Apprentice applies for a job

Happened many years ago at work. Someone applied for a lectureship with a clearly padded CV. The Director asked him about his hobbies, included reading. He asked the guy what kind of books; long pause, and he said (off the top of his head, hopefully) "science fiction". Bad move. He didn't get the job.

The Director had been into science fiction since the late 1930s, and had a complete run (bar one or two) of 'Analog' (and its predecessors) from then until the current day.

Incidentally, I had to build a special bookcase for that collection when he gave it to me!

:-(

Probably better to say you are into genealogy. Especially if spelling matters. :-)

(I think I managed a typo post which did not, in itself, contain another, probably even worse, typo.) :-)

On Sunday 10 February 2013 17:42 ARW wrote in uk.d-i-y:

And it shows both organsiational skills and the will to persue a project long term :)

And trainspotting :-o

That's as good as saying that you are are already on sex offenders register.

If the interviewee had been nippier about thinking on his feet, he should have asked the director's opinion on what he should read next.

The best way to succeed in an interview is to get the other bloke started on his favourite subject.

"It's probably easiest if I demonstrate..."

Simak, Blish, Kornbluth, Heinlein, Pohl ... just the author's names were enough to tickle my imagination. (According to Wikipedia, one of Simak's hobbies was stamp collecting ;)

Aldiss, Asimov, Bester, Dick, Disch, Kuttner, Laumer, Leiber, Leinster, Moorcock, Niven ...

Just for starters, you missed out Clarke and Lem...

and Ursula...

Can I raise a vote for Cordwainer Smith and Raymond Z Gallun?

Andy

Clarke was too obvious. Lem, yes. Ursula Le Guin came later. Maybe she was writing in the late 50s and early 60s (when I was reading those mags) but I don't recall. Of course I read her later. It's all a bit hazy now ... There was a second hand bookshop near our house, where you could get a book for, say, 1s 6p then sell it back for 1s. That's how as a schoolboy I discovered what I think of as the best SF, which is mostly in short-story form. Later I found some great anthologies.

Perhaps, but he was a good prophet!

And why I loved being given the 60-odd year run of Analog. He wanted it to go to someone who wouldn't just eBay it.

I meant too obvious a name.

Lucky man!

I once turned up with plenty of time to spare (half an hour) for an interview, just in the wrong town. I had to drive to where the interview was, which only took an hour.

I got the job.