asking candidates how to transport an elephant, a 10-year leak by my desk, and more

by Alison Green on November 7, 2024

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…

1. My boss wants to ask interviewees how to transport an elephant

I have recently moved teams into a slightly more senior management role. We have just received approval to recruit two new staff and I am responsible for all leading the recruitment process. This is an area I have plenty of experience in and I feel confident in my skills.

My manager asked to review my interview questions. I was fine with this as it’s my first time interviewing on behalf of this team. He asked me to include his favorite interview question: “If I asked you to transport an elephant from Edinburgh to Bristol, how would you do it?” I laughed as I thought he was joking. He was not.

I am recruiting medical administrators. I explained this question has nothing to do with the role or the job description and is not competency based. I asked what answer he would be looking for and he just said he’s interested in how their brain works. Help me explain to him why this question sucks.

Questions like these — often called brain teasers — used to be popular among some interviewers. The idea was supposed to be for candidates to talk you through how they’d approach solving the problem, thus giving you a better sense of how their brains worked (just as your boss said). It was supposed to be less about the final answer and more about how the person worked through the problem.

Brain teasers have largely fallen out of fashion ever since Google famously stopped using them; they had used them for years but stopped when their own data showed that candidates’ answers weren’t at all predictive of how successful they’d be as an employee. Their head of HR told the New York Times, “We found that brain teasers are a complete waste of time … They don’t predict anything. They serve primarily to make the interviewer feel smart.”

You might show your boss that article, as well as this one going into more detail about Google’s findings.

2. There’s been a leak at my desk for 10 years

It’s a rainy Monday morning, and there’s currently a trash can directly behind my chair, collecting a steady drip of water from the ceiling.

I work on the second floor of a 15-ish story building, and this happens every time it rains. Don’t ask me why this is the floor that leaks, either. It’s just a weird office enigma.

This has been going on since I started here, nearly 10 years ago. They tried to fix it way back then (someone else was actually sitting in this spot in those days). They’ve patched the ceiling various times in subsequent years. They’ve stood behind me and stared at it for a while. But literally nothing has stopped it, or even slightly altered the pattern.

I don’t know the specifics of what they have actually done to try and mitigate the issue, if I’m honest. I just send an email to say it’s leaking agin, and sometimes someone will come look at it. Or not. Sometimes I’ll just have an extra trash can at my desk after a particularly rainy weekend. It’s a big campus. I’m guessing it’s not a priority, or maybe not the only leak.

It’s far enough away from me that it’s not actually dripping on me, or my desk, and we’ve moved necessary office equipment away from that spot. It isn’t actively preventing me from doing my work and I could probably move my desk if I really needed to, though I like sitting next to the window.

Aside from being mildly annoying, it’s not something I can’t handle (I might start collecting the rain to water my plants). But I have reached a curiosity tipping point. So I’m wondering … does my company have an obligation to fix this? What are the rules around stuff like that?

I’m not an OSHA expert, but from what I can tell, this would potentially be an OSHA violation if it leads to water on the floor (a slipping hazard), mold or mildew, or damage to the ceiling support grid. If you want to find out for sure, you can file an anonymous report with OSHA. Be sure to specifically say you’re concerned about employees’ safety.

3. How do I handle a constantly negative coworker?

I work at a small company across from a coworker who I usually get along with. However, she’s often negative, almost like a human Eeyore. She works in a position where she sees the numbers, and sometimes during the slower season she’ll make a comment like, “Whoa, it’s really slow, they’re going to have to lay people off soon” or “I’ve never seen it this low, I’m not billing much at all, how are we going to keep the doors open?”

I’m not naive, I am aware of these factors (and have started low key looking as a result,) but the constant harping on this and griping about other matters is exhausting. What does she expect me to do about it? I really would rather not dwell on it. We are all doing what we can to keep things going. It’s a small office so I don’t want to alienate her, but I also can’t handle the constant negativity.

I’ve tried to say “I can’t focus on that” or something of that nature but she continues. Is there a kind yet clear way I can redirect, or do I just need to try to tune her out?

