Employers – please stop asking this RIDICULOUS lockdown related interview question
You’re half way through your job interview. Not an ideal situation as you are doing the interview in your bedroom, via Zoom with the rest of your household under strict orders to stay quiet and STAY OFF THE WIFI ! The usual nerves you have about doing job interviews have been raised a few levels as you try to get to the end of it without the interviewer noticing your child / flatmate/ dog making themselves seen or heard in the background
Then the interviewer asks you this:
“Lockdown has given people an opportunity to learn new skills. Can you tell me what new skills you have learned during the lockdown?”
Seriously? What Guide to how to ask a Ridiculous interview question did they pull that one from? We are not making this up. Clients have been telling us of this latest addition to the interviewers list of FAQs.
Interviewers: please think about this for a second. For most people lockdown has meant working and living in circumstances that are highly unusual and often quite stressful. For many, add to this feelings of loneliness, isolation and confusion. And for all, let’s layer on an underlying worry about the ongoing and future impact of the global pandemic that has put us all in this situation in the first place. And you want to know what new work related skills they have picked up throughout all of this?
The fact that your candidate has not managed to teach themselves advanced Excel, learn to code, pick up a new language or complete a rake of online courses in the “free time” granted to them by this lockdown should come as no surprise. Don’t make them feel bad about themselves by asking this ridiculous interview question
And candidates – if you are unfortunate enough to be asked this interview question, we would suggest the following response:
“What new skills have I Iearned doing lockdown? Well let’s see…..
I’ve learned how to negotiate for time, desk-space and wifi in my house
I’ve learned how to somehow successfully juggle a work and home life that were never designed to be completed simultaneously
I’ve learned to stay positive (most of the time) when faced with a constant stream of negative news“
I’ve learned that I’m capable of dealing with a lot more than I had given myself credit for“
If that’s not enough of an answer for them, then you probably don’t want to work there.
Hilt will prepare you for your job interview – and for all the tricky interview questions you may be asked. Find out more here
