Why I didn't hire you - you can't answer a stupid question

It was a coin toss moment.  Prior to the final round of interviews, our remaining two candidates were tied in every single category.  We liked them both.  They had the same education and virtually the same experience.  In the end, the decision came down to a question.  A stupid question.

Who is your favorite person in history?

During interviews, many questions are the same old chestnuts you have heard before.  Many of the answers seem well rehearsed.  This is okay at a certain level.  We expect smart candidates to be well prepared.  However, it is possible to be too prepared.  If you can answer my question before I am finished asking it, you are probably too prepared.  It’s an interview, not a game show.  So relax and be yourself.

At times interviewing a candidate is like asking that final question at a beauty pageant.  People anticipate certain well-worn questions.  You may have seen websites with common interview questions and the best answers that you can supposedly give.  As recruiters, we know this is out there.  What you may not know is that occasionally when we need a little more information, we ask questions with zero interest in what the answer will be.  We ask you something incredibly stupid just to see how you will react.

Mean, childish, pointless?  No.  Brilliant.

The seemingly pointless question is in fact, a very basic, often played trap.  The answer to the question does not the matter.  The manner in which you answer the questions does.  You see, during the interview a good portion of the time we are paying more attention to you, your mannerisms and how you handle yourself, much more than we care about the answers to the stupid questions we ask.  We’re looking for smart people that will work well on our team.  We already know your background and experience.  We saw that on your resume.  The interview is more about you, your goals and your personality.

In the case of our interview, one candidate had a great response.   The other did not.  In fact, the one with the poor response floundered.  When asked for his favorite person in history, he could not think of a single person.  He wasn’t even smart enough to lie and make up a favorite.  He simply shook his head and said “Gosh, that’s a tough one.”  So we waited.  We gave him another chance.  No right or wrong answer, we’re just curious.  Who is your favorite person in history?

“Gosh, I just really don’t know,” he repeated.

We sat there and stared at him.  He stared back.  There was awkward silence.  Someone looked at their watch.  We waited for the chirping cricket sound effect.  Then we made our decision.  This guy had just lost the job. 

The position we were trying to fill required someone who was quick on his feet.  We knew this job required someone who had a quick mind; someone who could respond swiftly and appropriately.  Often in business you only get on chance to make an impact.  We weren’t going to let the “gosh I don’t know guy” fumble an opportunity for us or our clients.  The sad thing is that had we been sitting in a bar, this guy would have probably told me that his favorite person from history was FDR and gave me a list of twenty reasons why.  He was so wound up in the interview ritual that he could not even pull a name from the million plus names he could have mentioned.  That cost the guy the job.

Bottom line:  During an interview listen to the questions and answer them with your own words and thoughts.  We want to hear from you, not from a script.  Be yourself and land the job.  History will judge you well if you do.