Honest Answers To Obsolete Job Interview Questions

Whoever said that there is no such thing as stupid questions has never been interviewed for a job.

The purpose of a job interview is for the prospective employer and employee to get to know each other and also allow the employer to eliminate less qualified candidates. For the most part, the employer will ask pertinent questions about the employee’s background and job experience.

But employers are tempted to ask certain questions that put the employee in an unnecessarily awkward position, or questions that have little to no relevance to what they will be doing. They are meant to be difficult in order to test how the employee responds to questions that rattle her or remove her from her comfort zone.

The problem is that these questions are no longer difficult. You can go to the internet to find a number of safe, scripted answers to these questions. And because of the stakes involved, there is little reason for the employee to deviate from these in order to give a honest but possibly damaging answer.

So today, I will provide my honest answers to some of these obsolete job interview questions. I am answering in the first person because I do not want to imply that others feel the same way.

What is your greatest weakness? I have been told to answer the question in a way that displays a strength such as “I tend to overcommit myself” or “I don’t have much of a social life.” I think these responses are facetious at best and borderline misleading at worst.

Apparently, this question is supposed to test a candidate’s self-awareness. While I am not clear on what this means, I am “aware” that I am volunteering a response that could potentially disqualify me for consideration. So before I answer that question, I think it is fair for you to tell me which weaknesses are dealbreakers and which ones are not.

Also, this question is supposed to test a candidate’s willingness to be honest in a tough situation. While I can appreciate the need for candor, I think it is awkward to test this during a job interview, where I am trying to make a positive first impression.

But if you want an immediate, indirect assessment of a candidate’s honesty, I suggest wearing a hideous outfit to the next interview and asking the candidate what she thinks of it.

Where do you see yourself in five years? I suppose I should say that I see myself continuing to work for the firm. I plan to bring in more revenue every year through increased billable hours and attracting notable clients. Also, I’ll keep my mouth shut concerning raises.

But the honest answer is I don’t know where I will be in the future. In this business, we have seen many talented people leave, get pushed out, or for a number of reasons switch practices or even careers. In five years, I might be doing something else. Regardless, as my career progresses, I strive to be the best in the business, work alongside the best, and have a happy personal life.

On that note, I think the more accurate question is whether I see myself continuing to work for the firm in five years. And that depends on how we treat each other and whether we are meeting each other’s expectations.

Some weird, off-the-wall question. The famous example of this is “Why is a manhole round?” — a question Microsoft asked everyone during their job interviews. It is assumed that the interviewee did not know the answer to the question. The purpose is to see how the candidate answers an abstract question on the spot.

I will answer the question to the best of my ability. But before I do, I want to make an objection for lack of relevance. If a potential client were to ask me a question and I did not know the answer, I will either refer him to someone who knows or do my research first before answering. I am not going to make up an answer on the fly just because it reasons well. The ability to think on one’s feet could be especially helpful for litigators but even they should know enough about the case before giving an answer.

Of the many candidates we are considering, why should I hire you? I believe this is the part where I am supposed to give my five-minute elevator speech and recite my résumé. But that would result in an incomplete answer.

I will need to know who else you are considering and their background so I can try to distinguish myself from them. If I know some of them, I can tell you a little more about them, but I won’t say anything negative. In fact, I will praise those who deserve it.

If you were lucky enough to find the purple squirrel, I advise you to let me go home early. You should then make her an offer immediately before she becomes self-aware and demands a higher salary.

In short, I think you should hire me for the same reasons you invited me here today. Can we talk about those reasons?

Why are you leaving (or considering leaving) your current job? Here, I’m supposed to say I want to leave because my current firm is no longer providing any challenges. Or I may have to break another rule on job interview etiquette: Never badmouth a previous employer, even if he really is a scumbag.

But it really comes down to this: I want to leave my current firm — and join yours — because I think it is in my best interests to do so. I am hoping that my joining your firm will be in the firm’s best interest as well.

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Shannon Achimalbe was a former solo practitioner for five years before deciding to sell out and get back on the corporate ladder. Shannon can be reached by email at [email protected] and via Twitter: @ShanonAchimalbe.