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Subject:Bite your tongue interview qs From:mearro -at- msn -dot- com To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Wed, 20 Oct 2004 15:04:55 -0600
Turnabout is fair play. After reading about red flag candidates - I've
been thinking about questions and comments that have made me bite my
tongue & even hide my giggles during past interviews.
One example comes to mind. Several years ago, I was individually
interviewed by several people for a position. While talking to one writer,
he gave me a brief bio. He'd been in his current position (his first
permanent tw job) for a year before that he was a roving consultant. We
discussed my history - almost 10 years divided between three employers - 2
of my 3 positions ending due to company-wide layoffs. Our conversation had
been casual & chatty - then he turned to me and very seriously said: "We
don't want to hire someone who bounces from job to job. Can you be here
three years from now?" For the record, he wasn't asking if I could commit
to a three-year contract. He expected me to tell him whether I would - at
this early stage of the interview process - agree to stay for at least
three years. This strange question with the juxtaposition of our work
histories struck me as absurd but I didn't give in to my laughter until I
got in my car. I ended up turning down a second interview - for various
reasons.
Anyhow - anyone else have a similar experience? Can you think of any silly
questions or odd interview conversations?
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