# Ask the interviewer **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 13, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-interviewer/528882 "2010-02-13T17:55:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-interviewer/528882/61 "2010-03-05T21:11:32Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > Serious question, not trying to zing you, or catch you up in something: > If I told you that I would be comfortable, and have no problem taking direction from a 35 year old manager, would you, or the other interview staffers believe it? Really believe it? Also, would you really ask that question? > > The reason I ask, is because the "would you be comfortable’ thing was used by the pastor of our church, way back when, to let the black people that dropped in know that they weren’t welcome. Certainly we do hire older candidates. I think I would be looking at the whole picture though. It sort of like this. I’m looking at Associate and Intern level candidates with 4.0s in masters programs and they still aren’t a shoe-in. So I might wonder if someone who hasn’t accomplished at 50 what another person has accomplished in his 20s is really a good fit. > [@handsomeharry](#): > > Also, a woman asked me this a few years ago, about working for a woman boss, when I didn’t get \*that \*job. (Up till then, I had always had female managers, and never had had a problem.) As an interviewee, I would probably view that as a sign of weakness in a manager. As I joke, I might ask if I can expect to be held to the same standard as a female employee or if she planned to lactate in front of me. I suspect I also would not get that job. > [@Random Design](#): > > What does desparation smell like? I don’t know about desperation, but I’ve interviewed a lot of very nervous candidates. > [@Random Design](#): > > If a hottie walks in do you handle them like any other candidate? Go easier on them? Go harder? They are treated like any other candidate. We just talk about them more afterwards. It’s a client-facing business so in general, it helps to be more attractive, more polished and just more put together. But not at the expense of being an idiot. > [@Mosier](#): > > If you asked me what you thought my greatest weakness was, would “Kryptonite” be a good answer? No. > [@hankhill](#): > > What would you think of someone whose work history included being a professional poker player for several years? (Assume they are able to prove they made a decent living while doing so.) > > Do you think it would be better to leave it off, in case the interviewer has a bias one way or the other about that kind of profession? Do you think most interviewers have the same opinion? Tough call. Some interviewers might not like it. But leave it off and you have a gap on your resume. It might actually be a benefit if you were applying for a more quantitative job like something on a trading desk. For me, I generally wouldn’t care, except that’s a few years of you working a job not particularly relevant to this position. One of my colleagues in my last firm actually quit to go become a professional poker player. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2010, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-interviewer/528882/62 "2010-03-05T22:15:55Z")
FWIW, I and many of my fellow managers and directors would clearly never have gotten hired right out of college with the criteria my firm requires. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-interviewer/528882.md?page=3)