Interviewing Tips
Questions to expect in an interview
- Relax and tell me a little about yourself.
Talk about your experience, qualifications, and accomplishment - not your childhood, family, or hobbies.
- What qualifications do you have?
Be able to list skills and qualifications you have that are related to the position.
- Why do you want to work for us?
You’re on your own.
- How did you learn about this job opening?
Friend, relative, newspaper story, advertisements, anything to show that they are not just a random choice.
- How many employers have you worked for during the last five years?
Tell the truth.
- You seem to switch jobs a lot. Why?
Job stagnation, demotions due to downsizing, career explorations, a short-lived personal problem, or having made a bad choice are all good reasons.
- Tell me about your current (or last) job.
List your duties and responsibilities. Explain your accomplishments.
- Why are you leaving that job?
Job stagnation, demotions due to downsizing, career exploration, or simply having made a bad choice are all good reasons.
- Are you planning to give notice that you’re leaving for another job?
Explain that you don’t want to leave them short-handed. A two-week notice is customary.
- What will your manager say when you give notice that you’re leaving?
Explain why you’ll be missed. Don’t give the impression that they’ll be glad to get rid of you.
- What did you like most about your job?
Talk about your responsibilities, challenges, accomplishment, and the people.
- What would you change about that job?
Don’t bad-mouth the job. Explain that you’d want more responsibilities. It shows initiative.
- Did you ever have a disagreement with a boss? Why? Why not?
Answer, "yes" and you’re a troublemaker, "no" and you’re a wimp. Find a middle ground: “Sure we disagreed, but we worked well together. For example.. ."
- Tell me about your education and/or training.
Explain your education or training and how it helped prepare you for this job.
- Did you enjoy school?
The interviewer may want to know if you enjoy learning and whether you might benefit from a training program.
- Which course did you find most difficult? Why?
The manager wants to know if you have perseverance: "I got a D in my first term in Algebra. My study skills were all wrong. I joined a study group. By third term, I pulled it up to a B and kept it there."
- Did you join any school activities? Why?
School activities show that you’re sociable, that you enjoy being part of a group, and that you can work with other people. This is important in the workplace.
- How were your grades in math?
The job that you are interviewing for may require basic math skills.
- How were your grades in English?
The job may require reading and may also require that you write reports.
- Do you plan to continue your education?
Continuing education courses suggest growth, ambition, promotion opportunities, and may qualify for tuition assistance. A potential employer will however, want to know your plan to manage work and continuing education.
- What do you do to relax after work?
Don’t brag about car racing, sky-diving, scuba diving, or any other sport that may be dangerous. They suggest a likelihood of injury and absence from work.
- What do you plan to be doing for work five years from today?
Figure the promotions you should get if you work hard for this company over the next five years. Tell the manager you plan to be working for him or her in that position.
- What salary do you expect to be earning five years from today?
Avoid salary questions by stating, “ a fair salary equal to my work contribution.”
- When do you hope to retire?
"Certainly, not before I’m 65."
- Give an example of a major problem that you faced and how you solved it.
Think of something related to work, school, civic, or leisure activities. Tell it as a story. Give details. The interviewer wants to see how you define problems, identify options, decide on a solution, handle obstacles, and solve the problem.
- In your lifetime, what was your greatest accomplishment? What did you learn from it?
A personal touch works well here, such as your marriage, birth of a child, or helping someone in need.
- What was your greatest failure? What did you learn from it?
Confessing to a failure can show maturity. Avoid examples that might reflect on your ability to do the job.
- What is your greatest weakness?
Focus on work, not character weaknesses. Turn it into a positive, "I’m told that I am a workaholic. I like to stay and get caught up on the odds and ends before I go home."
- Last year, how many days of work (or school) did you miss? How many days were you late?
This will tell the interviewer whether you are going to show up for work on time every day. If you have missed more than a couple days, have some good explanations ready.
- Have you been convicted of a crime?
