Worst job interview answers
Worst job interview answers
(OP)
Just wanted to share this..
We recently had a young grad in our office to interview for an entry level mechanical engineer position.
Q: What type of systems would you like to work on / are you interested in?
A: HVAC! I want to design HVAC systems. I have a passion for it and want to do pursue my career in HVAC.
Q: What does HVAC stand for?
A: Heating, Ventilation,.. and.. err.. hmmm... I forgot!
We recently had a young grad in our office to interview for an entry level mechanical engineer position.
Q: What type of systems would you like to work on / are you interested in?
A: HVAC! I want to design HVAC systems. I have a passion for it and want to do pursue my career in HVAC.
Q: What does HVAC stand for?
A: Heating, Ventilation,.. and.. err.. hmmm... I forgot!
I design aqueducts in a parallel universe.





RE: Worst job interview answers
RE: Worst job interview answers
RE: Worst job interview answers
Good luck,
Latexman
To a ChE, the glass is always full - 1/2 air and 1/2 water.
RE: Worst job interview answers
"uuhhh, I actually haven't used it, but I watched someone use it." BBBZZZZZZZZZ
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers Entire Forum list http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm
RE: Worst job interview answers
Interviewer: "What's your experience managing risk?"
Me: "Uhhhhh, I don't really understand the question."
Interviewer: "What levels of risk are acceptable? What thoughts do you have on reducing risk on a project?"
Me: "Uhhhh, I'm still not sure I understand the question."
Interviewer: "Let's move on..."
I was nervous and university gave me zero practical understanding of risk management, or at least none I recalled at the time. Strangely they offered me a job. Perhaps they still liked my other responses or they were just desperate. Looking back I'm guessing a little of both.
Professional Engineer (ME, NH, MA) Structural Engineer (IL)
American Concrete Industries
https://www.facebook.com/AmericanConcrete/
RE: Worst job interview answers
Interviewer: What's the most difficult experience you have ever had and what did you do to overcome it?
Me: (After thinking about personal experiences that would be inappropriate to discuss)...Hmmm......Hmmm....That's a good question. I don't know. How about you? What was your most difficult experience?
Interviewer: Yeah, that is a good questions. I don't know either.
Did not get the job, lol!
RE: Worst job interview answers
Interviewer (Int): Would you be interested to work in troubleshooting?
Me: yes, it is definitely a field I find interesting and would.
Int: Stop. Do you think you are capable?
Me: Well, for sure I would need
Int: Stop stop stop. I say you are Not capable.
Me: What I meant is
Int: I dont want to be agressive but want to know what motivates you in life. You look so nice. What upsets you?
Me: Appreciate your question. Well I
Int: Do you have hobbies? What do you wake up for in the morning? Why dont you never get upset.
Me: Well, I dont say its always smooth, frictions can happen but the good thing it has always been on the subject and
Int2: I see you switched jobs quite often. So you are the kind if guy who stay for a while and then say f$$$ off. Hahaha?
Me: My last job was a fixed contract and
Int: Hey we are just trying to shake you a little, and that is for the sake to obtain info from you.
Int3: yes, and this will be sufficient.
Should I drop the name of the company... I wont do that probably... Of course did not get the job.
I brought 10 years of experience on the table on a highly specialized field. They did not give a damn.
RE: Worst job interview answers
As Groucho Marx famously said, "I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member."
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
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RE: Worst job interview answers
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: Worst job interview answers
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers Entire Forum list http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm
RE: Worst job interview answers
It was a group interview, with all of my putative direct reports present.
Usual pleasantries, then the direct reports got into a heated argument over some simple technical points.
The DM later told me that I failed their synthetic test because I didn't intercede to calm the participants down.
Hell, it was in TN; I figured they were all armed, and I was not.
... and I've seen more heated arguments eventually end in useful detente.
... and I wanted to see how the argument would be settled, but I think they just ran off the end of the script.
My supervisory friends opined they had never seen or executed an interview like that.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Worst job interview answers
Yes. You made a good point. It was a way for me to take it with philosophy.
Anyway, I don't think I failed the interview, I think I failed something else. As I hope I learned a lesson on another level.
It is a JUNGLE out there, best protection in the first place, is do not fall in the jungle.
There are some old/wise/experienced people in this forum (Zdas, Mike, and very few others). Plus of course orientations elsewhere, including this forum, certainly friends, family, etc. But people should listen VERY CAREFULLY to what these guys are writing down. I think this is where I failed at first place, and I am willing to learn a lesson. I choose not to learn the hard way, life is too short.
I would like to make a point relatively to the OP, sometimes young or fresh graduate can have difficulties managing their emotional stress during interview and that might be a reason why the letters (HV) AC could not be defined. (Which by the way stands for Heating Ventilation &.... Ambient Comfort) - isn't it? :)
RE: Worst job interview answers
1. We were interviewing for an entry level position (this was at a county govt office before I got my engineering degree) that had really no room for advancement. We explained that we were looking for a long term person to handle daily tasks in our mail room/print shop. No matter what question we asked him, this guy kept saying that he was ready to be management, and he couldn't wait to become a manager, etc. I think he mentioned that at least 20 times.
