Re: Was: Conducting Telephone...Now Interview Questions

["Paul Pehrson" <paulpehrson -at- gmail -dot- com>]

I'll admit to using the "manhole cover" question in job interviews.

At the time, I thought it was a good idea; the point of the question
was to see how people responded to an unexpected or unfamiliar
situation. Can the applicant think on their feet? There isn't a
"right" answer per se (I had people tell me it was because there was
an even distribution of weight over the surface of the cover when
pressure was applied to the middle; I had people tell me it was so
that the cover can't fall into the hole; both were good answers), but
I did get some dumb responses.

I'm not in an interviewing position currently, but in the future I
wouldn't use the question anymore. I've decided (with a little bit of
distance) that it doesn't tell you much that is useful about the
candidate, and more often than not comes across as being
unprofessional and dorky.

So, yeah. I used that question once upon a time. I wouldn't use it anymore.

Paul P.
Midvale, UT

On 5/17/06, Jones, Donna <DJones -at- zebra -dot- com> wrote: