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Interview questions bombed or big bang

colporteur

Do you recall a question you were presented with during a job interview that you bombed (i.e. failed to answer)? Got a question you think would make a big bang interview question?

 

I thought with the level of experience the members of this site have, it might be a informative to share an experience or provide a question with an appropriate answer. I also like hearing stories.

 

**************

I was sitting an interview for a IT Security position. The question was “What is the Security Triad?” I drew a blank. I had never heard the term Triad. I had extensive computer experience but I was trying to get into IT Security.

 

Before I could respond an emergency vehicle passed the building, drowning out all sounds in the room. When I could be heard I said, “I think that was my ride. I’m about ready to die drawing a blank on such a simple question.”

The panel laughed and the interview proceeded.

 

Later ,I discovered I had the answer but I didn’t realize that was the question to match it.

**************

Parents

  • What is worse than blowing a key question in an interview? Not knowing that you blew it is worse....

    I have had a long engineering career so far (4 decades). During that time I've been job hunting 7 times (including the first time). I only quit once, but jobs still have a way of evaporating. I went for a total of 11 interviews and got 10 job offers. For 5 of the jobs I only went for one interview and took the job offered. My first job was good, but I had been promoted as high as I could go and I wanted to see if I could go higher so I started looking around. My first interview in that process was the one that did not result in a job offer. That interview took place at a giant conference table with 18 scientists and directors asking me rapid fire questions for a couple of hours. I must have flubbed something although I have no idea what. I know the guy who got that job and I should have been able to run circles around him, but he must have had better answers than me.

    At my next job interview there were only 8 scientists in the room in a similar format, but afterward I knew I had nailed every question. Apparently I learned something from the failure, even though I didn't know what I did wrong.

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  • What is worse than blowing a key question in an interview? Not knowing that you blew it is worse....

    I have had a long engineering career so far (4 decades). During that time I've been job hunting 7 times (including the first time). I only quit once, but jobs still have a way of evaporating. I went for a total of 11 interviews and got 10 job offers. For 5 of the jobs I only went for one interview and took the job offered. My first job was good, but I had been promoted as high as I could go and I wanted to see if I could go higher so I started looking around. My first interview in that process was the one that did not result in a job offer. That interview took place at a giant conference table with 18 scientists and directors asking me rapid fire questions for a couple of hours. I must have flubbed something although I have no idea what. I know the guy who got that job and I should have been able to run circles around him, but he must have had better answers than me.

    At my next job interview there were only 8 scientists in the room in a similar format, but afterward I knew I had nailed every question. Apparently I learned something from the failure, even though I didn't know what I did wrong.

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