I had an interview for a summer internship with a local council recently and unfortunately went to it unprepared and quite nervous. During the interview, I ended up having to invent (or to be more exact, exagerrate) the situations when I have shown leadership, teamworketc. I was like Im only 21 yrs

jack, London, UK

I was asked in an interview, 'How do you feel when you make a mistake?' I answered that I get very angry with myself. Perhaps I shold have said it doesn't bother me, cos I never got the job. What the correct answer was I still don't know

Sue, Oxford,

I really detest the superficiality of the whole interview process. It's not about how how skilled or qualified you are, so much as how good you are at selling yourself or "playing the game."I struggle with being genuine or giving them the answers they want to hear! I shouldn't have to choose!

Michelle , Uniontown, US

It's a game isn't it? Like most games you can practise to be better and although you might never become extremely talented at it you can atleast be as good at it as you can be. It's not just about the skills it's about working with your line manager and if you are in doubt about that then get out.

David, Edinburgh, Scotland

I was pipped at the post for a job I really wanted because my presentation was less confident than the other candidate and my nerves showed through. Has anyone got any tips for overcoming nerves? I may have been the better candidate for the job but I let myself down.

Jane Atkinson, Durham, Durham

Two points: in answer to any third person question, in fact to any question almost, I want to reply "How goood are you at spotting a lie?' Because quite obviouly all of us out there looking for work are as well prepared as we can be and - here's point two - I once asked a recruitment specialist "How do you spot a good cadidate from a candidate who interviews well" - the answer - we cant! The truth of the matter is that what matters in an interview - and employers please wake up to this too - the only thing you can realy judge is the candidates character and response to an interview situation - you wont really know if that person can do the job untill they are doing it!

Mark, Ipswich, UK

It can be unfortunate if you are interviewed by a company/institution that only talks MindTools.com language.

In reply to the question, 'How does the Planning Cycle help you?' I could only reply, 'What do you mean by The Planning Cycle?'

This went on for what seemed like five minutes.

Somewhat shaken by the mantra-like repetition, I came up with an approach to medium term planning, based on previous military experience, that subsequently proved to be identical to The Planning Cycle.

'That's not The Planning Cycle.'

At least they didn't mention Six Thinking Hats. HR people really are the most dreary drones of the employment world.
I take some comfort in the knowledge that I'm not the only one who thinks we are puppets dancing to the tune of HR self-aggrandizement.

Rob, Liverpool, UK

Sometimes I have wondered how a poor employee managed to get hired and often the answer is, "S/he interviewed well." Surely the interview process needs a cleansing air.

<<I said "Well,...I've never been to prison" >>

lol, this proves that all employers DON’T appreciate honesty. Thanks for the laugh, Graham.

Elaine, San Ramon, CA USA

Dave it seems that you must have a had a bad experience with HR in the past. But this does not excuse your sexist and ignorant views on HR. Heaven help the HR department who has to deal with you.

rachel, Wiltshire,

Dave - agreed 100%. HR are the last people you would contact in most organisations if you are looking for your next role. They only seem to be there to formalise successful recruitment carried out by the actual business units, and to enable the company to "tick the boxes" in various compliance exercises. I'm mystified as to why HR seems to have become such a predominantly female role; whether this is cause or the effect of my earlier observations. Anyone got theories?

Austin, London,

A Jaffa Cake was officially determined to be a cake by a VAT tribunal some years ago. The distinction was important because cakes are zero-rated for VAT but biscuits are at 17.5%!

Thomas Ralph, Dublin 4, Ireland

If anyone ever asks you the jaffa cake question here is the answer, although bear in mind this may make you appear like a smug know-all and thus you won't get the job:

They are cakes. We know this a) because it says so on the box but b) because it was decided by the courts.

Customs and Excise wanted to designate jaffa cakes as biscuits as these attract VAT. McVities insisted they were cakes as cakes do not attract VAT. The definition finally agreed upon was that cakes go hard when they become stale whereas biscuits go soft. Thus jaffa cakes are cakes.

Paul Owen, Birmingham, UK

I was once asked in an interview " What would you say was your greatest acchivement??"

I said " Well,...I've never been to prison" ;)

I didn't get the job!

Graham Wharton, St. Albans, uk

A jaffa cake is a cake. If left out, a biscuit goes soft and a cake will go hard. If you leave a jaffa cake out for a few hours, it will go hard.

This test was applied in the case of United Biscuits (UK) Ltd v The Commissioners of Customs and Excise

I really should get out more often!

A Thorn, London,

Interviews are so false - both sides are just parroting the same old lines. I would have had more respect for an employer if they had actually had the honesty to say 'We've hired you for this job but we really want to spend your life being ordered around by my toadies and not being paid for it and seeing bullying as an acceptabel part of your job. There was also the female stalker that attached herself to me......

carole, London, UK

Actually, the difference between a cake and a biscuit is that in WWII times a cake was deemed a 'luxuary item' and therefore rationed and taxed heavily. A bisuit was deemed a necessity and therefore wasn't taxed as much.

