Difficulty with job interviews.

[DaveJ]

23. Since you are an HR person, I have a few questions.

I'm terrible at interviews, but I feel that I have always been a great employee. In fact I've told my employer I wanted to quit a couple years ago, and they gave me a raise, and I since mentioned it again. Weirdly enough, it seems like since I'm good at my job, I'm stuck at my current position, and for that reason I am not moving up.

1) If the person doing the interviewing has a worse work ethic, and/or is less intelligence, how can that person be a fair judge of the applicant? I can say that I do not comprehend the thoughts of people more intelligent that me. If someone seems to know their stuff, I would not judge them based on having a personality that I do not understand.

2) When did this trend in interviewing start? I feel like in the past it was more about work ethic, someone who can put the good of the company first, being able to judge a good person who can be trusted, from a trickster. Today it seems to be more about trick questions. Questions that have nothing to do with the job, where there is no right or wrong answer, but really there is.

3) How do these behavioral questions determine who's best for a technical position? Technology is very regimented. It's about knowing the rules and how things connect. People can have great social skills, and do great at interviews, but know nothing about how technology works. (but know just enough to fool the interviewer) This is my main problem, as I've seen many I.T. directors who have liberal arts degrees, where the employees really are the ones teaching the director. Where the employees feel like they are swimming upstream against the backward current of supervisors who continually resist progress. Not to mention the disaster that happens when they hire someone who basically tricks them into hiring them, then a technical department is plagued by an incompetent person who is making mistakes, who constantly needs help, but who nevertheless is charismatic so the people in charge are never even aware of their problems they cause.

Anyway, I do not mean to sound bitter or anything. I just know what you are saying is true. I'm just trying to figure out the way the world works and hoping you can help me put some pieces to this puzzle together.