2. We were interviewing an experienced engineer at one of the utilities I used to work at. We had an individual that looked FANTASTIC on paper. When she came in for an interview, you could tell she was extremely nervous. When she would get asked a question about certain experiences or instances to back up what she had done in the past, she totally locked up and by that I mean she literally could not get a single word out. I tried to help guide her or direct her to an answer by referencing some of the items on her resume, but even with that, she couldn't come up with anything. I've never seen an interview go any worse than that.
On the interviewee side, I was a year out of school and interviewing for a large machinery manufacturer. The position was to have oversight of the production facility and some design work on machinery components. The interview starts and after some brief intros, they pull out a picture of a large portable construction light tower. Then said, tell us how you would design this in detail, from scratch, show free body diagrams for major components, calculations for the hydraulics that lift the tower, etc. Needless to say, I tried to work through it off the top of my head, but knew I was unprepared and after about an hour of them throwing curveballs at me and pointing out how wrong I was, I figured I wasn't getting an offer (which I didn't care about after that experience).
RE: Worst job interview answers
RE: Worst job interview answers
RE: Worst job interview answers
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers Entire Forum list http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm
RE: Worst job interview answers
At a recent interview, I was shown a GD&T specification and I was asked how I would correct it. It occurred to me afterwards that perhaps I was being tested for tact, rather than my knowledge of GD&T. Maybe they wanted to see how you would bullshit them.
--
JHG
RE: Worst job interview answers
"I would like to make a point relatively to the OP, sometimes young or fresh graduate can have difficulties managing their emotional stress during interview "
The kid looked like he just woke up after a night of playing video games and had a whatever attitude. Blood pressure = zero.
I design aqueducts in a parallel universe.
RE: Worst job interview answers
I design aqueducts in a parallel universe.
RE: Worst job interview answers
As IRstuff indicated, he seemed to already be in retirement mode and didn't indicate that he would be very motivated to actually do the job. Not an age issue, he was probably in his early forties. The person we hired was in early fifties.
RE: Worst job interview answers
In the same round of interviews, I found a candidate that was out of school for 1 year with no engineering jobs after graduation. He was working at a local store. Something on his resume caught my attention. He said he was doing some side work with a hobby of his. We hired him and he has been great.
RE: Worst job interview answers
Sometimes a question is a test onto itself, and sometimes it's just a poorly formed question.
Dan - Owner
http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com
RE: Worst job interview answers
Just some good natured needling, but If you should have the misfortune of finding a fresh graduate that DOES think your company is good and is interested in the industry you are a part of, what will you do? I would say that only someone that just wants any job would even venture to give such a glib answer - the stakes are too high from the candidate's side to do something so frank, especially if they are a fresh grad/new grad.
RE: Worst job interview answers
I design aqueducts in a parallel universe.
RE: Worst job interview answers
Anyway, got to the Pittsburgh airport hotel lobby for the interview a little earlier than my future boss and his boss, and wandered over to look at an abstract welded steel design in the lobby. So, the first thing they see is me bent over looking at the bottom of a steel "tree" to see how the leaves and branches were bent, curled over and welded. They didn't have many technical questions after that - More like, "When can you start?", "How many days a year can you work on the road?" and "How much do you want?" If they had asked "design" questions, or beam and moment calculations, I'd have failed. I could have pulled out enough heat transfer and power plant theory from left-over nuclear power plant training to manage a little bit. But practical field safety, job site scheduling and coordination, welding and machining and technical supervision? Easy.
RE: Worst job interview answers
RE: Worst job interview answers
Guy giving the interview: "What is it you like the most about the position?"
Candidate: "I like the fact you guys take Fridays off."
Guy giving the interview: "Really? What kind of hobbies do you have?"
Candidate: [100% serious] "Drinking. Getting Friday off lets me get the ball rolling early for the weekend."
RE: Worst job interview answers
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: Worst job interview answers
I got a bone to pick with this......the answer that guy gave is ridiculous, but a lot of times: so is the question. I've heard this one when I have been between jobs for a grand total of a month. (And about all I've had a chance to do is maybe get some CEUs.) And for a lot of people (for just about any length of time) it's hard to do anything because money is tight. In my case I've been lucky: I'm financially well off......and one time when I was between jobs I was a part-time grad student so that allowed me to focus on that 100%. But for someone who has finished their education and is licensed......what the heck are they supposed to do? Especially in a indeterminate period that you really can't plan around. If you (for example) took a on-line course that required 8 hrs a day attendance.....guess what? You might have to drop it if they guy who asked you that question offers you a job! Silly question.
Another time a guy asked that and I just told him the truth: took a vacation, got back in the weight room more regular, and got some outdoor work done. And I'm simultaneously thinking: if you don't like that answer.....too damn bad.
RE: Worst job interview answers
Not really, it weeded someone who should have answered with, "I sent out 1573 resumes, but got no responses." Someone who couldn't come up with the correct answer for a ludicrous question shouldn't get hired.
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers Entire Forum list http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm
RE: Worst job interview answers
And guess what? The "I sent out 1573 resumes..." reply isn't the correct one either. (At least from what I have heard.) The correct answer is something about improving yourself and your job skills. But for someone for whom money is tight.....that can be a tough to do considering the facts I discussed above.
