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The particular example that stood out for me was the story of the elevator design problem. At some point, she lost interest. Fine, she lost interest. I think it

The particular example that stood out for me was the story of the elevator design problem. At some point, she lost interest. Fine, she lost interest. I think it’s fine to say so. “Sorry, I really can’t think of anything more productive or interesting to do with this problem.” That happens in real life. You reach diminishing returns thinking about something. In real life, maybe you have a reasonable starting point and can get going with work on one of your designs. Maybe you rope a colleague in for fresh insights. Maybe you think about another problem and come back to this one when you’re fresh. Or maybe you decide that the problem isn’t interesting to you and you don’t want to spend the only currency you truly have--your time--on it. Hand-waving the entire question of whether puzzle problems are an effective interviewing technique, one of the things they select for is people who find that particular problem interesting. I recall being asked about balancing rocks in an interview. I honestly found it interesting. But I know good people who don’t. Should the question never be asked? I dunno. But I would personally NEVER fault someone for taking an honest crack at it and then saying, “That’s it, I’m out of ideas for balancing rocks.” If I were interviewing and someone asked me about something that didn’t interest me, I’d take my best crack at it. If I ran out of juice, I’d say so. If they wanted to fail me for that, why should I argue? That’s one of the things they’re testing for. Why should I lie to them about my level of interest and personality just to get a job offer? This leads me to another faux pas. I have particular tactics for “Do you have any questions for us?” But I have been in interviews where I have lost interest in the process and don’t have any questions. That’s fine. Not all interviews involve me being curious at the end. Why lie to them about being interested, if I’m not?

sanderjd 12y ago
> Why should I lie to them about my level of interest and personality just to get a job offer? I think that's the crux of these two different viewpoints, and I think it is merely different tactics falling out of different strategies. On the one hand, if your strategy is to find work that you're interested in and are a great personal fit for, then it absolutely makes sense to prioritize being yourself above getting the job. If, on the other hand, your strategy is to get this job, either because you're very ambitious and this is a high-paying, high-status, or career-expanding position, or (more likely for most people in the real world) you really really need a job to pay your bills, then it might make sense to "please the interviewer in order to be granted the prize of a job". tl;dr; The answer to your question that I quoted is, Because you prioritize getting this job over getting the "right" job. The more interesting question is whether the tactic of being nonchalant still works better, even if you're desperate to get the job. I think it probably does, but the great Catch-22 of the job market is that it is so much easier to get jobs when you don't need them.
- picks_at_nits 12y ago
  I wanted to take some time before answering this, to make sure that my feelings did not change, and they haven’t. I do not consider a question of pretending to be someone I’m not a question of “strategy.” I do not need to convince myself that it leads to some better outcome for me to be authentic with people. It’s one of my values, and values are things you explicitly recognize are sometimes sub-optimal for the things you wish to pursue.
  - sanderjd 12y ago
    I think you read my comment in a much more personal way than was intended, but I can see why, and I'm sorry for that. I didn't at all mean to suggest that you (personally) are playing out a "strategy" that you have devised to get ahead, and I absolutely got the impression from your original comment that it is a matter of values for you, which I think is great. My point was mostly that for many people interviewing for jobs, that authenticity is a luxury that is difficult for them to achieve.
    - picks_at_nits 12y ago
      I think I understand what you are trying to say, but when you describe values as “luxuries,” I think we’re standing on opposite sides of a chasm shouting at each other.

sanderjd 12y ago

> Why should I lie to them about my level of interest and personality just to get a job offer? I think that's the crux of these two different viewpoints, and I think it is merely different tactics falling out of different strategies. On the one hand, if your strategy is to find work that you're interested in and are a great personal fit for, then it absolutely makes sense to prioritize being yourself above getting the job. If, on the other hand, your strategy is to get this job, either because you're very ambitious and this is a high-paying, high-status, or career-expanding position, or (more likely for most people in the real world) you really really need a job to pay your bills, then it might make sense to "please the interviewer in order to be granted the prize of a job". tl;dr; The answer to your question that I quoted is, Because you prioritize getting this job over getting the "right" job. The more interesting question is whether the tactic of being nonchalant still works better, even if you're desperate to get the job. I think it probably does, but the great Catch-22 of the job market is that it is so much easier to get jobs when you don't need them.

picks_at_nits 12y ago
I wanted to take some time before answering this, to make sure that my feelings did not change, and they haven’t. I do not consider a question of pretending to be someone I’m not a question of “strategy.” I do not need to convince myself that it leads to some better outcome for me to be authentic with people. It’s one of my values, and values are things you explicitly recognize are sometimes sub-optimal for the things you wish to pursue.
- sanderjd 12y ago
  I think you read my comment in a much more personal way than was intended, but I can see why, and I'm sorry for that. I didn't at all mean to suggest that you (personally) are playing out a "strategy" that you have devised to get ahead, and I absolutely got the impression from your original comment that it is a matter of values for you, which I think is great. My point was mostly that for many people interviewing for jobs, that authenticity is a luxury that is difficult for them to achieve.
  - picks_at_nits 12y ago
    I think I understand what you are trying to say, but when you describe values as “luxuries,” I think we’re standing on opposite sides of a chasm shouting at each other.