Have you come across these tricky interview situations too

Before I begin this post, let me thank all the subscribers and readers of my blog for encouraging and engaging me. This is my 100^th post here and the journey from 1 to 100 was all inspiring, learning, and making new relationships.

Today’s post is about an experience each one of us goes through sometime in our lives – job interview. Despite the best preparation, some moments during an interview are unplanned and take us by surprise. Everything asked or done in any interview has a purpose – to test, analyze and evaluate applicants. We learn it by experience and till then we often face some “tricky situations”.   Do you remember the time when, during a job interview, you were asked something simple but yet baffling? Anything that got you thinking ….“what to say, what not to say” ? I can recollect some questions asked to me during job interviews that left me completely amazed

1. What is the first thing you do after reaching office?

I put ON my laptop/desktop and check new for e-mails, get into some lively, morning conversation with my team…but that’s what probably everyone does. So what can be a better answer? What must I say to look an outstanding applicant for the role?

2.  If I offer you a job in sales not HR, would you take that?

Of course NOT, I am an HR person, have come here for an HR position, why would I take a job in sales? But does a NO mean shy, non-versatile personality?

3. You have met the HR manager in the last round. What do you think about her?

Common, I just met her briefly during the interview. The conversation was all work related and she was scanning me on each and every word written in my resume. I didn’t find her least friendly and you probably know that already. If I praise her, I am acting diplomatic. So do you really wish u know my true thoughts?

 4. How many un-read emails (approx) must be there in your official inbox?

Shall I say 4…but may be it’s too less like I have nothing much to do all day? 40 may be too many like I am procrastinating at work? The truth is that I have 80-90  (or even more) unread mail in my inbox because as HR, I get mails for employees (sometimes bcc) for each and every matter and most of them are reminders of things already in process.

 5. What one thing you would you want to change about our organization?

I feel that your interview process is too lengthy with long wait time between interview rounds. But can I really say that…is it like I am impatient or complaining? Or maybe I should have come more prepared for a response to this.

So these are few of my surprise moments. Most of them were during the early phase of my career and I believe my answers were clever than my thoughts (or at least I think so).

Do you also have any such incidences where you felt trapped or puzzled during an interview? Please write in comments and share with us 🙂