Say you’re asked this in a job interview:
How would you guide an alien through making a peanut butter sandwich?
What will you say?
This seems like a silly question, but it actually gets right to the heart of how you think and communicate:
- How well can you teach someone else?
- Can you step back from something as completely basic as a peanut butter sandwich and remember to explain the steps to someone who knows absolutely nothing?
- Can you put yourself in their shoes?
- Are you a good communicator?
So I would say,
“First of all, we have to assume nothing. So there’s an alien sitting at the table. Does he know he’s hungry, or do we have to explain that, as well? Here on Earth, when we are hungry, we have to physically eat food or drink, something that has calories in it, or we have a big problem. Then I would show him what peanut butter looks like, and what bread looks like, and what a knife looks like.
I would show him how to twist the lid on the jar of peanut butter to the right to open it, and let him practice. Then I would show him how to open the package of bread and get two slices, and lay them side-by-side on the table. I would demonstrate how to hold the knife, and let him have it. Then I would tell him to dip the knife in the peanut butter and draw it out.
Then I would tell him to apply the peanut butter to one side of a piece of bread, and spread it around. Then I would tell him to place the other piece of bread on top of that one, so that the peanut butter is in the interior of the sandwich. That’s how I would guide an alien through making a peanut butter sandwich.”
You want to talk about everything and assume nothing. They are looking to see how you communicate.
When you are training people at work, you have to make sure you stop and explain everything, even if you think it’s self-explanatory. There’s no telling what your trainee might be bringing to this process in terms of past experience, so you need to make sure there are no misunderstandings.
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This question and answer is just one of the 101 job interview questions and answers in my ebook How to Answer Interview Questions II, available on Amazon. (Along with the Keys to a Great Interview!)
If you know there’s a job interview in your future, I encourage you to get this book (How to Answer Interview Questions II) as well as the first book, How to Answer Interview Questions. Both books have 101 job interview questions and answers that will have you ready to stand out in any job interview and get the offer.
