The Student Room Group

Stupid interview questions

Why do HR managers and interviewers insist on harassing the interviewee with impossible and unrealistic questions? What's the point of this?!

Here's an example:
- "Oh, I see that during your Bachelor's studies you haven't listed any jobs."
me: "That's correct"
- "So, you haven't been on the job market since three years ago huh?"
So what? My professors highly discouraged me from working while attending my Bachelors and they did a good thing in advising me so, otherwise I would have flunked many more times.
And isn't it logical and bold to pursue my studies full-on?

- "How did you fund your studies? I don't see any jobs listed"
me: "I received a scholarship each year because I got good grades"
Again, patronizing me because I didn't do any jobs. What, is there no value in getting a scholarship and funding my studies that way? What's wrong in that? Am I only recognized as a valuable and motivated person if I work?! What a stupid mentality.

- "I see there are gaps in your CV you haven't explained to us. What did you do between x and y years?"
Oh come on, I'm not allowed to have a non-perfect life?! I have to have worked everywhere?! I have to have either studied or worked?! What about family problems that screw your life huh?! What about times you were severely depressed and didn't go to school or worked huh?! Are these HR managers humans are robots?!

- "What do you think makes a good Computer Scientist?"
me: "Someone who is passionate about the field"
- "And what is someone who is passionate about the field?"
me: "Someone who spends his free time on the field, outside of work"
- "And why would he do that?"
me: "Because he loves his field"
- "What is 'loving your field' really mean?"
What are you, Socrates now?! Why this, why that, why that, why that? For crying out loud!

This kind of thing is just annoying. What does it matter for the job anyway? It sounds like they're just testing my resilience to stupid questions.

Scroll to see replies

1. Most employers like to see you've done something else while you studied. You had ridiculously long summers, did you just sit on your bum the whole time?
2. Asking you how you funded your studies isn't patronising. Just answer the question. It's a perfectly acceptable question.
3. Any 'CV writing advice' you will find will tell you to explain gaps on your CV in other sections. If you've had an ill family member, say that you took time out to care for someone. It's not a bad thing, it shows you have other skills and care about people. They just want to make sure you aren't lazy. Again, it's a perfectly acceptable thing to ask.
4. They keep asking you more questions because the first answer you gave was too vague, too generic and didn't say anything about you. Anyone can say that to the same question about any field. It doesn't mean anything and doesn't show that you care. You need to do some research and come up with some good answers to these questions that you're bound to be asked at any interview.
Reply 2
Original post by Dusky Mauve
1. Most employers like to see you've done something else while you studied. You had ridiculously long summers, did you just sit on your bum the whole time?
2. Asking you how you funded your studies isn't patronising. Just answer the question. It's a perfectly acceptable question.
3. Any 'CV writing advice' you will find will tell you to explain gaps on your CV in other sections. If you've had an ill family member, say that you took time out to care for someone. It's not a bad thing, it shows you have other skills and care about people. They just want to make sure you aren't lazy. Again, it's a perfectly acceptable thing to ask.
4. They keep asking you more questions because the first answer you gave was too vague, too generic and didn't say anything about you. Anyone can say that to the same question about any field. It doesn't mean anything and doesn't show that you care. You need to do some research and come up with some good answers to these questions that you're bound to be asked at any interview.

1. No, I took a well-deserved vacation after all the hard effort (and this was only in my graduation year, because the previous years I had to study all summer long to be able to pass my re-exams). Again, I didn't have a wonderful, perfect life. Some people get to work or go on vacation, I get to re-study and retake everything I screwed up.

2. I did not have an ill family member, but an abusing father and jurisdictional problems because of him.

3. So what if I don't care, or I don't care to get the job for how 'wonderful' it is? I just want to make good money. It seems that if you are completely honest, you won't get a job anywhere.

If they're looking for workaholics, they have another thing coming. I want to have a healthy work-life balance where some stupid company won't try to abuse of my precious free time. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. and that's it. Maybe everyone else wants to throw away their life in someone's lap, but I don't - I keep my integrity and my desires.
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 3
How's the search for employment coming, out of interest?
Original post by 571122
1. No, I took a well-deserved vacation after all the hard effort (and this was only in my graduation year, because the previous years I had to study all summer long to be able to pass my re-exams). Again, I didn't have a wonderful, perfect life. Some people get to work or go on vacation, I get to re-study and retake everything I screwed up.

2. I did not have an ill family member, but an abusing father and jurisdictional problems because of him.

3. So what if I don't care, or I don't care to get the job for how 'wonderful' it is? I just want to make good money. It seems that if you are completely honest, you won't get a job anywhere.

