Re: Interview Questions (deliberately veering from techie vsnon-techie...) -Reply

[Marilynne Smith <marilyns -at- QUALCOMM -dot- COM>]

Why is it you ask these questions?  What do you hope to get out of it?
Just to cull out people who don't ????  From your description, I don't know
who would pass and who would fail.

Marilynne
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At 11:03 AM -0400 5/11/98, Lisa Comeau wrote:
>>>> "Eric J. Ray" WROTE >>>
>Interestingly, one of the key interview questions for my first
>tech writing job was about what I read and liked to read, both
>books and journals.
>
>Does anyone else have "interesting" culling questions, either
>from the interviewer or interviewee standpoint?
>
>Actually, I have been on both sides of that street (although the
>interviewing side was mostly retail oriented, it is still similar in that good
>communication with customers is key).
>
>Some questions I liked to ask were:
>
>"What was the last newspaper article you read that sticks out in your
>mind?"
>"What was the most effective television or magazine ad you've ever
>seen?"
>"Have you ever come up against a language barrier on the job? How did
>you get through it and communicate your point effectively?"
>"What is your favorite trade publication? Why?"
>"What is your favorite novel?"
>
>In my recent interview for the job I hold now (it's my 1-month anniversary
>here today!) they asked alot of good probing questions like:
>
>"What was your best subject in University?"
>"How do you keep abreast of industry information?" (I'm primarily a
>software instructor)
>"What subscriptions to trade publications do you currently hold?"
>"What was the last trade publication subscription you cancelled and
>why?"
>"What operating environment do you prefer? Why?"
>
>The number one question I have asked and been asked is
>
>"What do you know about our company/organization? How did you find
>out this info?" (Fortunately, I check out a company BEFORE I even think
>about applying there...)
>
>This is a great question for people in a technical field, because the more
>they tell you, the more interested they are in the company, and it gives
>you (as an interviewer) and idea of the candidate's research skills. If a
>potential employee doesn't do any research on the company, how can
>they possibly know if the job/organization is right for them, and that they
>are right for the position?
>
>I have a ton of these kinds of questions if anyone is interested; some of
>them are a little like the Rorschach test for personality traits, but those
>are important too, don't you think?
>
>Lisa Comeau
>IS Super-User/Trainer
>Certification & Testing Division
>Canadian Standards Association
>178 Rexdale Boulevard
>Etobicoke, ON
>(416) 747 2597
>comeaul -at- csa -dot- ca
>"A mind is a terrible thing to waste, especially on a waste of time."
>


~!~  ~!~  ~!~  ~!~  ~!~  ~!~  ~!~  ~!~  ~!~  ~!~  ~!~  ~!~ ~!~
Marilynne Smith                 marilyns -at- qualcomm -dot- com
Sr. Technical Writer            (619) 651-6664
QUALCOMM                AE-203B
                "We'll have the whole world talking"