Permie interview

[original PM]

ps - I dont think the HR questions are there to trip you up, or for them to show you who's boss - I thnk they're there to try and get a feel for your personality. See if you're a nice person, and if you'll fit in with the team etc. Some of you lot are very paranoid and angry towards the permie world. It's not *that* bad!

Having done in excess of 3000 interviews I have seen how that sort of question has completely put an interviewee off their stride and meant that they have struggled with the rest of the interview as the dwelt on that question.

I have then seen the result of hiring the complete tulippers who have a smart alec answer for these sorts of questions - the continue to completely tulip once they have been given a job.

Remember if you are looking for a permie member of staff and someone seems to have a very good interview technique they have probably learned it by doing lots of interviews. Maybe you wanna wonder why this is!

Admittedly if you are looking for a wide boy salesman this may be a perfectly legitimate tactic - but when you are looking for a coder, accountant or other profession which relies on attention to details and an ability to give the correct answers not some made up bulltulip it may not be the best option.

[swamp]

HR people have to do something. If all they want to do is ask inane questions then there's no harm in that.

It's interesting because when you have too many people on board a project, some folk inevitably like to stick their oar in and 'do' something even though it would be better if they actually sat back and did nothing. I'm thinking of some projects where, for example, there have been too many business analysts or project managers who have only managed to cock things up and have been no help whatsoever.

Developers usually have no problem doing nothing, and testers never really do much anyway. It's the busy body manager-types who cause all the problems.

[Beefy198]

"If you were a biscuit what would you be" and "if you were an animal what would you be" are two that I've heard.

[Bob Dalek]

Having done in excess of 3000 interviews I have seen how that sort of question has completely put an interviewee off their stride and meant that they have struggled with the rest of the interview as the dwelt on that question.

I have then seen the result of hiring the complete tulippers who have a smart alec answer for these sorts of questions - the continue to completely tulip once they have been given a job.

Remember if you are looking for a permie member of staff and someone seems to have a very good interview technique they have probably learned it by doing lots of interviews. Maybe you wanna wonder why this is!

Admittedly if you are looking for a wide boy salesman this may be a perfectly legitimate tactic - but when you are looking for a coder, accountant or other profession which relies on attention to details and an ability to give the correct answers not some made up bulltulip it may not be the best option.

So, er, it's not possible to do well at interview, without being tulip on the job; and it's a sure sign of being tulip if you do badly at interview. That clears things up nicely.

[ThomasSoerensen]

"If you were a biscuit what would you be" and "if you were an animal what would you be" are two that I've heard.

the answer to the first one should be " The one that chokes you to your death" and the answer to the second one should be "the pit bull terrier that scarres your child for life"

numpties

[DiscoStu]

Developers usually have no problem doing nothing, and testers never really do much anyway. It's the busy body manager-types who cause all the problems.

[Xenophon]

Developers usually have no problem doing nothing, and testers never really do much anyway. It's the busy body manager-types who cause all the problems.

[TheFaQQer]

the answer to the first one should be " The one that chokes you to your death" and the answer to the second one should be "the pit bull terrier that scarres your child for life"

numpties

scars / scares

HTH

[HairyArsedBloke]

"If you were a biscuit what would you be"

Crackers?

Nice?

[swamp]

"if you were an animal what would you be"

Donkey?

Sheep?

Lemming?