Job Discussion Forums

cerchier2003 · Joined: 12 Nov 2004 Posts: 12 Location: VA

Hello

I'm very new to interviews and just completed one over the phone a couple of hours ago. Most of the questions were standard but a few struck me as bizarre. What is the point of asking an applicant if he/she is abusing illegal drugs, prescription drugs, or alcohol? Would anyone who actually wanted the job ever say yes? Yeah, I'm a crackhead who hourly downs a fifth of jack and, by the way, when does my first class start?

Sorry, this post may be irrelevant but I couldn't help but think of this company as either idiotic or very naive in believing an interviewee would ever be that honest.

Any other newbies experience this?

cerchier

Ariadne · Joined: 16 Jul 2004 Posts: 960

Perhaps it is just a 'cover their behind' question. If you should prove to be a user of some sort, they can always say they asked and you said no, so it's all your fault and they bear no responsibility.

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

You also get pretty stupid interviewees. A few years ago when I was interviewing someone, I was asked about the availability of weed in Turkey!

IanN · Joined: 31 Jul 2004 Posts: 78 Location: Valencia

I once received a covering letter which had probably been spell-checked but not proofread as the final line was: 'I look forward to hearing from you shorty'.

Chris_Crossley · Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2004 1:02 pm Post subject: Shorty

IanN · Joined: 31 Jul 2004 Posts: 78 Location: Valencia

1.88m

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

the reason those 'silly sounding' questions are asked are never to get a verbal answer. They are to get the non-verbal answer. There are quite a few ways that someone can show they are lying to the question, through body stance, eyes movement, etc. This is basic for any interviewer or interrogator on the police side of things.

Ariadne · Joined: 16 Jul 2004 Posts: 960

Just have to nit pick a little, Guy. Cerchier said the interview was on the phone.... pretty tough to see eye movements and body language.

cerchier2003 · Joined: 12 Nov 2004 Posts: 12 Location: VA

I see. Well she couldn't tell much from my body language since it was a phone interview but I get your point. I hope she didn't read much into my initial pause after the first question since I was simply taken by surprise.

I have never been asked those questions in a U.S. interview but I suppose the clause in many employee contracts that states you will submit to random drug tests is a way of avoiding asking these questions.

cerchier2003

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

You see? Miss a big detail and what happens? You blow the interview, be it on the phone or some permanent post like this.

um, let's just forget I wrote that, k?

Laughing

stillnosheep · Joined: 01 Mar 2004 Posts: 2068 Location: eslcafe

Anyone ever flown into the US and filled in a visa waiver?

"Have you ever been a member of a terrorist organisation?

Have you ever been a member of an organisation dedicated to the overthrow of the dempocratic government of the United States of America?

Have you a conviction for the possession or distribution of narcotics?"

I always assumed that the questions ahere rhetorical...

I mean, what are we meant to answer ... "Hell yeah, Me and my friends in al-Qaeda spend every Friday night plotting our next move over a big fat joint?...."[/u]

Chris_Crossley

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

Do you still get asked if you have ever been a member of the Communist party?

Chris_Crossley