RE: Worst job interview answers
Few gamers are playing without Internet, so the respondent could have taken advantage of lots of MOOCs.
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers Entire Forum list http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm
RE: Worst job interview answers
No argument there.
RE: Worst job interview answers
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers Entire Forum list http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm
RE: Worst job interview answers
Interviewer: What's you dream car?
Me: 1st generation Toyota Tacoma
Interviewer: **laughs obnoxiously long**
Guess I was supposed to say some sort of luxury car...
5 years later...I didn't get that job offer, but have my 1st gen Tacoma...life is good
RE: Worst job interview answers
RE: Worst job interview answers
During lunch, the general conversation part of the interview, the topic of movies came up. I said my favorite was "Falling Down".
I didn't get an offer.
______________________________________________________________________________
This is normally the space where people post something insightful.
RE: Worst job interview answers
Dan - Owner
http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com
RE: Worst job interview answers
1. What time is lunch?
2. Plans, What are these for?
RE: Worst job interview answers
Celebrating 5th anniversary of this conversation.
"For every expert there is an equal and opposite expert"
Arthur C. Clarke Profiles of the future
RE: Worst job interview answers
RE: Worst job interview answers
Me: "What position are you interviewing me for, because that description is not what I applied for and what your HR invited me for."
Interviewer: "Uh. Hold on...."
RE: Worst job interview answers
RE: Worst job interview answers
Could you tell me what you're proud of having done in your current job?
Well, I've been part of a team that's responsible for......
That sounds interesting. What did you actually do as part of that team?
So the process the team worked worked with was divided into stages which ....
Oh yes, I know that process. So what was your own contribution to that work?
Ah. Well I was involved in ....
If I were to press this little button here, making your chair fold away and drop you into a small tank of hungry piranhas, how long do you think it would take you to muster up enough initiative to start climbing out?
According to the procedure, responsibility for dealing with that situation would lie entirely with the ....... team.
A.
RE: Worst job interview answers
Don't know if your pulling our leg(s) or not, but that was funny.
RE: Worst job interview answers
RE: Worst job interview answers
That presupposes that these are mutually exclusive.
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers Entire Forum list http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm
RE: Worst job interview answers
(I've been known to run a calc or play with an arduino for fun... and I'm here on my own time after all).
----
The name is a long story -- just call me Lo.
RE: Worst job interview answers
https://vimeo.com/239050403/cdd07b248e
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: Worst job interview answers
RE: Worst job interview answers
Link
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RE: Worst job interview answers
RE: Worst job interview answers
This might be what you're looking for:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2...
STF
RE: Worst job interview answers
I hate to get into this generational squabble.....but this article is a little silly. (And I'm a Gen Xer.) Boomers "chewed up resources"? What generation hasn't chewed up what is available? You think (for example) strip mining started in the 1960's? Ran up debt? Check the debt after WW II. But probably the most ridiculous part of this is: "[boomers were] born into some of the strongest job growth in the history of America, gobbled up the best parts, and left its children and grandchildren with some bones to pick through and a big bill to pay."
That's just beyond silly.....first of all: what about the job market in the 90's? That's where I got my (professional) start. And secondly, what "parts" of that market were not supposed to be "gobbled up"? Is the author here saying that if Boomers had not taken certain jobs......they would still be there.....and there would be no "big bill to pay"? Silly.
RE: Worst job interview answers
B.E.
You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.
RE: Worst job interview answers
I would think anyone would see the writing on the wall (with the end of the Cold War) that there would be cuts in defense spending. (The "Peace Dividend".) I certainly did: I thought about going into the military right out of high school....but realized I would likely be part of a downsizing force.
(By the way: "Peace in our time" was Neville Chamberlain....not Bush 41. You may be thinking of his New World Order statement.)
RE: Worst job interview answers
This "soaked up a lot of economic opportunity" is baloney. There weren't any millenials, or Gen-X/Y, so how was anyone supposed to "preserve much for the generations to come?" Were they supposed to go jobless and become hobos?
"the generation that was born into some of the strongest job growth in the history of America, gobbled up the best parts, and left its children and grandchildren with some bones to pick through and a big bill to pay" is more bullcrap.
Look at the wealth growth in the past 40 years, it wasn't the people that got the factory/mining jobs that no longer exist; it was the already rich, who go substantially richer.
The author misses Oregon; he should go back to it. This is real fake news.
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers Entire Forum list http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm
RE: Worst job interview answers
Link
RE: Worst job interview answers
RE: Worst job interview answers
--Scott
www.aerornd.com
RE: Worst job interview answers
I've enjoyed more than a few nasty interviews. One ended with a job offer, which I declined. I don't like being pushed in an interview just so someone learns I really am a professional.
I've talked with some HR friends about stuff like this and heavy handed interviews rarely accomplish what the heavy hands want. It can give them very false readings. Most talented HR people don't use heavy handed tactics to interview because of the false results.
You also never know who has something to prove or an axe to grind. These things usually come out in interviews, sometimes they make no attempts to hide them, and it's best to walk away, quietly. Life is too short to fix management's problems on an engineer's salary.
Pamela K. Quillin, P.E.
