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Ugh yes, the interviewers who give ambiguous questions and expect you to read their mind are the worst. What’s the old xkcd: “communicating poorly then acting
by acheron 3y ago
Ugh yes, the interviewers who give ambiguous questions and expect you to read their mind are the worst.
What’s the old xkcd: “communicating poorly then acting smug when you’re misunderstood is not cleverness.”
- klodolph 3y agoThe skill under test is for that part is “can solve ambiguous problems”, and what you want to see is that the candidate is able to recognize that a problem is ambiguous. I think the hard part is recognizing that a problem is ambiguous. Telling someone that a problem is ambiguous kind of defeats the point. IMO, it’s not about reading someone’s mind, but recognizing that there are multiple interpretations to what somebody has SAID. That seems less like a mind-reading technique and more like, you know, a communication skill. I have gotten lots of ambiguous problems during my career, it seems only fair to have them appear during an interview.
- philwelch 3y agoHe’s not expecting you to read his mind; he’s expecting you to notice the ambiguity and ask a clarifying question.
- chiefalchemist 3y agoThe interviewer is expecting the interviewer to violate standard interview protocol? While the interviewee is perhaps desperate for a job? And the interviewer is - in his/her mind - thumping their chest about what a great and experienced interviewer they are? I can't see how that's a success-minded plan for anyone involved.
- gpderetta 3y agoAsking questions is a protocol violation???? What kind of interviews are you subjecting yourself to?
- chiefalchemist 3y agoApparently, you'd be surprised (the kind of crap interviewing experiences there are). That aside, the candidate definitely has to err to the side of caution. There's also typically a time limit, yes? That's protocol.