Sometimes a complete lack of engagement with the gloom will work — meaning that she says something gloomy and you say, “Ah, well. I better get back to work.” Or, “Ah, well. Oh, I wanted to ask you about ____ (insert topic change).”

If that doesn’t work, you can try being more direct. For example: “I find it hard to focus on work after you say things like that. I’d be grateful if you didn’t speculate on stuff like that to me; it really throws me.”

4. Writing a novel about my industry

I have written a novel. It’s completely fictional but it is set in the industry that I work in, and I draw a lot on my industry knowledge to make the scenarios realistic. There’s also some exploration of the challenges of working in that industry, although I’d say overall the tone is positive.

I’d really like to try and publish it but I’m wondering if this could jeopardize my day job. I work for a company that provides professional services — I wouldn’t say it’s a tiny community, but there are a lot of people who recognize my name and know what I do. I’d publish under a pseudonym but I’m not sure if it could still become known. My concern is whether clients would think it’s about them (it’s not) or whether my employer would just see it as a conflict.

I’m considering going to HR, but wondering if I’m overthinking this. Surely people write novels relating to their field of work all the time? If I brought it to HR they would probably want some higher-ups to read it and it’s sort of in the “spicy romance” category and that’s just not how I want to be seen professionally at my day job. Any insight?

Are you revealing proprietary company information, badmouthing clients (even in the abstract), making the field as a whole look bad, or making yourself appear like someone clients wouldn’t want to work with? If the answer to any of these is yes, there’s a high risk of this being a problem (understandably so). Otherwise, though, in a lot of fields this would be a complete non-issue.

To be entirely safe, though, you’d need to run it by your company … but then of course you risk them telling you no. The counter-argument to that is that if you’re publishing under a pseudonym, there’s a decent chance they’ll never hear about it (especially if you consider the fate of most published books, which do not circulate widely). But it’s still smart to plan for the possibility that they will, and at that point the question might be whether you’re better off asking for forgiveness rather than permission. I don’t know without more info, but if you pressed me for an answer, I’d say that given that there’s a non-zero chance they’ll learn about it, life will be easier for you if you get their okay ahead of time, or wait to seek publication until after you’ve left.

Also, how spicy are we talking about? If it’s your typical romance level of spice, I’m not super concerned about that; people are aware romance novels with adult scenes exist. But if sex is the central focus, I’d be more hesitant.

5. Is it OK to disclose a disability during a hiring process to make sure I can actually do the job?

Recently I interviewed for a technical administrator position that would have been 100% office work. I was one of three finalists, but they decided to go with someone else. However, the same company has reached out saying I would be a great fit for a full technical position and I am very interested.

However, the technical position would require a good bit of field work, which can be hard on me as I have a disability. From what I have been told so far about it, I should be able to handle the field work (though I might need a cane or walking stick for support) but I’m nervous about whether there might be aspects to it no one thought to mention, since they don’t know about my limitations.

Normally, it isn’t something I would disclose until hired, but would it be appropriate to say, “I have a disability, what has been described to me so far is all doable but I want to make sure we are on the same page so I won’t be a few days in and realize I physically cannot do the job”?

Wait until you have the offer so that there’s much less risk of discrimination, unconscious or otherwise. At that point, it’s fine to use the language you proposed (although I’d leave off everything after “on the same page” and then describe the limitations you think could end up being relevant). Good luck!

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{ 93 comments }

{ 93 comments… read them below or add one }

  1. Daria grace*

    #1, you can find out how people’s brains work using questions actually relevant to the work. One I got at a recent interview was something like “if we asked you to prepare a report in software you’d never used before, how would you go about working it out?.” Asking nonsensical ones just serves to stress already nervous people out, is incredibly subjective (would an answer that focused on elephant welfare be better than one that focused on efficiency) and doesn’t tell you if they are good at solving problems in ways that would actually align with business policies and priorities. It also risks prioritising people who like debating and arguing silly stuff which may be an unhelpful or annoying trait

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  2. nnn*

    If the workplace in #1 wanted to do an experiment, they could ask various existing employees how they’d transport an elephant (either informally in the break room or more scientifically through some kind of anonymized survey), and see if the answers that people give correlate with their actual real-life performance.