Quillin Engineering, LLC
NSPE-CO, Central Chapter
Dinner program: http://nspe-co.org/events.php
RE: Worst job interview answers
I believe the bit about job growth and bones is a veiled reference to US manufacturing. From the peak in 1979 employing ~12% of Americans we're now down to ~6%. Others can point to a wide variety of causes but IMHO it all stems from taking the industry for granted in most every manner possible, sucking out as much value as possible and leaving little for the future. We developed a greedy Walmart mentality through the 80s-early 2000s - pay little and expect a lot. I've heard many arguments against US manufacturing since I was a kid in the 80s, IME boomers are pretty against US manufacturing as a whole. Good = third world labor = cheaper prices = less pollution = "not in my neighborhood" = higher corporate profits = higher dividends = rising stock values = higher retirement account balances. Nevermind supporting your neighbors' jobs, they should've gone to college. In many like my hometown, manufacturing was the fallback for the poor, the less able, and those whose plans failed otherwise. Now its gone in many areas and the only fallback left is either Walmart or BK. The value sucked out of manufacturing didn't go to make the 1% richer, it paid for most folks' selfishness and demand for cheap. Its much like social security today, how many of today's seniors do you know not collecting? Last I knew we had more than 1000 millionaires collecting. JME, but many of the "greatest" generation I knew never collected including my grandfather, he worked til he died at 77.
RE: Worst job interview answers
The problem in this chain of thought is that consumers do not control off-shoring, profits do. Walmart, if you recall, used to advertise "Made in the USA," until their price cutting strategy to put other retailers out of business crimped profits and forced them off-shore to maintain profits.
"value sucked out of manufacturing didn't go to make the 1% richer"
And yet, today, the top 3 Forbes billionaires are richer than the bottom 50% of the US COMBINED. The entire Forbes 400 have more wealth than the bottom 64% of the US COMBINED. So, the bottom 50% might have been lured by lower prices, but do not kid yourself into thinking that the top 1% didn't profit.
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers Entire Forum list http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm
RE: Worst job interview answers
get up at 4:50? At 4:50 I've already been on the bus for 40 minutes.
@CWB1 - I'm glad I could give you a laugh. Sure, life hardens some people and some of us learn to put life into perspective and take it in stride. Back in the 70's, I took a management course (back then studying management was the big fad); the professor said within 20 years we'll go from being a manufacturing economy to a service economy. He was right. Who was running the world, sure wasn't baby-boomers? A lot of the older boomers were still detoxing from all the drugs they did in the 60's. Look, when George Westinghouse invented train brakes a lot of railroad people lost their jobs (unfortunately, before he invented brakes, a lot of railroad people lost their jobs the hard way.) Keep it in perspective.
RE: Worst job interview answers
Hah, my son does have a long bus ride (~1 hr in the morning), but it's a company bus, and he doesn't get on it until about 9-ish.
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers Entire Forum list http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm
RE: Worst job interview answers
Dan - Owner
http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com
RE: Worst job interview answers
RE: Worst job interview answers
It (the loss in manufacturing employment) might also have something to do with advances in automation/technology. After all, production hasn't fallen off. (I remember reading somewhere that the United States manufactures as much (in inflation adjusted dollars) than ever.) We just do it with a lot less people.
To blame that on any particular generation is silly. It would be like me blaming my grandparent's generation for the fact we no longer pick cotton by hand or dig ditches with shovels. Nothing stays the same.
RE: Worst job interview answers
Professional Engineer (ME, NH, MA) Structural Engineer (IL)
American Concrete Industries
https://www.facebook.com/AmericanConcrete/
RE: Worst job interview answers
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers Entire Forum list http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm
RE: Worst job interview answers
All I know is P/A and Mc/I
RE: Worst job interview answers
But 5 to 5.5 hours a night is just nuts.
RE: Worst job interview answers
Somewhat more on topic, I wonder if it's more of a younger generational thing to stay up into the wee hours and sleep in? I actually postulate it is much more a younger generation preference due to our pervasive use of bright digital screens at night. I know that I pass right out if I read a book but can stay way up into the AM if I'm playing some video games or reading eng-tips.... kinda like what I'm doing right now!
Whether this less sleep actually makes me more or less productive is definitely up for debate. Probably less I would guess, as I'm a zombie until the first cup of coffee is finished.
Professional Engineer (ME, NH, MA) Structural Engineer (IL)
American Concrete Industries
https://www.facebook.com/AmericanConcrete/
RE: Worst job interview answers
Uh oh, didn't mean to offend.
Anyway, let me please bring this back on topic: http://www.cbc.ca/radio/spark/tell-us-about-the-wo...
Looks like somebody in the media needs Eng-Tips.
STF
RE: Worst job interview answers
Miss Teen USA 2007 - South Carolina answers a question
Note the idiotic question she was asked. How would you answer this question? As a beauty contestant, you have to be sweet, so insulting the moron who asked (and/or wrote) this question is right out.
--
JHG
RE: Worst job interview answers
Get back to work and let the geezers pontificate.
