((if you smell like elephant dung and scream expletives uncontrollably?? Sorry– got nuthin’…))

What I do think they are suggesting is that if you do genuinely want the job you are interviewing for and the interviewer asks you if you would be willing to do something that might normally be out of your comfort zone, it would be in your best interest to not let the interviewer see you sweat this question but instead see you agree to rise to the challenge.

For example: you are interviewing for a great job and you find out in the interview that once a month you have to give a presentation to a group of senior staff members to brief them on the progress that you are making. You know you want this job and you know you could do it very well, but you are not at your most comfortable when public speaking. You are willing to give these presentations your best shot and this presentation situation is definitely not a deal breaker for you, but when you are sitting in the hot seat at the interview a momentary flash of panic hits you. Do you say, “Uuuuuh- I GUESS I wouldn’t mind that” or do say, “Sure! I can absolutely handle that!” You’re not lying, you just aren’t letting them see your momentary reservation.

As you put it “If you’re waffling on working hard and rising to the challenge a particular position offers, why did you walk in the door in the first place?” Regardless of what those challenges are.”

For me – cleaning grease traps would be “challenge” I might not want to “rise” to, but if the alternative was letting my family starve . . . pass me the rubber gloves and the nose plug.
Oops, should have mentioned great post! Waiting for the next post!

As you put it “If you’re waffling on working hard and rising to the challenge a particular position offers, why did you walk in the door in the first place?” Regardless of what those challenges are.”

For me – cleaning grease traps would be “challenge” I might not want to “rise” to, but if the alternative was letting my family starve . . . pass me the rubber gloves and the nose plug.

I’ve certainly experienced Know-It-Nones (I mean you could hear the crickets chirping in her head). I’ve had some I categorized as Dressed to UNimpress, I’ve had a husband who brought his wife INTO the interview, I’ve had a guy who smelled like he sprayed the entire cologne department on him…it was all quite amusing.

For example, I once interviewed for a job that was going to be mostly field work (this wasn’t clear from the description). I was honest with them about the fact that I was looking to cut down on field work rather than take on more, and I didn’t get called back–I knew I wouldn’t, and I was fine with that. Better that than waste their time and mine moving farther along in the process. Sometimes it’s not about “challenges” or not being willing to work hard; sometimes the job just isn’t a good fit.

As a candidate, I guess it would be to my advantage to pretend I was on board right up until if and when I got the offer, but as interviewers I’m assuming you guys would prefer that a candidate not waste time and resources pretending s/he is willing to do things that s/he would actually hate doing. This seems like it may lead not only to possible rejected offers or wasted second interviews, but also to people quitting a year into the job because they are miserable, which can’t be a good use of the company’s resources either. (Note, I am speaking from the perspective of a job seeker only–obviously I am completely clueless about HR and staffing.)