Your most bizarre in-person interview questions?

I'd rather face his curveball.
Credit: The Pitching Academy

From the inbox, a good question from a longtime reader and friend of the blog: 

I have prepared for all the common interview questions. Strengths, weaknesses, long-term career goals, etc. 

What interview questions have your readers been asked that they didn't think to prepare for? What were their surprising curveballs?

Great question. Been a few years since I've been an interviewer, but I remember one on-campus interviewer who asked me about my formative memories for each year of middle school. That was a weird one.

Readers?

What is it like to interview in the UK in industry?

So I know what it's like to do an industrial interview in the US in person. It's something like this:

• You show up the day of, in your finest rumpled suit. 
• You meet your host and maybe take a short tour of the facility. 
• You give a talk of some kind. 
• You answer some questions from your audience. 
• You go to lunch with a slightly new group of people on the company dime.
• You go back to the place and talk to various people for the rest of the day, usually in 30 minute portions. 
• You might have dinner with a new set of people. 

There might be some differences in order or length, but this is the general structure. 

What's an industrial interview like in the UK? I've never been on one, so I couldn't tell you. I've heard rumors of examinations at the board, but nothing concrete. Readers, please, enlighten me. 

Interview your interviewers: data scientist edition

An interesting post from a data scientist, Trey Causey, on his experience in interviews. I like this set of "questions you should ask your interviewer":

1. What does success look like for this position? How will I know if I am accomplishing what is expected of me?
2. What is the last project you shipped? What was the goal, how long did it take, what were the stumbling blocks, what tools did you use, etc.
3. What will my first 90 days in this role look like? First 180 days?
4. Who will I report to and how many people report to that person? Do they have regular 1:1 with their team members?
5. Why did the last person who quit this team leave? The company?
6. If a startup, how long is your runway? How are financial decisions made?
7. What would be my first project here? Has someone already been working on this or is this in the aspirational stage?
8. What is the current state of the data infrastructure? How much work needs to be done on getting the infrastructure and pipeline into shape before we start analyzing that data?

Causey is a data scientist, so #8 is pretty specific. Nevertheless, this seems to me to be a good set of questions that an interviewee should keep in their back pocket. I personally like #5, but I am not sure that I have the guts to ask that question during the public portion of an interview (I like to have mutual connections answer that one.) 

Readers, what's your favorite question to ask your interviewer? 

What are some signs of a good business?

"I don't have any problems that can't be solved by running another reaction" - Chemjobber

I used to say that when I was a graduate student and as a postdoc; for the most part, it was true. Research productivity and gettin' things done was key. As a working industrial chemist, I still think that's true, but I really think that who you work with and the culture of the company matters, too.

If you're being observed and interviewed for a position, you might as well observe and interview them and the organization, too. What are good signs to look for? John at "It's the Rheo Thing" has a wonderful starter list:

• Intelligent people. This can be broken into two subsets: 
• They have areas of expertise and know what they are
• They also know what areas are not their expertise, they recognize this and publicly acknowledge this
• Management that may or may not be present, but certainly show restraint in their involvement
• Clear definition of both what the problem is, and what a successful resolution would be (scope creep in a project a great warning sign)
• Open communication:
• Bad news can be spoken about
• Politics are very limited below the management levels

As I said, if you're a younger chemist like me, keeping your nose to the grindstone is probably your best bet. But culture matters, and you might as well look for a culture that you'd like (and will take care of you and your career) as opposed to one that you wouldn't (and that won't.)

Enjoying your lunch at your interview

For the lucky few that are getting on-campus interviews this fall, one of the less-noticeable obstacles to surmount is the lunchtime meal. Usually with more than one person, it's your job (as I see it) as the candidate to help keep the conversation moving. Otherwise, there are awkward silences -- who wants that? -- and then they'll start whipping out napkins and asking you to explain the 'particle in a box' problem. Helpful topics to consider:

Cute anecdotes: Assuming that you're a good storyteller, there's never any harm in a good story (assuming it's in good taste and non-offensive.) Lab accidents, stories of you falling asleep at 3 a.m. at your columns, stories of you solving your colleagues problems are all fair game.

Asking questions: Many (most?) chemists are introverts; nevertheless, people like attention. If they're game to talk, ask them about their backgrounds, what they like about the company and their current lifestyles. Questions about the area are always helpful and conversation-producing. Treat them like the experts on their organization that they are.

A little bit of dish?: [This one may not be good advice.] If you can feel the conversation being willing to move in that direction, it's fun to ask people what they think of the management. If you get the typical enthusiasm-less enthusiasm ('oh, they're fine'), they probably don't want to talk about it. But sometimes, you get someone who's willing to tell you the truth; sometimes, even, it's a happy answer.

Good luck out there, folks!