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Subject:Re: Interview questions From:Steven Jong <SteveFJong -at- AOL -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 14 Jan 1999 12:14:41 EST
Linnea Dodson wrote:
>> That said, does anyone have a response for the real mind-trip question,
>> "What do you like to do outside of work?" also phrased as "what are your
>> hobbies and interests?" I never know what to say to that, particularly
>> since I'm usually trying to suppress the automatic response "why? That
>> doesn't affect my work."
From my perspective, this isn't a question I feel I should ask unless the
candidate is definitely already hired or rejected, because it's not relevant
to work (as you said) and because the answer could potentially be sticky. For
example, if I were to ask and the candidate were to say "I play competitive
volleyball," that would resonate with me in a way that, say, playing golf
would not. If I then hire the candidate, how much could it be said that answer
influenced me? I want such influence to be zero. (You also run the risk of
turning a questioner off with your response...)
One thing I *am* interested in is whether a candidate has outside interests.
My justification is that we want people to have lives outside of work. If I
were to ask the question and the candidate were to say, "I have no hobbies. I
devote all my energy to my work," I would not be as impressed as you'd think.
Of course, at other companies, this might be the "right" answer. (Would you
want to work there?)
-- Steve
Steven Jong, Documentation Team Manager ("Typo? What tpyo?")
Lightbridge, Inc, 67 S. Bedford St., Burlington, MA 01803 USA mailto:Jong -at- lightbridge -dot- com 781.359.4902[V], 781.359.4500[F]
Home Sweet Homepage: http://members.aol.com/SteveFJong
