Interviewing Information

Questions Most Often Asked in an Interview

(1) Tell me about your work experience. [Target this to relate how your experience will aid you in THIS position.]

(2) Why would you like to work for us? [Your response should reflect that you know something about the company.]

(3) Why should you be hired for this position? [Target not only your relevant experience, but also positive personal traits such as work ethic, ability to learn, ability to meet deadlines, etc.]

(4) What are your greatest strengths? [NOT accomplishments, but traits which will help you in this position.]

(5) What are your greatest weaknesses? [Identify at least one, and explain how you are in the process of improving it. Many people's greatest weakness is their strength taken to excess. EXAMPLE: Strength: Attention to Detail Weakness: Sometimes get bogged down in the details losing sight of the bigger picture, but "I'm aware of this and try to remind myself of this regularly so I don't lose sight of the bigger picture"]

(6) What problems have you encountered and how did you deal with them? [Identify the problem/crisis and explain how you dealt with it effectively/positively.]

(7) What have you learned from your mistakes? [Regardless of the mistake, and do mention at least one, be prepared to share what caused it, and how you can avoid this in the future. (Do not be a victim.)]

(8) What would you like to be doing in Five Years? Ten Years? [Describe your career goals, and aspirations. "I would like to be in a position of increased responsibility making a meaningful contribution, and involved in shaping the direction of the department, potentially with some supervisory responsibilities." Use caution in being overly specific.]

(9) What salary would you like to start out with in our company? The ONLY appropriate response is, "At this point, I'm more focused on the opportunity, the Company and how I can make a contribution in this role. I really haven't come up with a number, as I'm sure that there's more to this opportunity that just a base salary. I'm sure that if you decide I'm the right person for this position, you'll make me a fair offer."

(10) Are you a team player? [Describe projects you've worked cooperatively on, and the results that "WE" achieved.]

(11) Why do you want to leave your current employer? [Explain that you were recruited for this position and weren't actively looking. However, their opportunity caught your interest, and you felt like you owed it to yourself and your career, to learn more about it.]

Many interviewers are now using questions that begin with:

"Tell me about a time .... when you had a problem with an employee, and how you handled that". "When you had a deadline that wasn't going to be met", etc. **Answer the question in the shortest possible form, providing the necessary information, and offer an additional description/details, etc. The purpose is NOT to limit information, but to provide the ANSWER to the question without a lot of "Fluff". If the interviewer wants to know more... they'll ask.

IN ADDITION TO THESE QUESTIONS, be prepared to positively explain any gaps in employment, and what efforts you undertook in your job search. If you've been terminated from past employers, explain the situation in positive terms and also what you learned.

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