10 Comments

1. 

   But isn’t the “Help Wanted” sign usually at the place to apply unless it specifies elsewhere on the sign?

2. 

   There’s also a help wanted sign on the door. Those would be put where you go to apply.

3. 

   

4. 

   Oh, duh, I missed the “help wanted” sign.

   I need a break.

5. 

   Even with the help wanted sign, his question doesn’t seem to me to be a knock on his intelligence. Maybe that’s just me.

   Mitch4 that’s a classic!

6. 

   It’s not his intelligence that’s at issue, it’s his observational and analytical abilities — he’d make a poor intelligence agent.

7. 

   yeah, yeah, I know, “military intelligence is an oxymoron”.

8. 

   “Even with the help wanted sign, his question doesn’t seem to me to be a knock on his intelligence. ”

   Sure, and blowing up the Chinese consulate in Sarajevo wasn’t bad intelligence, either. It was just a bad map.

9. 

   Nobody has pointed out that a “Department of Intelligence” in a company will not be about IQ but will instead be about the collection and storage of information of commercial value, such as what the market share of each of the competitors is. Collectors of intelligence know that information that has been verified is more valuable than information that has been merely inferred. The sign gives the information that the department is looking to hire people and is a good indication that this is the place to apply, with maybe a confidence level of 50%. But the applicant knows that he can get 100% confidence by asking the question and noting down whether the answer is yes or no. They should have hired him on the spot.

10. 

    I still don’t think it’s all that dumb a question. When I applied for an IT position, I didn’t go straight to the department and assume that’s where I apply. Or they could be going through a 3rd party that does all the hiring. I know it’s overthinking a simple joke but just saying.