Worst interview experiences

[BigBo10]

From the first roll, you could achieve an 8 by rolling a two and a six, or a six and a two. So you have two “successes”. You work out the probability by diving the number of successes by the total number of possible outcomes.

So is it 3 in 11?

[Curmudgeon]

With 2 6-sided dice there must be 36 combinations. There are 6 ways of rolling an 8 (6+2, 5+3, 4+4)*2. Therefore it's a 1 in 6 (6 in 36) chance , I reckon.

[BFTD]

2 minutes ago, mathematics said:

Or maybe some companies need to know how fast you think on your feet, whether you can do basic probability, and how well you can articulate mathematics and statistics.

That would make the exercise pertinent, and your complaint irrelevant. It'd be like me complaining about being asked to demonstrate my abilities with a broom.

I don't think you've quite grasped the idea behind this thread.

[sjc]

3 hours ago, NewBornBairn said:

Went for an interview with CR Smith (is that the ones that do Lorimer Windows?). Anyway, there's a group of us being talked at by this woman who's telling us about the job selling double glazing. The day doesn't start until about mid-day when you go into the office to do phone calls and get leads etc. You hit the road about 3pm and start making your calls and the reason for the late start is you're expected to stay out as long as it takes to get the sale.

 

She then described how one of her top, top guys did a great job recently. He'd arrived at this retired couple's house about 7pm and whilst the normal call lasts about two hours, he didn't leave their house until gone midnight - but he got the order and a cheque.

 

And I thought to myself - "That poor old couple pressurised by some sales c**t for five hours until after midnight"

Then I thought - "That poor sales c**t that's under so much pressure he has to desperately try to get a sale like that"

 

I got up and just said, "This isn't for me" as I walked out.  She looked absolutely gobsmacked that I was turning down such a great opportunity.

That might have genuinely been my parents! They had an experience like this a few years ago.

[mizfit]

My interview for Burger King consisted of going in and asking the manageress if I could apply for a job, as a mate of mine worked there and said they were hiring. She gave me an interview right there and then and essentially asked me if I could do weekends and the odd evening shift during the week around college. It lasted about ten seconds and then I had my first shift three days later
She was a great boss. I met most of the folk that I now consider my close friends (and my wife) through working there.

I had a similar interview for McDonald’s at 16.
Got asked if I would be okay cleaning the toilets, if I could work one day of the weekend and at least 2 nights.

Was offered the job that night.

[CountyFan]

I do loads of interviewing at work, loads. Like at least a couple of times a month. 

I always look at it as a two way thing, it's as much a chance for the candidates to get a feel for us and our department as it is for us to see if they are a fit - and I tell them as much. You get so much more out of a candidate if you treat them with respect, ask appropriate, relevant questions that aren't meant to trip them up and spend a bit of time at the start to learn a bit about them and not just restrict it to their professional history. A really good interview should be more like a conversation than a question and answer session. 

Our success rate (I.e. folk we appoint who aren't bams) is pretty good, but theres nothing foolproof. I've had folk borderline at interview who we have given a chance who have been excellent colleagues. Equally folk who smash it just dont end up doing as well as you expect sometimes. 

The only bad ones are the weirdly common ones which end with the candidate saying "is there any reason you cant give me the job"? or words to that effect. It puts me right off. I think folk must be told to say that. My advice would be not to ask that. Invariably we say something like "well we have other folk to see so I dont know the respective performances until after" which is a) completely true and b) should be bleeding obvious. 

[Honest_Man#1]

25 minutes ago, mathematics said:

From the first roll, you could achieve an 8 by rolling a two and a six, or a six and a two. So you have two “successes”. You work out the probability by diving the number of successes by the total number of possible outcomes.

Or a 5 and a 3, or a 3 and a 5, or a 4 and a 4. For someone that’s really into mathematics that seems like a basic error.

[Gaz]

54 minutes ago, Shotgun said:

OK, now I'm really confused. 

What kind of fucking abomination is this?

[Jamaldo]

I had a lot of job interviews in 2019 (far too fucking many). 

First one was for an opticians. Perfectly fine set up and people. However I knew I'd fucked it when they asked me what my strengths were and I proceeded to sit in utter silence for about 30-45 seconds. If there was ever a question to fail on spectacularly that was not the one.

Had another for a supermarket where the interview went brilliantly (I'd done the exact role before so it was piss easy). However it was an early morning role and I didn't exactly live near but was hoping to move. Asked me to try and look for a place (which I did) and they would catch up with me in a week or two to see if I was successful. Never heard from them again. It was a good job that I never found a place too.

Also had another where the store manager was one of the co-interviewers. I actually admired her no bullshit, no nonsense persona but perhaps it would be better to not convey that in a interview where you're trying to get people to join your company. 

[BFTD]

11 minutes ago, Gaz said:

What kind of fucking abomination is this?

Are they ordered by modern value?

Last time I was dahn the Old Kent Road it was an absolute shithole, but I understand it's been largely redeveloped. Poor old Vine Street.

[Gaz]

Just now, oaksoft said:

Yes it's 1 in 6.

The n throws to get to 39 has me lost though at the moment but statistics and probability are not my strong areas.

I'm going to take a punt that it's 100%. As n tends to infinity, the probability of landing on any square tends to 1.

[Curmudgeon]

Yes it's 1 in 6.
The n throws to get to 39 has me lost though at the moment but statistics and probability are not my strong areas.

I think I've changed my mind. There's only one 4+4 combination so I'm going for an overall chance of 5 in 36.

Where's mathematics with his answer book when we need him?

[John Lambies Doos]

With 2 6-sided dice there must be 36 combinations. There are 6 ways of rolling an 8 (6+2, 5+3, 4+4)*2. Therefore it's a 1 in 6 (6 in 36) chance , I reckon.

What really threw me was that there are more combinations in a 3×3 rubiks cube than there are grains of sand in the world. Pretty mind-blowing

[Curmudgeon]

I'm sticking with 5 in 36.

To roll a 2 there's 1 combination
3 is 2 combinations
4 is 3
5 is 4
6 is 5
7 is 6
8 is 5
9 is 4
10 is 3
11 is 2
12 is 1

Adds up to 36 combinations which makes sense because for each of the 6 ways that dice A could land there are 6 ways that dice B could land. 6x6 is 36.

I'm away for a lie down and I'm not going to contemplate the second question.

[Gaz]

If we assume two independent dice rolls:

1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, 1-5, 1-6
2-1, 2-2, 2-3, 2-4, 2-5, 2-6
3-1, 3-2, 3-3, 3-4, 3-5, 3-6
4-1,  4-2, 4-3, 4-4, 4-5, 4-6
5-1, 5-2, 5-3, 5-4, 5-5, 5-6
6-1, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, 6-5, 6-6

Probability of rolling an 8 from two dice is 5/36.

[welshbairn]

God decides how the dice roll, everything else is mumbo jumbo, like global warming and dinosaurs.

[Silvio Tattiescone]

Just f**k off. I don't come to P&B to get educated.

[Gaz]

35 minutes ago, oaksoft said:

If that's the general idea then it can't be 100% because when you sum the probabilities of each square you get more than 1.

It would have to be 1/40 for each square (equal probabilities) with a total then of 1.

I think you are correct about taking 'n' to infinity.

The way I read it is if the number of dice rolls, n, is tending to infinity, you're just going to keep circulating the board, therefore the probability of landing on any square is going to approach 1.

[GiGi]

33 minutes ago, oaksoft said:

So are we going with 1/6 and 1/40 ?

Wouldn't back either. Shite odds.

[GiGi]

The last 3 pages of this thread are more awkward than any interview I've had btw.