RE: Worst job interview answers
Dan - Owner
http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com
RE: Worst job interview answers
RE: Worst job interview answers
You're correct, there are other reasons why US manufacturing employment has dropped and yet production has become more efficient and risen as it should over time. I simply question whether or not more could've been done to positively affect employment. You're also correct in that nothing stays the same, however the fact remains that the rest of the world has been catching up in terms of output over the past few decades, China has surpassed us, and the US' leadership in world manufacturing is no longer what it once was. To me that's simply reflective of bad stewardship of the industry. TehMighty's point that boomers weren't in the majority of top seats yet in the 80s and 90s is valid, however IME middle management (as boomers should've been at that point) has more of an impact upon companies and industries than the execs being the true thinkers and do'ers.
RE: Worst job interview answers
Thanks for the credit but I don't believe I made this comment.
Professional Engineer (ME, NH, MA) Structural Engineer (IL)
American Concrete Industries
https://www.facebook.com/AmericanConcrete/
RE: Worst job interview answers
It reflects cheap labor as much as anything. All the first world economies have gone through this. For all the talk about manufacturing in places like Germany and Japan....what percentage of their economies does it take up? 29 & 27% respectively. (Vs. about 40% for China.) Not that far off from our 19%. In the UK it is also 19% of their economy and in France it's 18%.
You see this within out own borders. Many southern states now have manufacturing taking up the same percentage of their economies (in some cases exceeding) as many states in the Rust Belt and Northeast.
Show me a cheap labor market.....and I'll show you a lot of manufacturing.
That being said, I think we could do some things better.
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You guys ought to take a nighttime sleep aid. I've been taking acetaminophen & diphenhydramine for years. (Typically in the form of something like Excedrin PM.) It helps. Let me warn you though: you get to a point where it is hard to fall asleep without it.
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Seems like a circular reference...
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The Waltons have a combined wealth of nearly $297 billion. I'd say they made a lot of ol' Sams "Made In The USA" slogan. From what I've read, you just about have to sell your soul to do business with them.
I've been researching income inequality/wealth a lot this year. The CBO has some data and presentations. Saez and Piketty, Krugman, Sachs, Stiglitz, et al. I've listened to attorneys, historians, etc. Reading about it. It's a real problem, in my mind.
Pamela K. Quillin, P.E.
Quillin Engineering, LLC
NSPE-CO, Central Chapter
Dinner program: http://nspe-co.org/events.php
RE: Worst job interview answers
Well, American manufacturers don't have to worry about that anymore; they're almost exclusively doing business in Asia. I've heard similar to the extent that WM will come in and demand a 10% price reduction and you either figure it out, suck it up, or die.
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
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RE: Worst job interview answers
There was income equality in East Germany and the Soviet Union.....that didn't turn out too well. The concern about America becoming an oligarchy is possibly a valid one.....but it misses something very important: most wealthy in this country are first generation wealthy. (I.e. if the rules are being rigged, they are being rigged to allow in a lot more players.)
The other thing missed here (and since you mentioned Krugman, I had to make this point): it's not because of taxes either. In the era of high taxes (say pre-1980's), the wealthy did not pay much more (effectively) than they do now. This is in spite of the fact the top marginal income rate has been cut nearly in half since that time. What he has always failed to get is: if you want to talk about a rigged system.....it was the tax code prior to the 1986 reform act. (I.e. it protected he rich while stopping the would-be rich.)
The fact is: wages are tied to skills at this point. Unskilled labor is dead.
RE: Worst job interview answers
Back when marginal tax rates were near the 90% level, the one thing that it did do was encouraged corporations to invest their excess profits in the business itself rather than pass it along in multi-million dollar compensation packages to their executives.
As for the that comment about the "first generation wealth", don't let the Walton's or the Koch brothers hear you say that not to mention the Ford's, DuPont's, Bush's, or for that matter the Trump's.
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
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The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
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RE: Worst job interview answers
That's one of the biggest myths running. They had expense accounts and all sorts of ways around the code at the time. Venture capital has exploded since then. There is no lack of investment.
Sure there are dynasties out there.....but again: I am talking about the norm here. (Read The Millionaire Next Door, by: Stanley & Danko.)
And theoretically, there should be no DuPont, Bush, etc dynasty out there if what I have been saying isn't true. The fact is, people like that had an army of lawyers and accountants that knew how to play the system. It's like Milton Friedman once said: high taxes don't hurt the rich.....they hurt the would-be rich.
RE: Worst job interview answers
Also:
This latter conclusion includes us, the skilled work force.
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
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RE: Worst job interview answers
If (for example) you raised the effective tax rate to 70% on any amount of compensation over 1 million.......would Mr. CEO really put the entire amount (over 1 mil) back into the company.....or take the 30% home? My money is on: take the 30% home.
RE: Worst job interview answers
The previous tax cuts resulted in where we are now; to expect a different result from the same action is definitively insanity.
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
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RE: Worst job interview answers
And I can't argue with that. I don't take issue with the rates as they are now.....I just feel compelled to set the record straight sometimes with some of this wealth "inequality" stuff that's out there.
RE: Worst job interview answers
Amusingly, that same level of inequality seems to apply to the Forbes 400, referred to in an earlier post. Forbes made a sad comment about the fact that you now need to be a 2-billionaire to qualify to be in the Forbes 400 in 2017, while you only needed $75 million in 1982 to break in.
