It’s great they admitted such illegal assholery before going any further. At least you didn’t waste anymore time.

That’s what I mean. The candidate also interviews the company

I don’t need to know how to reverse a linked list. That’s what stack overflow AI is for.

Or - they are selecting for people that are good at understanding how to reframe. Which is probably one of the most important skills you can have in life.

Like, if they ask “why do you want this job?” And your answer is “because I want money” then you will not get the job. Not because you lied or failed to lie, but because you failed to acknowledge the context of the question. The interviewer wants to know why you won’t be a miserable sack of shit while working there, because they don’t want to deal with that in a coworker. And it is useful to consider the framing that leads to the answer “because I want money” - it is the assumption that jobs and money are scarce for you, and you desperately need any job right now. And this is the type of person most employers are desperate not to hire - which is why you hate this question. Because it outs you as someone people don’t want to hire.

The better framing is that you are confident that you can get any number of jobs, that you are looking for one that will pay you, of course, but that you also care about a number of other things like the day to day tasks you’ll be doing, the people you’ll be working with, and the impact you’ll be having on others.

And neither of these framings are untrue. Your desperation to get a job is a function of your emotional state. Sure, you can want to get a job sooner rather than later - but all you have to do is realize that things will still be okay if it takes a bit longer to get the job you want than you would really like it to. And we can observe this to be true - that everything will be okay - because it has been true every other time in your life (you’re still here, aren’t you) and in others’ lives.

Why is answering a simple question lying? This is why you can learn something from asking any question. You see the candidates’ attitude, communication skills, and critical thinking skills through pretty much any question. We need to have a conversation during the interview, and the questions are markers that path out that conversation. If you come across as just lying or bullshitting, that’s a signal too. Of course there are better and more awkward questions to ask. But what is so hard about just responding to them like a decent, polite, smart person?
Reading this thread, I guess the problem for some folks stuck on the job market is that they think the hiring manager wants to know: “should I give this guy a job? Do they deserve a chance?”. But that is not the case. They want to know: “Should I fill the position with this candidate or that other one?”. Going in the interview not understanding that they need to be able to differentiate between candidates is just a bad start, and you will only ever get the job if there is no other qualified candidate.

i suspect that future question is to gauge the applicant, if they are going to just ditch the company within a year or less.

It’s not about prediction, it’s about desires, interests, and goals

The interviewer wants to know what your ambitions are. You’re supposed to make stuff up, so they get an idea what want your career path to be like.

is variable, and is relative to the knowledge possessed by the people they already employ

That is true, but how the hell could I know what kind of people they already employ, while I’m applying?

I worked with some great specialists in some companies and with guys who didn’t understand basic concepts in other companies that were supposed to be on the same level.

Not OP but I run a business and handle the majority of interviews and hiring. I set up the beginning of my interviews just like OP does. If someone doesn’t have social media, I honestly think it is a bonus. I barely touch my own LinkedIn… I’d also much rather an application come through our website then an ad. I feel like those who apply directly have a better understanding already of what the job will entail. If a candidate makes it through the first few interviews, we invite them out to observe and then participate in the role (to see what they think and how they like it). I can usually tell by then if they will be a good fit. It’s been nice because occasionally a candidate will decide right then it’s not for them and save us both a lot of time.

I don’t do social media. I do still maintain a LinkedIn. I don’t read anyone’s bullshit, and I certainly don’t write any bullshit. But I would have to say about 95% of my jobs have come through recruiters that found me on LinkedIn. It just has my work history there, basically. And of course I’m connected to people so I guess they can maybe validate I’m a real person with real connections.

Anyway, I’d recommend having an account and updating it any time you update your resume. I 100% understand why you might choose not to, but it’s been invaluable to me.

Absolutely no deal breaker. I am just interested to learn about the person in front of me (hopefully the candidate does the same about my company or me, after all, the candidate shouldn’t start working for a manager that they later find out they don’t like). If you’re not on social media, I won’t judge that, in fact if you do it for conscientious or fact-based reasons I even appreciate it. But if you are on social media and you have a beautiful CV on LinkedIn it can be a little plus, getting into weird political discussions on insta is definitely a minus; I need fact-focused employees that can see both sides of the medal, willing to (unemotionally) find middle ground. The CV and application letter are still the key thing. In the application letter, you need to address the needs that I have put into the job posting, the more fact-based and interesting the better. Adjust the cv so that it fits the actual job description, don’t use some outdated listing that you’ve been using the last two years, try to show that you take me seriously.

You talk about it in this order with most of the time being focused on the A

Situation, Task, Action, Results.

Good idea. Next time you apply for a job and get interviewed, send them the list of your approved questions, and clarify that you are not able to understand or willing to answer any questions that are not on your list. It will help make them understand that you are too smart for their stupid recruiters and managers.

I agree, “why did you apply” is a silly way to phrase that question.

So come up with a line ahead of time. It’s all bullshit anyways. Try to find the tune they want the monkey to dance to during the interview.

I lucked out on my last interview. I could honestly say that not only is it a job I would love to have, but I was uniquely qualified to do it (“uniquely” is probably overstating it, but the job duties lined up 100% with my experience and interests). The only thing I couldn’t say is who the hell the company was because it’s a startup, but I have never been able to articulate so clearly that I’m perfect for a job and it is perfect for me.

I have always been able to talk myself up to be a good fit for a role, but honestly it’s normally just “I have built lots of business software. You are, in fact, a business.”

Saying something obviously fake like “it’s always been my dream to work here” is a bad idea, unless it’s a prestigious company where that could be true. The question is actually a good opportunity for the candidate to show off something if they want to, without being too awkward if they don’t.

You can say you’ve done research into the company online and are impressed by the work-life balance/leadership/worker loyalty/innovation. Sincere interest is not only flattering, it also makes you look thorough and driven. You can say you were recommended to apply by someone you know who has a connection. You can also give them some idea of what you are expecting, which can potentially save time if it’s not actually what they are offering. I had a friend get redirected to applying to a better position than what had been listed like this.

And if you truly are not a good fit, you can actually address that your previous experience doesn’t directly apply by saying something like “I’m looking for a change” rather than trying to dance around it for the entire interview. If your interviewer has any familiarity with the role, you won’t be able to trick them into thinking unrelated experience makes you well-qualified. And when that’s the case, acknowledging it early makes it much less awkward by establishing expectations appropriately. Basically, you have to be careful to limit your lies to things you can actually sell.

I’ve heard that.

His birth cost was around $20k with a stay in the NICU the first two days.

He was diagnosed before he even left the hospital. He had visible indications of Spina Biffida Occulta (Tethered Spinal Cord). Exactly 8 weeks after he was born he underwent the surgery. Which took a lot longer than expected because they couldn’t get a good MRI image. So the Neurosurgeon ended up doing exploratory surgery to find how far up the tether went.

Total bill for the surgery and a week long hospital stay was $40k.

Fortunately, my wife works for the same medical foundation that owns the hospital, and she still works there today. Plus they own the insurance company. So we were lucky to have the best health insurance available in our state.