Going for an Interview, some questions

[Elcura]

Alright, I got an interview on Friday, but I'm worried about some of the questions they'll ask. Not the job-centric ones, but the seemingly random questions like, "Which do you prefer, circles or squares?" or "What sort of food do you have in your fridge?" I never understood the purpose of these questions (well, I get it sort of, I just have no idea how to answer favourably).

So, does anyone have some advice on how to tackle these random questions?

[Mizango]

When it comes to questions that have nothing to do with the job, the best advice I can give is to be yourself. Hopefully you have a naturally pleasant demeanor and have no issue smiling and thinking on the fly. Especially since most of those questions are intended to do nothing more than to gauge responses and to see if you are easily bewildered and respond with a hebetated "DERP" or if you can take it all in stride and show off you wit and composure if youre taken off the beaten path.

When it comes to any interview and they take that direction just be yourself and just roll with the punches. I've sat in on interviews when these questions are being asked and more times than not most people instantly begin stuttering and getting flustered searching for a right answer when there is no such thing.

[Colenzo]

Bitches love confidence.

[Mizango]

Bitches love confidence.

This too.

[Ikith]

Hope to fuck you don't have a tight ass interviewer.

My interviewer (Which is now one of my two bosses) was freaking awesome. It turned out to be a chat more than an interview but I guess it depends on the job.

[Morn]

Don't talk about your STDs or all the children you've had out of wedlock.

I shit you not; true story.

[Penthesilea]

The worst question that I hate to answer is the "Where do you see yourself in 10 years?"

Honestly, what the fuck kind of question is that?

[Talus]

"in a mirror" is the only correct response to that

As far as interviews, when you get asked off-the-wall questions like "what kind of weather would you be?" or "are you a circle or a square?" it is to see how you react to stress. Some interviews will be more stressful than others, i.e. you'll answer a non-related question and they'll follow up on your response, maybe even argue with you about your answer. The point is to see how you respond, do you get confrontational, do you hedge on your answer, do you back down, change your mind, etc. They want to see how you think. Hopefully you don't get any of those questions, I think for most jobs it's relatively useless to do a stress interview.

[Edit: be yourself, as far as body language, don't fidget a lot. Sit up straight, have good posture. Shake hands when you greet interviewers firmly (no dead fish, this is horrible), and look them in the eye.]

[Kurp]

The worst question that I hate to answer is the "Where do you see yourself in 10 years?"

Honestly, what the fuck kind of question is that?

A softball, easy to prep for beforehand question.

[Cephius]

Everything seems to have been covered except....

Do. Not. Lie!

Be honest, it's easy to get caught up in an interview telling how great you are. If you end up exaggerating or embellishing certain points, it'll almost certainly come back to bite you in the ass. If they catch you in a lie it's game over. So really, resist the temptation, and only tell them things that are actually true.

[Tyche]

While I guess lying can be bad if you get busted, there are caveats. Obviously, don't tell them that you don't have a criminal record when you've been busted for meth when you know they're going to do a background check. My best suggestion is to not lay out any information that you do not have to, and yes, sometimes lying is alright. This is especially true if you're overqualified.

I was interviewing a kid one day for an local delivery job and asked him "Can you pass a drug screen", to which he replied "no". That interview was over quick. We weren't hiring anyone for at least a week, plenty of time to get some weed out of your system.

[ZarakiKujata]

Besides the fact that you can hide weed/get clean urine etc etc.

[Serra]

Those random questions are just to see how you react, especially to things you haven't practiced for. I remember the interview for the last job I had, got asked what my favorite TV show was, and since this was a few weeks before the last season of Lost started, that was on my mind, and I brought it up. I'm convinced that's part of the reason why I got the job as the dude interviewing me was also a fan and we spent like 10 minutes discussing our theories of how the series would end.

[Cephius]

While I guess lying can be bad if you get busted, there are caveats. Obviously, don't tell them that you don't have a criminal record when you've been busted for meth when you know they're going to do a background check. My best suggestion is to not lay out any information that you do not have to, and yes, sometimes lying is alright. This is especially true if you're overqualified.

I was interviewing a kid one day for an local delivery job and asked him "Can you pass a drug screen", to which he replied "no". That interview was over quick. We weren't hiring anyone for at least a week, plenty of time to get some weed out of your system.

I was mainly talking about lying about your skills, credentials, references, etc.

[Tyche]

There's even caveats to that, especially with overqualifications. There's a fair shake of people who won't list masters degrees on resumes because they'll qualify themselves out.

[Elcura]

There's even caveats to that, especially with overqualifications. There's a fair shake of people who won't list masters degrees on resumes because they'll qualify themselves out.

lol, that's going to be a problem for me soon. I think I'll need to start doing that later on.

Anyway, thanks for the replies, looks like I'll just have to wing it and answer as honestly as possible. Interview isn't for a couple of days, should be more than enough time to get some answers prepared so I don't look like a stumbling idiot.

[Penthesilea]

A softball, easy to prep for beforehand question.

I don't know where the fuck I'll be, who I'm doing, and what I'm getting into a week from now...

[MarkM.]

http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-arti...ndle_them-1320

It's a pretty good read. Another important thing to do is ask questions about the job you are trying to get. It makes you seem interested. Also, if you get a question you aren't prepared for, use a stalling trick. I've been doing sales for the last 3 years, and they always do this kind of crap at job interviews, normally I repeat the question back, it will give you a few seconds to stall while you are trying to bs you way through the question.

[Elcura]

Oh god, it's questions like that that scare the shit out of me. What kind of brick wall would you be? Give me a break, this is going to be tedious lol.

[Oulanbator]

I think you should answer the questions honestly. If you only have ketchup in your fridge, then say it, maybe the interviewer's fridge is emptier than yours.
Don't look for pre-made answers to the questions. Someone may toss in an answer you find really cool, but that doesn't suit your personality, and they'll figure it out (cause it's their job).

Just be yourself. If the job or the company doesn't suit you, then keep searching till you find a place that suits you.