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> Even asking "what did you have for lunch" is better than asking nothing; the interviewer might start talking about whether the company pays for lunch, whether

> Even asking "what did you have for lunch" is better than asking nothing; the interviewer might start talking about whether the company pays for lunch, whether it's any good. No, it's not. I'm pretty sure anyone who asked that in an interview would be bottom of the list, regardless of how I felt about their interview otherwise. It's flippant and shows a lack of care about what's going on. Iv'e never been upset with someone for not asking questions. Interviews are tense and we do try to answer the most common questions before they are asked. If they have no questions, we extend and offer to email us later and we'll answer any questions they come up with later. Stupid question affect the interview. Lack of questions doesn't.

taeric 6y ago
Would be interesting to see data on this. I agree that asking what did you have for lunch is silly. That said, what sort of lunches do folks do around here is not. I suspect some of this is born from the idea that you want to be remembered. Asking a question can help anchor your existence to the people that interviewed you. Again, though, I'm sceptical without data. Feels you could argue this either way.
kevmo314 6y ago
Not to mention some interviewers, like myself, will just follow up and ask if you have any more questions. Someone asking what I had for lunch would just be seen as wasting time.
lonelappde 6y ago
Yet another chance to dodge a bullet and avoid working with uptight, self-important nitpickers.
- kevinburke 6y ago
  The meta point of the post is it's dumb to attach too much weight to cultural signifiers that are easy for people to imitate once they know about them. The top voted comment on the post invents a new cultural signifier, and declares that candidates who fail it should be disqualified! It would be funny if it wasn't a pervasive interviewing practice.
  - throwanem 6y ago
    It's such a Michael Scott move, really. You simply love to see it.
- vmception 6y ago
  which is a totally unproductive red herring to the goal getting on someone else's payroll and insurance program avoiding someone you would probably never see on the job is not a silver lining
pazimzadeh 6y ago
It's all in the delivery
heleninboodler 6y ago
I read it as hyperbole that means "the bar for what's a good question to ask is really low."
burlesona 6y ago
Haha, wow. No sense of humor? As a hiring manager I’ve run somewhere north of a hundred interviews, and honestly they get so boring and repetitive. I love it when people have questions because it shows you something about them which wasn’t on the script. If someone’s question was “what did you have for lunch?” and they asked with a smile, I would laugh out loud and then tell them about my lunch, and probably write something like “likeable candidate, has good people skills,” in my review.
- wenc 6y ago
  Eh. I think it's a risky gamble. It does depend on the context. If it was asked in the context of a casual conversation, say in between sessions -- it's ok. But when I, the interviewer, am asking "do you have any questions for me?" during an interview, I invariably mean it in a professional context. Answering with "what did you have for lunch?" seems to cross the professionalism line somewhat (why the hell do you need to know what I ate?), and may not be appreciated by many. I wouldn't go as far as to outright dismiss the candidate's viability, but for me personally, it's comes across as weird and non-self-aware rather than funny. (also, as someone who watches a lot of stand-up, I also have a high threshold for humor -- I'm kinda of a humor snob. I like light-heartedness, but contrived failed attempts at humor are grating to me because they often indicate someone's trying too hard. There's an inauthenticity there that rubs me the wrong way.) So even if you're right, the trouble is an interviewee might not be able to tell a priori if they got someone like you or someone like me. So it's risky. (otoh, "what are some good lunch spots around here, in your opinion?", mentioned by another commenter, is almost always positive and indicates a candidate's interest in the workplace environment)
  - dannyw 6y ago
    Seems like you work in a different environment. Here, our interviews begin with a coffee walk or inviting them for lunch; and no one has the attitude of “why the hell do you need to know what I ate”).
    - mcny 6y ago
wolco 6y ago
I feeling not having any question usually shows during the interview everything was answered. Usually a good sign in terms of communication.
cbanek 6y ago
I think it depends on how you respond. Coming at it with my hiring manager hat on, sometimes at the end of the day, you ask "do you have any questions for me?" and it's obvious that the candidate has really asked all the questions of people previous to them. In that way, saying something like "I can't think of anything more right now, all the other interviewers have been so open" or whatever. Plus it's usually pretty obvious the candidates are usually tired at this point. Now at the beginning of the day, I'd expect some questions. But also, some interviewers simply don't leave enough time for this part of the interviewee, so it's really just going through the motions. Now my best interview candidate hat on, the real thing is to ask questions while the interview is going on at relevant times. For example, when they ask you about testing, maybe ask, well what frameworks do you use to test? What's your code review process? Let's review it right now. Etc. Asking stupid questions is definitely a red flag, although as long as they aren't offensive stupid questions, I usually give a pass. It's all a part of the experience, there are no hard and fast rules in hiring.
throwanem 6y ago
This is the kind of "no hire" that turns out to be a favor in the long run. Keep it up!
- jmchuster 6y ago
  You're always interviewing the company as much as they are interviewing you. (Well, assuming you're good enough at interviewing to get to be choosy.)
- Leherenn 6y ago
  I don't necessarily agree, it's just the personality of one person, whom you might not even work with regularly depending on what their role is. Sure, you might say that's a window into the rest of the company, and it's true in a way, but the HR person being slightly humourless does not always equal a bad job.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
fab1an 6y ago
This of course depends on the context, and the 'lunch' question won't always work. For example, if you feel that your interviewer lacks any sense of humour, or is the type of person who would judge a lot questions as 'stoopid', it may be better to skip it (and for that matter, maybe also skip that job)
Alkhwarizmi 6y ago
Jesus Christ man!! Chill out a little bit. Yikes...
Forge36 6y ago
It won't work everywhere. However at my job it could be "I had steak" or "I grabbed sushi". A great follow-up question: what did it cost? 3.50 to $5. This is an amazing perk to my job. I could even list ~5 other options that were available, and talk about the other 5 places to go which offer 20+ more options. This leads into great, where did you eat? How common is it to socialize vs go back to your office?

