As I arrived for an interview today, the hiring manager asked me, “Did you have any trouble finding the place?”
As it happens, I did not have any trouble finding the place and said so. I had printed out a map from one of the numerous online map sites and the building was right where it was supposed to be.
But even if I had had trouble finding it, my answer would have been the same.
“Some people have trouble finding it,” he told me.
Interesting. As an IT person, I consider myself a problem-solver — actually, I could make a case that any person in any job is hired as a problem solver — so I wouldn’t start out an interview by admitting that I got lost on my way over.
“Don’t hire anyone who can’t find the building,” I said.
Oddly enough, it’s not so odd/unreasonable for the hiring manager/interviewer to ask “did you have any trouble finding the place”… Consider the case where one of the online mapping packages does NOT show the building to actually be where it really IS located — they, the company, probably would be appreciative to have that feedback so as to go out and FIX a problem they hadn’t even known that they had… Come to think of it, people in that group of “some people have trouble finding it” may have just missed out on the opportunity to provide that SAME feedback — and get the benefit of the company’s appreciation. The point: frame it as problem-encountered feedback, FROM the point of having surmounted the problem but helping improve the experience for the NEXT person — bonus points.