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
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RE: Worst job interview answers
Now today, what does it take to be considered "wealthy"? Is it a 'net worth' of $1 million, or do you have to reach $2 million first? I've always read where you can't call yourself a 'millionaire' until you actually have a million dollars in the bank, meaning that you can't include real-estate or any other hard assets when you do the calculation. Well if that's true, I guess my wife and I are members of the club. In fact, our net worth just broke two million. Not bragging, just making a statement. And before anyone asks, between the two of us, our total inherited "wealth" has amounted to less than $50K, and we've already collected all that we ever will. Does this make us part of the 'new wealthy'?
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: Worst job interview answers
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: Worst job interview answers
RE: Worst job interview answers
It does. Would you rather not be part of it? That's my point. The code prior to the 1980's had rates exceeding the top marginal rate today hitting middle/upper middle income people. And they didn't have the shelters to get out of it like the "old" wealthy.
That's why when people start going on about the good ol' days of (supposed) income/wealth equality.....I feel I have to say something because I don't think they realize what they are advocating.
RE: Worst job interview answers
I guess that settles it. I retired almost two years ago with three defined-benefit pensions plus a well funded 401k that was converted to an IRA which has been growing like a weed ever since. With that and our Social Security checks, I guess we're in pretty good shape, eh?
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: Worst job interview answers
Ok, since he was so sick they kept a trash can by his side just in case. He gets through just about the whole thing ok......but at one point, they ask him about a place he use to work at. It was the usual "how was it working there?" type question......well, right then he just yakked up everything. And as he's hurling the hiring manager brought the house down by saying: "That bad huh?"
The guy still got the job. (I guess they figured his timing was excellent.)
RE: Worst job interview answers
There is a book that explains that most millionaires do exactly that Greg (i.e. either buy 5-7 year old used cars and sell them 5 years later to buy another, or buy new cars but drive them for 10+ years).
Wife's car is 12 years old now, passing 200k miles on the odometer.
My pickup, purchased new, is now old enough to go to bars on its own.
Hmm...maybe I should buy a Google self-driving car kit...
"This pickup drives into a bar..."
RE: Worst job interview answers
That phrase was also coined a few decades ago when being a millionaire actually meant something serious. Today it doesnt in many cases. Many advisers suggest that folks nearing senior status without a defined pension today need to be a millionaire simply to retire.
RE: Worst job interview answers
And someone who needs that much to retire has got a real spending problem. I know people who have retired on a [tiny] fraction of that.
RE: Worst job interview answers
Not necessarily. If you assume a 4% draw from your 401K, that's only $40k/yr, which is only slightly more than the maximum SSA monthly benefit. Additionally, serious expenses such as assisted living will have to come out that same pot.
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
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RE: Worst job interview answers
welfarethe state pension, at 65.Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: Worst job interview answers
So if you've got a couple drawing (say) 30k in SS and 40k from their 401k....that's 70k a year. The vast majority of this country lives on less than that.
Medicare helps out with assisted living. I know people who have been living in assisted living for years with no help from relatives and they are nowhere close to being a millionaire.
Ergo it's completely silly to say anyone is going broke (or) can't retire on 1 mil. If (by chance) anyone wants to make the cost of living argument (next).....my simple answer: move. Seniors do it all the time.
RE: Worst job interview answers
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: Worst job interview answers
Check your math: 1,000,000 / 70,000 per year = 14 years.
People (often forced to) retire at age 65. Median age of death in USA is about 84. Longer for women.
Assuming no growth of the pension's value in those 14 years, the cash runs out at 79.
Actually it will grow, but most people's corporate pensions grow so slowly that it only extends the pension by a few more years. It's barely enough.
What I think you MIGHT actually mean is that people are too spendy for their means, even when retired. There, I would agree with you (my folks get by just fine, on half that.)
But put yourself in the financial adviser's seat, and picture the reaction you get if you told a happy couple of baby boomers that when they retire, they should cut their spending to 40k per year. I think that would cut the meeting short.
STF
RE: Worst job interview answers
There's your problem right there (in red).
Although I'll be the first to say: I love dry, warm weather.
RE: Worst job interview answers
RE: Worst job interview answers
And that's presupposing something [in the case of a 401k] that's not likely to happen.
Sorry but that's garbage: my grandmother hasn't worked for 30 years now. (She's 97.) She has no pension and a modest investment income. (The total of which (combined with her SS) doesn't even clear 50k.) Her assets put her nowhere near being a millionaire .....and she gets by just fine.
Either someone needs to move or they spend way too much. That simple.
RE: Worst job interview answers
If that's the "retired life" you aspire to, that's great, but I think there are many of us that expect substantially more than to simply exist. Building a warchest for retirement will allow us to travel and do things that we passed up during our careers.
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
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RE: Worst job interview answers
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: Worst job interview answers
By "got by just fine" I don't mean never travel or "go out"....the person I am referring to has done both.
RE: Worst job interview answers
Counting on medicare to pick up the tab for assisted living or final expenses is a similarly bad idea unless you have nothing relatives or friends might want to inherit. Unlike SS your heirs must pay it back in full shortly after your death or your estate forfeits assets at the govt valuation (roughly half of their worth) until its paid. My brother got a steal on his neighbor's farm in this manner, and its also the reason my folks put everything in our names years ago.
