Flying Interview Questions

Ashton Cooper took a surprise hit as we were driving home.  That’s right; Ashton – my Mini Cooper Clubman – had a run-in on the highway with a large piece of flying debris.

We were enjoying a nice ride when suddenly out of nowhere a shredded tire flew right at us.  With just seconds to make a decision, I clutched the steering wheel and held on.  Good news, the piece of tire landed on the ground in front of us.  Bad news, we had to run over it.

Instantly I could tell Ashton was hurt.

He was shaking and different lights illuminated the dashboard. As I searched for an exit, I watched through the rear-view mirror as Ashton’s bumper flew out from under the car down the highway.

Sort of good news: Ashton was no longer shaking. Sigh.

We cruised to a pit-stop to assess the damage. I took photos and texted them to Hubby for a second opinion.

This was uncharted territory for me. Having never been in an accident of any kind (knock on wood) I was not experienced in this situation.  Not to mention I was just outside a small town about an hour from home.  It’s not like Hubby could drop everything to come get me or I could quickly ask my favorite auto mechanic what to do.

I had to think on my feet. And quickly.

So I did what anyone would do in a small town where you don’t know anyone: go to a busy restaurant and ask the manager for a reputable auto mechanic.

Worked like a charm.  After securing what was left of the bumper, the mechanic assured me that Ashton was good to drive home.

Flying objects coming straight towards you are no fun.  Although I’m glad to know that I was able to deal with it; the experience taught me to quickly assess the situation and stay calm under pressure.

Sometimes job interviews sling a flying object or two at candidates, with random questions coming out of nowhere that might catch us off guard.  We only have seconds to develop an appropriate response or risk being left out of the prospective hiring candidate pool.

Happened to me once, after three hours of interviewing with multiple people.  The final interviewer wanted a numerical answer on the spot to the question, “How many gas stations are there in the United States?”

Never. Saw. It. Coming.

Luckily I realized he was more interested in my ability to think logically than actually knowing the correct number of gas stations. I explained my thought process and gave him a number.  He was happy with my answer, enough so that I received a job offer.

I’ve never forgotten that lesson: to be prepared for unexpected flying interview questions. 

How do you prepare? Ask friends and family to help. Share questions that each of you have experienced during interviews to learn from each other.  The last thing anyone wants is to be all “deer-in-the-headlights” when a random question strikes.

It’s important to note that such questions may appear to fly out from left field, with no relevance whatsoever. Yet they are asked for a reason; there is a “question behind the question”.  Treat them as seriously as the rest of the interview.

Ashton and I were very happy to get home.  He’s seen a couple of car doctors who assure us they can repair the damage caused by the flying tire.  Which is great because I’ll need him to drive me to interviews.