If they're looking for workaholics, they have another thing coming. I want to have a healthy work-life balance where some stupid company won't try to abuse of my precious free time. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. and that's it. Maybe everyone else wants to throw away their life in someone's lap, but I don't - I keep my integrity and my desires.


However working/doing internships/volunteering/studying abroad during term time and over the holidays is essential if you're ever going to have a single hope of getting a grad job. Your 2:1 will never get you a job. You can never complete the necessary person specs for jobs if all you do is study during term time then laze around on your arse over the holidays.
Original post by 571122
1. No, I took a well-deserved vacation after all the hard effort (and this was only in my graduation year, because the previous years I had to study all summer long to be able to pass my re-exams). Again, I didn't have a wonderful, perfect life. Some people get to work or go on vacation, I get to re-study and retake everything I screwed up.

2. I did not have an ill family member, but an abusing father and jurisdictional problems because of him.

3. So what if I don't care, or I don't care to get the job for how 'wonderful' it is? I just want to make good money. It seems that if you are completely honest, you won't get a job anywhere.

If they're looking for workaholics, they have another thing coming. I want to have a healthy work-life balance where some stupid company won't try to abuse of my precious free time. 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. and that's it. Maybe everyone else wants to throw away their life in someone's lap, but I don't - I keep my integrity and my desires.


So why don't you explain all this to the interviewer? Explain how hard you worked. Talk about you holiday - where did you go? What did you see? You're being very defensive about everything for no good reason and this will put people off. Talk about how you've come out of your problems a better person. No one will want to hire you if you can't actually demonstrate that you want to do the job.

You're not getting anywhere because your attitude stinks.
Reply 6
Original post by giella
How's the search for employment coming, out of interest?

I'm not searching for a job yet, but I will soon. Right now I'm working on perfecting and re-learning my Computer Science skills because I lost them.

If there's one thing I don't want to relive it's the trauma of getting fired from yet another job because I'm 'too slow'. This is why I'll first perfect my skills before I go advertise myself.
Original post by 571122

If they're looking for workaholics, they have another thing coming.


They are merely giving you the chance to show that you have the kind of attitude and experience that they are seeking (whatever that might be). If you don't, then they can look at other candidates; if you do then your application can go to the next stage and be looked at in more detail.

If they seek people with (possibly specific) work experience and you haven't got it then they have avoided a mismatch and so have you. Just move on, but don't blame them, for seeking to fill their vacancy to a set of selection criteria that they believe will work for them in recruitment.
Reply 8
Original post by super_kawaii
However working/doing internships/volunteering/studying abroad during term time and over the holidays is essential if you're ever going to have a single hope of getting a grad job. Your 2:1 will never get you a job. You can never complete the necessary person specs for jobs if all you do is study during term time then laze around on your arse over the holidays.

You do not call me lazy. I am the hardest worker of my entire university and I was head of student council.
Let me repeat that I failed many courses and that I had to re-study them the entire summer!! I'm not some genius who understands everything in one month, especially not if I have 12 re-exams!

Let me further emphasize that as a male (you can find scientific proof of this) I cannot multitask (efficiently). I can't even eat and breathe at the same time, nor think and eat at the same time. You give me one task and that's it. Bring me another task or interrupt me during my current one and I will screw everything up.

I had the chance to study abroad, but being poor and not having any money left for such grand expenses, I could not go. The requirement as well was that I needed a partner to go with - and low and behold: I am a sociopath with tripolar disorder - no one in my classes liked me and stayed away from me - so I couldn't get anyone to go with me! Hooray for a great life! Some people just have all the luck!

Anyway, people skills can go hang for all I care.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by 571122
You do not call me lazy. I am the hardest worker of my entire university and I was head of student council.
Let me repeat that I failed many courses and that I had to re-study them the entire summer!! I'm not some genius who understands everything in one month, especially not if I have 12 re-exams!

I had the chance to study abroad, but being poor and not having any money left for such grand expenses, I could not go. The requirement as well was that I needed a partner to go with - and low and behold: I am a sociopath with tripolar disorder - no one in my classes liked me and stayed away from me - so I couldn't get anyone to go with me! Hooray for a great life! Some people just have all the luck!

Anyway, people skills can go hang for all I care.


There are often scholarships for studying abroad, which you could have taken advantage of, such as the erasmus scheme.

I've suffered serious mental issues as well-I attempted to kill myself multiple times during my degree, but you don't see me playing "pity me", so I will call you lazy, because you haven't tried to improve your situation in anyway. YOU should have taken responsibility for YOUR life by informing uni about YOUR issues. The help would have been there.

Social skills are ESSENTIAL for any job
Reply 10
Original post by super_kawaii
There are often scholarships for studying abroad, which you could have taken advantage of, such as the erasmus scheme.

