From the Ask Tom mailbag:
Question:
My friend has an interview today and the question she is worried about is, what sets you apart from other potential applicants? Why would we hire you? What can you offer our company? Why do you want to work for us?
Response:
On the one hand, candidates should be prepared to respond to these questions. On the other hand, interviewers who use these questions are idiots who don’t know the first thing about hiring. That being said, they still make hiring decisions, so these idiots still have power.
The problem with these questions is that they provide absolutely no insight to the candidate’s ability to be successful in the position.
My viewpoint stems from this philosophy – The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. If I want to know how a person will behave when they come to work for us, all I have to do is find out how they have behaved in the past.
Over the next few days, we will spend time examining a better approach to interviewing, and a better approach to being a candidate. -TF
Tour de France Update
So, Floyd Landis (USA-PHO) brings the yellow jersey back to the USA. A former teammate of Lance Armstrong, in 2005, he changed teams to get out from under the wing. That first year, he placed ninth, this year, he placed first. The amazing recovery from his total breakdown in stage 16 to his blistering domination in Stage 17 will be talked about for years.
Final Standing – 2006 Tour de France
1-LANDIS, Floyd -USA-PHO -89hrs 39min 30sec
2-PEREIRO SIO, Oscar -ESP-CEI –+57sec
3-KLÖDEN, Andréas -GER-TMO –+1min 29sec
4-SASTRE, Carlos -ESP-CSC –+3min 13sec
5-EVANS, Cadel -AUS-DVL –+5min 8sec
6-MENCHOV, Denis -RUS-RAB –+7min 6sec
7-DESSEL, Cyril -FRA-A2R –+8min 41sec
8-MOREAU, Christophe -FRA-A2R –+9min 37sec
9-ZUBELDIA, Haimar -ESP-EUS –+12min 5sec
10-ROGERS, Michael -AUS-TMO –+15min 7sec
11-SCHLECK, Frank -LUX-CSC –+17min 46sec
12-CUNEGO, Damiano -ITA-LAM –+19min 19sec
13-LEIPHEIMER, Levi -USA-GST –+19min 22sec
14-BOOGERD, Michael -NED-RAB –+19min 46sec
15-FOTHEN, Marcus -GER-GST –+19min 57sec
16-CAUCCHIOLI, Pietro -ITA-C.A –+21min 12sec
17-VALJAVEC, Tadej -SLO-LAM –+26min 25sec
18-RASMUSSEN, Mickael -DEN-RAB –+28min 33sec
19-AZEVEDO, José -POR-DSC –+38min 8sec
20-BRUSEGHIN, Marzio -ITA-LAM –+43min 5sec