    Is it worth the bother of doing the experiment? I have no idea – that depends on many specific variables I can’t see through the internet.

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    1. bamcheeks*

      This is basically what Google did— they are very into optimising everything so they tracked all that data for a few years and decided the puzzle questions were junk. You don’t have to do it because Google already did!

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    2. Emmy Noether*

      Ah, but if the elephant-question boss hired a bunch of them based on their answer to that question, then the data set is biased.

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  3. Unkempt Flatware*

    In case one gets a ridiculous question like this, answer with, “by getting three quotes from local qualified elephant transport companies and selecting the bid with the best value.” Then stare blankly.

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    2. MK*

      Right? I realize the interviewer wants to find out how a candidate would handle the matter practically, but, as a lawyer, my mind immediately went to the legalities. How is a private company in the UK in possession of an elephant legally? Don’t you need some kind of permit to own one, let alone transport them? Isn’t there trained staff taking care of the elephant, who are much more qualified to handle this? Frankly, my first impulse would be to make sure I am not being an accessory to a crime.

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        1. Ellie*

          We had a similar nonsensical question as part of a team morale building exercise. We were asked to pair off and try to negotiate a contract for the delivery of a quantity of goods. One represented the supplier, and one, the customer. They gave us half an hour for the exercise.

          Being software engineers, who have nothing to do with the negotiation and purchase of goods, we sat down, googled the price of the goods, said, “1 million dollars seems to be the going rate. Shall we say half up front and half on delivery?” and we were done. We had to make small talk for the rest of the time.

          When interviewing though, I just straight up ask what their go-to problem solving approach is. What do you do if I gave you a problem and you had no idea how to solve it. Just straight up ask.

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    3. Free Meerkats*

      “That’s not enough information to formulate a coherent answer. African, Indian, or Pygmy elephant? Adult, sub-adult, or infant? Sex of the elephant? Is it in musth or estrus? Pregnant? Is the elephant trained in any way?” Etc, Etc, Etc.

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      1. Suze*

        Got to say the answers here gives me a fair idea about how the commentariat’s brains work. Maybe it’s a good question after all. I’d hire you, Meerkats.

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        1. bamcheeks*

          Right? I started off a sceptic but I’m coming around to the idea of using this question in my next interviews. :-P

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          1. Thegreatprevaricator*

            I enjoyed the question and I think my responses are fairly on brand for my brain to be fair. My first question would be *why* do you want to transport an elephant. The second would be is it advisable to transport an elephant, seeking appropriate advice. Third would be what’s your budget and timescale. Then if appropriate I’d outsource the job and get quotes :D . This kind of thing used to be part of my job as a theatre producer and I loved it. No elephants were required but I did have to once source a lamb for a photo shoot..

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    4. Maz*

      Exactly. Contact a couple of zoos and/or wildlife rescue organisations and ask them for recommendations for companies who specialise in transporting large animals, contract with one of those companies and then leave it to the experts.

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      1. UKDancer*

        Yes I think my answer would be the same. Take advice from experts and then get quotes from professionals and contract the work to someone who does it professionally.

        I don’t think it’s a particularly good question.

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    5. porridge fan*

      “I would fold it in thirds, put it in a standard business envelope addressed to the recipient, attach a first-class stamp and put it in the office’s outgoing post tray”. *enigmatic smile*

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    6. Lexi Vipond*

      I would contact the zoo and ask them for advice – but if I wasn’t already working for Edinburgh (or Bristol) Zoo, why would I have an elephant?

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      1. Not Australian*

        Alas, Bristol Zoo – like the famous parrot – has ceased to exist: pushing up daisies, it has joined the choir eternal.

        Probably best not to ask why I know this…

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        2. Lexi Vipond*

          Ahh, I thought it had just turned into the same thing with a different name, or a different thing with the same name, or similar. In that case the hypothetical elephant will have to go to Chester!

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  4. Autumnal*

    Q1, the image that popped into my head was me, slowly cocking an eyebrow, snort laughing, and replying, “One piece at a time.” At which point I’d stand up and giggle/snort my way to the exit door. Yeesh. Ask ridiculous questions, get ridiculous answers.

