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Worst job interview answers 25

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Bernoulli31

Bernoulli31

Mechanical
Jan 13, 2016
51
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.
 
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I try not to get hung up on individual answers but rather judge the candidate's experience and ability overall. My personal favorite bit about interviews was at a former employer that did onsite drug testing the day of the interview. Simply judging by candidates' reactions you knew 95% of the time whether someone would pass or not before taking the test.
 
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The wizz quiz.

Good luck,
Latexman

To a ChE, the glass is always full - 1/2 air and 1/2 water.
 
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"It says on your resume that you are familiar with NVTherm; what sorts of systems have you modeled in it?

"uuhhh, I actually haven't used it, but I watched someone use it." BBBZZZZZZZZZ

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list
 
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From my very first interview right out of college:

Interviewer: "What's your experience managing risk?"
Me: "Uhhhhh, I don't really understand the question."
Interviewer: "What levels of risk are acceptable? What thoughts do you have on reducing risk on a project?"
Me: "Uhhhh, I'm still not sure I understand the question."
Interviewer: "Let's move on..."

I was nervous and university gave me zero practical understanding of risk management, or at least none I recalled at the time. Strangely they offered me a job. Perhaps they still liked my other responses or they were just desperate. Looking back I'm guessing a little of both.

Professional Engineer (ME, NH, MA) Structural Engineer (IL)
American Concrete Industries
 
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Interview I once had with Conoco Phillips:

​
Interviewer: What's the most difficult experience you have ever had and what did you do to overcome it?

​
Me: (After thinking about personal experiences that would be inappropriate to discuss)...Hmmm......Hmmm....That's a good question. I don't know. How about you? What was your most difficult experience?

​
Interviewer: Yeah, that is a good questions. I don't know either.

Did not get the job, lol!
 
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During interview was asked:
Interviewer (Int): Would you be interested to work in troubleshooting?
Me: yes, it is definitely a field I find interesting and would.
Int: Stop. Do you think you are capable?
Me: Well, for sure I would need
Int: Stop stop stop. I say you are Not capable.
Me: What I meant is
Int: I dont want to be agressive but want to know what motivates you in life. You look so nice. What upsets you?
Me: Appreciate your question. Well I
Int: Do you have hobbies? What do you wake up for in the morning? Why dont you never get upset.
Me: Well, I dont say its always smooth, frictions can happen but the good thing it has always been on the subject and
Int2: I see you switched jobs quite often. So you are the kind if guy who stay for a while and then say f$$$ off. Hahaha?
Me: My last job was a fixed contract and
Int: Hey we are just trying to shake you a little, and that is for the sake to obtain info from you.
Int3: yes, and this will be sufficient.

Should I drop the name of the company... I wont do that probably... Of course did not get the job.
I brought 10 years of experience on the table on a highly specialized field. They did not give a damn.

 
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Seems to me you failed a test to defend yourself against an aggressor. For that, you should not have been hired, but then again, you probably wouldn't have liked working for a company that required you to continually defend yourself.

As Groucho Marx famously said, "I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member."

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list
 
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I haven't got the faintest idea what that sort of interrogation style is supposed to achieve, apart from boosting the egos of the bullies.

Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376
 
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I was getting desperate, and interviewed for a supervisory job.

It was a group interview, with all of my putative direct reports present.

Usual pleasantries, then the direct reports got into a heated argument over some simple technical points.

The DM later told me that I failed their synthetic test because I didn't intercede to calm the participants down.

Hell, it was in TN; I figured they were all armed, and I was not.
... and I've seen more heated arguments eventually end in useful detente.
... and I wanted to see how the argument would be settled, but I think they just ran off the end of the script.


My supervisory friends opined they had never seen or executed an interview like that.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
 
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"you probably wouldn't have liked working for a company that required you to continually defend yourself"
Yes. You made a good point. It was a way for me to take it with philosophy.

Anyway, I don't think I failed the interview, I think I failed something else. As I hope I learned a lesson on another level.
It is a JUNGLE out there, best protection in the first place, is do not fall in the jungle.

There are some old/wise/experienced people in this forum (Zdas, Mike, and very few others). Plus of course orientations elsewhere, including this forum, certainly friends, family, etc. But people should listen VERY CAREFULLY to what these guys are writing down. I think this is where I failed at first place, and I am willing to learn a lesson. I choose not to learn the hard way, life is too short.

I would like to make a point relatively to the OP, sometimes young or fresh graduate can have difficulties managing their emotional stress during interview and that might be a reason why the letters (HV) AC could not be defined. (Which by the way stands for Heating Ventilation &.... Ambient Comfort) - isn't it? :)

 
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I've been a member of some interview panels and I can think of two interviewees that really stick out.

1. We were interviewing for an entry level position (this was at a county govt office before I got my engineering degree) that had really no room for advancement. We explained that we were looking for a long term person to handle daily tasks in our mail room/print shop. No matter what question we asked him, this guy kept saying that he was ready to be management, and he couldn't wait to become a manager, etc. I think he mentioned that at least 20 times.

2. We were interviewing an experienced engineer at one of the utilities I used to work at. We had an individual that looked FANTASTIC on paper. When she came in for an interview, you could tell she was extremely nervous. When she would get asked a question about certain experiences or instances to back up what she had done in the past, she totally locked up and by that I mean she literally could not get a single word out. I tried to help guide her or direct her to an answer by referencing some of the items on her resume, but even with that, she couldn't come up with anything. I've never seen an interview go any worse than that.

On the interviewee side, I was a year out of school and interviewing for a large machinery manufacturer. The position was to have oversight of the production facility and some design work on machinery components. The interview starts and after some brief intros, they pull out a picture of a large portable construction light tower. Then said, tell us how you would design this in detail, from scratch, show free body diagrams for major components, calculations for the hydraulics that lift the tower, etc. Needless to say, I tried to work through it off the top of my head, but knew I was unprepared and after about an hour of them throwing curveballs at me and pointing out how wrong I was, I figured I wasn't getting an offer (which I didn't care about after that experience).
 
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I was interviewing an applicant for a position with our company and I asked him why he wanted the position. His answer was "I want a job with benefits that I can retire from". Probably one of the most honest answers I ever got, but didn't leave me with the impression he would be a good hire.
 
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TehMightyEngineer said:
From my very first interview right out of college:

Interviewer: "What's your experience managing risk?"
Me: "Uhhhhh, I don't really understand the question."
...
Click to expand...

At a recent interview, I was shown a GD&T specification and I was asked how I would correct it. It occurred to me afterwards that perhaps I was being tested for tact, rather than my knowledge of GD&T. Maybe they wanted to see how you would bullshit them.

--
JHG
 
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@rotw

"I would like to make a point relatively to the OP, sometimes young or fresh graduate can have difficulties managing their emotional stress during interview "

The kid looked like he just woke up after a night of playing video games and had a whatever attitude. Blood pressure = zero.



I design aqueducts in a parallel universe.
 
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I have another entry-level candidate coming in today. What I'm hoping to hear when asked the question why he wants to work with us: "It's my first job, I want to gain experience and start making money so I can move out of my parents' house and live my life." Not some BS answer rehearsed in advance, where he says how great (my company) is and how he feels he's the right candidate. [thumbsup]



I design aqueducts in a parallel universe.
 
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