I worked in banks and financial institutions for years and then I opened my own recruitment consultancy finding specialist staff for the banks. I tried to always help people rather than just send them anywhere and interview preparation took a great deal of time.

Please, please, please realise that employers need you to be well prepared for interview. You should know all about the employer – how many people do they employ, how many offices they have, what were there profits last year – and much more.

Open a file and start building a list of interview questions. Surf the web for ideas. It is quite amazing how many people are unable to answer something simple like “why do you want this job?” or even “what do you think this job is all about?”

Of course, a genius can wander into interviews and get by thinking on his or her feet. The rest of us have to prepare meticulously.

John

Assuming the interviewee used the word correctly, I don’t think it’s unreasonable for someone who claims not to be uneducated to have grasped 9th grade math.

If you’re uneducated, I don’t think that’s the interviewee’s fault. And if you didn’t understand it, and couldn’t be bothered to clarify what the interviewee meant at the time, and instead held your ignorance against the interviewee, the only one who looks like an ass is you.