Worst job interview answers 25

[Bernoulli31]

Just wanted to share this..
We recently had a young grad in our office to interview for an entry level mechanical engineer position.

Q: What type of systems would you like to work on / are you interested in?
A: HVAC! I want to design HVAC systems. I have a passion for it and want to do pursue my career in HVAC.
Q: What does HVAC stand for?
A: Heating, Ventilation,.. and.. err.. hmmm... I forgot!

I design aqueducts in a parallel universe.

 

[CWB1]

6+ hours of sleep/night? Sounds like a boring work week, I wouldn't get anything done at home. I'm a 2a-6a guy, the rest of the day needs to contain a formal breakfast and dinner with the wife, 8-10/day at the day job, 4+ on my home/side projects, an hour in the gym, and a couple hours reading or I'm rather unfulfilled. I enjoy coffee regularly but not for the caffeine, I find better effect in eating healthy, plenty of exercise, and looking forward to projects at both home and work. Probably doesn't hurt either that I grew up on the farm and was in the military, not sure I could sleep more if I tried.

It (the loss in manufacturing employment) might also have something to do with advances in automation/technology. After all, production hasn't fallen off....To blame that on any particular generation is silly....Nothing stays the same.

You're correct, there are other reasons why US manufacturing employment has dropped and yet production has become more efficient and risen as it should over time. I simply question whether or not more could've been done to positively affect employment. You're also correct in that nothing stays the same, however the fact remains that the rest of the world has been catching up in terms of output over the past few decades, China has surpassed us, and the US' leadership in world manufacturing is no longer what it once was. To me that's simply reflective of bad stewardship of the industry. TehMighty's point that boomers weren't in the majority of top seats yet in the 80s and 90s is valid, however IME middle management (as boomers should've been at that point) has more of an impact upon companies and industries than the execs being the true thinkers and do'ers.

 

[TehMightyEngineer]

TehMighty's point that boomers weren't in the majority of top seats

Thanks for the credit but I don't believe I made this comment.

Professional Engineer (ME, NH, MA) Structural Engineer (IL)
American Concrete Industries

https://www.facebook.com/AmericanConcrete/

 

[WARose]

You're also correct in that nothing stays the same, however the fact remains that the rest of the world has been catching up in terms of output over the past few decades, China has surpassed us, and the US' leadership in world manufacturing is no longer what it once was. To me that's simply reflective of bad stewardship of the industry.

It reflects cheap labor as much as anything. All the first world economies have gone through this. For all the talk about manufacturing in places like Germany and Japan....what percentage of their economies does it take up? 29 & 27% respectively. (Vs. about 40% for China.) Not that far off from our 19%. In the UK it is also 19% of their economy and in France it's 18%.

You see this within out own borders. Many southern states now have manufacturing taking up the same percentage of their economies (in some cases exceeding) as many states in the Rust Belt and Northeast.

Show me a cheap labor market.....and I'll show you a lot of manufacturing.

That being said, I think we could do some things better.

 

[bridgebuster]

we can't; we have to support our children who can't find decent jobs because we screwed up the world.

 

[WARose]

Quality sleep is so important to having a good life. Wish I got more of it. Have been intentionally going to bed earlier lately to improve my life.

You guys ought to take a nighttime sleep aid. I've been taking acetaminophen & diphenhydramine for years. (Typically in the form of something like Excedrin PM.) It helps. Let me warn you though: you get to a point where it is hard to fall asleep without it.

 

[monkeydog]

Come on folks - the pontificate comment was in jest.

 

[bridgebuster]

the pontificating comments are in jest; lighten up. take life in stride

 

[CWB1]

we can't; we have to support our children who can't find decent jobs because we screwed up the world

Seems like a circular reference...

 

[lacajun]

I'm a Boomer and I don't mind the humor. I've found each decade of life has its own flavor, which accounts for a lot of stuff. A friend emphatically stated years ago that "he" wasn't going to get old. He was going to fight it every step of the way. I'm older and had already shifted some gears so I just listened and nodded my head, while telling him it sneaks up on you. Twenty years later, it sneaked up on him. :-D

The Waltons have a combined wealth of nearly $297 billion. I'd say they made a lot of ol' Sams "Made In The USA" slogan. From what I've read, you just about have to sell your soul to do business with them.

I've been researching income inequality/wealth a lot this year. The CBO has some data and presentations. Saez and Piketty, Krugman, Sachs, Stiglitz, et al. I've listened to attorneys, historians, etc. Reading about it. It's a real problem, in my mind.

Pamela K. Quillin, P.E.
Quillin Engineering, LLC
NSPE-CO, Central Chapter
Dinner program:

http://nspe-co.org/events.php

 

[IRstuff]

"From what I've read, you just about have to sell your soul to do business with them."

Well, American manufacturers don't have to worry about that anymore; they're almost exclusively doing business in Asia. I've heard similar to the extent that WM will come in and demand a 10% price reduction and you either figure it out, suck it up, or die.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

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[WARose]

I've been researching income inequality/wealth a lot this year. The CBO has some data and presentations. Saez and Piketty, Krugman, Sachs, Stiglitz, et al. I've listened to attorneys, historians, etc. Reading about it. It's a real problem, in my mind.

