Let's admit it that no one likes to go for a job interview, looking for a job can be tough and yet during interview you will be asked with some question which you may not answer it very well and some question is tricky. You have to be on your best behaviour, you only get one chance to interviewed anyway. So, you need to get yourself prepared and grab the chance to win the interview.
1. Tell me something about yourself.
The most frequently asked question during interview start. I'd be very surprise if you haven't been asked this question before. Recall back what you had answer at that time. Don't give every details of your life story here. You should give relevant information which is related to your job such as your education, your career history and your current life situation, this is adequate enough to let the interviewer know something about you.
2. Why are you looking for a new job?
You should already have something in mind and this question is pretty straightforward. Let's assume that you want a new job just because you had make a desicion to change your career path into a new direction which allows you to grow. Although your main objective is money but it is not encourage to mention about it at this point of time, it can make you sounds money minded. Unfortunately, if you are being laid off from your previous job, stay positive and be honest to give as brief information to your interviewer as you can. If you were fired, once again stay positive and explain to you interviewer. It's not always your problem, it just that you are not right for the job.
“After I was laid off from my last job, I took the opportunity to take some time out to examine my career goals and where I was going with my life. I have just begun my search in the last few weeks. I have a definite goal in mind and have been selective about the positions I consider. Your company and this position are of great interest to me.”
3. Tell me what you know about this company.
The first thing you need to do when you are called for an interview is to look for the information about the company. Do your homework at your end, no matter what position you are applying for in the company, you should know about the company or business you're going to work for. You can search for the company information on the internet, their website, friends or family. You need to know latest news about the company if it has any, you need to find out who are the people in the company you should know about (such as the CEO or your supervisor). Doing all these background work can make you stand the rest who didn't and this show that you are very interested in the company and the job.
Starter: “When I found this position posted in newspaper/internet I was immediately interested. I checked out the company website and mission statement, looked at the bios of company founders and executives, and was impressed. Once I had the interview appointment, I talked with friends and acquaintances in the industry. And, I’m sure I’ll find out a lot more in today’s meetings.”
4. Why do you want to work for this organization?
The question here is directly related to your research. You need to be sincere and any research you've done should have conclude you that you would like to work there.Relate it to your long-term career goals, mention your highlight forward-thinking goals and career plans.
5. What relevant experience do you have in this field?
If you have experience for this position, then speak about specifics that relate to the position you are applying for. What if you are switching careers and do not have experience? you may not have related experience to match the job you are applying, in this case, you should use your creativity and most importantly honest in relating your experience to the job you are applying and get as close as you can.
6. Can you work under pressure and tell me your ability?
You should answer this positively and you may say that you thrive under certain types of pressure. Give an example from your past if you have one. There's no job out there without any pressure, take it as a challenge towards yourself, you can work well under pressure and actually prefer to work under pressure, you can thrive under pressure.
“I have no problem working long hours. I have worked 12 or 14 hour days. What I have found works for me is to work smarter, not necessarily longer. My goal is to get the job done, whatever that takes, in the most efficient manner.”
7. What motivates you to do best in your job?
Money could be the reason to motivates you but the answer to this one is not money. This is a personal trait that only you can say, you want your life to be more challenging, have greater achievement and get recognition. You want the best at your job and you want others to be leader in your field and you are wiling to help.
“The job before the one I am currently at, was my most rewarding experience for me. I worked in a wonderful team environment. There was a lot of camaraderie. I worked with a team of four people and we did some really original thinking. It is that kind of environment I want to be involved in again.”
8. What’s your strength?
This should be the key question during the interview. You should stay positive and give strength related to your work. Find some strength that you have and here's a fews you can take a look at, you can say you are an effective time planner with your ability to prioritize work, A good problem solver with very good attention to detail, you are willing to work under pressure with a positive mind and you can focus on any projects given and your skill/expertise definitely will add value to the company due to your rich experience you gain from your past.
9. What’s your weakness?
This is not designed to be a personal question at all. They are simply looking to see how well you’ll express yourself, as most people tend to look inside and it throws them off completely. If you answer sounds sincere and genuine, you’ll score 10 out of 10 in any interview. If you say you don't have any weakness, you're definitely lying, try to look for your weakness to job related and ways to overcome it.
Technical Person: “I am a technical person and I realise that my people skills may not be as strong as other people. In order to overcome this I have been reading people skills books because I know I need to improve.”.