I've suffered serious mental issues as well-I attempted to kill myself multiple times during my degree, but you don't see me playing "pity me", so I will call you lazy, because you haven't tried to improve your situation in anyway. YOU should have taken responsibility for YOUR life by informing uni about YOUR issues. The help would have been there.

Social skills are ESSENTIAL for any job

I tried going for the Erasmus scheme but I didn't meet the requirements.

Why yes, let's defame myself in front of my snobbish, prestigious and arrogant university so they will think the world of me and spread word to employers. Yes, let's do that!

As an alumni I am entitled all the help I want, even with jobs. They've explicitly told me this. Again, I don't want to go through another getting-fired trauma because I'm inherently slow.
Original post by 571122
I tried going for the Erasmus scheme but I didn't meet the requirements.

Why yes, let's defame myself in front of my snobbish, prestigious and arrogant university so they will think the world of me and spread word to employers. Yes, let's do that!

As an alumni I am entitled all the help I want, even with jobs. They've explicitly told me this. Again, I don't want to go through another getting-fired trauma because I'm inherently slow.


You do realise information on mental health, like any other healthcare, cannot legally be released to ANYONE without YOUR explicit consent? Even university owned healthcare centres? Did you seriously never know this? The whole point of these centres is to help you and you only have yourself to blame for not taking advantage of their help.

They won't come to you to help you. You have to grow up and get that help yourself.
Reply 12
Original post by super_kawaii
You do realise information on mental health, like any other healthcare, cannot legally be released to ANYONE without YOUR explicit consent? Even university owned healthcare centres? Did you seriously never know this? The whole point of these centres is to help you and you only have yourself to blame for not taking advantage of their help.

They won't come to you to help you. You have to grow up and get that help yourself.

I almost forgot about that - long time ago. Thanks for reminding me.
Original post by 571122
I almost forgot about that - long time ago. Thanks for reminding me.


Besides it wouldn't be defamation, even if doctors telling people about your health history was legal, as it was true you used the services. Also, employers prefer mental health to be under control, so it is better if you go.
They are all perfectly reasonable questions.

Your answers also seem perfectly reasonable.

Anyway, many jobs will involve responding to silly questions. Not a bad idea to see how you handle them in an interview.
9am to 3pm? Good luck finding a quality job with those working hours, that's practically part time.

All of those questions you asked were perfectly reasonable. Vast majority of people will have worked at some point during university, and of course they want to find out why theoretically nobody hired you in gap periods. Of course you have a n acceptable reason but that's your duty to explain.
If you want to get a job then you will have to answer those questions, even if you think their irrelevant/stupid. Just give them the answers they want, otherwise you'll never get a job
With respect, you seem awfully negative and accusatory, shifting the blame of events onto other people. I'm not here to lament you for that, rather to point out that it can come across badly, and will not be helping you in interviews; the interviewer has a very short period of time in which to get an idea of who you are - it's not the time to be 'clever' with your answers.

Also, when you talk about multi-tasking, you mistake performing multiple tasks at one time in the short term (like typing and having a conversation, for example), with performing multiple tasks at one time in the long term (like having a job and studying for your degree). The two are distinct, because the former requires constant cognitive processing of both things simultaneously, and the latter only requires one to be done at once. Rather than a lack of aptitude for multi-tasking (which both men and women have - whilst the existence of a gender difference is disputed, it is most likely relatively small), perhaps you are not organised enough for it. Your university will more than likely be able to help you with this - they will be able to look at what you're doing and help you to become more efficient. Not only will this help you to have a job or something else to work on other than just your studies, but will also make you a more effective employee later on.

Finally, let me say that nobody here intends to "be unfriendly and attack" you for anything. You posted a thread which implicitly asked for help with job interviews, and that it what you are receiving. It's not a personal attack, rather constructive criticism of what you have already done to help you to improve. :smile:
Reply 18
Original post by midgemeister7
9am to 3pm? Good luck finding a quality job with those working hours, that's practically part time.

All of those questions you asked were perfectly reasonable. Vast majority of people will have worked at some point during university, and of course they want to find out why theoretically nobody hired you in gap periods. Of course you have a n acceptable reason but that's your duty to explain.

When I worked at a startup software development company, our team software architect had those hours daily, not to mention he had a great 3.1K salary! Good for him eh?

I feel like if I explain how unfortunate and depressing my life was, they will quickly look for other candidates anyway because there are many Bachelors out there without life's problems (or at least, who are skillful at hiding them).
Reply 19
Original post by SummerStrawberry

Finally, let me say that nobody here intends to "be unfriendly and attack" you for anything. You posted a thread which implicitly asked for help with job interviews, and that it what you are receiving. It's not a personal attack, rather constructive criticism of what you have already done to help you to improve. :smile:

I believe you understand that 'stinks' has a negative connotation.

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