Thread regarding Wells Fargo & Co. layoffs

@1hon

Why the lame attempt at sneakiness though? Why not just directly ask whatever you want to know?

Imagine if your directs did that to you every time something was on their mind. You'd lose your patience sooner than later and just ask them to simply state what they want... You know?

The sneakiness makes the interviewing manager look weak. Be a strong manager. Be direct, no games.

A good manager can use any question to ascertain a lot about a candidate. Questions are just the conversation starter. The conversation is where the real learning begins

Amazing how some people get so hung up on the actual questions. Think big little grasshoppers

It is the Chase playbook. You never find out whether a person knows anything or can actually DO the job, just how well they can BS. They are on the lookout for management material! (All talk, no action)

"In fact, many of the managers I’ve interacted with seem like they do not have any desire to manage or lead and are only in it for the wrong reasons."

+1. Heard this from a Wachovia mgr who told me wasn't interested in managing but was only thing he could get,

"Hiring managers are coached by recruiters to not go off script, as if they do it opens up litigation risk for hiring practices.".

Confirmed. Was told this by one of my mgrs. They have a narrow latitude.

@1nwl

First, thank you for complimenting me on being "IC-ish". ICs are the people that get the actual work done. Managers sit in useless meetings all day, contributing nothing to the overall cause. Managers could leave, never come back, and everything would continue to work just fine with little/no adjustments needed.

And please do check your own knowledge about HR, liability, etc. There's no reason why ancient behavioral questions need to be used. You need to be fair and consistent, but behavioral questions are strictly for low-functioning managers. Us ICs are getting tired of having to constantly slow down for you. Please get with the times.

But.... While we're at it.... How about you tell me about a time when you used your independent mind to decide something instead of just being a submissive lemming. Please use the STAR method in your response.

Thanks!!!

@1nwl+1j01tevN Why are you thumbing your nose at individual contributors? Last I checked, ICs are the people that actually do work while managers are increasingly sitting in worthless meetings with d-mb execs all day to justify their existence. Why anyone would WANT to be a manager here at this point is beyond me. In fact, many of the managers I’ve interacted with seem like they do not have any desire to manage or lead and are only in it for the wrong reasons.

@ers+1j01tevN

Tell us more about your complete lack of understanding of HR policy, corporate hiring practices, liability in the hiring process etc.

I hope your rehearsed answers are better than what is evidenced here. Very individual contributor-ish so far.

Bingo OP! These questions are the root cause for why managers almost always hire people they know. It’s not impossible to get a Fox on candidates using these questions but it is highly improbable. Managers therefore only want to hire people they previously worked with rather than gamble on a candidate that may have just used Google to build their answer key.

I was interviewing outside (and left a week ago) and the interview questions were much, much harder than ours. They were very specific to the job and the body of knowledge supporting it (IT Risk). I have a couple of certifications and I was asked review questions for them by more than one potential employer and then situations they applied to and how I would use them. So, yes, practical questions about my experience and the job requirements themselves.

I once interviewed for a job in another department, and was upfront with the interview panel that I did not have experience with one particular aspect of the job. One of the panelists proceeded to ask me “tell me about a time when you did…” in regards to the one area I already said I didn’t have experience in. This interaction made it very clear that they were wasting my time!

I agree!

Hiring managers are coached by recruiters to not go off script, as if they do it opens up litigation risk for hiring practices.

@anb you sound like a bootlicker or one of these empty-headed managers that asks these pointless questions.

I don't struggle to give great answers - as stated in the original post, I do what everyone else does: rehearse answers in advance. And it's worked for me, but I still hate the pointless process.

So to answer your question, let me help you there, Wells lifer.

You ask questions that pertain to the actual job. Wow, what a concept!

Managers need to stop trying to be Mr Sneaky Man with these vague questions. You're not a FBI profiler. You're not going to derive some deep hidden meaning in someone's response.

Stay in your lane. You're a Wells lifer for a reason. And that reason isn't incredible intelligence or insight.

Questions in interviews are largely irrelevant. The only purpose is to give the person a chance to sell their services. Droning through canned responses isn't going to get it done.

The idea with these questions is not to stop at the rote answer, but to follow up and ask successive probing questions based on the answer given at each stage.
This exchange will generate insight into the candidate’s behavior.

So, what should they ask Skippy? Sounds like you struggle during interviews and would rather complain than improve your skills