I am a 3rd year studying at a college in India. I’m the President of a Business Society in my college and my college hosts one of the biggest inter-college business fests in India. Before this, I was the president of my high school’s corporate club. I always participated in the ‘best manager’ events in every business conclave, and got the chance to become the judge of the business conclave hosted at my school.
The final round of the business conclave was a stress interview, and I was asked to roast kids based on their CVs. A young girl came in, sat, and introduced herself. To throw her off, I asked her, "if a train is approaching with your mom being on one track and your dad on another, while you have the option to choose which track the train goes to, which one would you?"
Surprisingly, the kid answered "dad’s" in a split second, and when I asked her why, she said it’s because her dad abused her and her mom when she was little and left their home after that. She continued to say that she didn’t remember anything about her dad identity and would k*ll him a 100 times if she would him. Now this is EXTREMELY UNCOMMON in India. I was speechless because I had never actually met anyone with problems like these irl.
I ended the interview there itself, didn’t ask her any questions related to her CV, and gave her the 1st place. I still don’t know why I did this and am trying to figure it out, but something that I know for sure is that the girl wasn’t lying.
YTA, deservedly. She got the award because you asked what you thought was a “tough” question and ran into someone who actually is tough. It’s the same thing with bullies who accidentally bully the kid with a black belt. You should feel confused here, because you deserve it, and I hope you enjoy the metaphorical roundhouse.
~~Gentle~~ YTA.
This girl trauma dumped all over you after you asked a version of a common moral philosophy question. (The train car problem.) Do I think it was weird of you to ask that? Sure, but that’s not all of the point here.
You were shocked and pitied this girl and took the award away from someone who may have actually deserved it. If you can’t separate these feelings from professionalism, perhaps you should let someone else do the interviews.
Edit: Actually, removing the Gentle here. OP, you are the captain of a society that is supposed to be able to judge a candidate based on preparedness and responses. You did not do that and unilaterally gave the award to someone who hit you with nothing but shock value to your edgy question. Shame on you.
I actually think that perhaps this girl aced the stress interview. You asked what was undoubtedly a much more triggering question for her than for other candidates. She answered honestly, fully, and directly, addressing difficult material without flinching. This girl can certainly handle stress and express herself with a great deal of strength.
But in terms of your failure to pick the best candidate, YTA.
YTA, but take it as a lesson. Tons of people have complicated or tragic personal lives, don’t ask about it if you don’t have to. You were asked to “roast” their CV, so I’m not sure why the question was relevant in the first place. If you’re chosen for this position again, stick to questions about their professional history.
YTA – give the award to someone who geninuely earned it. Sad the girl went through that but that shouldn’t grant her credit for something not achieved
YTA
You didn’t pick the best candidate. Also, how do you even know if she was telling the truth.
YTA
You threw out the criteria for the award. That disrespects your fellow judges, the organization you represent, and the other applicants for the reward.
You tried to ask a question for its shock value, and *you* got shocked.
YTA. This isn’t at all “extremely uncommon” anywhere, dude. Like, yes, it’s awful. Doesn’t mean it’s somehow rare. If you took the time to ask everyone personal questions, several other people would be able to tell you about intense trauma like this.
YTA plenty of people actually deserved that award. Several could also have very difficult lives and tragic back stories
YTA, this is a mock interview? do you think that question would give you some meaningful insight into how they would fare as an employee? no it doesnt and youre just perpetuating this culture of narcissist linkedin hiring managers acting like the tiny iota of power a company gave them makes them special. the self-aggrandizing assholes that ask that kind of interview question then go “well the candidate chose to smush her father, that means shes self sufficient and blah blah blah” are actively ruining workplaces and society.