u/artwhaaa

I had a job interview last week. At first, I thought it went alright. Like, maybe I had a chance! But the more I think about what was said, the more I feel like I totally bombed due to not understanding the social cues. I think I subconsciously knew this when it happened because I've been depressed all weekend but couldn't really articulate WHY I was so sad. Now that my brain has had time to play catch up, I think I get it.

There are MULTIPLE things that come to mind but I'm just going to bring up the big one that totally threw me off: "How would YOU make a nut-butter and jelly sandwich?"

I immediately asked for clarification on "nut-butter" because that sounds above my tax bracket but I also wanted to get them talking to stall bc my brain started going off on 5 million tangents about "wtf is nut-butter" "when is the last time I had a sandwich that wasn't just ham and cheese?" "the texture of jelly gives me the ick...when I am ever going to eat this hypothetical sandwich that I would NEVER make bc eww?" "I already have a hard enough time finding affordable bread that doesn't have palm oil in it and who knows what ingredients I can't consume are in the hypothetical sandwich - ACK I don't want it!" "I hate wasting food and would eat it even if it made me sick bc I hate wasting food!" and my fav: "how am I paying for this sandwich when I can't even get on SNAP thanks to funding being cut in my state!? am I expected to put the cost of ingredients on a CC with the rest of my groceries!?" My brain was all over the place.

So, my dumb answer was that I would put the butter on one piece of bread, jelly on the other, and slap 'em together. BAM sandwich!

Well, internet searches have informed me that this question isn't literal. It is not how would *I* make a sandwich (presumably for myself) or how would I make a sandwich I don't normally make that I have zero interest in eating. The question is "how would I (TEACH SOMEONE ELSE) to make a sandwich? There's a quiet part the NT's don't say out loud. The question is supposed to be your opportunity to demonstrate how you would communicate simple but clear instruction to others. It's supposed to show the interviewer how you communicate information with others. Had I known that, I easily could have answered it!

Well, this was the first time I've gotten that ridiculous question in an interview, so I was NOT prepared to answer it. But, apparently?, it's a question that's been around for a while. When I think about my answer and how I obviously didn't understand the question at all, I feel embarrassed but also sad? Like, the interviewer couldn't then follow up with clarification? It's obvious the hidden intent of the question wasn't understood by my ND ass. I know the interviewer wasn't making fun of me but the feelings I have now are similar to the ones I've had in the past when teased about something out of my control. I can't help the way I am.

I just want to work. Why do they make everything so needlessly difficult?

Are there any other similarly stupid and literal sounding interview questions you've heard? I'd like to know what else is out there so I can adequately prepare.