It is not illegal to ask this if it has a bearing on the job that you are seeking. A bank, for example, wouldn’t want a convicted embezzler working in the vault. If you have a conviction, admit it. Explain what happened. Admit that you made a stupid mistake. Tell what you have done to make amends or what you have learned. Ask for a second chance.
- What motivates you to do a good job?
Money is not a good answer. A good answer is something like, "having responsibilities and being acknowledged when the job is done right."
- Are you at your best when working alone or in a group?
"Both. I enjoy working as part of a team and I can work independently to get my share of the work done."
- Would you rather be in charge of a project or work as part of the team? Why?
"Either. I’m not afraid to take responsibility and I’m not afraid to roll up my sleeves and pitch in."
- As a youngster, what did you do to earn your own spending money?
Baby-sitting, lemonade stand, newspaper route, shoveling snow, moving lawns, and other jobs show signs of ambition and respect for work.
- What do you like most about yourself? Least?
Might refer back to #28 & 29. Stress positives.
- If I told you that you would report to a supervisor, who was a woman, a minority, or handicapped, what problems would this cause for you?
You are on your own on this one.
- What kind of salary are you looking for today?
"I have no set salary. What salary is usually offered to someone with my qualifications?" If the manager persists, give a general answer like "somewhere in the teens," or somewhere in the thirties."
- Have you ever been fired from a job? Why?
Explain that you usually get along really well with everyone. But, you and your ex-manager just couldn’t seem to make things work.
- Do you have any questions for me?
"Yes, thank you, just a few questions.. ." (Refer to “Questions You Should Ask" page 7-9)
Questions a Job Seeker May Be Asked
- Why did you decide to apply for this position?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- List three of your most important/proudest accomplishments.
- What kind of work environment do you prefer?
- What motivates you? ALSO, have you used these motivators with others?
- How are you qualified for this job?
- What supervisory or management experience have you had?
- How would you characterize your supervisory style?
- The person in this position needs to be innovative and proactive. Can you describe some things you have done to demonstrate these qualities?
- How would you rate your communication skills and what have you done to improve them?
- What else besides your school and job experience qualifies you for this job?
- What have you read lately, and what are you reading now?
- While this position involves some specific skills (language, computer, administration, etc.), it is more of a generalist position. How do you feel that your background fits into this?
- What are the personal characteristics and qualities that you would bring to this position that would be particularly helpful in fulfilling the responsibilities of this position?
- Tell us about yourself .
- What professional groups are you a member of, and how active have you been in those groups?
- Do you prefer to work independently or as part of a team?
- What appeals to you about this position and/or this company?
- What are some aspects of your present (or most recent) position that you like?
- What are some aspects of your present (or most recent) position that you dislike?
- What do you see yourself doing five or ten years from now?
- Starting with your last job, would you tell me about some of your achievements that were recognized by your superiors?
- What are some things you would like to avoid in a job? Why?
- What are some of the things on your jobs thaf you feel you have done particularly well?
- What does success mean to you? How do you judge it?
- Who or what in your life would you say influenced you most with regard to your career objectives?
- What traits or qualities do you feel could be strengthened or improved?
- What kinds of things do you feel most confident in doing? Somewhat less confident in doing?
- What are some of the things you are either doing now or have thought about doing that are self-development activities?
- Tell me about a time when you had work problems or stresses that were difficult for you.
- Customers frequently create a great deal of pressure. What has been your experience in this area?
- What types of pressures do you experience on your current job? How do you cope with these pressures?
- Describe a time when you were under pressure to make a decision. Did you react immediately or take time in deciding what to do?
- What types of things make you angry? How do you react?
- How do you react when you see co-workers disagreeing? Do you become involved or hold back?
- Do you prefer to have a job in which you have well laid out tasks and responsibilities, or one in which your work changes on a frequent basis?
- In your current position what types of decisions do you make without consulting your immediate supervisor?
- What types of experiences have you had in dealing with difficult customers?
- Describe a problem person you have had to deal with. What did you say or do?
- What important goals have you set in the past, and how successful have you been in working toward their accomplishment?
- What things give you the greatest satisfaction?
- How would you describe yourself?
- In what ways do you think you can make a contribution to our department?
