“Define ‘red’ in this context.”
I once walked in to my attorney’s office, wearing a red dress. Like, Coke can red – not easily mistaken for another color.
Attorney said to me, “That’s a pretty blue dress.”
Dogzilla: (looking down at my dress) [scooby doo voice] Hruh? [/scooby doo voice]
I ignored it, assumed he was either color blind, stupid, or testing me, and went on with the meeting.
S’pose I failed the “test”?
An appropriate answer would largely depend on the type of job you’re interviewing for. Ask open ended questions until you understand why the interviewed (customer, manager, subcontractor) is telling you something that appears to be incorrect, and how he feels about it. You can then identify the root of the miscommunication (he says it’s red and you don’t agree for one reason or another) and solve any problem.
Customer Service
“Hmm, it’s not supposed to be red, what about the pen makes you call it red?”
Product Development:
“Looks black to me, why do you call it red? And what other features would you like it to have?”
Management:
“Fine, put it away and bring me a black pen like I asked for. And coffee–2 sugars, no cream.”
Programmer:
“You been lied to my troubled little Tribble! This pen is clear…my favorite color! What’s a pen doing in a software company building?”
Janitor:
“Jiffy Cleaners”
From what I understand about the Microsoft work environment, any such situations are best dealt with in a laid back, creative, professional manner. Heh, good luck finding the balance!
Yeah, but isn’t it a little to obvious? I mean there isn’t really a miscommunication, both the interviewer and the interviewee know that there is some sort of game going on.
Actually, maybe the point is to see if the interviewee understands that it’s a game and what’s expected is any sort of jokey reply, but a serious reply takes away points from you? That would make sense.
On the contrary, if they’ll offer me a job after making a smartass remark like that, I’ll take it!
What I wish I would would have the balls to do
Interviewer “The pen is red”
Me: Jump up wide eyed and put my watch across the pen “The Biscuit flies to Peoria”
Me: Lean in and whisper"So the revolution has begun Comrade? excellent!"
Maybe. But then it could just be a test to see how you deal with unexpected and out-of-context conflicting information. A job interview is no time for tomfoolery. If this comes up, expect there to be a point and treat the situation seriously and professionally.
I work in customer service, and I get calls DAILY that amount to the same thing as the red/black pen scenario. Someone calls and is bugged about what amounts to a misunderstanding:
Caller: My car is totaled and you’re only going to pay me 70% of the trade in value!
Inigo: Well, that’s not what we normally do. In fact I have an offer already prepared for you based on the current market value of your car, adjusted upwards for lower than average mileage and again for being in very good condition immediately prior to your chasing down that lightpost.
Caller: Well OK then.
Now I’m thinking of the Monty Python “Job Interview” Sketch: “Gooooood Niiiiiiight…ding ding ding ding…”
“This pen is red.”
“$100 says it isn’t”
Inigo - could be, maybe you’re right, I dunno.
I’d grab the interviewer by the ears and kiss them firmly slipping my tongue into their mouth. Regardless of the gender of the interviewer. Then I’d say “I love you, Miss Moneypenny! I’ve been waiting for that pen all of these years.”
That would teach them to ask stupid ass questions in interview just to see how someone reacts to a silly situation. Oh, and I ask them wtf they were thinking when they wrote XP Pro to destroy all of my drivers when I upgraded from XP Home.
Really? It’s been a while since I’ve interviewed there. (Hey, I’ve been working at my current job for long enough to hardly remember a Microsoft interview. Wow.)
I’ve never had the “this pen is red.” Most of the rest of the questions on the page look vaguely familiar. Quite frankly, I’d much prefer that to “where do you see yourself in 5 years?”
Don’t say "Doin’ your wife! Don’t say “Doin’ your wife!” Don’t say “Doin’ your wife!”
Or, as a friend of mine said under somewhat similar circumstances, “Yup, it’s red all right. But it sure reminds you of black when you look at it.”
I would scribble something with the pen, checking the color, the disassemble the pen to check the ink cartridge. I’d re-assemble it, and return it. If he/she wouldn’t take it back, I’d put it in my pocket.
“There is no pen. (dramatic pause) Now, do you want the red pill or the blue pill?”
Ooooh! Just thought of a better response! Start pressing the interviewers forehead with the “three finger salute.”
“The oranges are ripe in Valencia.”
“Oh you want Smith the spy. I’m Smith the QA guy. Smith the spy is in Cubicle 657D!”
[trek geek]
THERE! ARE! FOUR! LIGHTS!
[/trek geek]
Microsoft Guy: This pen is red! ::hands black pen to AHunter3::
AHunter3: Hmm, now a lot of things I’ve wondered about your software are starting to make sense…
“This pen is red.”
Problem:
When queried visually, your red pen appears black.
Resolution:
This behavior is by design. The current version of this red pen will not write in red. This pen has been designated “red” for future compatibility. Workarounds include using any of the following pen add-ons:
-WriteSmartv2.3 (March 3, 2004)
-SmartWritev5.7 (March 7, 2004)
-DWOPP (Dynamic Writing Objects for Paper Products) (April 1, 2004)
-WeDecidedToCallItWriteSmartAgainXPv9.9 (April 9, 2004)
NOTE: THE USE OF ANY PEN ADD-ONS MAY CAUSE SERIOUS DAMAGE TO YOUR PEN AND YOUR PAPER. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE RECEIPT FOR YOUR PEN IF YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT USING ANY OF THESE PRODUCTS. YES, WE CREATED THESE PRODUCTS BUT MOST OF THE BUDGET WENT TOWARDS WRITING THE INSTALLER UTILITIES AND PHOTOGRAPHING SMILING PEOPLE FAR TOO ATTRACTIVE TO EVEN CONSIDER DOING YOUR JOB.
Doin’ your… son?
I guess my serious reply would be “how are you defining red?”
My wiseass replies:
Hand the pen back and say “Your problem is in the hardware.”
“That’s user-definable with Linux.”
Say “Yes it is.” When the interviewer comments, accuse them of discriminatory harrassment against my red/black color-blindness and threaten to sue for mental distress.