Job Hunting

I'll bite.

I've been looking to re-locate for about a year or two - can't count the number of jobs I've applied for. 95% of them I have been right-on-point qualified for in terms of education, experience and industry knowledge. The last experience I even had a strong recommendation from my (current) manager who is supportive of my career goals - he knew the hiring manager professionally and exchanged 4-5 emails/calls recommending me. I was told I had the right qualifications, nailed the interview and they respected my recommendation - but there were 3 other people who were better than me and they moved on to the final round. Frustrating. So I have NO IDEA what they are looking for - except they said those 3 folks had 100% experience in one specific area, while that was only a part of my work portfolio. So much for being well-rounded; I always thought that was a good quality to have.

Rant over...

Here are the questions I was asked in the interview - just for kicks (all had to be answered in the STAR format-- situation, task, action, result):

1. Describe how your education and experience have prepared you to succeed in this position.
2. Tell me about a time when you forgot something. 
3. Tell me about a time when you worked with key leaders in your organization.

My new favorite question to ask at the end of the interview is:

Is there any reason I would not advance to the next level of the hiring process (or any reason you would not hire me)? This gives you a chance to address or clarify anything that might be a mark against you. 

As for your closing date question, I would not bug the employer with asking for updates. They will contact you if they want to talk to you. (I'm sure someone will jump in and contradict me with an extraordinary story about how they contacted HR and that was the reason they got their job because of persistence... in 3...2...1...)

lisa - were the other candidates local?  i know a LOT of companies have eliminated relocation benefits to cut costs or after taking a beating on too many houses.  i've always been willing to move but lately it has not been as much of a selling point...(which is crazy because when i graduated the advice was GO where the jobs are, not stay put and hope for a job to open up)

I don't know about the other candidates, but relocation was not offered and they made sure to confirm that I was aware of it every time we spoke. I was ready to pay for my own relocation. Hopefully that was not a factor otherwise I'll NEVER get out of here!

I've never been in an interview that asked these types of obscure questions.
What are you looking for in their answers? 

If I were on Friends I would be Jerry Seinfeld.

So Brad, when your processing a posting do you establish closing date and timeline to help the hiring authority make a decision?  Is it comon to not list the  dates?  In my situation I can't do an immediate fill type job but I can negotiate something in late spring early summer.  Should one apply anyway? if it was a key element of the job that would be in the posting...right.

Good questions from both sides to consider.  Is the STAR format standard practice? It would be easy to use and structure answers then.

Insite to personality?  How does selecting a charater reflect their personality? 

Im still a little fuzzy on that logic.  However it does bring up a point, can I ask for clarification?  In your question I would ask, do you want who I most identify with or who I would most like to have dinner with.  The latter is easier for me to answer but the other makes me try to guess what your looking for (more than answer I think you want rather than my inital thought)

So if I answered "Catwoman" would you automatically assume I was a criminal (she was a jewel thief), a fake (who used disguises), a liar (she made up a story to get out of a crime) - among other things?

Or it might be because it was the first female character I could think of, and I like Halle Berry. 

I think using these types of questions (rather than experience or ability to do the job) is quite judgmental in the hiring process. Which is okay I suppose, if you're given the green light to hire that way.

So is the creepy naked guy an incorrect answer?

I think having a well tailored resume is something that can be overlooked as well. I recently applied for a job I would love to have but am 90% not qualified for. I know I could get up to speed quickly though and was trying to emphasize that. I sat down and spent an hour tailoring my resume to that exact position. I never lied once on it but I emphasized everything I could that was even remotely close. Out of 500+ people I was one of 20 to get a phone interview upon which they confirmed that they didn't want to bring me up to speed with the other qualified candidates they had. The point is I still got an interview despite leaving off some very important skills that they were asking for because I haven't had any experience with them yet.

I use the $1m one all the time as well.  I use it to see if they can think on their feet.  If I put them in front of a C level at my clients they will have to think  on their feet.  

Every once in a while, I'll also in the middle of the interview just stop and ask the candidate what my name is.  I want to see if they are paying attention to details and can remember those details when they are put on the spot.  This will happen to them with our clients as well.  

Honestly I never got into superheros. Ever.
I had to think really hard to come up with Catwoman - I don't know the names of any other ones besides Batman and Spiderman. And it's really because it's the first female character I could think of. And I do like Halle Berry. No other reason. (I googled all that other stuff).

Do I not get the job?  

Just an example of how an obscure question like that might not give you the whole story.

If someone freaked out by not having an answer for a queston I could see that being very useful.

And I'd probably think ya'll were off your rockers and take your company off my list

Random "what's my name" questions? I'm sorry but that's kooky!