My shop and home have enough things acquired at living estate auctions the past 20 years that personally I wouldn't risk retiring early until I was positive my wife and I could live comfortably and were taken care of long-term without gambling, planning for large unexpected losses over time bc they will happen. Retirement has a parabolic expense curve, getting far more expensive over time.
RE: Worst job interview answers
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: Worst job interview answers
So anyone who needs 70k+ a year to make it......needs to (like I said) re-think their spending or move to a different location. (Or both.)
RE: Worst job interview answers
RE: Worst job interview answers
I live in one of the most expensive areas of the country. My salary would be above average for my (low-mid)experience level in many non-coastal parts of the US, but still not completely unheard of. Despite that, I'm able to save over 40% of my gross income. I rarely eat out, but I do take vacations including at least one overseas trip each year. I'm never bored or lack money to do the things I want. I could save even more money in rent ($100's/month) if I moved <10 miles in any direction, but I like having a really short commute to work. I hear (single) people all the time talking about how you need to make at least 6 figures to barely scrape by where I live. They don't realize that they likely have neighbor families living literally a stone's throw away that live on a combined income of much less than that. I could almost retire without even moving just on the interest generated by one million dollars(@4%). Granted, if you're supporting two people, you'll need more money.
And if someone expects to have $2300/month mortgage payments throughout retirement, they bought way too big of a house (that comes out to a $420,000 house bought just before retirement with no equity. The actual average payment in the US is around $1100/month). I'm not saying that it's impossible to spend $70k/year, or even that you're financially irresponsible if that's what you're planning for (I'm sincerely not judging anyone's lifestyle), just that it is much higher than what is actually required to have a comfortable retirement.
RE: Worst job interview answers
Try 9k.
Imagine the situation without it....that what I was getting at.
RE: Worst job interview answers
Have both cars paid off. Then needed a 1240.00 seat belt sensor replacement last week.
Your prudence is admirable - Keep it up.
RE: Worst job interview answers
RE: Worst job interview answers
Are you single? I spent about 2/3 that amount on my wife's graduate school tuition and my daughters' dance and gymnastics alone.
RE: Worst job interview answers
Dan - Owner
http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com
RE: Worst job interview answers
WM isn't the only one that demands 10% reductions. One plant I worked in lived through that and it was rough. So, we put pressure on our suppliers to reduce their prices. Some did. Some didn't.
I appreciate all of the banter and ideas about income and wealth inequality. I read the Millionaire Next Door many years ago. When it comes to trusting the research of Nobel laureates in economics, Ivy League economists, Ivy League historians, the CBO, etc. or an engineer, or even a group of engineers, on income inequality and wealth inequality, you can guess whose research will take precedence in my mind. With all due respect to engineers of all types, there are very smart people in other walks of life.
I have lived my life debt free and very conservatively. I saved and could see a nice retirement on the horizon. Then I got laid off and it's been up and down ever since. Many things in life occur that are beyond our control and have substantial impacts, positive and negative. Ten years ago I would never have believed I would be where I am today. This is not the place to elaborate but it's not a good place to be, at my age. A lot of luck goes into everything in life, from my experience. I didn't hold that view three years ago. I certainly am a strong believer in it now. I don't think anyone has bragging rights about success without recognizing how much luck goes into life.
Experiences over the last few years have changed my mind on a range of topics and softened some of my previously harsh opinions. Many will not understand my journey until they have to walk it themselves. Even then, it's hard to comprehend. Ultimately, I wouldn't wish my experiences on anyone including those who hate me.
Analyze your position and all the steps you've taken that are right and realize there are others that pursued the same path but unforeseen events changed everything. No one has a crystal ball worth a plug nickel.
Pamela K. Quillin, P.E.
Quillin Engineering, LLC
NSPE-CO, Central Chapter
Dinner program: http://nspe-co.org/events.php
RE: Worst job interview answers
STF
RE: Worst job interview answers
First student: Funny and unusual interview answers?
Last student: How much is a typical monthly mortgage payment.
Interviewer: How would you calculate the moment on the wood joist?
Interviewee: Just take the shear and multiple it by the member depth.
The interviewee did not get hired.
RE: Worst job interview answers
I went to a job interview for a smallish international company and everything went well. The offer was reasonable and the position seemed interesting, but I wasn't ready to decide that day so I told them I would think about it. As I was driving back to the airport I received a call from the head of the company and he just said that he would really like for me to join the team etc. I thanked him and (thought I) said that it sounds like a good position and I'll think about it. I received a call a few minutes later from the recruiter congratulating me on accepting the job. The guy from the company who called me was not a native-English speaker, and I think I was trying to be too kind in my response and he misinterpreted it as me accepting the job. So I had to make the awkward call back and explain that I didn't mean to accept the offer. And the story doesn't even have a "we can all laugh about it now" ending because I decided to turn it down to go back to school. This may sound like a humble-brag, but it really is by far the most embarrassing interview experience I've had and when I think about it I still feel a bit dumb for not choosing my words better.
RE: Worst job interview answers
Question: What do you want to do when you graduate?
Answer: Become an Aerospace engineer in a different state
She told the truth- but didn't get the scholarship
RE: Worst job interview answers
swimfar, apologies in advance, I just had a good chuckle. Versus the Hebrew approach, presumably?
It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.
RE: Worst job interview answers
Pamela K. Quillin, P.E.
