Question
1 Tell me about yourself.
TRAPS: Beware; about 80% of all interviews begin
with this “innocent” question. Many candidates, unprepared for the question,
skewer themselves by rambling, recapping their life story, delving into ancient
work history or personal matters.
BEST ANSWER: Start with the present and tell why you are
well qualified for the position. Remember that the key to all successful
interviewing is to match your qualifications to what the interviewer is looking
for. In other words you must sell what the buyer is buying. This is the
single most important strategy in job hunting.
So, before you answer this or any
question it's imperative that you try to uncover your interviewer's greatest
need, want, problem or goal.
To do so, make you take these two steps:
1. Do all the homework you can before the
interview to uncover this person's wants and needs (not the generalized
needs of the industry or company)
2. As early as you can in the interview, ask
for a more complete description of what the position entails. You might say: “I have a number of
accomplishments I'd like to tell you about, but I want to make the best use of
our time together and talk directly to your needs. To help me do, that, could
you tell me more about the most important priorities of this position? All I know is what I (heard from the
recruiter, read in the classified ad, etc.)”
Then, ALWAYS
follow-up with a second and possibly, third question, to draw out his needs
even more. Surprisingly, it's usually this second or third
question that unearths what the interviewer is most looking for.
You might ask simply, "And in addition
to that?..." or, "Is there anything else you see as essential to
success in this position?:
This process will not feel easy or natural at
first, because it is easier simply to answer questions, but only if you uncover
the employer's wants and needs will your answers make the most sense. Practice
asking these key questions before giving your answers, the process will feel
more natural and you will be light years ahead of the other job candidates
you're competing with.
After
uncovering what the employer is looking for, describe why the needs of this job
bear striking parallels to tasks you've succeeded at before. Be sure to
illustrate with specific examples of your responsibilities and especially your
achievements, all of which are geared to present yourself as a perfect match
for the needs he has just described.
Question
2 What are your greatest strengths?
TRAPS: This question seems like a softball lob, but
be prepared. You don't want to come across as egotistical or arrogant. Neither
is this a time to be humble.
BEST ANSWER: You know that your key strategy is to first
uncover your interviewer's greatest wants and needs before you answer
questions. And from Question 1, you know how to do this.
Prior to any interview, you should have a
list mentally prepared of your greatest strengths. You should also have, a
specific example or two, which illustrates each strength, an example chosen
from your most recent and most impressive achievements.
You should, have this list of your greatest
strengths and corresponding examples from your achievements so well committed
to memory that you can recite them cold after being shaken awake at
2:30AM.
Then, once you uncover your interviewer's
greatest wants and needs, you can choose those achievements from your list that
best match up.
As a general guideline, the 10 most desirable
traits that all employers love to see in their employees are:
1. A proven track record as an achiever...especially
if your achievements match up with the employer's greatest wants and needs.
2. Intelligence...management
"savvy". 3. Honesty...integrity...a
decent human being. 4. Good fit with
corporate culture...someone to feel comfortable with...a team
player who meshes well with interviewer's
team. 5. Likeability...positive attitude...sense of humor. 6. Good
communication skills. 7. Dedication...willingness to walk the extra mile to
achieve excellence. 8. Definiteness of purpose...clear goals. 9.
Enthusiasm...high level of motivation. 10. Confident...healthy...a leader.
Question
3 What are your greatest weaknesses?
TRAPS: Beware - this is an eliminator question,
designed to shorten the candidate list. Any admission of a weakness or fault
will earn you an “A” for honesty, but an “F” for the interview.
PASSABLE ANSWER: Disguise a strength as a weakness.
Example: “I sometimes push my
people too hard. I like to work with a
sense of urgency and everyone is not always on the same wavelength.”
Drawback: This strategy is better than admitting a
flaw, but it's so widely used, it is transparent to any experienced
interviewer.
BEST ANSWER: (and another reason it's so important to get
a thorough description of your interviewer's needs before you answer
questions): Assure the interviewer that you can think of nothing that would
stand in the way of your performing in this position with excellence. Then,
quickly review you strongest qualifications.
