With the job situation up in the air along with the apartment, I’ve had to consider the possibility of going through interviews, something I haven’t had to do for a few years now. That got me thinking on two different tangents.
First, what is one of the more inane or pointless questions you’ve been asked during a job interview? You know…the whole “If you opened the cash register to make change for a customer and a rabid wolverine shot out and ate your face off, would you be able to maintain a calm and courteous attitude?”
On the writing side, have you ever sat down and written out an interview with one of your characters as the focus? It’s a fun way of gaining some insight on them, instead of the usual chart and list of physical characteristics and personality quirks. So give it a twist. Create some imaginary position you are hiring for and bring your characters in to interview for it. What would you ask them? How would they try to get the job? And you can’t automatically write them off just because they’re the villain! They could sue for discriminatory practices, so be fair and hear them out. What they say may surprise you.
I see that smile.
“If you opened the cash register to make change for a customer and a rabid wolverine shot out and ate your face off, would you be able to maintain a calm and courteous attitude?”
Um. No.
I had a good laugh over that line, though; thank you!
I don’t think I’ve ever been asked an inane question in an interview, but I did once go to a SCARY interview where they asked science questions to gauge how much of a thinker you were (you needed a physics degree for the job, so it wasn’t an outrageous demand.)
Some questions asked in that interview:
– If you were in a completely sealed room with a refrigerator that had its door missing, would the room get hotter or colder?
– Imagine you are given a 1 ft ruler, a piece of string and a stopwatch. Now think of as many ways as you can to measure the height of this building using these items.
– Describe the design for a chair that would be stable on any kind of surface.
Since I’m missing the physics degree, I’d almost rather the wolverine question over ones about the energy potential in a closed system. I have been known to have silly, long discussions about Schrodinger’s Cat, but I’m not sure potential employers would be impressed by that.