Interview question

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The bad thing is that with a job interview they can ask whatever dumb questions they want and there is nothing you can do about it. The good thing is that the people doing the hiring may have absolutely nothing to do with the work to be performed. :happyyes:
 
That has been something that I always hated.
Poorly worded questions.
Yesterday I was helping a guy study for an electrical exam.
He was given over 100 study questions without answers.
There was so many vague questions that could have multiple answers depending on what the question was really asking.
Like "Conduit is measured on the inside or outside?"
"What is the one main ohms law formula?"
"What are the 3 most common conduit bending angles?"

Even worse is when the interviewer shows their lack of understanding or not current with codes.
You really can't just ask "how many neutrals are pulled for 3 circuits". Not enough detail. It happens.

The #10 circuit could easily be red (120/208v 3Ph), black (120/208 1Ph), orange (277/480 3 PH).
Technically the grounded conductor is also part of the circuit so it could be white or gray, but you would get thrown out like you didn't know what your doing if you said that.

Remember one interview years ago. The interviewer asking me verbal questions. Every answer I gave him he would respond "well that's right but not what I was thinking of". Waiting for him to ask what number he was thinking. Sometimes new hire questions are used to beat up a potential new hire then offer less. It's not too hard to come up with questions that most can't answer well on the fly. They kept calling me after that interview to offer me a job. I figured I didn't want to put up with that type of company.
 
heimjrh said:
I recently asked the following question at an interview for an electrical position. I did not understand the point of the question and asked for clarification. My interviewers seems surprised at my hesitation to answer. Is it me or is this question ambiguous? Here is the question:

How many circuits can be hooked up to a 20 amp breaker?

This is exactly how the question was worded.
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I agree with the other posts there is nothing worse than a poorly stated question or directions:? especially from a superior.

Did you get the job and do you really want to work there?
If yes then go back and explain your concerns and sell them on why you would be an asset to there company.
 
growler said:
The bad thing is that with a job interview they can ask whatever dumb questions they want and there is nothing you can do about it. The good thing is that the people doing the hiring may have absolutely nothing to do with the work to be performed. :happyyes:
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I agree. I did all the hiring (and firing) myself. Until we became part of a multi-national. Then it all had to go through the human resources department. Faceless bureaucracy. Rearrange the letters for a fun take on it..............:thumbsdown:
 
infinity said:
The question is tricky because a multipole CB could be just one circuit (like a 3Ø load) or multiple circuits (like a MWBC).
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Then add the discussion on whether a MWBC is a single branch circuit or a grouping of 2 or 3. That could add another half an hour to the proceedings :D.


The ones I really loathe are the "thought experiment" questions, those with no relationship to the actual work (like the elephant one). Sure, the interviewer wants to know how you think about problems, but jiggers, I've been solving some of these problems for longer than they've been alive. Let's talk about some things I've actually solved (like a bug in the Borland C runtime that only happened on Feb 29, or time coordination between tracking events in a steel mill, or the settling time for lab instruments).
 
zbang said:
Then add the discussion on whether a MWBC is a single branch circuit or a grouping of 2 or 3. That could add another half an hour to the proceedings :D.
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No 1/2 hour discussion needed, it can be either one or more than one. :)
 
K8MHZ said:
I would go with 1, since everything that would be turned off by the breaker would be on the same circuit, by definition. It doesn't matter if it's a 20 or a 15 amp breaker. Even if you have a 2 pole breaker with a shared neutral, it's still a single branch circuit.
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My thoughts too. Kind of a trick question really, because it appears to need more information and I probably would have acted first to state that, then thought about it later after being told there was a correct answer to the question as asked. The question wasn't "How many wires...", it was "How many circuits..." And no matter how many poles or how many conductors, it's always one circuit. If you disagree, consider what happens when you open or close that breaker.

MWBC = Multi Wire Branch Circuit. Note the lack of pluralization, it's still one circuit!
 
Jraef said:
...
MWBC = Multi Wire Branch Circuit. Note the lack of pluralization, it's still one circuit!
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Using that rationale we can also say none. It's not a circuit unless it is turned on. :D

Ultimately, he should have said, you have to hire me before I can hook up anything. :roll:
 
Jraef said:
My thoughts too. Kind of a trick question really, because it appears to need more information and I probably would have acted first to state that, then thought about it later after being told there was a correct answer to the question as asked. The question wasn't "How many wires...", it was "How many circuits..." And no matter how many poles or how many conductors, it's always one circuit. If you disagree, consider what happens when you open or close that breaker.

MWBC = Multi Wire Branch Circuit. Note the lack of pluralization, it's still one circuit!
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So if the code requires two circuits (SABC in a kitchen for example) and I run a 3-wire MWBC it's really only one circuit therefore it does not satisfy the requirement for 2 circuits? I'll have to disagree. What happens when the breaker is open is irrelevant in this case.
 
I sat in on a job interview once, a question was, "what is the ampacity of #12 THHN?" The answer was 20, which was wrong, the person who wrote the question didn't understand why. The correct answer was 30, but the overcurrent protection of a #12 is normally 20 amps
 
tom baker said:
I sat in on a job interview once, a question was, "what is the ampacity of #12 THHN?" The answer was 20, which was wrong, the person who wrote the question didn't understand why. The correct answer was 30, but the overcurrent protection of a #12 is normally 20 amps
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I would answer with "hand me your code book". :D

A famous story about Einstein is that once when asked for his phone number he asked to see a phone book, saying that he didn't waste intellectual capacity memorizing easily looked up facts.
 
ggunn said:
A famous story about Einstein is that once when asked for his phone number he asked to see a phone book, saying that he didn't waste intellectual capacity memorizing easily looked up facts.
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I'm going to try this on my wife if I ever forget an anniversary. "Give me the wedding album and I'll look it up. I don't waste brain cells on easily looked up facts Dear." :cool:
 
Coppersmith said:
I'm going to try this on my wife if I ever forget an anniversary. "Give me the wedding album and I'll look it up. I don't waste brain cells on easily looked up facts Dear." :cool:
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My anniversary is Valentine's Day, so I have plenty of reminders. Of course, going out for a quiet celebration dinner doesn't usually work for us, since everyone else is doing the same thing.
 
drcampbell said:
In my experience, they're 90°, Not Quite 90° and Oh Crap, Beyond 90°.
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That's funny.


Remember one interview the owner gave me a verbal solve this problem, a TV at a bar works during the day but won't work at night.
Said "was the TV rec connected to a dimmer".
He got a sour look on his face and said "how did you know that".
Told him "because bars and restaurants sometimes dim the lighting at night".
He said your right. No one ever gets that right. We had this one call we couldn't figure out for the longest time. And you knew it right away.
Did the SOB offer me the job, no. Either they wanted a lower pay person or the owner was intimidated by a skilled tradesman.
 
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