because I take too long to get anything done.
Inspired by this thread, next time someone asks me about a character flaw I'll look them straight in the eyes with my best serial killer face and just say "I hold grudges." Try to turn the tables on the interviewer and really freak them out.
I probably won't do it. I'll probably fantasize about doing it and then start to laugh in the middle of the interview
.
Ferocitus
Deity
Many, many, years ago, to get unemployment benefits in Australia, you had to go
to a job interview at least once every month. It became a challenge for many of
us "dole bludgers" to fail the test but without making it look like you were doing
so deliberately (or else you'd lose the benefits).
The best line I heard in response to:
"Do you have any questions?
was
"When do I start handling cash?"
to a job interview at least once every month. It became a challenge for many of
us "dole bludgers" to fail the test but without making it look like you were doing
so deliberately (or else you'd lose the benefits).
The best line I heard in response to:
"Do you have any questions?
was
"When do I start handling cash?"
I think "what's your biggest weakness" has become a cliché and is dumb question to ask at interviews. However, it is interesting to ask about a time the candidate failed at a project, to see how he deals with adversity and how he turns around a bad situation.
Ryika
Lazy Wannabe Artista
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People always think perfectionism is this Pseudo-weakness that you can name to actually say something positive, but in reality perfectionism must be one of the most negative traits a person can have when it comes to productivity and efficiency.
Enough people still ask that question. As a public service we should all list our favorite response to it, either heard or given.
The so focused one I've heard before.
Work too hard.
Perfectionist, ditto.
Sometimes I'll wait too long to ask for help trying to solve a problem.
Sometimes I let work come before family.
I still ask it just to see what BS answer they like. And if they sit silent for 20 seconds before answering, its a red flag since they've obviously haven't take any time to prep for such an obvious question.
Let's hear some imagination here.
The so focused one I've heard before.
Work too hard.
Perfectionist, ditto.
Sometimes I'll wait too long to ask for help trying to solve a problem.
Sometimes I let work come before family.
I still ask it just to see what BS answer they like. And if they sit silent for 20 seconds before answering, its a red flag since they've obviously haven't take any time to prep for such an obvious question.
Let's hear some imagination here.
Light Cleric
ElCee/LC/El Cid
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I don't know how you can possibly say they're consequence-free, then.
I'm only 29 so I don't want to sound like a grouchy old man, but I'm going to guess that if you haven't had paid job experience before, you're in your mid-late teens, in which case you wouldn't have actually had a chance to see the consequences yet.
On paper this sounds like a funny first-world-anarchist thing, but for your own sake, please, don't act dumb(This is where I would link the Payday 2 song but I think that has a lot of swears and I don't want to get banned).
Akka
Moody old mage.
I would agree with the fact that you should be cautious while in interview, because word CAN spread out - that's the reason I try to be polite even when I know the other guy is just wasting my time by telling me he has a job opened while in fact he's just filling up his CV bank for later.
On the other hand, it CAN pay up to actually go out of the box in an interview. For most people, an interview is just going through the rote questions and the predictable answers, an exercise in pretending and checking the boxes and above all not give a "warning signal". It makes for pretty boring interviews.
As such, I've found that, as long as you're not provocative, being frank and honest freshen considerably the interview and gives you massive "rememberance points". In a sea of half-truths and calculated responses, being able to be and feel candid is something that gives quite a bit of goodwill, and it can even be actually better to be "less than ideal" to convince a recruiter - because it shows you as playing cards on the table, so no "bad surprise" and you feel like someone people can trust and depend on. For example, in my job I was asked if I was ready to move sometimes, possibly far away (missions in other cities and some in China or South Africa). I downright said "no way, I can do with a few short trips in local cities, but no long-term or international moves". It certainly wasn't what was expected as an answer, but it was consistent with what I said previously (that I think about my well-being first and look for a good working environment) so it gave me "trustiness cred" and "this guy will tell us if there is a problem instead of letting it fester and cause hidden problems".
It's important to It WILL NOT opens up a job for you if you aren't fit for it, it CAN shuts you down from a job if your owned imperfection can get in the way. It's not a miracle method. Also, it's VERY easy to go from "honest" to "flippant" if you're pretending instead of it being a core part of your personality. Sincerity and the ability to convey it is paramount (and conversely, being able to soften your rough edges into something that can look workable with instead of "this guy is going to be a PITA").