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  5. Raida*

    For the technical position with field work, *before* the offer I’d say “I’d like to know more about what the field work entails, could I catch up with someone else who’s doing/has done the role to get a better idea of it overall?”

    And then, if it’s gonna involve something that really cannot be done while using a cane (I dunno, farmers walking desktop towers uphill?) you’ll know and you can opt out of the role – still without disclosing the medical information.

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  8. Marshmallow*

    This isn’t helpful, but I once got asked in an interview “where does crude oil come from?” The job had nothing to do with crude oil (although was a lab job so sciency)… my stupid literal brain had no idea what he wanted. My answer was “the ground?” Followed by a blank stare. He laughed and said “ok, yes, technically correct”… and then he did expand the question to get to his point. Which I don’t remember. It was one question during a 4 hour onsite interview process. My literal answer must not have been a red flag. They hired me and I’ve been with that company for 17 years. I’ve never worked with the guy that asked that question though. The rest of the questions were your standard behavior based questions.

    I’ve also worked with an interviewer that likes to ask what you would do if your car broke down on the side of the road. It tells me nothing about the candidates but I do find it amusing to watch people blank stare (which I don’t count against them cuz it’s a silly question)… but like really? You’ve never had your car break down?!?! How?!?! I’ve been stranded on the side of the road so many times! I can’t fathom not having an example story for that question! I would ace it for sure! I am very experienced at “car died on side of road”!

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    1. UKDancer*

      Err I’m not sure what he expects for the breakdown question but my answer would be instintively to call the AA and wait in a safe place for them to come. That’s what I pay them for.

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        1. Yours Sincerely, Raymond Holt*

          Or who doesn’t drive at all, potentially for reasons like a disability which they may not wish to disclose…

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      2. Marshmallow*

        That’s a great answer!

        She’s usually looking for troubleshooting processes and like willingness to ask for help vs doing something dangerous. Really I don’t think we’ve ever made a decision based on that question.

        I’ve not done it the same ever. Once I called a friend to come get me. Once, the car still drove but not fast enough for highway and I was over an hour from home with no cell phone access so I got off on next exit and trolled the town for unthreatening looking people to ask where the nearest car fixy place was. I found an old guy and creepily pulled up next to him to ask my question (luckily I am a small unthreatening woman). He directed me to one and I went there. When I was a kid my mom got stranded and tried to climb the embankment of the highway with her two small children to get to a house with a phone. Luckily a cop saw her and helped. I learned my survival skills from her…

        I have several more stranded car stories but those are fun ones.

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      3. Marshmallow*

        Yes, it’s a dumb question. She’s usually going for like troubleshooting skills and thought processes when something goes wrong but there are so many better ways to ask that. It’s always the last question and we never really use it to actually decide anything.

        I wouldn’t even have a consistent answer for it! Once I just called a friend to come get my passengers and then I called a tow truck and they took me to the dealership.

        Once I was stranded where the car wouldn’t drive fast enough for high way and I was over an hour from home in rural Iowa with no cell phone. I got off on first exit, and trolled the town for a non-threatening stranger to approach for directions to a car fixy place. I found an old guy and pulled up next to him to ask my question. He directed me to a dealership nearby and I went there.

        Once when I was like 4 or so my mom got stranded in the interstate and tried to climb the big hill with her two small kids to a farm house hoping they’d have a phone. Luckily a cop saw and stopped to help, but I learned my survival skills from her…

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      4. Ellis Bell*

        This is my answer too, which would also be delivered with a blank stare. Or at times when I’ve been too broke for roadside assistance “I called a friend” or “I called AA and paid way too much for instant membership because my savings gamble didn’t pay off”. I don’t think it’s intended to be, but it is very much linked to what people can afford to do; not to mention the fact that not everyone drives? I’m sure it feels like a satisfying conversation for the interviewer, but I would leave that interview unimpressed.

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    2. Elf*

      I suspect the blank states are because the question is so unexpected and out of context that it’s jarring!

      Plus, as with the elephant question there are so many factors that could change how I would answer the question.

