Page 55 - 201 Best Questions To Ask On Your Interview

THE RULES OF THE GAME

cause it is so obviously a line. “If I happen to feel that the candidate and
I have created a close rapport, that our senses of humor are on the same
wavelength, then it’s great. But there is nothing more irritating to me
than someone trying to be funny whom I don’t find funny. Proceed with
caution if you want to use humor. And then, use it sparingly, just to add
spice, like pepper on the finest filet mignon.”
Another candidate got some mileage out of a similar expression, by
finding just the right time in the interview to say, in a dead-on New York
City accent:
As Ed Koch used to say, “How’m I doing?”
(Ed Koch is a former mayor of New York who managed by walking around
the city and offering that phrase in order to get feedback from citizens.)
How about jokes? Is it ever useful to tell a joke in a job interview?
Jokes are probably too risky, but it may pay to memorize a couple just
in case. I know one HR director who is known to ask candidates to tell
him a joke as a test of how nimble the candidate’s mind is. Every once in
a while—perhaps if the interview is at a more informal setting such as a
restaurant—it may make sense to offer a joke. The quasi-social nature of
the event might allow for more flexibility. But even here I urge caution.
Some interviewers will tell you a joke, either to break the ice or to il-
lustrate a point. Occasionally, unprepared or unprofessional interviewers
tell jokes because they are uncomfortable or don’t know what else to do.
In either case, resist the temptation to create a false rapport by exchanging
jokes. It doesn’t advance the interview, and little good can come of it. Do
listen to the subtext of the joke and come back with a question that indi-
cates the joke gave you a serious insight into the situation:

I appreciate the way you said that. It’s true, isn’t it, that communication
breakdowns come in the most unexpected ways.And while it can some-
times be funny, communication breakdowns impose real costs on the
organization. Companywide intranets offer real benefits to cross-
departmental communications. At my last job, I led the team that
developed . . .
If you must tell a joke, make sure it is short and pokes fun at your-
self or some general issue of work. If it’s about the job interviewing
process, so much the better. Never tell more than one joke, no matter

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