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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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    Whilst not impossible, on the topic of "think outside the box questions" I once got asked if I could add all the number from 1-10, on the spot, in the interview.  Apparently the answer "Yes" was not what they were looking for, then after fumbling around with some finger counting I answered it but was quite flustered.  The man explained they asked the candidates this to see how they think on thier feet, thankfully I didn't get the job as I landed a job at the IET just after.


    The only impossible question I was asked was if I was going to have children soon - there is really no good way to answer this question which is probably why you're not supposed to ask it in the first place, needless to say I didn't get the job when I tried to tell them something along those lines. no
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    Whilst not impossible, on the topic of "think outside the box questions" I once got asked if I could add all the number from 1-10, on the spot, in the interview.  Apparently the answer "Yes" was not what they were looking for, then after fumbling around with some finger counting I answered it but was quite flustered.  The man explained they asked the candidates this to see how they think on thier feet, thankfully I didn't get the job as I landed a job at the IET just after.


    The only impossible question I was asked was if I was going to have children soon - there is really no good way to answer this question which is probably why you're not supposed to ask it in the first place, needless to say I didn't get the job when I tried to tell them something along those lines. no
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