I was taught Powerpoint in college. I have NEVER had to use it in 15 years of work. But for some reason, every job I've applied for has had in their job description that they want someone who knows Powerpoint. So I say I know it. I did know it, years ago. It can't be that hard to re-learn, right? But I literally NEVER have any occasion to use it at work. I don't understand why they create a hoop to jump through that's irrelevant to the job.

I used to do a lot of interviewing when I was a manager and I found that by talking to people for awhile about a system, job duties, whatever, I could get a good feel for whether they did or didn't know about it. A lot of people are full of it on their resume, that's for sure, lol.

One thing I always asked people...describe a typical day/job duties at your current (or most recent) job. What did you work on, what systems did you use, what reporting do you handle, what's your workday like?
Well if someone can't answer that, not a good result.

If they say they're an expert at system XYZ I ask them how they used the software, what tasks did they do, what do they think about the blah blah user functions, the blah blah reports, how did they sort their data in the system, etc. And we used Microsoft testing for their systems for admin, IT and call center reps.

Do they not know the software at all or is it some sort of advanced task that they don't know? If there is a very specific task you want them to be able to do, I would create a test for it.

I own a small business that does professional services. I've been burned a few times by employees whose resumes and interviews claim they are experienced w ABC, when in reality, they can't do it.

What's the deal? I try to delve in to details when interviewing only to find that they don't really know the software, how to do x, etc. once they start.

What gives? I in this situation now and also in crunch time w a key unqualified person.