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    3. Yours Sincerely, Raymond Holt*

      I don’t drive and would be completely thrown by a question about a car breaking down because I’d be trying to work out why they were asking, whether driving is, in fact, part of the role and it was never stated, whether there’s a right or wrong answer, is it OK to just say I’d phone AA, that seems like the “wrong” answer but I have no idea how to fix a car so?

      None of this has anything to do with my job. If you asked me what I’d do if eg a top stakeholder told me they were unhappy with a critical project two days before completion, or a problem that might occur in the role, I’d be fine.

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    4. KateM*

      I’m guessing the country you live in does not require you driving around in a safe vehicle. No yearly checks on roadworthiness or anything?

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      1. Marshmallow*

        Uhh.. no there’s not yearly check requirements. I’ve just had bad luck with cars. My one stranded me 7 times in the 6 years I had it and it was new when I bought it. Basically a lemon.

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        1. UKDancer*

          I didnt know that. I mean in GB after 3 years there’s a mandatory annual basic roadworthiness test which checks the car will run and is safe (I think slightly different in NI). When I buy second hand cars I go to the gov.uk website and can check its history and how many times it has failed the test. I didn’t realise that wasn’t a common thing.

          That’s probably why I’ve never had a breakdown.

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          1. UKDancer*

            Well that and the fact I get it serviced every year.

            Raymond Holt is right, thinking about it. What this question essentially does is find out if people can afford to get a reliable car and keep it serviced or not. So it’s giving a clue whether people have money.

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      2. Ellis Bell*

        Oh I’ve been stranded in cars that had passed their annual MOT. The cars are tested for safety, not reliability.

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        1. Emmy Noether*

          But reliability IS safety. A car breaking down on the road is dangerous. (Driver’s ed here was very insistent that if you have to stop on the side of the highway, you get out of the car and AWAY as fast as possible.)

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              1. KateM*

                I think that’s another thing that they don’t have in USA – requirement to be taught to drive by a professional.

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              1. UKDancer*

                Yes in the UK it’s usually called “driving lessons. ” I’ve only heard it called Drivers Ed” in the US.

                Driving lessons are something people often have with an instructor although sometimes friends and family try teaching as well.

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                1. Emmy Noether*

                  In Germany there are theory lessons (in a classroom) AND driving lessons with a certified instructor in a special car that also has the pedals on the passenger side. And both a theoretical and practical examination.
                  The requirements on the number, timing, and type of lessons (highway/inner city/night) are about as strict as clichés about Germany would lead you to believe.

    5. Emmy Noether*

      I’ve never had a car break down on the road. Unless you count a flat tire, which doesn’t usually strand one in a modern car either (they’re usually still safe to drive to the next repair place when the warning light comes on).

      My parent’s car broke down once, in over 30 years of owning cars. Oh, and my dad once ran out of gas on a highway, which is NOT an example one should give. I don’t think I know of anyone else who got literally stranded – it’s very unusual in my world. Cars usually just make a weird noise, or blink warning lights at you and have to be taken in.

      To be fair, a lot of people I know use mainly public transportation and bikes to get around. Stories of train delays and on-the-fly bike repairs, that I’ve got a LOT. And the solutions are usually more creative and/or entertaining than “call/get assistance”, which is kind of the only (and obvious) solution for a car. It’s not like I’m going to push it anywhere myself or repair it myself or abandon it.

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      1. allathian*

        Yeah, I’ve never had a car break down and I’ve never been a passenger in a car that broke down, either. My parents have never had any breakdowns, either, in more than 50 years of driving, in spite of the fact that the build quality of their first cars wasn’t particularly good.

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      2. CV*

        Same (no breakdowns due to regular maintenance) which was a shock to me — before owning a car l, I lived in a city and used public transport, but for trips, I got rides from friends, most of whom apparently didn’t do regular maintenance, and there was always a chance of a breakdown.
        Not having my own car break down was something of a surprise.

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    7. RLC*

      A question about cars breaking down would immediately give me concern about the sort of company vehicles I might have to use! Decades ago I worked for a very frugal government agency, in a large western US state, with an old and worn out fleet. Breakdowns were inevitable and frequent; I once presented management with a chart showing the breakdown frequency for my assigned vehicle (70% of all trips had some sort of incident). Some of us carried so many tools and supplies that we resembled competitors in the Dakar Rally.