Jennie, London,

Andrew in Belfast - it was a dispute with the Inland Revenue. Cakes don't incur VAT but biscuits do, so McVities wanted them classified as cakes to avoid having to pay the VAT.

Jon, Winchester,

Wouldn't it be great if, at the end of the interview when the interviewer asks if you have any questions, you could say: 'You've heard all about me. Now tell me about you. What are your weaknesses? And how have you succeeded in influencing others? And what's your view on whether a Jaffa Cake is a cake or a biscuit'?

There's a serious point to this. Recruiters who have interviewed me have often seemed so keen to tick the 'competence' boxes on their list that they've overlooked whether the person they're interviewing would actually fit into the organisation and its (often bizarre) corporate way of thinking.

I write from bitter experience.

Caroline, Oxford,

Andrew in Belfast:

Yes, it's true, Jaffa Cakes are 'officially' cakes, at least for tax purposes. It's because of a VAT tribunal decision, where the makers argued that they were cakes (which were zero-rated for VAT), and Customs and Excise argued that they were biscuits (standard rate). McVities won.

James, London,

Graeme Garden (I think) tells an anecdote about an interview he attended after he had already decided to accept a different offer. "So what made you decide to become a doctor?" "I think it all started with the voices."

And there IS a correct answer to Q10: "I don't know, I've never had cause to consult the relevant (VAT) legislation." Depending on the company, it could be more important, not that you hazard a guess, but that you know when and why the distinction could be non-trivial.

As for my own experiences, the most professional interview I attended (IQ & Four Factors tests) was carried out by a recruitment company who omitted to tell me I was grossly over-qualified for the position, and would be bored out of my skull by the unchallenging work and the obsession with petty management politics. I left the job after three months.

Be interviewed by the company, not by an agency, and if you don't hit it off on a personal level, you probably won't like it there.

Ian Kemmish, Biggleswade, UK

I have to say that my most hated question ever is to be asked to give an example of when I have influenced someone or a group of people and how I went about doing it.

The reason I hate it so much is that you know the person who is asking you has learnt everything they know about influencing people from a book and could probably recite by bullet point how it is done.

Suffice to say that my stubborn refusal to offer any explanation for my success other than natural charm and charisma (I don't think they quite understood the tongue in cheek delivery either) did not go down well.

Incidentally has anyone ever worked in a company where the HR department did anything more than gossip and exchange knitting patterns? In my experience they are without doubt the single greatest wastage in any company.

dave, worthing, uk

Actually if the program QI on BBC 3 is to be believed there is an answer for question 10. Jaffa cakes are classified as cakes because they go hard when left out for too long whereas biscuits go soft, I think the reason for this determination was some sort or packaging dispute over using the word 'cake' on the label.

andrew, Belfast, Northern Ireland

I agree with you Stephanie, I think my toughest interview was for a corporate Bank and they suddenly burst out with (in a straight face) "Tell me a joke!"....that itself, was a joke!
Jay - also agree with you. I work in an Investment bank and it is full of cunning people and people who look at others with their noses pointing to the ceiling. However, there are a few people who are gunuine so it makes its all bearable... =)

Lil, London,

I wish there were more people in the world like you Jay. I totally agree with you.

Olinka, Pilsen, Czech Republic

I wish there were more people like you Jay. I totally agree with you.

Olinka

Olinka, Pilsen, Czech Republic

yes! I agree Jay! What is the point of all this unecessary 'bluffing'...the office environment would be more effective if people were themselves and everyone was aware of each others GENUINE strengths and weaknesses and could therefore work together to allow for them!

Stephanie, London, London

I like the comments put here and I think the questons and answers are realistic in an interview for big corporate company scenario. The odd ball questions are what get me though, if I was in an interview and just after answering and digging out statistics from my brain - "is a jaffa cake a biscuit or cake?" I would probably be so bemused I'd faint! Or I'd say "actually it's a cake that looks like a buiscuit".

Shereece, London, England

i'm sorry to say jay that this is a fact of business and the ugliest portrayal of this was shown in ‘the apprentice’. Remember it's all about power and wealth, and if once you've made it you remember your roots, then maybe you’ll be one of the few to change this ethic. Let me know…..

Nick, lufbra, Leics

i hate the modern office environment as a workplace... it's ridiculous, people are rewarded for thinking themselves to be above others and lying about their qualities. it all seems fake and massively farsical.

jay, manc, lanc

this is a very good questions.,which will help me in my future.please give me answers of these questions.

suhita paul, jamshedpur, india