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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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    Some information reached me via my home education networks about how large numbers of Muslims are high achievers academically but fail to translate their academic credentials into careers. It's amazing, and quite depressing, how many Muslims in their 20s and even 30s with degrees work as taxi drivers or in takeaways because they have been unable to enter careers that make use of their qualifications. To make matters worse, it's uncommon for Muslims to study for degrees in arts, humanities, social sciences, and soft subjects, so a higher percentage of Muslim graduates hold degrees in medical and STEM subjects than the national average.


    This does raise questions whether they are failing at application and interview stage because few of them are familiar with the types of questions that interviewers use or what hiring managers are looking for. I even know of a case of a Muslim student who wanted to study engineering but was persuaded to take medicine instead. Why? Because there are plenty of doctors in the local Muslim community who can provide career advice but engineering is uncharted territory where nobody in the local Muslim community knows anything about it or how to succeed in interviews.
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    Arran,


    I think your comment is posted against the wrong topic.


    In general it is not a good idea to take the experience of what must be, in absolute terms, a small number of people from a minority group and then play the proportion game. We used to call that 'swings and roundabouts'. Either 'everyone is equal' and they get to make free choices or we keep heading towards the stupidity of directing x% of category B29X into tractor production to achieve 'equality of outcome' to the benefit of no-one, or 'society' at large.


    Judging by their building works and the cars they drive the two 'Muslim taxi drivers' in my parents' road seem to have done a lot better than my 'professional engineer' father, regardless or not of whether they hold STEM degrees. If only there had been someone to push them off the self-employed swings onto the employees' roundabout!
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    Job interviews can be very strange things where interviewers can, and do, ask bizarre questions. Sometimes questions are obfuscated - a classic example was what newspaper do you read? The real question is what is your political outlook? It definitely is true that performance of a candidate for a particular institution is a function of their background and their social set because interviews are often passed and failed on nuances. Hence the reference made towards the Muslim student recommended medicine rather than engineering because people he knows have experience of the interviews for medical jobs.


    It is also possible that interviewers don't take into account answers from certain questions when deciding on who to hire. I know of an instance of a private secondary school that doesn't even look at the third exam paper for applicants who pass the English and maths papers.
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    Andy Millar:

    I told my daughter about this one (last summer she was going through her first experience of "proper" interviews after graduation) and she came up with a lovely answer: "well, let's be honest, there will be lots of other candidates who will have the same skills and abilities that I have - and some will be stronger in some areas. But the reason I would really like this job is..." and then show how you are genuinly interested in it and would be someone they'd want on their team. Which, as I understand it, was pretty much how she got her PhD opportunity which she is now following.




    This might be a bit personal...


    I don't know you or your daughter, so I'm acting only on the information I have above. After thinking over it I can't help wondering if your daughter has an advantage by having a parent in a position of engineering management who is able to provide insight, and insider information, into the professional corporate world when it comes to interviews. An advantage over a clever council estate kid who's parents might have only had basic jobs so have no clue about how the professional corporate world works and what impresses employers. I have some information about people from rather humble backgrounds who struggle with careers despite being intelligent and having good qualifications.


    There are times when I think that there is a law of diminishing returns when it comes to education and qualifications for kids from 'disconnected' backgrounds unless they are lucky. Social mobility in Britain is quite poor and there is little evidence that academic education (above the primary school basics) is the solution to it.


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    I think probably the most difficult question I've had in an interview was when I was asked "How would you choose members of a Project Team". 


    Unfortunatley I'm a bit of a 'say it like it is' type of person so the only thing I could think of to say was "Make sure they have the right skills for the tasks I need them to do?" 


    I didn't get that job.... laugh
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    Mmmm that's an interesting one Mark Mustard‍ wink


    I would say my line up would be Family, Work, Friends.


    Family comes first no matter what and Work second because that's what puts food on my table (my friends are not going to do that for me!)
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    Yes, I'd say that is the right order for many people, mid career.

    Hopefully, work becomes less important as you get older though.
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    I'd probably say that whilst I'm at work, Work is the most important but that at weekends Family and Friends are my focus.  I like to enjoy a good work/life balance, but am prepared to go the extra mile for work (such as working longer days or the odd weekend where required).
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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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    James Shaw:

    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.



    I completely agree James. My Family and I have an agreement that they only call me during hours of work if it is an absolute emergency and not to just to ask me if I want sausages for dinner. Then if I get a call from them while at work I know it's important...


    My own priorities come from the same model as Maslow's Heirachy of Needs. If I wasn't working then my Family would help and take care of me so they are the most important thing. Then work because it enables me to develop and use my skills and knowledge and I get paid for it of course which enables me to do more of the things I enjoy. Which means I can then spend more quality time with friends.  smiley

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