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    8. Nodramalama*

      What other answer is there but call whatever road aside assist exists? Is roadside assist only an Australian thing and I am just learning this now

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      1. Emmy Noether*

        In old movies people would probably repair the car themselves! Which is not really an option anymore, as most modern cars actively try to keep you from accessing anything without professional-level tools.

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  10. Yours Sincerely, Raymond Holt*

    The elephant question may well turn off good candidates, or at least have them starting with a red flag hanging over the role.

    It would make some people worry that the hiring manager is a bit of a douche or that the workplace isn’t very evidence based.

    That said, LW, you sound brilliant and very experienced as an interviewer, so maybe the rest of your interview will balance that out.

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    1. Retired Vulcan Raises 1 Grey Eyebrow*

      I would find this elephant question very useful – as a red flag there are likely to be BS gotcha people and stupid gimmicks there.

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    2. Tinkerbell*

      The other big caveat about these elephant-type questions is, every boss pulls them from the same handful of sources and then feels clever about it. Candidates who have done interviews in the type of industries who use these brain-teaser questions have a very good chance of already knowing the question and the supposed “best answer” (either by having read the same sources or having been asked a similar question in another interview), which gives them a huge but almost random advantage over candidates who haven’t encountered that particular question before.

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  11. Limdood*

    LW2
    I’d be seriously concerned about retaliation for an OSHA complaint IF the complaint ends up making the business jump through a bunch of hoops/costs them significant money/otherwise inconveniences them in any way.

    Yes yes, retaliation is illegal, especially for OSHA reports. Yes yes it’s an anonymous report…

    But it seems like it’s HIGHLY likely that there is only going to be one suspect for who called OSHA on the business, no matter how justified. It’s also a major headache to deal with a business that might think you are the one responsible for costing them time/money by calling out something they were quite content with ignoring. Despite the illegality of it, there are countless hard to prove or difficult to explain ways in which a business can make the life of one of its employees a living hell if they have a mind to.

    Not that you SHOULDN’T necessarily report this….heck, it could be a major health or structural issue that is steadily getting worse. But be ready to document behavior (in case you need to demonstrate patterns), see if you can possibly have other people use the desk for a time (in order to make it harder for the company to pin down the reporter), and just generally be aware of the possible fallout.

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    1. Tinkerbell*

      This. Personally, if the dripping noise was the issue, I’d run a piece of yarn or string from the leaky spot in the ceiling down to the garbage can on the floor and just leave it there 24/7. When the water starts coming through, it will run down the string silently instead of plopping and driving you nuts. (This doesn’t solve the mold/mildew/structural issues, but it at least lets you ignore the leak as much as your employer is doing…)

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  12. Size*

    Got to say the answers here gives me a fair idea about how the commentariat’s brains work. Maybe it’s a good question after all. I’d hire you, Meerkats.

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  13. Yours Sincerely, Raymond Holt*

    Interview questions like the elephant one throw up a further question for me.

    My instinct would be to ask a clarifying question, which is how I handle being asked a question that confuses me. EG “That’s a good question. Can you tell me what you’re trying to understand from me with that question, so I can answer it in the most useful way?”

    But I think that would seem difficult to a lot of interviewers, right? Like I was challenging the question? Even if said politely?

    I could just give some BS of an answer off the top of my head. Chances are the questioner has no idea how to transport an elephant either so what the hell.

    The problem is the second, BS answer tells you absolutely nothing about me, and you’ve already incentivised me to BS you with some nonsense.

    The first answer is me trying to be collaborative, helpful, trying to truly understand what you mean.

    But sometimes questions are just seen as rude and challenging even if asked in a very polite, professional tone, and truly motivated by trying to understand what people mean.

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    1. Ellis Bell*

      I think the reason that it can be seen as rude or challenging to question the question, is because you’ve caught them with their pants down. You’re asking what information they’re actually seeking and if OP’s boss is any indication, they don’t really know what information they’re seeking and now they’re in a position of admitting they have no idea what they’re looking for, they’re just poking the interviewee with a stick. The reaction they are looking for is a delighted gleam, expressions that you love puzzles and then to say something that makes them feel they’ve uncovered the real you, in a way that you couldn’t have prepared for, and therefore aren’t lying to them or fooling them. It’s beyond stupid. If they really wanted to know “how your brain works”, they’d ask about how your brain works in the job role, or even your hobbies, or why you made certain career or education decisions.

