I’m having a little insomnia just now, so I’m writing this at late-o-clock. Usually my insomnia is no stress, but I have an interview tomorrow at ten, which means that I have to leave the house at 9, which means getting up at seven, and I really would like to be in tip-top shape for it. You see, I want to be a doctor. I want to be a doctor quite badly. But to do that, you need two years of volunteer work at a medical facility.

I do a lot of volunteering, in excess of 200 hours per year, but never at a hospital. Tomorrow, I go for an interview and criminal record check that allegedly will begin my volunteer journey. Sadly though, it’s competitive. 500 applicants for 300 positions at hospitals and clinics all over the city.

I like to think that I’m special, and that the interviewer  can see that, but I know  in my life, and I’ll probably have countless more, and you can usually tell how it’s going by the kind of questions the interviewer asks you. That way, you can tell if you need to step up your game, or if you’re just fighting the losing battle.

For example (real examples that have been said to me):

The Good:
What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment?
This makes it apparent that they think you’ve had notable accomplishments.
Tell us more about your (fascinating/remarkable/delightful) work with <that thing you did>?
You did something great! Tell us about it! That’s awesome!
Do you know of anything that makes you a poor fit here?
They can’t think of anything that makes you unqualified, so can you think of anything? Hint: no.

The Bad:
Do you care to explain <this thing on your resume>?
Uh oh. They don’t like something you said. Back it up.
I see your experience in <this topic> is limited; care to explain?
Really time to back it up. Now they have that reason to think that you don’t fit in.
Do you consider your coworkers to be your friends?
This is a misleading question. They want to test your measure of discretion. Good answers include talking about work/home boundaries.

The Ugly:
What’s your shoe size?
What? Why?
Favorite color?
That’s a little irrelevant…
How many cats do you own?
Okay…interview over.

Hope you guys are having a good day. Wish me luck on my interview!

Have you had any really odd questions at a professional interview?