Any Questions?

There comes a point in any job interview where one's intuition kicks in and one knows whether or not one will be getting the job. After that point, the rest is just kabuki theater. Toward the end, about the last thing the interviewer asks is if the candidate has any questions. If the job is "in the bag", the simplest and most obvious question is "When do you want me to start?". If there's no chance of getting hired, questions are pretty much superfluous. The way I see it, though, if you're going to go down, you might as well go down in a blaze of glory.

With that in mind, I figured I'd just keep the following list of questions with me, to be handed over with no more commentary than "Here's a list of questions you could ponder. I won't be holding my breath waiting to hear from you."

1. Are hiring, firing, and promotion in your company based solely on merit, or does the candidate's membership in some Officially Sanctioned Minority group play a major role?

2. Have you ever been sued by an employee, current or former? What were the grounds of the suit and what was the disposition?

3. Which of my Constitutional rights do you consider to be expendable in your quest for profit?

4. How do you handle those who whine about things that are none of their business anyway?

5. In terms of employee compensation, does the expression "You only get what you pay for" have any bearing?

6. Is your occupational health and safety program run primarily by people having technical expertise in the field, or is it run by corporate lawyers?

7. Does your concept of "diversity" include all cultures, or just selected ones?

I'm sure I could come up more more questions in this vein, but these ought to be enough to get 'em frothing at the mouth.

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