Curveball Interview questions
#16
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In the RAF in the late fifties I was asked, as were lots of others, if I would be interested in a commission as an armaments officer. Being fairly well qualified I was sent to RAF Jurby on the Isle Of Man for assessment and interviews. Things were moving along swimmingly until the final day and the final interview. I was asked what my fathers profession was. My answer didn't go down very well as I replied, " He cleans milk bottles for the local dairy." Needless to say I remained an NCO.
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I was asked if I wanted to smoke and was offered a cigarette. I took it as, funnily enough, I did. I was later offered the job but did not take it. This was at Fords in Liverpool back when I was 18.
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#21
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Years back at an interview in Toronto, I was asked to estimate how many lightbulbs are sold annually on Canada. The interviewer was looking for the thought process more than the answer. I did some research when I got home. My estimate was actually very close.
A former colleague of mine was asked in an appraisal what he liked the least about his job. "The commute" was not an appropriate answer. He left before we fired him.
The trickiest question I ever got asked was: "what are your views on apartheid?". This was in the London HQ of a company that mined gold in South Africa and it was the mid-80s. I never did find out the correct answer to the question.
A former colleague of mine was asked in an appraisal what he liked the least about his job. "The commute" was not an appropriate answer. He left before we fired him.
The trickiest question I ever got asked was: "what are your views on apartheid?". This was in the London HQ of a company that mined gold in South Africa and it was the mid-80s. I never did find out the correct answer to the question.
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Yes, it seemed like a reasonable neutral response. It's never a good strategy to slag off a former employer, and it opens up a can of worms if you start complaining about aspects of a former job. I find the expression "a necessary evil" is good to defuse an interviewer's prying on less favourable aspects of a job.
Last edited by Shard; May 15th 2013 at 8:38 pm.
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#24
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The response demonstrated the guy's attitude to his job (ie lazy). We'd been wanting rid of him for a while but didn't have anything good enough for a summary dismissal (and his wife is a solicitor). He ended up flouncing one day. We didn't try to stop him.
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#25
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Oops, didn't see that it was an appraisal rather than an interview. In that case, a glib answer is inappropriate, but it sounds like his fate was already pre-determined by the powers that be.
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My chairman, who conducted the appraisal, described it to me as "f*****g juvenile".
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It sounds like there was a lot more context to that question - because to me that sounds like a smart answer: "I love the job, the only thing I don't like is the commute", and that would likely be the answer I'd give if my boss asked me about my job. I don't see how that having an unattractive commute has any bearing on how one does ones job. ![Confused](https://britishexpats.com/forum/images/smilies/confused.gif)
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