Example: “Nobody's perfect, but based on what you've
told me about this position, I believe I' d make an outstanding match. I know
that when I hire people, I look for two things most of all. Do they have the qualifications
to do the job well, and the motivation to do it well? Everything in my background shows I have both
the qualifications and a strong desire to achieve excellence in whatever I take
on. So I can say in all honesty that I see nothing that would cause you even a
small concern about my ability or my strong desire to perform this job with
excellence.”
Alternate strategy (if you don't yet
know enough about the position to talk about such a perfect fit): Instead of confessing a weakness, describe
what you like most and like least, making sure that what you like
most matches up with the most important qualification for success in the
position, and what you like least is not essential.
Example: Let's say you're applying for a teaching
position. “If given a choice, I like to spend as much time as possible in front
of my prospects selling, as opposed to shuffling paperwork back at the
office. Of course, I long ago learned
the importance of filing paperwork properly, and I do it conscientiously. But
what I really love to do is sell (if your interviewer were a sales manager,
this should be music to his ears.)
Question
4 Tell me about something you did – or failed to do – that you now
feel a little ashamed of.
TRAPS: There are some questions your interviewer has no business asking,
and this is one. But while you may feel
like answering, “none of your business,” naturally you can’t. Some interviewers ask this question on the
chance you admit to something, but if not, at least they’ll see how you think
on your feet.
Some unprepared candidates, flustered by this
question, unburden themselves of guilt from their personal life or career,
perhaps expressing regrets regarding a parent, spouse, child, etc. All such answers can be disastrous.
BEST
ANSWER: As with faults and weaknesses, never
confess a regret. But don’t seem as
if you’re stonewalling either.
Best strategy: Say you harbor no regrets, then add a
principle or habit you practice regularly for healthy human relations.
Example: Pause for reflection, as if the question
never occurred to you. Then say, “You
know, I really can’t think of anything.”
(Pause again, then add): “I would add that as a general management
principle, I’ve found that the best way to avoid regrets is to avoid causing
them in the first place. I practice one
habit that helps me a great deal in this regard. At the end of each day, I mentally review the
day’s events and conversations to take a second look at the people and
developments I’m involved with and do a doublecheck of what they’re likely to
be feeling. Sometimes I’ll see things
that do need more follow-up, whether a pat on the back, or maybe a five minute
chat in someone’s office to make sure we’re clear on things…whatever.”
“I
also like to make each person feel like a member of an elite team, like the
Boston Celtics or LA Lakers in their prime.
I’ve found that if you let each team member know you expect excellence
in their performance…if you work hard to set an example yourself…and if you let
people know you appreciate and respect their feelings, you wind up with a
highly motivated group, a team that’s having fun at work because they’re
striving for excellence rather than brooding over slights or regrets.”
Question
5 Why are you leaving (or did you leave) this position?
TRAPS: Never badmouth your previous industry,
company, board, boss, staff, employees or customers. This rule is inviolable: never be negative. Any mud you hurl will only soil your suit.
Especially avoid words like “personality
clash”, “didn’t get along”, or others which cast a shadow on your competence,
integrity, or temperament.
BEST ANSWER:
(If you have a job
presently) If
you’re not yet 100% committed to leaving your present post, don’t be afraid to
say so. Since you have a job, you are in
a stronger position than someone who does not.
But don’t be coy either. State
honestly what you’d be hoping to find in a new spot. Of course, as stated often before, you answer
will all the stronger if you have already uncovered what this position is all
about and you match your desires to it.
(If
you do not presently have a job.) Never lie about having been fired.
It’s unethical – and too easily checked.
But do try to deflect the reason from you personally. If your firing was the result of a takeover,
merger, division wide layoff, etc., so much the better.
But you should also do something totally
unnatural that will demonstrate consummate professionalism. Even if it hurts , describe your own
firing – candidly, succinctly and without a trace of bitterness – from the company’s
point-of-view, indicating that you could understand why it happened and you
might have made the same decision yourself.
Your stature will rise immensely and, most important
of all, you will show you are healed from the wounds inflicted by the
firing. You will enhance your image as
first-class management material and stand head and shoulders above the legions
of firing victims who, at the slightest provocation, zip open their shirts to
expose their battle scars and decry the unfairness of it all.
For
all prior positions: Make sure you’ve prepared a brief reason for leaving. Best reasons: more money, opportunity, responsibility or
growth.
