HR-how would YOU answer the questions?

[happyscooter]

So the other thread got me to thinking about interview questions. I understand the need to play silly games (well not really) but if someone asked the HR person, 'if you won the lottery would you quit work' and the HR person said 'no', wouldn't you think they were stupid???

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

I have a few interviews over the summer, and did not encounter any of this pointless, philosophical nonsense.

This types of idiotic interview techniques and questions are indicative interviewers who do not know how to interview or converse in a professional manner with a job candidate.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

No because I think the answer any company is looking for that asks something like that is "Oh no sir, if I get the job I will love working here so much that I cannot possibly leave, I will even work for free!"

The answer really is "hell yes" and anyone who says different is probably lying, but I don't think that is what HR would want to hear.

[pushingit]

I wouldn't think someone was stupid if they won the lottery and didn't quit.

I like my job and I like working and I can do a whole lot of good with that lottery money if I don't spend it foolishly on things like my daily living expenses.

I'm not saying that I wouldn't quit this job eventually to maybe start my own business or something, but I wouldn't quit just to be jobless.

I also think it's sort of sad that the only reward people get from their job is a paycheck and they'd want to immediately quit if they didn't need the money.

[pushingit]

Jan 7, 2011 9:56:44 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

The answer really is "hell yes" and anyone who says different is probably lying, but I don't think that is what HR would want to hear.

There are a lot of people working now who don't have to work.

There are a lot of people here who'll save more than the average lottery prize before retirement age, who'll continue to work despite "not having to."

[Deleted]

I agree with Savoir Faire- it's not a very professional question to ask in a job interview. My first inclination would be to say, "Lotteries are a tax on the poor so I don't buy lottery tickets". Knowing that would get me kicked out of the running, I'd quote Warren Buffet, who once said that he and Charlie Munger "tap-dance to work every day" because they love their jobs. They're richer than any lottery winners.

Frankly, there are times when I really get tired of getting up at 6:30 AM 5 days a week and worrying about office politics and whether I'll survive the next bloodletting-but the truth is that work does add some meaning to my life and if I didn't have this job I'd have to replace it with something else.

[8 Bit WWBG]

...:::"but if someone asked the HR person, 'if you won the lottery would you quit work' and the HR person said 'no', wouldn't you think they were stupid???":::...

I would give my true answer. "I would have MUCH more fun staying around, knowing that I could say or do just about anything I wanted to without having to worry about needing the job".

An alternate answer for a smaller business would be "maybe I'd buy the business, so the question should really be, would YOU still be working here if I won the lottery".

Neither of those would cement my chances, but they are the truth.

[HoneyBBQ]

If they asked me that stupid of a question during my interview, I don't want that job.

[thyme4change]

I was asked that once, and I answered "I don't play the lottery. But, if I hated my job I would quit regardless of the numbers on my lottery ticket."