taeric 6y ago

Would be interesting to see data on this. I agree that asking what did you have for lunch is silly. That said, what sort of lunches do folks do around here is not. I suspect some of this is born from the idea that you want to be remembered. Asking a question can help anchor your existence to the people that interviewed you. Again, though, I'm sceptical without data. Feels you could argue this either way.

kevmo314 6y ago

Not to mention some interviewers, like myself, will just follow up and ask if you have any more questions. Someone asking what I had for lunch would just be seen as wasting time.

lonelappde 6y ago

Yet another chance to dodge a bullet and avoid working with uptight, self-important nitpickers.

kevinburke 6y ago
The meta point of the post is it's dumb to attach too much weight to cultural signifiers that are easy for people to imitate once they know about them. The top voted comment on the post invents a new cultural signifier, and declares that candidates who fail it should be disqualified! It would be funny if it wasn't a pervasive interviewing practice.
- throwanem 6y ago
  It's such a Michael Scott move, really. You simply love to see it.
vmception 6y ago
which is a totally unproductive red herring to the goal getting on someone else's payroll and insurance program avoiding someone you would probably never see on the job is not a silver lining

pazimzadeh 6y ago

It's all in the delivery

heleninboodler 6y ago

I read it as hyperbole that means "the bar for what's a good question to ask is really low."

burlesona 6y ago

Haha, wow. No sense of humor? As a hiring manager I’ve run somewhere north of a hundred interviews, and honestly they get so boring and repetitive. I love it when people have questions because it shows you something about them which wasn’t on the script. If someone’s question was “what did you have for lunch?” and they asked with a smile, I would laugh out loud and then tell them about my lunch, and probably write something like “likeable candidate, has good people skills,” in my review.

wenc 6y ago
Eh. I think it's a risky gamble. It does depend on the context. If it was asked in the context of a casual conversation, say in between sessions -- it's ok. But when I, the interviewer, am asking "do you have any questions for me?" during an interview, I invariably mean it in a professional context. Answering with "what did you have for lunch?" seems to cross the professionalism line somewhat (why the hell do you need to know what I ate?), and may not be appreciated by many. I wouldn't go as far as to outright dismiss the candidate's viability, but for me personally, it's comes across as weird and non-self-aware rather than funny. (also, as someone who watches a lot of stand-up, I also have a high threshold for humor -- I'm kinda of a humor snob. I like light-heartedness, but contrived failed attempts at humor are grating to me because they often indicate someone's trying too hard. There's an inauthenticity there that rubs me the wrong way.) So even if you're right, the trouble is an interviewee might not be able to tell a priori if they got someone like you or someone like me. So it's risky. (otoh, "what are some good lunch spots around here, in your opinion?", mentioned by another commenter, is almost always positive and indicates a candidate's interest in the workplace environment)
- dannyw 6y ago
  Seems like you work in a different environment. Here, our interviews begin with a coffee walk or inviting them for lunch; and no one has the attitude of “why the hell do you need to know what I ate”).
  - mcny 6y ago

wolco 6y ago

I feeling not having any question usually shows during the interview everything was answered. Usually a good sign in terms of communication.

cbanek 6y ago

I think it depends on how you respond. Coming at it with my hiring manager hat on, sometimes at the end of the day, you ask "do you have any questions for me?" and it's obvious that the candidate has really asked all the questions of people previous to them. In that way, saying something like "I can't think of anything more right now, all the other interviewers have been so open" or whatever. Plus it's usually pretty obvious the candidates are usually tired at this point. Now at the beginning of the day, I'd expect some questions. But also, some interviewers simply don't leave enough time for this part of the interviewee, so it's really just going through the motions. Now my best interview candidate hat on, the real thing is to ask questions while the interview is going on at relevant times. For example, when they ask you about testing, maybe ask, well what frameworks do you use to test? What's your code review process? Let's review it right now. Etc. Asking stupid questions is definitely a red flag, although as long as they aren't offensive stupid questions, I usually give a pass. It's all a part of the experience, there are no hard and fast rules in hiring.

throwanem 6y ago

This is the kind of "no hire" that turns out to be a favor in the long run. Keep it up!

jmchuster 6y ago
You're always interviewing the company as much as they are interviewing you. (Well, assuming you're good enough at interviewing to get to be choosy.)
Leherenn 6y ago
I don't necessarily agree, it's just the personality of one person, whom you might not even work with regularly depending on what their role is. Sure, you might say that's a window into the rest of the company, and it's true in a way, but the HR person being slightly humourless does not always equal a bad job.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]

fab1an 6y ago

This of course depends on the context, and the 'lunch' question won't always work. For example, if you feel that your interviewer lacks any sense of humour, or is the type of person who would judge a lot questions as 'stoopid', it may be better to skip it (and for that matter, maybe also skip that job)

Alkhwarizmi 6y ago

Jesus Christ man!! Chill out a little bit. Yikes...

Forge36 6y ago

It won't work everywhere. However at my job it could be "I had steak" or "I grabbed sushi". A great follow-up question: what did it cost? 3.50 to $5. This is an amazing perk to my job. I could even list ~5 other options that were available, and talk about the other 5 places to go which offer 20+ more options. This leads into great, where did you eat? How common is it to socialize vs go back to your office?