Interview Questions

When being interviewed for a job, most times the interviewer will come to the point where he/she asks the question, "Do you have any questions for me?"

This is a critical point in the interview, because they aren't really interested in helping you get a better understanding of the position, or clarifying a point. They are judging you on the originality, freshness, and insite of the question. While as an interviewer, I'm good at asking questions, as a candidate I'm brilliant. One of my objectives is to see if I can stump the interviewer and I don't consider the interview a success unless I get the interviewer to say, "That's a good question..." and then watch as their eyes roll back in their head while they struggle for an answer.

It's also the point when they test how you will handle the power shift. Asking the questions is usually the position of power, except when the situation is so dire and the person who is expected to respond may hold the answer to an unanswerable question. If the question is too insiteful then clearly you're going to be too difficult to manage, and if the question is too mundane then clearly you're too stupid to breathe the oxygen that's generated by the plants in the room. At one interview years ago, the interviewer had kept me waiting ninety minutes and then hadn't even read my resume. When she said, "Do you have any questions for me?" I pulled out my note book and asked, "Exactly how would you categorize your management style? Can you give me a specific example that demonstrates how your style has helped you achieve an objectively measurable goal?"

I think it was the smirk after I asked that question which eliminated me from consideration.

The dynamics in an interview have always fascinated me. I do not exaggerate when I say that I have probably done a thousand interviews. One summer about ten years ago, I logged three hundred interviews. If you were to count auditions as interviews we could very easily be into five figures.

I am fearless in an interview.

Fearless.

But if I've decided that I don't want the job, I can barely work up the interest to be snarky. Today is the perfect example. I had three interviews today. The second interviewer was with a man who was both a doctor and a lawyer. As he was escorting me back to his office we passed an office with a name tag that said "Suzy Brite."

"Suzy Brite?" I asked.

The interviewer turned to me, "Do you know Suzy Brite?"

"I know A Suzy Brite. I worked with her at Acme Company. Is that the same Suzy Brite?"

"That would be her."

"Oh, I adore Suzy Brite. She's brilliant." It is generally a good idea to be lavish in your praise of anyone who comes up during an interviews.

"We fired her last week."

For every rule, there is always a good reason to break it.

The fact is Suzy is a dynamic, opinionated woman. She can be difficult, but she really is brilliant at what she does. There are maybe six people in the state of Illinois who do what she does at the same level. Every couple of years there's a big profile done on her in some national publication. She knows everyone in the tristate area. She could get Bill Clinton on the phone and have him over for Sunday dinner, she's that good. And if Suzy was fired, I can guarantee you it wasn't her fault. At that moment I decided that I was no longer interested in the job, and I hadn't even interviewed for it yet.

It was very clear that this interview was taking up much of the interviewer's valuable time. The entire thing took less than thirty minutes, and of that he spent at least five gently bashing Suzy Brite. That is never a good sign.

Then he asked if I had any questions for him. Frankly I hadn't really been paying that much attention to what he was saying to come up with an intelligent question. But as a matter for form I had to ask something. I tossed out my standard stumper, the one that will trip up the amateur interviewer every time.

"If we work together, how will I know if I'm doing a good job for you?"

"If we're working together three months from now, you're doing a good job."

And that pretty much ended the interview.