INTERVIEW QUESTIOS

• Sample Interview Questions with Suggested Ways of Answering Q. Tell me about yourself. 
• A. This is the dreaded, classic, open-ended interview question and likely to be among the first. It's your chance to introduce your qualifications, good work habits, etc. Keep it mostly work and career related.
•  Q. Why do you want to leave your current job? (Why did you leave your last job?) 
• A. Be careful with this. Avoid trashing other employers and making statements like, "I need more money." Instead, make generic statements such as, "It's a career move."
•  Q. What are your strengths? 
• A. Point out your positive attributes related to the job. 
• Q. What are your weaknesses?
•  A. Everybody has weaknesses, but don't spend too much time on this one and keep it work related. Along with a minor weakness or two, try to point out a couple of weaknesses that the interviewer might see as strengths, such as sometimes being a little too meticulous about the quality of your work. (Avoid saying "I work too hard." It's a predictable, common answer.) For every weakness, offer a strength that compensates for it. Q. Which adjectives would you use to describe yourself? A. Answer with positive, work-oriented adjectives, such as conscientious, hard-working, honest and courteous, plus a brief description or example of why each fits you well. Q. What do you know about our company? A. To answer this one, research the company before you interview. Q. Why do you want to work for us? A. Same as above. Research the company before you interview. Avoid the predictable, such as, "Because it's a great company." Say why you think it's a great company. Q. Why should I hire you? A. Point out your positive attributes related to the job, and the good job you've done in the past. Include any compliments you've received from management. Q. What past accomplishments gave you satisfaction? A. Briefly describe one to three work projects that made you proud or earned you pats on the back, promotions, raises, etc. Focus more on achievement than reward. Q. What makes you want to work hard? A. Naturally, material rewards such as perks, salary and benefits come into play. But again, focus more on achievement and the satisfaction you derive from it. Q. What type of work environment do you like best? A. Tailor your answer to the job. For example, if in doing your job you're required to lock the lab doors and work alone, then indicate that you enjoy being a team player when needed, but also enjoy working independently. If you're required to attend regular project planning and status meetings, then indicate that you're a strong team player and like being part of a team. Q. Why do you want this job? A. To help you answer this and related questions, study the job ad in advance. But a job ad alone may not be enough, so it's okay to ask questions about the job while you're answering. Say what attracts you to the job. Avoid the obvious and meaningless, such as, "I need a job." Q. How do you handle pressure and stress? A. This is sort of a double whammy, because you're likely already stressed from the interview and the interviewer can see if you're handling it well or not. Everybody feels stress, but the degree varies. Saying that you whine to your shrink, kick your dog or slam down a fifth of Jack Daniels are not good answers. Exercising, relaxing with a good book, socializing with friends or turning stress into productive energy are more along the lines of the "correct" answers. Q. Explain how you overcame a major obstacle. A. The interviewer is likely looking for a particular example of your problem-solving skills and the pride you show for solving it. Q. Where do you see yourself five (ten or fifteen) years from now? A. Explain your career-advancement goals that are in line with the job for which you are interviewing. Your interviewer is likely more interested in how he, she or the company will benefit from you achieving your goals than what you'll get from it, but it goes hand in hand to a large degree. It's not a good idea to tell your potential new boss that you'll be going after his or her job, but it's okay to mention that you'd like to earn a senior or management position. Q. What qualifies you for this job? A. Tout your skills, experience, education and other qualifications, especially those that match the job description well. Avoid just regurgitating your resume. Explain why. Q. Why did you choose your college major? A. The interviewer is likely fishing to see if you are interested in your field of work or just doing a job to get paid. Explain why you like it. Besides your personal interests, include some rock-solid business reasons that show you have vision and business sense. Go here for sample interview questions from the Web. Important! This list of interview questions is only for personal use. Reproducing it without explicit, written permission in any media, commercial or not, is a violation of international copyright laws. However, you may link to it from your Web site with proper credit: http://jobsearchtech.about.com/library/weekly/aa031201-3.htm Copyright © 2001, J. Steven Niznik. All Rights Reserved

Ten Tough Interview Questions and Ten Great Answers Mental fear of the unknown is often what produces the physical symptoms of nervousness. In addition to preparing yourself physically, you need to prepare yourself mentally. The best way to prepare mentally is to know what may be coming. Fear of the unknown can only exist when there is an unknown. Take the time to understand some of the “standards” when it comes to interviewing questions. The following are some of the most difficult questions you will face in the course of your job interviews. Some questions may seem rather simple on the surface—such as “Tell me about yourself”—but these questions can have a variety of answers. The more open ended the question, the wider the variation in the answers. Once you have become practiced in your interviewing skills, you will find that you can use almost any question as a launching pad for a particular topic or compelling story. Others are classic interview questions, such as “What is your greatest weakness?” Questions most people answer improperly. In this case, the standard textbook answer for the “greatest weakness” question is to provide a veiled positive such as: “I work too much. I just work and work and work.” Wrong. Either you are lying or, worse yet, you are telling the truth, in which case you define working too much as a weakness and really do not want to work much at all. The following answers are provided to give you a new perspective on how to answer tough interview questions. They are not there for you to lift from the page and insert into your next interview. They are provided for you to use as the basic structure for formulating your own answers. While the specifics of each reply may not apply to you, try to follow the basic structure of the answer from the perspective of the interviewer. Answer the questions behaviorally, with specific examples that show that clear evidence backs up what you are saying about yourself. Always provide information that s

