Stupid Interview questions...

[Viktor]

Had 2 telephone interviews yesterday, both went on fine, except that at the end of first one I got two questions, completely unrelated to the technical / normal stuff questions you get on the phone.
The first one was "Where are you from?" and the second was "For how long have you been in the UK?"
I must admit that I was milliseconds away of a response like "I'm from planet Pluto" and "I count time in Alpha Centauri years, so 10 millenniums for me..." but for the sake of the professional aspect I declined to give to the tw@t what he should have received...
And the interview was for a British blue-chip, not some 10 people company...
So what stupid questions have you got at interviews in general?

Viktor

[DaveB]

They arn't stupid questions. Well, OK, they are, but employers have to ask them these days. Doesn't matter what job you are going for you will be asked those same two questions. Equality laws require employers to monitor their workforce’s gender, disability status and ethnic origin.

[MikeC1408]

They arn't stupid questions. Well, OK, they are, but employers have to ask them these days. Doesn't matter what job you are going for you will be asked those same two questions. Equality laws require employers to monitor their workforce’s gender, disability status and ethnic origin.

Which means they won't always hire the right persion if your from the worng place

[Viktor]

They arn't stupid questions. Well, OK, they are, but employers have to ask them these days. Doesn't matter what job you are going for you will be asked those same two questions. Equality laws require employers to monitor their workforce’s gender, disability status and ethnic origin.

No DaveB, Equality laws require workforce monitoring AFTER you got the job, not before. Plus, I am not employed by them, so I don't see the relevance of the monitoring...
I was amazed as this is quite a well-known British company, and they didn't request any SC clearance so can't find the point...

[Fran]

No DaveB, Equality laws require workforce monitoring AFTER you got the job, not before. Plus, I am not employed by them, so I don't see the relevance of the monitoring...
I was amazed as this is quite a well-known British company, and they didn't request any SC clearance so can't find the point...

I agree. They wouldn't ask a building contractor these questions would they (mind you they might get some interesting responses if they did!)

[Zorba]

In my experience some questions of this type are also supposed to help the interviewee relax a little. It's very difficult to get a 'feel' for someone's personality by phone - and yes, that's what the bulk of a phone interview is for. You can talk contract details, deliverables, whatever, but the interviewer will ultimately judge on an impression and not on a CV: your CV gets you the interview, but your personality gets you the job.

Sweeping generalisations, I know, but just my opinion.

[Bluebird]

It may be to do with "right to work in the UK" - if you give the answer to where are you from = India - no doubt they'll then ask about work permits etc...

I think it's a "softly softly" approach rather than asking outright if you're an illegal or not.

[Zippy]

Where do you see your career going?

Three month contract

[chasingtheaurora]

"What possibly makes you think that you are in any way good enough?"

(my, now ex-, father-in-law, when making reference to his psycho hose-beast of a daughter).

[Zippy]

"What possibly makes you think that you are in any way good enough?"

(my, now ex-, father-in-law, when making reference to his psycho hose-beast of a daughter).

Such a warm welcome and you still married her. You are tough!