Job Interviews

I have mentioned this before.

The M.D. that interviewed me for medical school was so disinterested in his task that he barely looked up from the neatly placed pile of papers on his desk.

Our discourse was factual on the order of name, rank and serial number followed by the classic Why do you want to become a doctor?

The interview was ho-hum. Perfunctory. Completely rote. Until his final question: Who do you think the starting quarterback should be for the NY Giants next year?

My youngest daughter is in the throes of the emplyment process. And as opposed to what the media reports as an eased job market, I do not agree. I believe the market is tighter, more grueling, and more competitive than ever.

And so my daughter has not been guaranteed interview questions that necessarily align with the job description. And in all frankness as a mother (not to mention as the candidate) I find it irritating. The interview questions have sometimes been abstruse--the most obscure being Who would win a fight between a bear and an alligator?

I cannot stand the let’s see how the interviewee reacts on their feet question—I think it is unfair. As a mother I would have liked to have hit that interviewer upside the head and said Really? And what does your question have to do with computer software and this company? Do you hire bears and alligators such that mediating between them is an issue my daughter will have to deal with in an office setting? Or are you merely the Don King of reptile vs. mammal boxing matches? Where do you get off being such a pompous egocentric male-organ-head?

But those are questions I may never ask—nor can she. All my daughter can do is remain calm and reply. And all I can do is remain calm and support my daughter.

And to this day it irritates me that that M.D. asked me about the Giants. I still have no idea whether that question was designed to test my knowledge of current events, glean how my mind would construct an impromptu analysis, or whether the interviewer was just a sexist pig who wanted to embarrass a 22 year old female.

But what I know for sure is that Kara’s response that the bear would win the battle with an alligator is correct—I googled it. And choosing Phil Simms as quarterback resulted in the Giants winning the Superbowl—I had predicted correctly.

And in the end we all end up where we are supposed to be—even if the roadway is not of our choosing—with dead alligators and satiated bears littering the shoulder all along the way.