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The question is an insult to the interviewee. The interviewee can stammer around and say something about great fit, being a team player or whatever … basically

The question is an insult to the interviewee. The interviewee can stammer around and say something about great fit, being a team player or whatever … basically re-iterating the requirements of the job and state how well he fulfils those. What is the honest answer? It all boils down to “I fulfil the requirements, and then some!” In my eyes, the question shows hostility towards the interviewee.

dpark 10y ago
I completely agree it's not a good question. I don't think it's hostile, though, just stupid. Regardless, being unable to hold your temper in the face of a pointless/stupid/vaguely insulting question is a really bad sign for a candidate. If you can't handle this, how are you going to handle it when someone bluntly calls one of your designs terrible?
- rl3 10y ago
  >... being unable to hold your temper ... I didn't mean to suggest the candidate should launch into a tirade or anything, just that the indignation would ideally be evident yet subtle. >If you can't handle this, how are you going to handle it when someone bluntly calls one of your designs terrible? The flip side of this is that candidates who find nothing wrong with the question are far more likely to not mete out such critiques. The last thing you want is your organization rotting from within because nobody's speaking their mind.
  - dpark 10y ago
    > I didn't mean to suggest the candidate should launch into a tirade or anything, just that the indignation would ideally be evident yet subtle. I don't think that subtle indignation is a healthy response. If you're so bothered by this question, I think you should say so. A direct, honest response is far more mature way to handle it than acting annoyed by the question. I could respect a candidate telling me directly that the question is insulting. It would be harder to respect a candidate who responds to the question with snark or sarcasm or an eye roll or any other indication of "subtle indignation". > The flip side of this is that candidates who find nothing wrong with the question are far more likely to not mete out such critiques. The last thing you want is your organization rotting from within because nobody's speaking their mind. I don't follow this connection at all. I don't think that being annoyed by this question is very related to giving blunt feedback.
    - rl3 10y ago
      >A direct, honest response is far more mature way to handle it than being acting annoyed by the question. I could respect a candidate telling me directly that the question is insulting. Then the interview quickly turns into a robotic caricature straight out of an HR manual. Why make the whole situation awkward and probably tank the interview just to state the obvious.
      - dpark 10y ago
        Instead be snarky and annoyed and tank the interview by being a passive aggressive jerk?
        rl3 10y ago
        On the contrary, I was merely suggesting high-caliber people should be rightfully disconcerted if asked that question. Subtle indignation doesn't automatically mean passive-aggressive asshole. Besides, the entire scenario largely depends on context. I'm sure most people would find it far more beneign if the question was posed by an HR person at BigCo, rather than by the founder of a smaller company.
HeyLaughingBoy 10y ago
You're thinking too much into it. Just say "because I rock and your team's life would suck without me." And leave it at that.

dpark 10y ago

I completely agree it's not a good question. I don't think it's hostile, though, just stupid. Regardless, being unable to hold your temper in the face of a pointless/stupid/vaguely insulting question is a really bad sign for a candidate. If you can't handle this, how are you going to handle it when someone bluntly calls one of your designs terrible?

rl3 10y ago
>... being unable to hold your temper ... I didn't mean to suggest the candidate should launch into a tirade or anything, just that the indignation would ideally be evident yet subtle. >If you can't handle this, how are you going to handle it when someone bluntly calls one of your designs terrible? The flip side of this is that candidates who find nothing wrong with the question are far more likely to not mete out such critiques. The last thing you want is your organization rotting from within because nobody's speaking their mind.
- dpark 10y ago
  > I didn't mean to suggest the candidate should launch into a tirade or anything, just that the indignation would ideally be evident yet subtle. I don't think that subtle indignation is a healthy response. If you're so bothered by this question, I think you should say so. A direct, honest response is far more mature way to handle it than acting annoyed by the question. I could respect a candidate telling me directly that the question is insulting. It would be harder to respect a candidate who responds to the question with snark or sarcasm or an eye roll or any other indication of "subtle indignation". > The flip side of this is that candidates who find nothing wrong with the question are far more likely to not mete out such critiques. The last thing you want is your organization rotting from within because nobody's speaking their mind. I don't follow this connection at all. I don't think that being annoyed by this question is very related to giving blunt feedback.
  - rl3 10y ago
    >A direct, honest response is far more mature way to handle it than being acting annoyed by the question. I could respect a candidate telling me directly that the question is insulting. Then the interview quickly turns into a robotic caricature straight out of an HR manual. Why make the whole situation awkward and probably tank the interview just to state the obvious.
    - dpark 10y ago
      Instead be snarky and annoyed and tank the interview by being a passive aggressive jerk?
      - rl3 10y ago
        On the contrary, I was merely suggesting high-caliber people should be rightfully disconcerted if asked that question. Subtle indignation doesn't automatically mean passive-aggressive asshole. Besides, the entire scenario largely depends on context. I'm sure most people would find it far more beneign if the question was posed by an HR person at BigCo, rather than by the founder of a smaller company.

HeyLaughingBoy 10y ago

You're thinking too much into it. Just say "because I rock and your team's life would suck without me." And leave it at that.