If you were an animal living in a jungle, would your HR Director ask you stupid questions?

A couple of years ago, I read an article in Entrepreneur Magazine about "wacky" interview questions.  I was concerned this article was written to provide questions for JOB INTERVIEWS. In it, the reporter states she is conveying some of the off-hand questions one might receive in an interview. You know the one's; "if you were an animal in the jungle what animal would you be. The appropriate response is a lion. No stipulation as to whether this was before or after the Wizard handed you the Badge of Courage. It's nothing new, these questions have been around for decades, but it just strikes me as unprofessional.

Recently, a friend of mine who had been out of work for several months while his wife was very ill, and a daughter about to be wed, for which he was to pay, was contacted by a company several states away for a new position. They flew him in, put him in a hotel, and gave him a per diem for food. At the interview, he was asked "if you were a fish, what kind of fish would it be"? Really? After all the expense and frustration, this is the type of questioning they come up with?

Several years ago, my wife went to an interview where she was asked "what's your favorite color", and of course, the "jungle" question? She thought the interviewer a moron, but some how, got the job anyway. As it turned out, the entire company was run by morons, and she had to ultimately seek employment elsewhere, which did work out in the end. It was a colossal waste of time, money, and even emotion. Why put people through such turmoil?

The article states, this is a way to uncover critical thinking skills. If someone asked me "what color crayon I was" the only critical thinking I would contemplate would be whether the interviewer got the idiot gene from one parent or both. Why not pose a typical scenario, and just ask them how they would handle it. Uncover programs they implemented at their old job. This is called the behavioral interview technique. It's also been around for decades and is more certainly a better indicator of employee skills. 

However, in the words of George Carlin, "What if... there were no such things as hypothetical question"? I am convinced many interviewer and staffers in HR simply don't know what to ask. A large part of that could stem from the fact that department heads and Personnel aren't talking to each other in terms of what qualities to look for in a potential employee.  Ask an interviewee what their goals would be in a new job. How might they make a particular process more efficient? Those would be professional questions and a good use of time. If all else fails; "What was the dumbest question you were ever asked at a job interview"?

Read the entire Entrepreneur Magazine article here;   https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/230931    

http://speakingforeffect.com/
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Slience Is Golden

The Holidays are here, and some of us will spend more time with our extended families than we spent in the first eleven months. Hey, it’s family, what could go wrong, right? Well, you all know the answer to that! Nonetheless, this is the time of glad tidings, and good cheer. So, why not give them the gift that may ultimately reward us in the long run; silence.

If you are in management, education, or sales, you are taught to talk, and talk a lot. Talk every chance you get. But, when grandpa start describing his latest stomach ailment in graphic detail, or when little sis goes on nonstop about her fifth boyfriend this year, it may be time to pause, and spend some time on the OTHER half of communication; listening. You don’t have to have a degree in psychology to know there may be a greater reason for our loved ones to “dump” all their problems on us.

Perhaps they think WE are the only ones who will actually listen to them. Think about that, just remaining quiet, could be very important to those we care about. This is not to say the project should be attempted without a good stiff eggnog, but it is an exercise in your own level of compassion. By remaining quiet, and hearing them out, we remove ourselves as active participants in their latest challenge, dilemma, or scheme. When we are just with them in a nonjudgmental way, we allow them to vent, and remove what they have been carrying around with them all year long. Don't attack them, defend them, or try to "fix" the problem. Instead, just hold your tongue. They may finally move off the point of their own issues, and ask about you! Nonetheless, they will be convinced, it was one of the best “conversations” they ever had with you. So this year, give the gift that is worth its weight in gold, just be quiet, and LISTEN.

http://SpeakingForEffect.com/