YOU’RE in the middle of a perfectly respectable job interview, talking about your work and career aspirations. Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, you’re thrown a curveball:

“Name the seven dwarfs from Disney’s Snow White”.

You ask yourself, what does that have to do with anything?

Some employers are starting to ask prospective employees curly questions to see how they’ll respond. How you answer these types of questions gives interviewers insight into your thinking style, how quickly you react on your feet in unexpected situations and your personality, and how you are able to manage a tough situation.

Some other type of questions mentioned in recent articles on the subject:

• One a day-to-day basis, what number do you think of the most?

• What would you expect to see written on your gravestone?

• Are there wolves in Australia?

• How would you move three chairs from one end of the room to the other?

• What fruit best describes you?

• If you inherited an island, what would be the top three rules of the island?

OneShift founder and chief executive Gen George said: “Many employers are using these oddball questions to suss out if the candidate is quick on their feet. “They’re looking to get a feel for analytical thinking skills, how you respond under pressure, and what your general view of the world is.” Ms George said the trick to dealing with the questions is to take your time. She said the answer isn’t always the most important part, rather, the interviewer is looking for your process, so explain your rationale.

Very few people like to talk about how much money they 1Win make — especially not people who earn a lot of money.

Since companies tend to be run by people who earn a lot of money, the result is a culture of silence and secrecy when it comes to pay. Such a culture clearly served theNew York Times ill in this case.

If the salaries of senior New York Times management had not been a closely-guarded secret, then Abramson would not have been shocked when she found out how much Bill Keller made before her, and Arthur Sulzberger would not have reacted badly to Abramson’s questions about pay.

Indeed, secrecy surrounding pay is generally a bad idea for any organisation. Ben Horowitz has the best explanation of why that is: it can’t help but foment poisonous internal politics. But there are other reasons, too.

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Most job-seekers make the mistake of throwing up all over the hiring manager on a job interview. They share every good idea they’ve ever had in hopes of impressing their future boss. They don’t realize that your value as a candidate doesn’t increase when you spill the contents of your brain across the conference room table. Your value decreases.

Consultants know better than to show up at a prospect’s office with great ideas to peddle. Once the client hears your ideas, why should s/he hire you? In the throes of delusion, the client believes s/he can implement your ideas without you.

Consultants hold back their ideas. They know that it wouldn’t be appropriate to share ideas on a first meeting, even if they already had the contract.

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Crafting the perfect résumé is a hard-enough challenge before trying to factor in all the myths there are about the process. However, some of those common myths — including your résumé can’t be more than one page or it’s OK to have some white lies on your résumé — hold very little water among companies looking to hire employees. To separate fact from fiction, several experts gave the truth behind some of their favorite myths on what companies look for in a résumé.

Myth: Grade point average is a top consideration

Truth: I don’t even consider it when I am interviewing potential employees. I know that a 4.0 can mean that you took relatively easy classes to pad your GPA. I also am aware that you can be excellent in your major and have non-related topics destroy your GPA. For me, that was Spanish and statistics, neither of which is necessary or relevant in my chosen line of work. What I am more interested in is examples of your work as a showcase of your ability. – Shelli Dallacqua, president, Shelten Media

Myth: Résumés should be one page.

Truth: Résumés are allowed to be two pages unless you are stretching the information. One page just isn’t enough, unless you are right out of school. — Jill MacFadyen, career and outplacement coach

Read rest of story here; 11 Resume Myths Busted: Realities Revealed

Leadership is one of the truly hot topics in the corporate world. Can you believe that there are more than 17,000 books on leadership available on Amazon? That statistic tells me that there are no clear answers on the best way to lead a company, organization, or team. Given that I work extensively in both the corporate and sports world, where effective leadership is essential, I wanted to share my perspective on what makes a great leader.

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