- Describe your most rewarding experience.
- What do you know about our company?
- Why do you think we should hire you?
- What will your last supervisor tell me are your two weakest areas?
- If you were hiring someone for this job, what qualities would you look for?
- What does the term two-way communication mean to you? When have you successfully used two-way communication?
- How did you organize your work in your last position? What happened to your plan when emergencies came up?
- Describe how you determined your priorities on your last job.
- Describe how you schedule your time on an unusually hectic day. Give a specific example.
- Are you a person who likes to "try new things," or "stay with regular routines"? Give an example.
- If we had to contact your staff from your previous position, what do you think they would say about you?
- What do you do on your days off?
- What would you do if your staff comes to work late regularly?
- What have been your experiences in dealing with the general public? When have people really tried your patience?
- What makes you happy?
Questions to ask a hiring manager
- What are the most important skills and attributes you are looking for in filling this position?
- What would be a typical working day for this position?
- How many hours of work per week would be required to be successful?
- What is the organization structure of your department?
- How would you describe your company culture?
- What are your organizational values? How do these values influence your decision-making?
- What is your vision for your department over the next two to three years?
- What major challenges are you currently facing as a manager?
- What is your competitive advantage in the marketplace?
- What makes your company better than your competitors?
- What are the areas that your competitors better than your company?
- Who do you consider your customers to be?
- What is your value proposition to your customers?
- What business problems keep you awake at night?
- Can you tell me more about the other people in the organization I would be working with? May I meet with any of them before accepting an offer of employment?
- What would you consider to be exceptional performance from someone performing in this position in the first 90 days?
- What is the internal perception of pursuing further education, such as a Master’s degree?
- What is your management style?
- How do you typically make decisions?
- What is your preferred method of communicating with your team?
- What are the most important skills and attributes you are looking for in filling this position?
- What would be a typical working day for this position?
- How are you measured as a manager?
- What can I do to make you successful?
- How long have you been with the organization?
- What has been your career path within the organization?
- What will be the measurements of my success in this position?
- Do you have an employee stock purchase plan? Do you participate?
- Who are the primary constituencies that you are responsible to support? Shareholders? Customers? Employees? How do you make decisions which conflict with the needs of these different constituencies?
- How does the pressure of Wall Street expectations affect the short-term decision-making among managers?
- What are the organizational goals?
- What are the metrics used to measure whether or not you are achieving your goals?
- How far out into the future is the organization planning?
- Do you have strategic planning within your organization? How often is it done? Who participates? What is the typical planning time horizon?
- How are new strategic initiatives communicated to the organization?
- Is your department considered to be a profit center or cost center? What are the financial expectations of the department?
- Do you have control over your own budget? How is the initial budget amount determined?
- Are budgets made at a centralized location, then rolled down, or decentralized, then rolled up?
- What is your approach with regard to the use of technology?
- Is there anyone within your organization who is considered to be a leader within the industry? What is it about that person that makes him/her a leader?
Questions to ask the Human Resource Professionals
- What can you tell me about the position?
- What type of person you are seeking?
- What can you tell me more about the department?
- Who is the manager I would be working for and what is their management style?
- May I have a copy of the written job description?
- What would a typical working day be in this position?
- How would you describe your company culture?
- What is your company’s mission statement?
- Why is this position open?
- Is this job opening due to growth or replacement? (if replacement) What happened to the previous person in the position?
- How much does the position pay?
- What is the compensation range for this position?
- What benefits are provided to your employees?
- Do you have a tuition reimbursement plan?
- Do you have an employee stock purchase plan? Do you participate?
- What is the typical career path for this position?
- What type of internal and external training do you provide?
- How are performance appraisals conducted within your organization?
- How are promotions evaluated within your organization?
- What is your organization’s commitment to diversity?
- How diverse is your executive management team?
- What is your retention rate within the company? Within the hiring department?
- Has your company had any layoffs in the past two years? What were the criteria for deciding who would be laid off? Do you foresee any additional layoffs in the near future?
- What is the next step for consideration?
- When will you be making a decision on this position?