Question
6 Describe your ideal company, location and job.
TRAPS: This is often asked by an experienced
interviewer who thinks you may be overqualified, but knows better than to show
his hand by posing his objection directly.
So he’ll use this question instead, which often gets a candidate to
reveal that, indeed, he or she is looking for something other than the position
at hand.
BEST ANSWER: The only right answer is to describe what
this company is offering, being sure to make your answer believable with
specific reasons, stated with sincerity, why each quality represented by this
opportunity is attractive to you.
Remember that if you’re coming from a company
that’s the leader in its field or from a glamorous or much admired company,
industry, city or position, your interviewer and his company may well have an
“Avis” complex. That is, they may feel a
bit defensive about being “second best” to the place you’re coming from,
worried that you may consider them bush league.
This anxiety could well be there even though
you’ve done nothing to inspire it. You must go out of your way to assuage such
anxiety, even if it’s not expressed, by putting their virtues high on
the list of exactly what you’re looking for, providing credible reason for
wanting these qualities.
If
you do not express genuine enthusiasm for the firm, its culture, location,
industry, etc., you may fail to answer this “Avis” complex objection and, as a
result, leave the interviewer suspecting that a hot shot like you, coming from
a Fortune 500 company in New York, just wouldn’t be happy at an unknown
manufacturer based in Topeka, Kansas.
Question
7 Why do
you want to work at our company?
TRAPS: This question tests whether you’ve done any
homework about the firm. If you haven’t,
you lose. If you have, you win big.
BEST ANSWER: This question is your
opportunity to hit the ball out of the park, thanks to the in-depth research
you should do before any interview.
Best
sources for researching your target company:
annual reports, the corporate newsletter, contacts you know at the
company or its suppliers, advertisements, articles about the company in the
trade press.
Question
8 Tell me honestly about the strong points and weak points of your
boss (company, management team, etc.)…
TRAPS: Skillfull interviewers sometimes make it
almost irresistible to open up and air a little dirty laundry from your
previous position. DON’T
BEST ANSWER: Remember the rule: Never be
negative. Stress only the good points,
no matter how charmingly you’re invited to be critical.
Your
interviewer doesn’t care a whit about your previous boss. He wants to find out how loyal and positive
you are, and whether you’ll criticize him behind his back if pressed to do so
by someone in this own company. This
question is your opportunity to demonstrate your loyalty to those you work
with.
Question
9 What good books have you read lately?
TRAPS: As in all matters of your interview, never
fake familiarity you don’t have. Yet you
don’t want to seem like a dullard who hasn’t read a book since Tom Sawyer.
BEST ANSWER: Unless you’re up for a position in academia
or as book critic for The New York Times, you’re not expected to be a
literary lion. But it wouldn’t hurt to
have read a handful of the most recent and influential books in your profession
and on management.
Consider
it part of the work of your job search to read up on a few of these leading
books. But make sure they are quality
books that reflect favorably upon you, nothing that could even remotely be
considered superficial. Finally, add a
recently published bestselling work of fiction by a world-class author and
you’ll pass this question with flying colors.
Question
10 What are your outside interests?
TRAPS: You want to be a well-rounded, not a
drone. But your potential employer would
be even more turned off if he suspects that your heavy extracurricular load
will interfere with your commitment to your work duties.
BEST ANSWERS: Try to gauge how this company’s culture would
look upon your favorite outside activities and be guided accordingly.
You can also use this question to shatter any
stereotypes that could limit your chances.
If you’re over 50, for example, describe your activities that
demonstrate physical stamina. If you’re
young, mention an activity that connotes wisdom and institutional trust, such
as serving on the board of a popular charity.
But
above all, remember that your employer is hiring your for what you can do for
him, not your family, yourself or outside organizations, no matter how
admirable those activities may be.
Good luck!
NOTE: ANY NAMES USED IN THE TEXT ARE FICTITIOUS AND FOR ILLUSTRATIVE
PURPOSES ONLY. ANY RESEMBLANCE TO ACTUAL PERSONS OR COMPANIES IS PURELY
COINCIDENTAL AND UNINTENTIONAL. IF LEGAL ADVICE OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL ASSSTANCE
IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT, PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOUID BE SOUGHT.