Recent unusual interview experiences

["S Ryan" <sryan -at- sryan -dot- com>]

I am one of the many looking for work here in Sili
Valley. I've been getting some response to my
enquiries, but it is very different from my (Lord help 
me) almost 20 years of work and various job hunts.
I've been through the good, the bad, and the truly 
ugly economies. I certainly don't assume that it's 
always like it was 3 years ago here.

I have never experienced this before, and I have 
certainly never done anything like this when I was 
the hiring manager. I don't really understand what 
is going on here, and I was wondering if anyone 
else has had this sort of experience.

Lately, the first indication of interest from a 
prospective employer is a very aggressive phone
interview. I do mean very. Any general comment 
about a previous employer is invariably met with 
the Mike Wallace treatment. For example:

"What did you learn at former employer XYZ?"

"I learned abc and def about their product and 
technology, as well as of course adjusting to the 
dynamics of that particular group, like any new 
group you join."

"So, what was different about the group there?"
(To my ear, there was an edge to this question, 
as if I was being prodded to reveal some sort of 
dirt on them. Not that that was going to happen.)

"Nothing in particular comes to mind. Every 
group just has a different dynamic, that's all."

"So, do you have anything to say about your 
time at XYZ?" (A distinctly testy tone here.)

"I had the opportunity to work with a lot of smart 
people there that I'd gladly work with again. And 
it was a cool product."

[Iterate for 45 mins to an hour like this, despite my 
best attempts to be open, truthful (always!) and
give 'em what they want.]

Now, you might well say that I am reading in the 
tone, and that may be so. But I'd say not. I've
done this enough to have a lot of experience 
with interviews. I did not respond with any dirt, 
even if I happened to recall any. I responded in 
an open fashion, without attitude, attempting to 
give the interviewer a fair and truthful answer to 
their question.

And this sort of thing is not an isolated 
occurrance.

The other morning, I was woken up and grilled 
about object-oriented technologies. The questions 
were about the basics. I tried to gauge the correct 
level of explanation and proceed accordingly. 
However, this person pressed ever more basic 
questions in an increasingly belligerent fashion to 
the point that I feared I would be expected to hold 
forth on the shades of meaning of "is."

I'd certainly give the manager the benefit of the doubt, 
but I don't want to work for anyone who thinks this sort 
of technique really is a Good Idea. But I'm still puzzled. 
Does anybody have any idea what these people are 
thinking? Has this happened to you?

S Ryan
Writer & Editor
"Niente senza gioia"
sryan -at- sryan -dot- com 



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