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Impossible Interviews

James Shaw
Have you ever been faced with an interview question that seemed impossible to answer?


Mine was delivered on the premises of a 'world class' engineering company. "How would you ensure that a project is completed on time?"


My mind raced from the general to the particular - If I knew the answer to that I would be a billionaire! - Strikes, bad weather, supplier failure, poor specifications etc. Probably no words came out as the interviewer started to drop hints, "It begins with a 'P', it ends in 'N', it has four letters." "Plan?" I say. "Exactly!" says he. 'Idiot' thinks I.


In retrospect perhaps it was a test to see if I was suitable to develop for senior management - the 'big picture' people. "We will deliver better value, we will be smarter!" But how? Engineers, small-minded, always bothered about the details!


Needless to say, I didn't get that job. Perhaps just as well.
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    Your calculator answer reminds me of the interview question I was asked "how would you design a state-variable filter?". Never having designed one before I said "I'd look in the 'Active Filter Cookbook' ". I got that job! And, indeed, spent the next 12 months or so designing state-variable filters (although actually mainly using the 'Electronic Filter Design Handbook').


    Having done a huge amount of interviewing (for all levels from school leavers to senior managers) the advice I always give is to be honest, and to approach questions the same way you would approach a problem at work - so for some people that will be carefully considered, and for some people it will be off the cuff. The interviewer will always assume (probably wrongly!) that the way you come over in interview is the way you will come over at work, so this approach works well to make sure candidates end up fitting in the right hole. As you say, every employer is looking for something different, so trying to follow a particular "style" can backfire in many ways.


    Of the five interviews in my career that have led to me taking a new job, all of them turned into chats rather than Q&A. Not sure what conclusions if any you can draw from that...actually probably you can conclude that I fit best into organisations which prefer discussion to confrontation. No surprise there smiley


    Cheers,


    Andy
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    Your calculator answer reminds me of the interview question I was asked "how would you design a state-variable filter?". Never having designed one before I said "I'd look in the 'Active Filter Cookbook' ". I got that job! And, indeed, spent the next 12 months or so designing state-variable filters (although actually mainly using the 'Electronic Filter Design Handbook').


    Having done a huge amount of interviewing (for all levels from school leavers to senior managers) the advice I always give is to be honest, and to approach questions the same way you would approach a problem at work - so for some people that will be carefully considered, and for some people it will be off the cuff. The interviewer will always assume (probably wrongly!) that the way you come over in interview is the way you will come over at work, so this approach works well to make sure candidates end up fitting in the right hole. As you say, every employer is looking for something different, so trying to follow a particular "style" can backfire in many ways.


    Of the five interviews in my career that have led to me taking a new job, all of them turned into chats rather than Q&A. Not sure what conclusions if any you can draw from that...actually probably you can conclude that I fit best into organisations which prefer discussion to confrontation. No surprise there smiley


    Cheers,


    Andy
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