OK, "sell me this pencil" is not a question per se but it is an old school interview question that sales managers used to (and still might) ask potential job candidates.

This question might even be asked if you're not interviewing for a sales job simply to see how you respond to it!

It's an example of a trick interview question or stress interview question that hiring managers often ask interviewees to see how they respond to being thrown off guard.

It gives the interviewer a chance to see how the interviewee handles a difficult question that they weren't expecting and how they think on their feet.

For example, does the interviewee:

Respond confidently?

Look the interviewer in the eye when responding?

Give an intelligent and logical response?

Give good responses to any questions or concerns the interviewer raises?

Try to get the sale and actually sell the pencil?

Depending on what the interviewer is looking for, they might simply be looking to see how you answer the question and specifically, what your body language is like during a stressful situation.

The point is that sometimes during job interviews, you get asked questions that you weren't expecting that might seem off base and even silly. Your ability to remain calm and to respond to the question intelligently and in a logical way is generally what the interviewer will be looking for.

Carl Mueller

My name is Carl Mueller and I'd like to thank you for learning a bit more about me!

I feel that I have numerous relevant experiences during my career that come in useful when helping people with their careers:

I know what it?s like to work internationally, having worked overseas (in New Zealand, from 1994-1998).

I've survived several corporate downsizings while many of my colleagues were being laid off.

I have also experienced being laid off twice myself during corporate downsizings.

I know what it?s like to be self-employed.

I've helped many people find better jobs. I started to work as a professional recruiter in 2000 first as an Information Technology (IT) recruiter and then in general recruitment across many industries including IT, manufacturing and marketing. Since this time, I have helped many people find their dream career and it?s a great feeling.

I experienced one of the slowest hiring periods in recent memory especially during the general hiring slowdown that followed the Y2K frenzy in 1999, the bursting of the dot com bubble in early 2000, and then the employment market bottoming out following September 11, 2001.

These were certainly not great times to be a job searcher in most industries nor was it a particularly good time to be a recruiter.

Following this, I began running the day to day operations of an Internet-based company in early 2003 that focused on developing online software and subscription-based websites for consumers. It was then that I fully realized the power, usefulness and potential of the Internet which really spurred me to set up my own website which you can view in my Personal URL section below this bio.

I?m also a Platinum Ezine Articles Expert as recognized by EzineArticles.com, one of the most visited websites on the Internet. This special designation is earned by having consistently high-quality articles published and viewed on their website. All of my submissions are related to helping you find your dream career and many of my articles get reproduced on other websites by their webmasters.

Good luck with your career and I hope I have been of assistance to you!