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My sister had an interview today for a rather large retail chain. The interview lasted for 30 minutes..however 20 of those minutes the questions being asked were about actress Betty White...the last 10 was doing a credit check and checking out her Facebook page.
Rather than being asked questions such as if she could do the job and/or her past work experience she was asked questions like "..what do you think of Betty's new TV Land show Hot In Cleveland?" My sister just played along which wasn''t easy for her since she doesn't watch TV much less having an interest in Betty White.
OK if you were my sister..how would you handle this? Walk out of the interview? Asked to be interviewed by someone else? Play along?
My sister had an interview today for a rather large retail chain. The interview lasted for 30 minutes..however 20 of those minutes the questions being asked were about actress Betty White...the last 10 was doing a credit check and checking out her Facebook page.
Rather than being asked questions such as if she could do the job and/or her past work experience she was asked questions like "..what do you think of Betty's new TV Land show Hot In Cleveland?" My sister just played along which wasn''t easy for her since she doesn't watch TV much less having an interest in Betty White.
OK if you were my sister..how would you handle this? Walk out of the interview? Asked to be interviewed by someone else? Play along?
I would have told them that I don't even own a television set - which is true. And then I would have asked some questions about the company and the position opening.
they sound like a bunch of idiots I don't think I'd want to work for them.
My sister had an interview today for a rather large retail chain. The interview lasted for 30 minutes..however 20 of those minutes the questions being asked were about actress Betty White...the last 10 was doing a credit check and checking out her Facebook page.
Rather than being asked questions such as if she could do the job and/or her past work experience she was asked questions like "..what do you think of Betty's new TV Land show Hot In Cleveland?" My sister just played along which wasn''t easy for her since she doesn't watch TV much less having an interest in Betty White.
OK if you were my sister..how would you handle this? Walk out of the interview? Asked to be interviewed by someone else? Play along?
I've had interviews where the interviewee asked me non-work related questions but usually it was filler time; like when we were waiting for someone or someone was printing something. I don't mind them. Sometimes I think they just ask them to see how you handle water-cooler talk.
My company interviewed a girl who was 10 minutes late because of a bad accident. When she arrived we gave her a few minutes to calm down (she was visibly nervous about being late) and someone said "just be glad you weren't in the accident" and she replied "especially as high as my insurance is" that led to a 15 minute talk about Flo (the Progressive lady), the Snapple lady and the "where's the beef" lady. It was fun and I remember her interview like it was last week instead of two years ago.
Yeah how well you'll do the job is important but how you fit in with the current staff is important too. I hate when you interview someone and can't get any idea of their personality
how well you'll do the job is important but how you fit in with the current staff is important too. I hate when you interview someone and can't get any idea of their personality
Exactly! They know what your experience is from your resume or application - if they're interviewing you, they want to get to know you, which means your personality.
So if they want to talk about TV shows, go with it! Trying too aggressively to "steer" the interview back to the job isn't always the best idea.
I would have said I have never seen the show and made a comment related to the position to get it on track.
Sometimes you have to take charge of the interview when you're dealing with an idiot.
+1. However, I wouldn't characterize the interviewer as an idiot -- its likely to show up in your body language. He or she may not have had any training/experience in conducting an interview, and it turns out to be much more difficult/demanding than most realize.
Answering as Seain suggests, then asking a job-related question, is a good way to get things back on track.
I've had interviews where the interviewee asked me non-work related questions but usually it was filler time; like when we were waiting for someone or someone was printing something. I don't mind them. Sometimes I think they just ask them to see how you handle water-cooler talk.
My company interviewed a girl who was 10 minutes late because of a bad accident. When she arrived we gave her a few minutes to calm down (she was visibly nervous about being late) and someone said "just be glad you weren't in the accident" and she replied "especially as high as my insurance is" that led to a 15 minute talk about Flo (the Progressive lady), the Snapple lady and the "where's the beef" lady. It was fun and I remember her interview like it was last week instead of two years ago.
Yeah how well you'll do the job is important but how you fit in with the current staff is important too. I hate when you interview someone and can't get any idea of their personality
Excellent comment. Skilled interviewers are examining three things. They are Ability (can the candidate do the job), Motivation (will the candiate do the job) and Fit (how well the candidate will integrate into the company, culture, climate, work unit, etc.). The first and second are fairly easy to determine. The third is typically much more 'iffy'.
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