My Crazy Interview #Crazyinterviewstories
I’ve heard many stories about people being asked interesting questions during interviews. There are many articles that can be found online about the questions that some companies ask and the ways in which people react to them. Having read and laughed over such articles in the past always made me feel thankful that my experiences have been comparatively simple and non-creative. Murphy’s law proved its existence by playing an active part in my next job interview.
The mid-level management role I had applied for appeared to be a good jump from my existing one. The money was better, the hours were better, the office was closer to home. It would have been good for me. I felt confident about my strong application, the CV was in place, which highlighted the years of product specific experience that I had gained over the last 3 years, and the cover letter was slick, which it had to be if I wanted to have any chance of interviewing with my target company.
What I forgot was that all this was important to get the interview. From there on, it was you, your thoughts and the interviewer.
I felt I did okay for the most part. However, the question that made me panic was this:
“A penguin walks through that door right now wearing a sombrero. What does he say and why?”
How is someone supposed to answer a question like this? Naturally, I was taken aback and had no idea if the interviewer was trying to pull my leg. I re-confirmed the question with him before thinking about the best way to react. Not having my breakfast in the morning didn’t help either. My stomach’s grumbling noise was all that could be heard while quietly thought about my options.#Crazyinterviewstories
Clearly there was never going to be a straight forward, appropriate response to the question. I had to come up with something and try to pull it off. I assume that my response to this question was inadequate and resulted in me not getting the offer.#Crazyinterviewstories
I attribute my failure to quality to two reasons, both of which would have played a significant role in the final decision. Firstly, I should not have been over confident for the interview as it clouded my judgment and did not allow me to answer openly. Secondly, regardless of the preparation that I conducted, I should have been more creative, yet logical in my response(s).