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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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    I think ensuring the team has the right skills is at about the same level as my original 'have a plan', we will only find out when we have got it wrong! Perhaps we need to set up Hindsight Consultancy, "We take your money to tell you got it wrong"!


    I'm afraid the priority one would have got me too, there has surely got to be some 'urgency' factor in there too. Even the most family-centric person isn't going to go home to find youngest child's lost sock in preference to picking up the £10M customer from the airport. Maybe that is getting near the 'right' answer - "it depends" - flexibility of approach.


    We had a bit of topic merging earlier which reminds me of a job that I might have missed out as a result of religion. I had travelled down from Scotland for an interview in northern England. Rather than risk being late or travelling down the previous day and stopping in a hotel I drove an extra 50 miles to relatives and back up 50 miles on the day of the interview. The interview seemed to go OK. In the post-interview chat the interviewer mentioned his non-conformist Christian faith, (can't remember why). Then came the matter of an expenses claim. I asked for the road trip from home to interview site and back, i.e. the direct route. I didn't claim for any overnight stay. "Oh", says my interviewer, "you came all the way from home?" And I, being honest, said "No, just from my relatives at X". Nothing more was said, my claim was paid, but from the look on the interviewer's face I knew I wouldn't be getting an offer.
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    I think ensuring the team has the right skills is at about the same level as my original 'have a plan', we will only find out when we have got it wrong! Perhaps we need to set up Hindsight Consultancy, "We take your money to tell you got it wrong"!


    I'm afraid the priority one would have got me too, there has surely got to be some 'urgency' factor in there too. Even the most family-centric person isn't going to go home to find youngest child's lost sock in preference to picking up the £10M customer from the airport. Maybe that is getting near the 'right' answer - "it depends" - flexibility of approach.


    We had a bit of topic merging earlier which reminds me of a job that I might have missed out as a result of religion. I had travelled down from Scotland for an interview in northern England. Rather than risk being late or travelling down the previous day and stopping in a hotel I drove an extra 50 miles to relatives and back up 50 miles on the day of the interview. The interview seemed to go OK. In the post-interview chat the interviewer mentioned his non-conformist Christian faith, (can't remember why). Then came the matter of an expenses claim. I asked for the road trip from home to interview site and back, i.e. the direct route. I didn't claim for any overnight stay. "Oh", says my interviewer, "you came all the way from home?" And I, being honest, said "No, just from my relatives at X". Nothing more was said, my claim was paid, but from the look on the interviewer's face I knew I wouldn't be getting an offer.
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