On the other hand, it CAN pay up to actually go out of the box in an interview. For most people, an interview is just going through the rote questions and the predictable answers, an exercise in pretending and checking the boxes and above all not give a "warning signal". It makes for pretty boring interviews.
As such, I've found that, as long as you're not provocative, being frank and honest freshen considerably the interview and gives you massive "rememberance points". In a sea of half-truths and calculated responses, being able to be and feel candid is something that gives quite a bit of goodwill, and it can even be actually better to be "less than ideal" to convince a recruiter - because it shows you as playing cards on the table, so no "bad surprise" and you feel like someone people can trust and depend on. For example, in my job I was asked if I was ready to move sometimes, possibly far away (missions in other cities and some in China or South Africa). I downright said "no way, I can do with a few short trips in local cities, but no long-term or international moves". It certainly wasn't what was expected as an answer, but it was consistent with what I said previously (that I think about my well-being first and look for a good working environment) so it gave me "trustiness cred" and "this guy will tell us if there is a problem instead of letting it fester and cause hidden problems".
It's important to It WILL NOT opens up a job for you if you aren't fit for it, it CAN shuts you down from a job if your owned imperfection can get in the way. It's not a miracle method. Also, it's VERY easy to go from "honest" to "flippant" if you're pretending instead of it being a core part of your personality. Sincerity and the ability to convey it is paramount (and conversely, being able to soften your rough edges into something that can look workable with instead of "this guy is going to be a PITA").
Ferocitus
Deity
A few years ago in order to get unemployment benefits I had to prepare a CV
and send it to 10 prospective employers every 2 weeks.
"Just put down what you've done over the last 20 years. There's no need to go
right back to when you left school," said the idiot from the Job Seeker's Advice
Bureau.
After 3 months and no response to my applications, the aforementioned idiot
advised me to remove from the CV my list of publications and that I had a
PhD, "so as not to intimidate prospective employers."
After those excisions, all that was left was my name and address, and that I did
not have a driver's licence.
About two weeks later I was given a pension for the rest of my life. (Woot!)
and send it to 10 prospective employers every 2 weeks.
"Just put down what you've done over the last 20 years. There's no need to go
right back to when you left school," said the idiot from the Job Seeker's Advice
Bureau.
After 3 months and no response to my applications, the aforementioned idiot
advised me to remove from the CV my list of publications and that I had a
PhD, "so as not to intimidate prospective employers."
After those excisions, all that was left was my name and address, and that I did
not have a driver's licence.
About two weeks later I was given a pension for the rest of my life. (Woot!)
Ferocitus
Deity
Twaddle!
If you live in a country with good unemployment benefits, free health care, and
good beaches, there's no hurry to get a job if you don't want one, and don't
want shiny stuff.
There are far more fun and rewarding ways to spend your time. You can learn
whatever you like, in your own time, and without racking up huge student
loans/debts.
I also don't advise getting a haircut:
Yep. Most interviews are exercises in elimination.
When they first came out, I was a big fan of behavioral interviews (which are basically elimination drills), and I had a good track record, but eventually they became too known and they are extremely easy to prep for if you're aware that they are used. But for a few years they were good. Now I used a modified version but have to be really creative coming up with new questions since the internet makes dissemination way too easy. More reliance on competency examples. But competency doesn't test for learning skills.
GoodSarmatian
Jokerfied Western Male
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Smart move o_O
Akka
Moody old mage.
I don't know if I'm a "valuable candidate", but I certainly already filed under "not worth my time" companies in which the interview was like that.
I'm looking for a place where there is a good atmosphere and I can be treated like a human being instead of a cog. As such I always value much more companies in which the interview process feels more "natural/honest/direct" instead of a HR rehearsing. If it feels the later, I put them in the bottom of the pile as "only if I find absolutely nothing else".
Yep, I would most likely do the same, but last time I was looking for a job I've been interviewed 3 or 4 times and in all cases the attitude was very respectful. May be I was just lucky.
Arent11
Emperor
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The point is that I would never tell a stranger my actual weaknesses. So, such questions are basically a test how good I am at lying.
TheMeInTeam
If A implies B...
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Political debates
. It's often outlandish to answer the question that was asked rather than answering a different question that was not asked. If only you could get away with that in interviews.
Ferocitus
Deity
At the same time, and for the same reason, they also advised my wife not to
mention on her CV that she was a lawyer.
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