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My highest position was division sales manager by an old international company, leader in their field. My division was west of the Mississippi river, to the west coast. I interviewed people for many types of jobs beside sales. I knew a lot of people that interviewed a lot of people for all types of jobs.
What you do when you meet for an interview, is sell yourself as the best candidate. If there are 10 people with the same professional qualifications, you have to eliminate 9 of them. Only one will get the job.
That is the real reason for the interview. The interviewer needs to get past your practiced interview, and find what kind of person you really are. It costs to hire, and train a person for the job both with cost of someone being brought up to speed, and if you fail at the job to replace you. There are many questions that you have to have available to get past past the polished veneer and get to know the real you. You have to determine:
1: Is the person qualified for the job by education and experience.
2: Will the person fit into the team they will be working with, and this is a big and very important part.
3: How well can the person handle unusual situations. Questions that throw them off from their practiced interview answers. It is foolish to hire someone that freezes up when an unexpected situation shows up on the job. A question out of left field, will show how they handle problems. Sell a pen, tell a joke, etc., are all questions designed for this purpose. They are usually asked, for the prospective employee they are seriously considering for the position, as part of the final questions to get to know them. Out of 10 prospects, probably only 3 will be tested this way. The others have already failed the interview and are going in the reject pile. The final 3, will be asked unusual questions to make the final cut.
When I see people post, they get lots of interviews and no job, it shouts that they cannot sell themselves to the interviewer. They won't answer questions that are thrown at them designed to get them out of their practiced comfort zone, to get to know the real applicant. They will not even attempt to sell themselves to the interviewer(s). They are there to only answer the kind of questions they have practiced ahead of time, or only want to ask questions they have.
They really do not even understand what the interview is all about. They cannot accept the fact, that they have to sell the interviewer that they are the best one for the job. They don't understand if you don't make the sale you don't get the job. And it does not matter, what kind of job it is. You are in competition for the job when you apply. You have to be the one that the company HM thinks is: 1-Qualified for the job education or experience wise. 2-The one that will best fit in with the companies present staff. 3-The one that will be able to handle pressure of the job, and solve problems that come up every day.
Uhhh, trust me, you can't find out the " real " about a person in a 1 hour long interview. People can't even find out who the real person is in their marriages until years and years ( why do you think everyone's divorced)
Tell a Steven Wright joke if you like to appear a bit eccentric and weird, as I like to (well maybe not in a job interview). Despite the fact that he's definitely a celebrity-caliber comedian, he doesn't seem to be as much of a household name as others, and when I tell any of his jokes people always laugh hysterically.
The best ones for such a situation:
"I used to work at a factory where they made fire hydrants but you couldn't park anywhere near the place."
"One time at a job interview I took out a book and I started reading. The guy asked me 'what the heck are you doing?' I said 'let me ask you one question. If you were in a vehicle and you were traveling at the speed of light, and you turned your lights on, would they do anything?' The guy said 'I don't know." I said 'forget it then, I don't want to work for you.'"
"I used to be a proofreader for a skywriting company."
"Years ago I worked in a natural health foods store in Seattle WA, one day a man came in and asked me 'if I melt dry ice could I swim without getting wet?' I said "I don't know, let me ask Tony.'"
Uhhh, trust me, you can't find out the " real " about a person in a 1 hour long interview. People can't even find out who the real person is in their marriages until years and years ( why do you think everyone's divorced)
I bet you, if employers did find out "the real you" with their candidates, most people wouldn't be employed!
I'm good with situational humor, but terrible with remembering jokes. I probably would have failed their innovative "personality test" because I don't sit around looking at joke websites all day. I guess that means I'm not a good employee.
"Never get involved with someone who has more issues than you!"
Yep but some baggage is written on their face, some is deep down but can be seen while others can't, and some is very very deep down that we don't know it until it's triggered.
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