|
On April 04 2012 00:45 Kennigit wrote: Tell them its 2012 and you are concerned with the fact that they are using outdated methods of screening candidates. There is an incredibly high chance that every person they ask this question to has rehearsed an answer or is lying or both.
If I were interviewing someone who had the audacity to tell me I was interviewing them incorrectly, my immediate response would be 'Clearly you wouldn't be happy here. Let's not waste any more of each other's time."
|
On April 04 2012 00:37 RDaneelOlivaw wrote:Show nested quote +On April 04 2012 00:26 paralleluniverse wrote:On April 04 2012 00:22 Keitzer wrote: Wait... are you asking for a lie to tell?
Or are you asking for advice on how to cover for you flaws?
Because obviously it's a plus to be able to work in a team, but if you can't do it, and really want the job, then I guess the only thing left to do is lie about it.
Edit: er... maybe LIE isn't the right word... maybe... extend the truth .. like... say you PREFER to work alone, although you are able to work in a team (implying you can do both, but you've also stated your preferences) You speak as if "working in a team" is impossible for someone who studies alone. Or that "working in a team" is a hard thing to do, and a rare quality amongst the general population. A buffoon can work in a team. I've never met or known anyone who cannot work in a team. For comp sci, working in a team actually presents a unique set of challenges. As a fellow comp sci major, I've run into it a lot. Group coding with bad people can be rather difficult. As a result, companies look for people they think can handle group work well. You never want to answer an interview question with a response that makes it seem like you can't handle a group in an IT interview Your completely mixing the issue of working in a team to writing readable code. a skill which is actually quite highly emphasized at university.
Your argument still hinges on the fact that some people cannot work in a team, and that it can be hard for the employer to find someone who can work in a team. This is completely contrary to experience.
You also make it seem like working in a team is a very difficult thing to learn.
How fucking hard can it be to work in a team?
|
On April 04 2012 00:50 SLAYER29 wrote: I said that I was a bad singer. It's funny and you don't have to really say anything bad about work performance. And I got the job. Try to say something that doesn't make you look like a bad employee. (obvious)
Ha! that is a good idea. shows a sense of humor and makes them feel comfortable (alot of times people hate doing interviews as much as they hate getting interviewed)
|
On April 04 2012 00:53 Kaitlin wrote:Show nested quote +On April 04 2012 00:45 Kennigit wrote: Tell them its 2012 and you are concerned with the fact that they are using outdated methods of screening candidates. There is an incredibly high chance that every person they ask this question to has rehearsed an answer or is lying or both. If I were interviewing someone who had the audacity to tell me I was interviewing them incorrectly, my immediate response would be 'Clearly you wouldn't be happy here. Let's not waste any more of each other's time." And you'd be wrong.
|
Just say this and you'll be fine. "Well my bad quality is a little embarassing but due the the Archimedes principle I ALWAYS overflow the tub when I bathe."
Boom you take the power in the interview by making him feel bad for making you call yourself fat...
And you got the job!
:D
|
I'll have a go at answering this question: "I do not have a high tolerance for bullshit, phoniness, and people making shit up."
|
On April 04 2012 00:53 Xirroh wrote: The important thing to remember is resume / interviews should be treated like personal advertizing. You have to sell yourself.
In terms of the weakness question, as mentioned by a few above inexperience is a good answer (especially in your case) as long as you follow it up right. Something like.
"Well clearly being a recent graduate I have some inexperience. However with the great training I received at (some collage), and my ability to learn quickly I am confidant I will succeed here at (Company) and in this position (x positoin). There are certainly some things I don't know, but I have been able to learn and excel at anything I have put my mind to.
Notice the use of words like 'will' instead of 'would'. How does "I will succeed here at" read differently then "I would succeed here at"? The latter leaves open the option of failure to be hired, not good.
It may sound presumptuous but it's exactly that kind of muted confidence that employers are looking for.
Good luck!
the problem is - lack of experience is not a quality but a state.
|
On April 04 2012 00:53 paralleluniverse wrote:Show nested quote +On April 04 2012 00:37 RDaneelOlivaw wrote:On April 04 2012 00:26 paralleluniverse wrote:On April 04 2012 00:22 Keitzer wrote: Wait... are you asking for a lie to tell?
Or are you asking for advice on how to cover for you flaws?
Because obviously it's a plus to be able to work in a team, but if you can't do it, and really want the job, then I guess the only thing left to do is lie about it.