Quillin Engineering, LLC
NSPE-CO, Central Chapter
Dinner program: http://nspe-co.org/events.php
RE: Worst job interview answers
We were going through a redundancy phase and I was asked to be an interviewer for some practice interviews. The idea was to ask an opening question and "drill-down" from the answer. One candidate's interview went like something like this...
Me: Can you give an example of a decision you have made that affected others?
Interviewee: I don't make decisions, I'm only a clerk.
She answered every question with an "I'm only a clerk" answer.
Oh dear!!
The lady, who was in her fifties, had never taken an interview in her life and had been happy as a typist for 20 years, then her job was changed to being a filing clerk. She had no ambition, but was happy to turn up, be told what to do, and to go home to her successful knitting business where she made custom knitwear for cats. We didn't know about the knitting until the debrief.
After some coaching...
Me: Can you give an example of a decision you have made that affected others?
Interviewee: Yes, I run a knitwear business from home and ...
- Nailed it
The second was when I was interviewed for a promotion. On the training course, we were told that we had to ask the same opening questions to each candidate. I just imagined the look on the other candidate's faces if they were asked the same as my first technical question...
Interviewer: Can you give an example of an equipment database that you have designed and manage that is used throughout the company?
I was tempted to say "No", just to see the look on my boss's face, but I played the game and got the job
RE: Worst job interview answers
Pamela K. Quillin, P.E.
Quillin Engineering, LLC
NSPE-CO, Central Chapter
Dinner program: http://nspe-co.org/events.php
RE: Worst job interview answers
"The laser unit would driven into position 'whirrrr' and stop based on a position sensor 'eeert'. The laser would then mark 'zzzzzat' the bags with a serial number."
He didn't get the job, but he was persistent. Continuing into the second month after the interview and our denial of a position with the company, he resorted to mass emails of his "updated" resume.
"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."
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RE: Worst job interview answers
So in other words, he didn't design the laser marking system. He was on a team that designed it and he got their coffee for them.
--Scott
www.aerornd.com
RE: Worst job interview answers
Did he even get into the details of HOW his system made positional repeatability, or even how he measured said accuracy/repeatability?
Dan - Owner
http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com
RE: Worst job interview answers
A colleague told me that when he was servicing equipment in France, they did not have a torque wrench. One of the Frenchmen assured him the bolts would be torqued "German tight".
--
JHG
RE: Worst job interview answers
I can imagine the whole interview was very similar to this (even down to the look on your face at the end!) ...
Link
RE: Worst job interview answers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs0z2Ef-aEE
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: Worst job interview answers
STF
RE: Worst job interview answers
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: Worst job interview answers
The converse is that this applicant KNEW what questions were being asked, given that he provided written answers beforehand, and FAILED MISERABLY at doing even the most minute amount of preparation. I almost think he really didn't have any interest in the appointment. Almost anyone could have spent an hour or so looking up Wikipedia or a number of legal info sites and aced those very questions.
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers Entire Forum list http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm
RE: Worst job interview answers
If he'd looked the questions up beforehand and aced them in the hearing, he would only have ended up looking stupid in the face of some TV interviewer with new questions a couple of days further down the line. Without being insultingly in your face about it, this performance has a bit of a feel of the "I don't know and neither do most of the people watching this hearing - nor do they care all that much: Many are maybe thinking that rubbish has more to do with 'The Law' than it does with true justice - and I can ride a fair way on the back of that sentiment".
Let's face it, after the opening barrage of "I have nots", a masterful exposition of the ins and outs of the Daubert Standard was unlikely to shift the panel's opinion a great deal, so it made sense to accept a bit of carefully calibrated embarrassment and get it all out of the way at once.
A.
RE: Worst job interview answers
A case in point: Betsy DeVos. I remember watching some of it on C-Span.....she certainly didn't come across as the most qualified person in the world, but the questions put to her were ridiculous. Elizabeth Warren asked her (among other things) had she ever run a bank or overseen a trillion dollar loan program.
How many people (period) have overseen a trillion dollar loan program? Dick Riley (Clinton's secretary of education) certainly never did (prior to getting the job). Neither did Arne Duncan. (Obama's secretary.) Neither had ran a bank either. That puts some perspective on some of Warren's ridiculous questions.
Furthermore, exactly what makes a good one? As someone who lived/lives in South Carolina while Riley was governor, I saw his EIA program first hand. And what it did was raise the sales tax and didn't improve the state's education one bit. Duncan oversaw the mess known as the Chicago school system.
RE: Worst job interview answers
TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers Entire Forum list http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm
RE: Worst job interview answers
I'm aware of that. I was commenting on the process of these hearings. (And how they can become a partisan show with misleading questions.)
RE: Worst job interview answers
And lest not forget the other requirement, that he was a young white male.
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: Worst job interview answers
Boss man: "So where do you see yourself in 20 years?"
Guy being interviewed: [without hesitation] "Dead."
We all got a good chuckle out of that one. (My boss immediately inquired whether that was expected anytime soon.)
RE: Worst job interview answers
RE: Worst job interview answers
He got hired and left on his own. So it's ok.....but you are right: my boss should have left out the follow up question.
RE: Worst job interview answers
RE: Worst job interview answers