mtucker-732014 (2/9/2014)
IMHO oddball questions are not reliable or valid means of determining a candidates competence or fit for a job.
I couldn't agree more.
A few weeks ago I read a paper by some sociologists about the stress of searching for work in different cultures (call me an infovore!), specifically making a comparison between looking for work in the US and looking for work in Israel. According to this research people found job search much more stressful in the US because you have a culture that emphasises personality over competence
Not quite true... at least, not for me nor where I work. We want good people all the way around. They have to fit the team and that means being competent enough to actually get work done. In order to get work done, you have to communicate with people not only to get the requirements but to get some help on the tough spots. For sure, when you first work in a new environment, everything is a "tough spot" because of esoteric knowledge of the systems required and documentation alone doesn't answer all of those questions. We don't want some arrogant jerk or some lame sot that won't be able to communicate without pissing everyone off. There's no reason at all why someone can't be both competent AND a good team member. As on the 8 Ball League I used to play on, there's a huge difference between a good shot and a good player and both can be experts at 8 Ball.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.