Edit: er... maybe LIE isn't the right word... maybe... extend the truth .. like... say you PREFER to work alone, although you are able to work in a team (implying you can do both, but you've also stated your preferences) You speak as if "working in a team" is impossible for someone who studies alone. Or that "working in a team" is a hard thing to do, and a rare quality amongst the general population. A buffoon can work in a team. I've never met or known anyone who cannot work in a team. For comp sci, working in a team actually presents a unique set of challenges. As a fellow comp sci major, I've run into it a lot. Group coding with bad people can be rather difficult. As a result, companies look for people they think can handle group work well. You never want to answer an interview question with a response that makes it seem like you can't handle a group in an IT interview Your completely mixing the issue of working in a team to writing readable code. a skill which is actually quite highly emphasized at universities. Your argument still hinges on the fact that some people cannot work in a team, and can be hardfor the employer to find someone who can work in a team. This is completely contrary to experience. You also make it seem like working is a team is very difficult thing to learn. How fucking hard can it be to work in a team? A guy here at my work is close to being fired because many people are pissed off with him because he can't work well in a team. Lack of experience can be fixed. Being insufferable and impossible to work with is something that has no guarantee to ever improve.
|
On April 04 2012 00:55 JTouche wrote: Just say this and you'll be fine. "Well my bad quality is a little embarassing but due the the Archimedes principle I ALWAYS overflow the tub when I bathe."
Boom you take the power in the interview by making him feel bad for making you call yourself fat...
And you got the job!
:D
while the idea is nice personally I'd think that you are stupid for making the bathtub so full that water is spilling.
|
On April 04 2012 00:26 paralleluniverse wrote:Show nested quote +On April 04 2012 00:22 Keitzer wrote: Wait... are you asking for a lie to tell?
Or are you asking for advice on how to cover for you flaws?
Because obviously it's a plus to be able to work in a team, but if you can't do it, and really want the job, then I guess the only thing left to do is lie about it.
Edit: er... maybe LIE isn't the right word... maybe... extend the truth .. like... say you PREFER to work alone, although you are able to work in a team (implying you can do both, but you've also stated your preferences) You speak as if "working in a team" is impossible for someone who works alone. Or that "working in a team" is a hard thing to do, and a rare quality amongst the general population. A buffoon can work in a team. I've never met or known anyone who cannot work in a team.
when people ask about being able to work in a team, they are usually asking can you be able to work WELL in a team, as in having good teamwork with others, you know, the guy who blends in nicely with his co-workers. And for course, that isn't suited for everyone, just the extroverted people.
And when people say 'im the type who works alone but can work in a team', it usually means he: a) can work DECENTLY in a team b) can't work in a team, but doesn't want the guy to know
|
On April 04 2012 00:58 Skilledblob wrote:Show nested quote +On April 04 2012 00:55 JTouche wrote: Just say this and you'll be fine. "Well my bad quality is a little embarassing but due the the Archimedes principle I ALWAYS overflow the tub when I bathe."
Boom you take the power in the interview by making him feel bad for making you call yourself fat...
And you got the job!
:D while the idea is nice personally I'd think that you are stupid for making the bathtub so full that water is spilling. Yep. Fat AND stupid.
|
You can be honest but should say what actions you've been taking to stop that bad habit / weakness. If you are not a good team worker (and know it, else you would not admit it), maybe you've been trying to incorporate other people more recently?
My weakness is that I always assume other people have the same background as me**. If you sit in a room with Europeans, Americans and Asians, that will most likely not be the case due to cultural differences, etc. So I went abroad for several semesters. It helped, but I am by no means an expert now.
** and judging by all these healthcare US/EU topics, for instance, I'm not the only one.
|
There's nothing wrong with preferring to work alone and being productive independently. It's all about what the company is looking for. Some jobs require that kind of independence, and some don't. If you're more productive alone, don't take a job where you have to work in teams all the time.
Interviews are as much a vetting process for the company as it is for you. Use them to your advantage.
|
You could say "I'm a sore loser" which I guess could be interpreted as something bad but most of the times it's the same as saying "I like to be in first place"
|
Maybe I don't actually fill it up a lot and it still manages to spill.....
jerks...
|
On April 04 2012 00:58 Hairy wrote:Show nested quote +On April 04 2012 00:53 paralleluniverse wrote:On April 04 2012 00:37 RDaneelOlivaw wrote:On April 04 2012 00:26 paralleluniverse wrote:On April 04 2012 00:22 Keitzer wrote: Wait... are you asking for a lie to tell?
Or are you asking for advice on how to cover for you flaws?
Because obviously it's a plus to be able to work in a team, but if you can't do it, and really want the job, then I guess the only thing left to do is lie about it.
