What they don’t understand is it’s a two way street. You are also interviewing them.
This article describes a process I find vaguely familiar. My most recent experience is quite different. I posed two statements/questions to disqualify myself. Didn’t work. They had pretty well made their minds up.
One of my favorite bad interviews was in 1993. In the first of a series of co-worker interviews the lady asked “so why do you want to work with us?” I responded “I’m not sure yet that I do.” Oh, that’s a third comment I made to disqualify myself five weeks ago. I cited that experience and told my interviewers that they owed me a response.
Anyway - all is well so far. And we never got to the lie detector or Kenpo master.
It also works both ways, I found out my prospective manager contributed to stopping the repeal of gay marriage in California.
One of the better jobs I’ve had started with an interview with a younger HR type and the owner.
HR; “What do you see as your role in this company ?”
Me; “To be paid well to do what that man asks me to do.”
Owner; “lets go back to my office and start talking about what I need. When can you start ?”
“Try telling employers what you’re really thinking!”
I’ll go one better. My interviewer asked a question which was neither right nor wrong and after giving the answer he said that was not what he was thinking.
“If you were a tree, what kind would you be?”
“An Oak”
“No, I was thinking pine.”
“WTF?!?!!”
Agency:
“How did the interview go?”
“If I have to go through this one more time, I am coming to your home and eating your kids.”
“That bad, eh?”
I love interviews. You get to meet new people, most of them smart, and have rollicking conversations!