 2. Why should I hire you? The easy answer is that you are the best person for the job. And don’t be afraid to say so. But then back it up with what specifically differentiates you. For example: “You should hire me because I’m the best person for the job. I realize that there are likely other candidates who also have the ability to do this job. Yet I bring an additional quality that makes me the best person for the job--my passion for excellence. I am passionately committed to producing truly world class results. For example . . .” Are you the best person for the job? Show it by your passionate examples. 

3. What is your long-range objective? Make my job easy for me. Make me want to hire you. The key is to focus on your achievable objectives and what you are doing to reach those objectives. For example: “Within five years, I would like to become the very best accountant your company has on staff. I want to work toward becoming the expert that others rely upon. And in doing so, I feel I’ll be fully prepared to take on any greater responsibilities which might be presented in the long term. For example, here is what I’m presently doing to prepare myself . . .” Then go on to show by your examples what you are doing to reach your goals and objectives.

 4. How has your education prepared you for your career? This is a broad question and you need to focus on the behavioral examples in your educational background which specifically align to the required competencies for the career. An example: “My education has focused on not only the learning the fundamentals, but also on the practical application of the information learned within those classes. For example, I played a lead role in a class project where we gathered and analyzed best practice data from this industry. Let me tell you more about the results . . .” Focus on behavioral examples supporting the key competencies for the career. Then ask if they would like to hear more examples.

 5. Are you a team player? Almost everyone says yes to this question. But it is not just a yes/no question. You need to provide behavioral examples to back up your answer. A sample answer: “Yes, I’m very much a team player. In fact, I’ve had opportunities in my work, school and athletics to develop my skills as a team player. For example, on a recent project . . .” Emphasize teamwork behavioral examples and focus on your openness to diversity of backgrounds. Talk about the strength of the team above the individual. And note that this question may be used as a lead in to questions around how you handle conflict within a team, so be prepared.

 6. Have you ever had a conflict with a boss or professor? How was it resolved? Note that if you say no, most interviewers will keep drilling deeper to find a conflict. The key is how you behaviorally reacted to conflict and what you did to resolve it. For example: “Yes, I have had conflicts in the past. Never major ones, but there have been disagreements that needed to be resolved. I've found that when conflict occurs, it helps to fully understand the other person’s perspective, so I take time to listen to their point of view, then I seek to work out a collaborative solution. For example . . .” Focus your answer on the behavioral process for resolving the conflict and working collaboratively. 

7. What is your greatest weakness? Most career books tell you to select a strength and present it as a weakness. Such as: “I work too much. I just work and work and work.” Wrong. First of all, using a strength and presenting it as a weakness is deceiving. Second, it misses the point of the question. You should select a weakness that you have been actively working to overcome. For example: “I have had trouble in the past with planning and prioritization. However, I’m now taking steps to correct this. I just started using a pocket planner . . .” then show them your planner and how you are using it. Talk about a true weakness and show what you are doing to overcome it. 

8. If I were to ask your professors to describe you, what would they say? This is a threat of reference check question. Do not wait for the interview to know the answer. Ask any prior bosses or professors in advance. And if they’re willing to provide a positive reference, ask them for a letter of recommendation. Then you can answer the question like this: “I believe she would say I'm a very energetic person, that I’m results oriented and one of the best people she has ever worked with. Actually, I know she would say that, because those are her very words. May I show you her letter of recommendation?” So be prepared in advance with your letters of recommendation.

 9. What qualities do you feel a successful manager should have? Focus on two words: leadership and vision. Here is a sample of how to respond: “The key quality in a successful manager should be leadership--the ability to be the visionary for the people who are working under them. The person who can set the course and direction for subordinates. The highest calling of a true leader is inspiring others to reach the highest of their abilities. I'd like to tell you about a person whom I consider to be a true leader . . .” Then give an example of someone who has touched your life and how their impact has helped in your personal development. 

10. If you had to live your life over again, what one thing would you change? Focus on a key turning point in your life or missed opportunity. Yet also tie it forward to what you are doing to still seek to make that change. For example: “Although I’m overall very happy with where I’m at in my life, the one aspect I likely would have changed would be focusing earlier on my chosen career. I had a great internship this past year and look forward to more experience in the field. I simply wish I would have focused here earlier. For example, I learned on my recent internship…” …then provide examples. Stay focused on positive direction in your life and back it up with examples. In reviewing these responses, please remember that they are only to be viewed samples. Please do not rehearse them verbatim or adopt them as your own. They are meant to stir your creative juices and get you thinking about how to properly answer the broader range of questions that you will face.