Beyond Interview Questions

I was reminded of one of my first internship assignments today when I read a post on The Daily WTF titled ‘The Receptionist Test’.  Everyone talks about being told to make coffee as the experience to expect during an internship.  My first task was to call the technology vendor and have them replace the printer that had just arrived.  Apparently it was a non-network printer, or so said the systems administrator who delegated this task to me (I was a legislative intern on the Hill and that made me part writer, part researcher and part tech support if something broke).  Before I made the call, I took one look at the printer and noticed the name of it had a capital “N” in it.  Back then HP laser printers that were network ready arrived with such a designation.  So I looked on the back of the printer and discovered a network adapter.  I’m not sure how the systems administrator missed this, but he went on to become the Chief of Staff for that office years later and I went on to become the head of the Systems Administrators association.  I guess it goes to show that just because you can network your way into a job on the Hill that doesn’t mean you can network your equipment.

The same can be said about people who apply for jobs.  Many people can get the interview, ace the questions, but somehow manage to show up and have major problems on day one.  The moral of the story here is that you should always work smart when it comes to interviews.  Remember that a pedigree or recommendation isn’t an indication of capability or common sense.

The takeaway for interns is that maybe the reason they asked you to make their coffee is the same reason why adults ask their children to program their VCR’s and set up their computers.  People get tunnel vision.  You will too someday, so pitch in and help out today so that you can help these tunnel dwellers find their way.  Don’t assume that a question that seems obvious is always a trick question either.