“I’ve been told I occasionally focus on details and miss the bigger picture, so I’ve been spending time laying out the complete project every day to see my overall progress.”
“Well I used to have a problem saying NO to people, today I prioritize my day completely and in so doing I let my time management skills decide what I can truly say Yes & No to”
"I like to keep busy and productive at work. I always feel really bad during slow times because I feel that I am not contributing. So, when those times do come up, and that does happen on occasion, I have learned to ask other collegues if they need assistance or to ask my supervisor if there is anything that they would like me to help them with."
10. What is your salary expectation for this job?
A nasty question and a tricky game to play. If you answer first, you lose the game and somehow you are showing all your cards. Employee may always want the most and employer may always want the least. Ask the question back, in most cases the interviewer will taken off guard and if that happen, give a wide range depend on the details of the job. If you already have a figure in mind and you are very confident you can get that go for it.
“I would expect to be paid competitively and commensurate with the level of skill, experience and responsibility that this particular job requires.”
“I’ll need more information about the job and the responsibilities involved before we can begin to discuss salary. Can you give me an idea of the range budgeted for this position?”
11. Are you a team player?
Yea, Of course you are a good team player. You should give examples to support yourself as a good team player. Give details that show you often perform more than request for the good of the team rather that yourself which is a very good evidence to show you have a good team spirit.
12. Tell me about a suggestion you have made
You need to get one ready and make sure the suggestion you give are taken and implemented. Tell your interviewer that the suggestion success story and has actually increase productivity or solve numerous problem.
13. What kinds of people do you have difficulties
Interviewer would like to know do you show the ability to be flexible and work in a diverse environment?. You probably say NO and YES you can actually work with anyone.
“In my last three jobs I have worked with men and women from very diverse backgrounds and cultures. The only time I had difficulty was with people who were dishonest about work issues. I worked with one woman who was taking credit for work that her team accomplished. I had an opportunity to talk with her one day and explained how she was affecting the morale. She became very upset that others saw her that way, and said she was unaware of her behavior or the reactions of others. Her behavior changed after our talk. What I learned from that experience is that sometimes what we perceive about others is not always the case if we check it out.”
14. Tell me about any issues you had with your previous supervisor/boss.
Question to trap you and don't fall for this one. This is a test for interviewer to see if you back stab your previous superior. Try to be diplomacy here if you do or else just develop a poor memory and say you never had any issues.
15. You work for the money or the work (job satisfaction)?
There is no fair answer to this question. Money always come first and it is OKAY to say money is important unless you have plenty of money and you just need the job to kill your time, that's not what you want to answer right?
16. How do you propose to compensate for your lack of experience?
Question for fresh graduate or whom who had little experience for the job they are applying. If you have experience that the interviewer does not know about, bring that up and just relate the experience you gain to add value to the job being offer or if true that you don't have any experience at all, then you should say you are hard working, willing to learn, quick learner and take it as a challenge to motivates yourself to learn more as fast as you can.
17. Why do you want this job and why I should hire you.
You need to have a positive mindset that you can stand out from the rest of the candidates waiting outside because you are great and you need this job. But that doesn't give a good answer as the rest of the candidate can say that as well. You need to point out how you can contribute to the organization and add value to it. It is not wise to make comparison with other candidates as you have your own strengths that match the job description.
“I’ve been very careful about the companies where I have applied. When I saw the ad for this position, I knew I found what I was looking for. What I can bring to this job is my seven years of experience, and knowledge of the industry, plus my ability to communicate and build customer relationships. That, along with my flexibility and organizational skills, makes me a perfect match for this position. I see some challenges ahead of me here, and that’s what I thrive on. I have what you need, and you have what I want.”
18. Do you have any questions?
Most common question asked when the interview end. You should always prepared some questions to show that you are keen to the job and likely to be part of the organization. Some very good question to ask are "If I were given opportunity for this job, how soon can I start working?". You may also ask about more details about the job description and what type of project will you be able to assist on.
Hope the questions above will give you some clues to prepare for an interview, although there is no way you can accurately predict the questions that will be asked in an interview, but if you go in well prepared, to win the interview is already 50% in your hand.
Good Luck!
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October 6th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
Brilliant post. I am going for an interview on Monday. This serve as a good post for my interview tomorrow. Thanks. Keep it up.