It would seem that questions like "How do you feel about cannibalism?" might also be out but might be far more helpful; than "phone" questions.
On the serious side, when I was much younger I hired a person who was able to answer all the right "histo" questions and so I hired him. He turned out to be a poser, who, shortly after I fired him showed up at a local university with a lab coat that listed him as "Dr." He had indeed worked in a histo lab, but as a lab assistant, and so the the understanding of what a histologist does was well rehearsed. (BTW, it topok me about two weeks to catch on, though the more experienced techs in the department figured it out almost right away) To be fair, it was during a time in hiring history when HR departments were not willing to give useful reference data and there were only a handful of questions they would even ask when checking. None of them were particularly useful or telling. For inistance, they would not ask if the person was an histo tech, but would simply ask, did he indeed work at your institution? The place where I worked required little or nothing for proof of experience. There was no background check either. Today, however, reference checking is a lot easier and more reliable. I guess my point here is that a good reference check needs to be done as well weeding them out by histo questions. I'm sure your HR folks will do a fine job of this. Also, once you have determined that they actually have the skills, or a realistic potential of gaining them, questions concerning dynamics of interaction are appropriate, though may lead to wrong impressions in the mind of the applicant. -----Original Message----- From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Breeden, Sara Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2012 10:52 AM To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Subject: [Histonet] Interview Questions So far, I am TOTALLY impressed and so grateful for your suggestions. And here's why... did I ever tell anyone out there what the FIRST question I was asked by the pathologist at my interview? It was..... (wait for it....) "How do you feel about personal phone calls?". Un-freakin' believable. I sure don't want someone to remember ME that way!!! Sally Breeden, HT(ASCP) New Mexico Department of Agriculture Veterinary Diagnostic Services 1101 Camino de Salud NE Albuquerque, NM 87102 505-383-9278 (Histology Lab) _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet This electronic mail and any attached documents are intended solely for the named addressee(s) and contain confidential information. If you are not an addressee, or responsible for delivering this email to an addressee, you have received this email in error and are notified that reading, copying, or disclosing this email is prohibited. If you received this email in error, immediately reply to the sender and delete the message completely from your computer system. _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet