Core6430 (12/24/2013)
The recruiter spent an hour talking about his car. Didn't ask me anything about my skills, experience, or work history. Utter waste of time.
Heh... I agree. You didn't say much about that previously, though.
I also agree on about the companies that you'd prefer not to deal with at all for any reason. I also agree that there are a wad of recruiters out there that "succeed" only by body count and that's just not right.
As for practice interviews or any other type of interview, I wouldn't let such a thing take 4-6 hours. Folks like you and I have had enough "practice" to not need to do such a thing anymore. People just starting out can't make the same claim, though, and a few practice interviews can do nothing but help them get over a bad case of the shakes.
So far as going in prepared goes, you've absolutely hit the nail on the head. I normally don't even let them start. I dig stuff out of my briefcase and say "Before you start, let me show you some of the things I've done."
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.