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      1. misspiggy*

        That’s really helpful for me in understanding why some people don’t like questions being asked of them. Thanks!

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    2. Allonge*

      Eh, with these obviously-theoretical questions, it should be more than ok to ask for some clarifications. They want to see how I think, right? I, strangely, need information to make a plan for random stuff.

      That said, I might be too delighted by an elephant mention in an interview, so my first question may be ‘is this something that comes up regularly at this job, are there lots of elephant-related issues’?

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      1. Emmy Noether*

        I think there are two types of reactions one is likely to get. Either the interviewer will think gathering more information is a positive. OR they’ll be annoyed that you “can’t just go with the flow and answer a simple question” or you’re “overcomplicating it” or something.

        Maybe one doesn’t want to work for the latter type of boss anyway, so…

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  15. Benji*

    #4: I think you might be putting the cart before the horse here. First you have to get an agent. Then you have to get a publishing deal. Then and only then would you have something you might need to alert your employer about. On the other hand, if you are self-publishing under a pseudonym with no author photo, how on earth would your employer ever know it was you? If you brought a completed but entirely unpublished book to your boss for their approval I’m afraid that would be like bringing your diary for them to read.

    All that being said, if you’re worried about being recognised within your industry when it eventually is a bestseller, it probably means you need to change the setting in the book to something that gives you plausible deniability. I say all this as someone who wrote a very ‘spicy’ book I had to tell my fairly conservative employer about before it was published due to outside employment restrictions in my contract. On assurances it had nothing to do with our industry, they wished me well and ignored it. They didn’t ask to see it either. Except colleagues, including my managers, who learned about the book were an entirely different story. So my final advice is if you’re writing stuff you’d be embarrassed for them to associate with you, you might want to rethink whether you’re ready for your book to be out in the world.

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    1. Tinkerbell*

      LW4, you definitely don’t need an agent these days – the vast majority of “spicy” romances are self-published, and the money is trending that direction too. Publishing houses are taking fewer and fewer chances on new romance authors, preferring to put their advertising bucks in hotter genres behind famous names, so self-publishing is almost certainly the way to go.

      I’ve done this (kind of) – I’ve published a dozen books, some with a publisher and some without, and two of them kinda-sorta are based on my experiences with a certain volunteer group. As in, if someone read the book and knew me, they’d possibly give me a side-eye because really, you expect to meet a handsome stranger who’s amazing in bed doing THIS? And yeah, the background details are based on things I learned volunteering, but obviously my life is not a romance novel :-P Those two books have been out for years now and I’ve never had anyone say anything – YMMV, of course, but I think you’re probably fine as long as you’re not describing your own job in such excruciating detail that everyone will know the pseudonym was you!

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  16. Square Root of Minus One*

    LW1 : I wonder if those brainteasers have the (intended or not) effect to weird out, and effectively screen out, people with a super low tolerance for general absurdity.
    The only time I got asked one was for a government job and, while I didn’t take that job, I took another in gov’t and it doesn’t seem so off-base.

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    1. allathian*

      Yeah, the sometimes byzantine bureaucracy of government certainly does require the ability to deal with general absurdity. For a long time I had a coffee mug with the quote “You don’t have to be crazy to work here, but it helps.” Sadly I forgot it at the office in March 2020 and when I returned, I couldn’t find it anywhere.

      I can deal with absurdity at work but I have a fairly literal mind in the sense that absurd interview questions tend to throw me off.

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  17. J*

    One of my friends can only work 20h a week due to disability and is planning to disclose that at the final stage of the interview process… I thought asking for parttime hours should rather be done early, but maybe this differs if it’s due to disability? I feel like chances are that all of this is going to be a big disappointment and I hope he doesn’t burn bridges if they offer him a job and he says “ok but I’m going to work 20 hours a week instead”. What do you think?

