Would you care to share your "favorite" interview questions?

How soon can you start?

@J0E That could be valid, though. Like if you’re leaving another job and need to give two week or 30 day notice.

Why do you think that wearing flip flops for an interview is a good thing?

@ChazMaz LOL! Oh no!

True story.
I had someone come in for an interview, with flip flops on.

You DIDN’T wear flip flops to an interview, did you??!!

“What is your biggest weakness?” Oh yeah, like i’m going to tell you that. Next thing you know you’ll be lining my cubicle with kryptonite.

Give me an example of something you need to improve on.

My husband has a version of this w/each interview.

“Does your hair grow any longer than that?”
See ya….Gary/wtf

@SpatzieLover I need to improve on making money!

@Val123 He needed to improve on selecting companies that either didn’t cut his position due to budget constraints or go bankrupt! ;D

Been there, having companies sell out from under me or moving out of state. I just applied for an Exective Secretary for the City of Blah Blah Kansas, and if I get the job I’m going to be in constant fear that they’ll move the City of Blah Blah Kansas to Blu Blu Ohio!

1) In your previous jobs what was your greatest success and why did you succeed?
2) In your previous jobs what was your most serious crisis, how did you handle it and what did you learn from it?

@mattbrowne I had an interview once where they asked me to describe a problem I’d had that I solved in a creative way. Really threw me, because I can’t help but associate “creative” with more artsy stuff than science, which is closer to what a solving a problem would be, I think.

@Val123 – Creativity applies to all fields. As you know I’m in IT and handling all the complexities of computer systems plus the people factor requires a lot of creativity. Same for teaching. My wife’s a biology and chemistry teacher. Handling a class of pubescent students carrying out experiment… whew…

Yes, it’s a good idea to think about a problem before the interview and then dazzle them by presenting your creative solution ;-)

@mattbrowne I understand what you’re saying, but solving an IT problem requires research and the ability to logically think things out. Creativity, to me, means…well, something like this:
http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc207/Dutchcat1/CorrieHalloween1995.jpg
I put that outfit together just using whatever I had lying around the house…..
I mean, I can put together procedures and better ways of doing things, but that isn’t solving a “problem.”
I taught herds of pubescent students for years! And I agree, creativity is of the utmost importance. My favorite lesson was i a 5th grade class when I went out and bought a bunch of different colored gumballs and labeled each color a specific atom, then had the kids hot glue gun the atoms together to form molecules! It was cool, and creative. But…I was thinking more along the lines of “How did I creatively solve a cell phone reception problem.?” Well, uh, I talked to the techs! Or I tried to duplicate the problem or…to me that’s logic, not creativity. IDK. It took me by surprise. But I know what you’re saying.

@mattbrowne Yup my IT geek had those questions, too! We have gotten very adept at finding sample interview questions and having him practice. I don’t know how the interview process works in Germany, but for IT jobs here candidates usually have several phone interviews.

Those include “run through” situations of how you’d configure this or trouble shoot that. Those interviews can take over an hour. Then, if you’re lucky you get an in person…which could wind up taking a few hours depending on how many people you have to answer questions to, or how many sample scenarios they set up for you to fix.

@Val123 – Great picture !!

@SpatzieLover – Well, the interview process greatly depends on supply and demand. When the economy is booming and there’s a shortage of IT skills the situation is quite different from recessions like this one where you can pick the top guy or gal out of 20 candidates. Only exception: really senior IT folks. Even in good years the extra effort is worth it.

@mattbrowne She’s a knock out isn’t she! People had been bugging me since the day she was born to get her into modeling. I just….didn’t like the idea of that.