During a 2nd interview today I completely bombed the "million dollar question" (his words) for a recruiting/head hunter position. The question was: How do you process information? He was looking for something very specific and I gave him just a general answer. Something to the effect of, "Take all of the information in, pay attention to key details and then make a quick, reasonable decision". His response was, "Try again." So I tried to pry him for some clues as to what exactly he was looking for then he made a reference to my communications degree and essentially said due to my education I should be able to figure this out. I was completely bamboozled. He told me to let him know when I figure it out. Other than that, the interview went great and we've moved on to the next step in the process. My question to any of you is: Do you know what this means? Does anybody know what he's talking about? Thanks!
interviewer sounds like a jerk. Possibly he's looking for the following: "instantaneously" or "my delete key" or "by identifying the key questions before I (edit) begin processing" or "yes, I would consider sexual favors if you just give me this job."
I think it's more of a "what kind of learner are you?" question. Like, if someone tells you something, can you just remember it a week later? Or do you need to write it down?
Hmmm.....He did tell me how important it is to train yourself to memorize as much data as you possibly can. Since this a recruiting position he used the example that he could see somebody's name from years ago and immediately remember key info about them: college, work experience, etc. Thanks for the input. We could be onto something here.
Sheesh, this guy sounds like a jackass. I probably wouldn't want to work for someone who said that to me in a job interview.
Sounds like a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator question. Those are bullsh!t. agree with B-Bob. dude sounds like a jerk.
I'm surprised your interviewer didn't stand up yelling 'I GOT YOU SUCKER! I WIN!' while pointing at you. Sounds like he gets a power trip from his job.
If you were there and talked to the guy you would feel different. The context of his "try again" comment was more joking than serious although he really wanted me to nail this answer, I could tell. Currently, i'm still trying to figure this out and get back to him. I definitely think meggoleggo might have been on to something with the memorization suggestion. I'll let you know what I end saying to him as my official "answer" and get back to you.
It might have been something he said earlier in the interview that he wanted you to say. Also, communication is the processing of information from one person to another. I don't know if that helps, but I didn't know interviewers started pop quizzing applicants
Maybe he was fishing for a response about "top-down" or "bottom-up" thinking. Different types of thinkers are, in theory, better for certain positions within an organization. He might be testing to see if you're potential management material down the line. http://www.changezone.co.uk/resources/TopDownBottomUpThinking.html Or maybe he was looking for the literal answer, which would be "with my brain".
Sounds like a douche. What a stupid trick question. Just tell him your answer is better and if he doesn't like it then he should quit his job and go home to rethink his life. I hate interviews.
I would have just flat out asked him - "what do you mean?" Then when he said - "you should know" - I'd ask him to be more specific. But I guess it's a bit late for that - hope it works out for ya!
You are better off not going to that company. The question is r****ded. I remember years ago I was interviewed by this company in Santa Monica, very r****ded questions. I felt those were unfair questions and the interviewers weren't sincere, so I wrote the HR a letter, never got a word back. Fortunately I didn't go on with it. Turned out that company was gone in after the tech bubble. Just a fun fact, when SamSung hires people in Korea, there is a FengShui master sitting on the panel in the last round of interview. If the interviewer's Qi doesn't feel right, the FengShui master can veto the interviewee, no matter how competent it is.
I hear/read it. My brain thinks about it. And it gets processed. It's really a complicated process that starts with the eyes/ears.
You should have waited a second and then in a robotic voice say, "Processing...Compute" and then punched him squarely in the nose.
"Better than your other candidates"? That question is stupid, IMO. It's sounds like it's him just thinking he's being clever.
Try googlling "how do you process information". There might be some clues there. He might be referring to what type of organizing system you use. Do you use a PDA or Outlook, or maybe just right things down on paper? Or perhaps you tend to just remember appointments in your head? Are you systematic about the process you use, or sort of off the cuff?