There was income equality in East Germany and the Soviet Union.....that didn't turn out too well. The concern about America becoming an oligarchy is possibly a valid one.....but it misses something very important: most wealthy in this country are first generation wealthy. (I.e. if the rules are being rigged, they are being rigged to allow in a lot more players.)

The other thing missed here (and since you mentioned Krugman, I had to make this point): it's not because of taxes either. In the era of high taxes (say pre-1980's), the wealthy did not pay much more (effectively) than they do now. This is in spite of the fact the top marginal income rate has been cut nearly in half since that time. What he has always failed to get is: if you want to talk about a rigged system.....it was the tax code prior to the 1986 reform act. (I.e. it protected he rich while stopping the would-be rich.)

The fact is: wages are tied to skills at this point. Unskilled labor is dead.

 

[JohnRBaker]

Well, the proposals in Congress right now are designed to make sure that the current rich remain rich and that their heirs stay rich as well.

Back when marginal tax rates were near the 90% level, the one thing that it did do was encouraged corporations to invest their excess profits in the business itself rather than pass it along in multi-million dollar compensation packages to their executives.

As for the that comment about the "first generation wealth", don't let the Walton's or the Koch brothers hear you say that not to mention the Ford's, DuPont's, Bush's, or for that matter the Trump's.

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[WARose]

Back when marginal tax rates were near the 90% level, the one thing that it did do was encouraged corporations to invest their excess profits in the business itself rather than pass it along in multi-million dollar compensation packages to their executives.

That's one of the biggest myths running. They had expense accounts and all sorts of ways around the code at the time. Venture capital has exploded since then. There is no lack of investment.

As for the that comment about the "first generation wealth", don't let the Walton's or the Koch brothers hear you say that not to mention the Ford's, DuPont's, Bush's, or for that matter the Trump's.

Sure there are dynasties out there.....but again: I am talking about the norm here. (Read The Millionaire Next Door, by: Stanley & Danko.)

And theoretically, there should be no DuPont, Bush, etc dynasty out there if what I have been saying isn't true. The fact is, people like that had an army of lawyers and accountants that knew how to play the system. It's like Milton Friedman once said: high taxes don't hurt the rich.....they hurt the would-be rich.

 

[IRstuff]

http://www.epi.org/publication/ceo-pay-continues-to-rise/[/URL]]The CEO-to-worker compensation ratio was 20-to-1 in 1965 and 29.9-to-1 in 1978, grew to 122.6-to-1 in 1995, peaked at 383.4-to-1 in 2000, and was 295.9-to-1 in 2013, far higher than it was in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s.

Also:

Over the last three decades, CEO compensation grew far faster than that of other highly paid workers, those earning more than 99.9 percent of other wage earners. CEO compensation in 2012 was 4.75 times greater than that of the top 0.1 percent of wage earners, a ratio 1.5 higher than the 3.25 ratio that prevailed over the 1947–1979 period (this wage gain is equivalent to the wages of 1.5 high wage earners).

This latter conclusion includes us, the skilled work force.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

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[WARose]

No one has said (including me) that CEO pay hasn't skyrocketed.....the question is: would it (instead) wind up back in the company/go to the employees? There is no reason to think that. It defies common sense.

If (for example) you raised the effective tax rate to 70% on any amount of compensation over 1 million.......would Mr. CEO really put the entire amount (over 1 mil) back into the company.....or take the 30% home? My money is on: take the 30% home.

 

[IRstuff]

I'm not arguing that, but certainly, dropping the tax rate isn't going to help anyone but the already rich.

The previous tax cuts resulted in where we are now; to expect a different result from the same action is definitively insanity.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

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[WARose]

The previous tax cuts resulted in where we are now; to expect a different result from the same action is definitively insanity.

And I can't argue with that. I don't take issue with the rates as they are now.....I just feel compelled to set the record straight sometimes with some of this wealth "inequality" stuff that's out there.

 

[IRstuff]

"The Millionaire Next Door" really just describes the "poor" wealthy, or what might be the upper middle class. Most engineers can achieve that status, given sufficient discipline and frugality. They are in no way in the same class as what is commonly referred to as the 1%, even if their household income reaches the supposed threshold to be in that 1%. That's really how skewed income inequality has become.

Amusingly, that same level of inequality seems to apply to the Forbes 400, referred to in an earlier post. Forbes made a sad comment about the fact that you now need to be a 2-billionaire to qualify to be in the Forbes 400 in 2017, while you only needed $75 million in 1982 to break in.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

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[JohnRBaker]

Yes, but what is the definition for the "new wealthy"? My wife and I, we DON'T feel wealthy, but I suspect that some people might say that we are.

Now today, what does it take to be considered "wealthy"? Is it a 'net worth' of $1 million, or do you have to reach $2 million first? I've always read where you can't call yourself a 'millionaire' until you actually have a million dollars in the bank, meaning that you can't include real-estate or any other hard assets when you do the calculation. Well if that's true, I guess my wife and I are members of the club. In fact, our net worth just broke two million. Not bragging, just making a statement. And before anyone asks, between the two of us, our total inherited "wealth" has amounted to less than $50K, and we've already collected all that we ever will. Does this make us part of the 'new wealthy'?

John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:

The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without

 

[GregLocock]

This millionaire next door drives a 10 year old car and has never bought a new one. I think the concept of millionaire is a bit tarnished.

Cheers

Greg Locock


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