Today I'm interviewing

Author
Discussion

srebbe64

Original Poster:

13,021 posts

244 months

Thursday 9th December 2004
quotequote all
I've met four candidates this morning for a particular (responsible) management position.

1st person: Dead ringer for "Gareth" from the TV programme "The Office" - not in looks, but in general personality. Non starter.

2nd person: I asked why he was interested in the position, and he said "I'm not interested yet, it's your job to sell it to me". Also, he's currently disqualified from driving for a year (drink drive)!

3rd person: He'd written on his CV "I rise to the challenge of solving problems". I asked him if he could give me some examples of problems that he's solved in the last few months and he said "that's not a fair question". Also, I asked him what he knows about my company, and he knew the "company name".

4th person: Turned up half an hour late "because of busy traffic". He only lives two miles away!

Other observations: The CV's seem to have no relation to the reality and all of them had spelling mistakes. One CV said that he's been "generally dossing around". I don't know whether to aplaud the honesty or frown at the lack of wisdom!

obiwonkeyblokey

5,400 posts

247 months

Thursday 9th December 2004
quotequote all
Hi Steve,

If theeres anything I can help with then feel free to drop me a line through my profile. It depends on what level you are looking for and skillset etc.

Owen

Piccy mate

541 posts

244 months

Thursday 9th December 2004
quotequote all
Yup - good management material there!

obiwonkeyblokey said:
Hi Steve,

If theeres anything I can help with then feel free to drop me a line through my profile. It depends on what level you are looking for and skillset etc.

Owen

swilly

9,699 posts

281 months

Thursday 9th December 2004
quotequote all
srebbe64 said:
I've met four candidates this morning for a particular (responsible) management position.


Your candidates seem typical for the job


On a seperate note, Why have you asked these people in for an interview if the sum of their abilities appears to be less than that of a forkful of plankton.

dds1

1,407 posts

265 months

Thursday 9th December 2004
quotequote all
I asked someone the square root of 450 in an interview last week, and they started crying!

simpo two

87,083 posts

272 months

Thursday 9th December 2004
quotequote all
I've never had to interview anyone for a job but a CV with spelling mistakes is not going to work (though I might overlook one if she's young and pretty!)

JonRB

76,108 posts

279 months

Thursday 9th December 2004
quotequote all
One interviewee on a Monday morning told me that he was a bit delicate because he'd competed in the annual cheeserolling the day before, and then had spent the rest of the day and the evening in the pub and had a stinking hangover.

I figured that anyone who was stupid enough to a) do that the day before an interview and b) admit it to the interviewer was probably not model employee material.

JonRB

76,108 posts

279 months

Thursday 9th December 2004
quotequote all
dds1 said:
I asked someone the square root of 450 in an interview last week
Were you interviewing them for a job as a calculator / human computer or something?

Apache

39,731 posts

291 months

Thursday 9th December 2004
quotequote all
simpo two said:
I've never had to interview anyone for a job but a CV with spelling mistakes is not going to work (though I might overlook one if she's young and pretty!)




do they have to say that on a cv? might give it a try


edited to add, give me the job, I've no management experience whatsoever which, to my mind, makes me an excellent candidate

>> Edited by Apache on Thursday 9th December 15:05

falcemob

8,248 posts

243 months

Thursday 9th December 2004
quotequote all
srebbe64 said:
I've met four candidates this morning for a particular (responsible) management position.



If you get any particular (irresponsible) management positions, would you let me know please?

pdV6

16,442 posts

268 months

Thursday 9th December 2004
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]

Actually, its a valid technique for CVs these days; make sure there's something really odd/silly in your "other interests" section and it might make your name stick in the employer's mind.

Place I used to work, we had a large batch of recent grads come in for interview. One guy had put "ufologist" on his CV. Made us laugh & the CV was passed around some. Therefore, when he came in, his was the name everybody remembered. And he got one of the jobs.

He later admitted that that was exactly the intention - he had no interest in UFOs at all. Worked, though.

mcflurry

9,136 posts

260 months

Thursday 9th December 2004
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]


Me too. I used to look after a client whose billing cycle was always based on 8 dollars per unit. My 8 times table was great up to 7 digits

Never used any of my algebra maths stuff or pythagorous (sp) theory of triangles since leaving school though - lol


vixpy1

42,676 posts

271 months

Thursday 9th December 2004
quotequote all
I once went for an interview for a job selling Caravan Awnings..

The interview was.. Can you walk? Can you speak English?

You've got the job!

Incorrigible

13,668 posts

268 months

Thursday 9th December 2004
quotequote all
dds1 said:
I asked someone the square root of 450 in an interview last week, and they started crying!
erm 21 and a bit

Crying, I bet they put "enjoys chalenges" on their CV too

Plotloss

67,280 posts

277 months

Thursday 9th December 2004
quotequote all
Had a chap in for a technical interview.

What is a level check?

Ahh thats a CPF4131 (which it is)

Yes, thats the correct error number, but what does the error mean?

Erm, dont know...

So you've seen the error enough to know the code but dont actually know why you are seeing the error?

Thats right.

Needless to say, he didnt get the gig.

Incorrigible

13,668 posts

268 months

Thursday 9th December 2004
quotequote all
JonRB said:
Were you interviewing them for a job as a calculator / human computer or something?
I think it's a good question, the answers tell you a lot

I don't know
ermmm 30 ??
about 21
Random bursting into tears

etc

vixpy1

42,676 posts

271 months

Thursday 9th December 2004
quotequote all
I'm really looking forward to when my company gets big enough to get a secretary...

We are now going to see how you you are at filing..

please get the file marked xxx out of the bottom filing cabinet draw...

thats right, just bend over a bit more..

You've got the job!

swilly

9,699 posts

281 months

Thursday 9th December 2004
quotequote all
pdV6 said:
Actually, its a valid technique for CVs these days; make sure there's something really odd/silly in your "other interests" section and it might make your name stick in the employer's mind.

Place I used to work, we had a large batch of recent grads come in for interview. One guy had put "ufologist" on his CV. Made us laugh & the CV was passed around some. Therefore, when he came in, his was the name everybody remembered. And he got one of the jobs.

He later admitted that that was exactly the intention - he had no interest in UFOs at all. Worked, though.


Ahhhhh so the only thing differentiating graduates nowadays is the comedy element.

pdV6

16,442 posts

268 months

Thursday 9th December 2004
quotequote all
swilly said:

Ahhhhh so the only thing differentiating graduates nowadays is the comedy element.

No - that's the degrees they're handing out!

no offence intended to recent/current students in "proper" subjects

birdbrain

1,564 posts

246 months

Thursday 9th December 2004
quotequote all
I once interviewed a potential candidate for an IT job and he turned up late, wearing scruffy jeans, trainers and duffel coat. When I asked him why he'd left his previous job he said that he'd been sacked and then launched into a sweary tirade against his old boss!

Also got one guy come in who had never switched on a PC in his life and when I asked him why he wanted to go into IT he said it was because his mate was earning £25K a year for a helpdesk job and he couldn't see why he needed PC skills...