Edit: er... maybe LIE isn't the right word... maybe... extend the truth .. like... say you PREFER to work alone, although you are able to work in a team (implying you can do both, but you've also stated your preferences) You speak as if "working in a team" is impossible for someone who studies alone. Or that "working in a team" is a hard thing to do, and a rare quality amongst the general population. A buffoon can work in a team. I've never met or known anyone who cannot work in a team. For comp sci, working in a team actually presents a unique set of challenges. As a fellow comp sci major, I've run into it a lot. Group coding with bad people can be rather difficult. As a result, companies look for people they think can handle group work well. You never want to answer an interview question with a response that makes it seem like you can't handle a group in an IT interview Your completely mixing the issue of working in a team to writing readable code. a skill which is actually quite highly emphasized at universities. Your argument still hinges on the fact that some people cannot work in a team, and can be hardfor the employer to find someone who can work in a team. This is completely contrary to experience. You also make it seem like working is a team is very difficult thing to learn. How fucking hard can it be to work in a team? A guy here at my work is close to being fired because many people are pissed off with him because he can't work well in a team. Lack of experience can be fixed. Being insufferable and impossible to work with is something that has no guarantee to ever improve.
Yea, that sucks, but it is really quite simple to identify those people who have the natural ability to be a team player if you know how to identify certain personality traits. Asking someone the routine nonsense questions like describe your greatest weakness is not the way to do this however; you'll just end up hiring the best liars.
Why do the HR Barbie and HR Ken dolls take their jobs so seriously? Its because they got sociology degrees in college and they see themselves as the gatekeepers, yet they don't have any creativity in their bones to actually be bothered to find meaningful ways to screen candidates.
|
When I was helping to hire new crew as a shift manager at a mcdonalds, I remember that question being used for the purpose of seeing if someone is capable of introspection about their performance in a reasonable manner. You don't want to be too hard on yourself, but also, don't give a canned response about "work too hard" or "anal OCD", instead, answer their real question of "how well can you judge your own performance and self improve?" in the light of talking about a fault you are working on improving in yourself. (you can lie, just make it believable)
For example, this was for a university application, but it is the same idea.
"I feel that sometimes, I get frustrated when stumped by hard problems or problems I have never encountered before, but I am working on using that frustration to help me solve the problem. I never give up in the face of these problems, but I would sometimes need a moment or two to think about the problem before solving it."
|
On April 04 2012 01:00 sharky246 wrote:Show nested quote +On April 04 2012 00:26 paralleluniverse wrote:On April 04 2012 00:22 Keitzer wrote: Wait... are you asking for a lie to tell?
Or are you asking for advice on how to cover for you flaws?
Because obviously it's a plus to be able to work in a team, but if you can't do it, and really want the job, then I guess the only thing left to do is lie about it.
Edit: er... maybe LIE isn't the right word... maybe... extend the truth .. like... say you PREFER to work alone, although you are able to work in a team (implying you can do both, but you've also stated your preferences) You speak as if "working in a team" is impossible for someone who works alone. Or that "working in a team" is a hard thing to do, and a rare quality amongst the general population. A buffoon can work in a team. I've never met or known anyone who cannot work in a team. when people ask about being able to work in a team, they are usually asking can you be able to work WELL in a team, as in having good teamwork with others, you know, the guy who blends in. And for course, that isn't suited for everyone, just the extroverted people. And when people say 'im the type who works alone but can work in a team', it usually means he: a) can work DECENTLY in a team b) can't work in a team, but doesn't want the guy to know And your interviewing strategy totally caught him out. You've given one example of a person who cannot work in a team, whatever that even means (doesn't know what his doing? refuses to follow orders? is hostile and insulting?), but I've never met anyone who have known anyone or have even heard about anyone who can't work in a team.
|
On April 04 2012 01:00 Hairy wrote:Show nested quote +On April 04 2012 00:58 Skilledblob wrote:On April 04 2012 00:55 JTouche wrote: Just say this and you'll be fine. "Well my bad quality is a little embarassing but due the the Archimedes principle I ALWAYS overflow the tub when I bathe."
Boom you take the power in the interview by making him feel bad for making you call yourself fat...
And you got the job!
:D while the idea is nice personally I'd think that you are stupid for making the bathtub so full that water is spilling. Yep. Fat AND stupid.
stereotypes served
|
On April 04 2012 00:54 paralleluniverse wrote:Show nested quote +On April 04 2012 00:53 Kaitlin wrote:On April 04 2012 00:45 Kennigit wrote: Tell them its 2012 and you are concerned with the fact that they are using outdated methods of screening candidates. There is an incredibly high chance that every person they ask this question to has rehearsed an answer or is lying or both. If I were interviewing someone who had the audacity to tell me I was interviewing them incorrectly, my immediate response would be 'Clearly you wouldn't be happy here. Let's not waste any more of each other's time." And you'd be wrong. who cares. He's trying to get a job not trying to prove some1 wrong.
|
|
|
|