Thursday, December 11, 2008

The Worst Interview Question Ever

I was reading some random blog that I clicked through to via Reddit when I had a minor epiphany about interviews.

The blog entry is about interview questions that tell you that you are not getting the job, or that the interview is heading in a bad direction, or that the interviewer is wasting your time.

One such question is, "What are your biggest flaws?"

I haven't been on an interview in a long time but I clearly remember hating that question and never felt like I had a good answer.

"Ideally, your answer to this question reveals valued traits of self-awareness, maturity, honesty and humility, right? In my estimation, there’s no real reason for anyone to ask you this question. The more time you spend answering it is basically giving the interviewer more reasons not to hire you. Also, consider that some of the biggest jackasses in history spend their lives gainfully employed despite their glaring flaws, the same shortcomings you are being asked to lay out for your prospective employer before you have spent one day working for them."

Maybe there is no good answer.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I usually answer "my short game"