Random Thought Thread

[lunatic59]

Wait ... it's almost October .... shouldn't you be decorating for Christmas now?

 

[Clementine_3]

Wait ... it's almost October .... shouldn't you be decorating for Christmas now?

No no no, you have it all wrong. It's the shopping/displays/commercialism/bah-humbugging that should be happening for Christmas now. Halloween shopping should have been done last month. The actual decorating can wait 'til the right month, or in my case, a day or two before that

 

[lunatic59]

So you buy your Halloween candy in August and let it sit in the garage until October 31st?

 

[Clementine_3]

No. I buy my Halloween candy in August and eat it in August. I buy more Halloween candy in September and eat it in September. I buy more Halloween candy in October and eat it in October then run to the store on Halloween and get more (and try not to eat it).

 

[lunatic59]

That's why I hand out bags of raisins and apples to the trick-or-treaters. And it also explains the toilet paper in my shrubbery.

 

[Clementine_3]

Great, now you've brought Monty Python into it.

 

[psionandy]

 

[lunatic59]

Ni!

 

[mikedt]

I have a pen, I have an apple.
Oh! apple-pen.

 

[mikedt]

That's why I hand out bags of raisins and apples to the trick-or-treaters. And it also explains the toilet paper in my shrubbery.

I don't have a shrubbery.

 

[whitehat]

For your disbelieving pleasure:
10 Claims Of Recovered Extraterrestrial Craft
Marcus Lowth September 30, 2017

http://listverse.com/2017/09/30/10-claims-of-recovered-extraterrestrial-craft/

 

[Deleted User]

I'm undecided whether I like Marmite, or not. Weird.

 

[psionandy]

I'm undecided whether I like Marmite, or not. Weird.

In that case, I've decided that you do like it....

hope that helps.

 

[Deleted User]

Help! Give me a credible answer to the interview question "What is your weakness?"
And apparently "I'm a perfectionist" is a cliched and unacceptable answer.

 

[Dngrsone]

Help! Give me a credible answer to the interview question "What is your weakness?"
And apparently "I'm a perfectionist" is a cliched and unacceptable answer.

"Cheesecake."

I seriously dislike that question and its ilk, but if I were an interviewer, I know I'd be asking the same types of questions: I want to know what kind of person I am likely to be dealing with in the future... If the person answers "I am slightly OCD" and I tend to have a sloppy desk, then there would likely be problems going forward (or the opposite... being a fastidious employer and finding your new hire is a slob).

 

[Deleted User]

"Cheesecake."

I seriously dislike that question and its ilk, but if I were an interviewer, I know I'd be asking the same types of questions: I want to know what kind of person I am likely to be dealing with in the future... If the person answers "I am slightly OCD" and I tend to have a sloppy desk, then there would likely be problems going forward (or the opposite... being a fastidious employer and finding your new hire is a slob).

As an interviewer, why bother asking those type of questions? Any interviewee will have a prepared answer which reveals nothing about their true weaknesses. So the question is pointless. Who on earth is going to give an answer which reveals any weaknesses?
The art of interviewing is asking indirect questions, that reveal the candidate's answers to questions, without giving an answer which they think the interviewer wants to hear.

 

[lunatic59]

Help! Give me a credible answer to the interview question "What is your weakness?"
And apparently "I'm a perfectionist" is a cliched and unacceptable answer.

Turn the question to your advantage.

I believe my primary weakness to be slowness in adapting C++ code to be applicable for JAVA apps (or some such technical blarney, don't worry, the interviewer won't understand it) which is why I've been taking some online courses to bolster my efficiency. I've also been told that in group projects I tend to keep my ideas a little too close to the vest. I find that using (xxxxxx) groupware helps me communicate more clearly.

In each case you've given a minor instance of a specific weakness that is not perceived as a personality problem or over confidence (Weakness? I don't have any!) but you've also shown that you work to improve any perceived weakness which is the initiative most interviewers look for. The details are irrelevant.

 

[psionandy]

Hamilton the musical, as performed by My Little Pony may be the best thing I've seen on the internet today,,,,


https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW9f2PFZRt6Zq8hKKdB86FDpKUyNML7bQ

 

[Deleted User]

Turn the question to your advantage.

I believe my primary weakness to be slowness in adapting C++ code to be applicable for JAVA apps (or some such technical blarney, don't worry, the interviewer won't understand it) which is why I've been taking some online courses to bolster my efficiency. I've also been told that in group projects I tend to keep my ideas a little too close to the vest. I find that using (xxxxxx) groupware helps me communicate more clearly.

In each case you've given a minor instance of a specific weakness that is not perceived as a personality problem or over confidence (Weakness? I don't have any!) but you've also shown that you work to improve any perceived weakness which is the initiative most interviewers look for. The details are irrelevant.

Yes that's a great idea. I'm thinking of using some obscure technical point that I can turn into a positive thing.
Well the truth is that I haven't been asked this question for a long long time, and hopefully won't be again. But you never know.

 

[Dngrsone]

As an interviewer, why bother asking those type of questions? Any interviewee will have a prepared answer which reveals nothing about their true weaknesses. So the question is pointless. Who on earth is going to give an answer which reveals any weaknesses?
The art of interviewing is asking indirect questions, that reveal the candidate's answers to questions, without giving an answer which they think the interviewer wants to hear.

You'd be surprised... most people are not prepared to answer this question, and most HR people have finely developed BS detectors.

Personally, in my last interview I admitted freely that my greatest stumbling blocks were my anger issues and my bluntness, but I have worked hard over the decades to overcome both to good effect. I was then asked to explain how, and I gave situations where I kept my temper and said things in a more politic way.

I got the job, so...

 

[Deleted User]

You'd be surprised... most people are not prepared to answer this question, and most HR people have finely developed BS detectors.

Personally, in my last interview I admitted freely that my greatest stumbling blocks were my anger issues and my bluntness, but I have worked hard over the decades to overcome both to good effect. I was then asked to explain how, and I gave situations where I kept my temper and said things in a more politic way.

I got the job, so...

That sounds very reasonable. But in general I think this question is the equivalent to giving the candidate a shovel and seeing how big a hole they can dig

 

[Dngrsone]

That sounds very reasonable. But in general I think this question is the equivalent to giving the candidate a shovel and seeing how big a hole they can dig

You're right; exactly the type of litmus test that allows the interviewer to see how far he can trust the other answers the candidate has given.

 

[lunatic59]

That sounds very reasonable. But in general I think this question is the equivalent to giving the candidate a shovel and seeing how big a hole they can dig

You're right; exactly the type of litmus test that allows the interviewer to see how far he can trust the other answers the candidate has given.

These are the types of questions designed not so much to illicit specific bits of information about the applicant, but to see how they react to unexpected situations or how creatively they can solve problems.

 

[TheAtheistReverend]

SWIMS upside down is SWIMS

 

[Clementine_3]

SWIMS upside down is SWIMS

Huh, and I thought it was the backstroke