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    1. bamcheeks*

      (Speaking from the UK, where our disability legislation is different) — I have counselled lots of people on how / when to disclose a disability, and that does seem like the worst option. Your friend will have invested a lot of time in the interview process; but they have no offer so it’s easy for the company to decide that Candidate B who comes with fewer ~complications~ just happens to have the edge on him. I generally recommend either doing it right at the start of the process, so that you know the interviewer is proceeding on the same expectations as you, or after you’ve got an offer, so you know they want to hire you based on your skills and experience and if they decide your requested accommodations are too onerous they have to say that. Doing it in the final interview process seems kind if lose:lose.

      BUT everyone has different tolerances and priorities, and ultimately it’s 100% up to your friend. As a coach, I get people to think about the pluses and minuses of disclosing at different stages but stress that there is no perfect or correct way to do it and that it’s their decision.

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    2. Emmy Noether*

      We had a candidate ask for part time at the offer stage. It was for childcare in that case, not disability. Really pissed off my bosses, who pulled the offer (to be clear, I didn’t entirely agree with that decision).

      If she had put it in her application materials from the start, I would have advocated to interview her anyway – the role was hard to fill and I personally thought someone part time was preferable to nobody. It’s hard to see from the outside if roles can be reshuffled to make them part time, but it’s better to find out earlier in the process.

      I also don’t think refusing to hire part time is disability discrimination if the job needs to be full time. So I don’t think the disability changes things.

      You’d have to be sure to deliver one hell of an awesome interview to think that you’d be discarded because of the part time thing before, but not after.

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    2. Lexi Vipond*

      Is that the Calder Road? I don’t know, I think you’d be better going onto either the M8 or A702 from the bypass.

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  19. r..*

    LW1,

    the ultimate problem with brain teasers is that the answers they produce tend to be not open to comparison with other candidates, and at the end the interview process on the hiring side has only one goal:

    To screen out incompetent candidates, and to select the candidate you believe most capable to do the job you want them to do, and at a price you are willing to pay.

    Everything else you do in hiring is subordinate to this, and consequently anything that does not serve to further this is nonproductive use of time. Hence questions that lead to non-comparable answers are useless.

    For example, consider the following two possible answers to the question:
    1) “I’d ask what business need is furthered by transporting the elephant, and select a suitable strategy to pursue this need that may or may not involve transporting a live elephant from Edinburgh to Bristol”
    2) “I’d call up the nearest zoo with an elephant, ask who they use to transport elephants, and inquire for the prices of said operator to transport an elephant from Edinburgh to Bristol”

    There’s no way to objectively rank one of those answers above the other, it all comes down to what you end up liking more. In other words, you’d be basing your hiring decisions on the personal preferences, vibes and biases of your interviewers, not based on objective criteria.

    That is, in general, a Bad Idea ™.

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    1. KateM*

      It wasn’t said it was a live elephant, though… maybe Boss is trying to catch you at assuming things that were not said.

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      1. r..*

        If you want to test for critical thinking/questioning assumptions, there are far, far better ways to actually ask good questions about that are actually useful.

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  20. crb11*

    You’d fail my interview. Missing the A74(M), and the most sensible routes out of Edinburgh would be the A702 or more likely M8, particularly if we’re starting at Edinburgh Zoo which is on the west side of the city.

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  22. Poppy*

    #1 “Flat-bed lorry, with the elephant shackled by the feet. If you use an enclosed lorry, it will lean against the sides and break them. Next?”

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  23. Coffee*

    LW4: how do you plan to market the book without showing your face or any identifying information? Drumming publicity for a book in overcrowded media is difficult and time consuming process so you need a good plan

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  24. Small mind*

    if you’re self-publishing, especially with a pseudonym, there is like a zero percent chance your company will read it (or most people for that matter; most self pubbed books are barely purchased). You’re really over thinking this.

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  26. Susan*

    My answer would be: Historically, circus elephants were transported by rail.

    I know this because I have been to the site of Jumbo’s tragic 1885 death by locomotive, which is commemorated by a life size statue in St Thomas, Ontario, Canada.

    So as brain teasers go, this one is not much of a teaser.

    Reply ↓

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