125 CU HI TR LI KHI PHNG VN XIN VIC BNG

TING ANH
Basic Interview Questions I
1. Tell me a little about yourself.
2. What are your strengths?
3. What are your weaknesses?
4. What are your short term goals?
5. What are your long term goals?
6. What do you want to be doing five years from now?
. !f you "ould "hange one thing about your #ersonality$ what would it be and why?
%. What does su""ess mean to you?
&. What does failure mean to you?
1'. (re you an organi)ed #erson?
11. !n what ways are you organi)ed and disorgani)ed?
12. *o you manage your time well?
13. +ow do you handle "hange?
14. +ow do you make im#ortant de"isions?
15. *o you work well under #ressure?
Basic Interview Questions II
1. (re you better at anti"i#ating or rea"ting to #roblems
2. (re you a risk taker or do you like to stay away from risks?
3. Why should ! hire you?
4. Tell me about ,-s... . Tell me about a time you made a mistake.
5. Tell me about a time you made a good de"ision.
6. Tell me about a time you made a #oor de"ision.
. Tell me about a time you fired someone.
%. Tell me about a time you hired someone.
&. Tell me about a time you failed to "om#lete an assignment on time.
1'. Tell me about a time you found a solution to save the "om#any money.
11. Tell me about a time you aimed too high.
12. Tell me about a time you aimed too low.
13. Tell me about a time you made a great sale.
14. Tell me about a time you went over budget.
School Related Interview Questions
1. What e/tra"urri"ular a"tivities were you involved in?
2. Why did you "hoose your ma0or?
3. !f you redo "ollege again$ what would you ma0or in?
4. What "ourse did you like the most?
5. What "ourse did you like the least?
6. +ow will your #erforman"e in your worst "lass affe"t your #erforman"e on this 0ob?
. +ow would your best friend des"ribe you?
%. +ow would your #rofessor des"ribe you?
&. +ow would your mother des"ribe you?
1'. Why are you a##lying for a 0ob that you didn1t ma0or in?
11. *uring "ollege$ how did you s#end your summer va"ations?
12. What did you learn from your internshi#?
13. *id you do any internshi#s?
14. !f you "ould learn something su"h as a new skill$ what would it be?
Work Related Interview Questions I
1. !f you "ould start your "areer over again$ what would you do differently?
2. *uring your #erforman"e reviews$ what "riti"ism do you hear the most?
3. Tell me about your last three #ositions?
4. Tell me about your last #osition?
5. What is your management #hiloso#hy?
6. What was your favorite 0ob?
. Tell me about the best manager you ever had.
%. Tell me about the worst manager you ever had.
&. What "ould you have done to im#rove your relationshi# with a manager you didn1t like?
1'. What were the most memorable a""om#lishments in your last #osition?
11. Why do you want to leave your "urrent 0ob?
12. Where did you tell your boss you were going?
13. (re you "urrently em#loyed at the last #la"e listed on your resume?
14. What is the title of the #erson you re#ort to?
15. !n your #revious #osition$ how mu"h time did you s#end ...
16. !f you don1t leave your "urrent 0ob$ what do you imagine you will be doing in several years?
1. !f you1re very ha##y with your "urrent 0ob$ why do you want to leave?
Work Related Interview Questions II
1. !f you have #roblems or "om#laints with your "urrent 0ob$ why haven1t you brought it to their
attention?
2. 2ive me a s#e"ifi" e/am#le at your last #osition where...
3. What do you feel an em#loyer owes an em#loyee?
4. What do you e/#e"t from your manager?
5. Would you like to have your boss1s 0ob?
6. What did you hear about us?
. What do you know about our #rodu"t?
%. +ave you managed #eo#le in any of the #ositions you1ve held?
&. What ty#es of #eo#le do you have trouble getting along with?
1'. Who do you think are our two ma0or "om#etitors?
11. Why do you like sales?
12. *o you see that sta#ler? 3onvin"e me to buy it.
13. +ow long have you been looking for a 0ob?
14. Why haven1t you re"eived any offers so far?
15. !f you don1t understand your assignment and you "an1t rea"h your boss$ what would you do?
Work Related Interview Questions III
1. !f everyone on the team is a veteran$ what will you do to fit in?
2. +ow do you intend to learn what you need to know to #erform well for this 0ob?
3. !f your su#ervisor tells you to do something that you believe "an be done in a different way$
what
would you do?
4. !f you1re told to do something that you feel is illegal$ what would you do?
5. !f you were unfairly "riti"i)ed$ what would you do?
6. What are you looking to gain from your ne/t 0ob?
. What as#e"ts of this 0ob interest you the most?
%. !f you are given work from your manager that is boring and tedious$ what will you do?
&. +ow long do you #lan on staying with this "om#any?
1'. +ow do you e/#lain the fa"t that you fre4uently "hange 0obs?
11. Tell me about a time you had a big disagreement with your boss.
12. What do you do when there is no work to do?
13. What do you do when there are too many things to do?
14. What do you do when you feel burned out?
15. +ow do you balan"e both your family and your 0ob?
16. 5ou1ve been with one "om#any your entire "areer. *on1t you think you will have a tough
time
ad0usting to a new environment?
1. What have you heard about our "om#any that you didn1t like?
1%. *o you want to work for a small or large "om#any and why?
Working With People Interview Quetions
1. What do you do when you1re having diffi"ulty solving a #roblem?
2. What do you do when you have a #roblem with a dire"t?
3. What do you do when you have a #roblem with your boss?
4. What do you do when you have a #roblem with your 0ob?
5. What do you do when you have a #roblem with a "o6worker?
6. +ow do you handle "onfli"t?
. +ave you fired anyone?
%. What do you do when a worker is giving the team more #roblems then hel#ing?
&. When do you know enough is enough when dealing with a subordinate that doesn1t seem to be
hel#ing?
1'. *o you like to work by yourself or with others?
11. +ow do you get along7
Miscellaneous Interview Questions
1. What do you do to stay in sha#e?
2. What do you like to do when you1re not in the offi"e?
3. What1s the most re"ent book you read?
4. What is the most re"ent movie you saw?
5. *id you have any trouble finding this #la"e?
6. Will working on weekends be a #roblem?
. +ow do you feel about overtime?
%. +ave you filed for bankru#t"y?
&. *o you own or rent your home?
1'. *o you have any outside in"ome?
11. *o you earn any in"ome from investments or hobbies?
12. (re you willing to travel?
13. (re you willing to relo"ate?
14. 8ay ! "onta"t your "urrent em#loyer?
15. 8ay ! "onta"t your referen"es?
16. !s there anything else you want to add?
1. What kind of salary are you looking for?
1%. That1s a high salary for this #osition9 Where did you "ome u# with that figure?
1&. +ow mu"h do you "urrently get #aid?
2'. When are you able to start?
21. (re you "onsidering any other offers right now?
22. (sking ,uestions
SAU Y L CC CU TR LI!
Basic Interview Questions I
1. "ell !e a little a"out #oursel$."
5ou should take this o##ortunity to show your "ommuni"ation skills by s#eaking "learly and
"on"isely
in an organi)ed manner. :e"ause there is no right or wrong answer for this 4uestion$ it is
im#ortant to
a##ear friendly.
Short %nswers
;! attended 8!T where ! ma0ored in <le"tri"al <ngineering. 8y hobbies in"lude basketball$
reading
novels$ and hiking.;
;! grew u# in =orea and studied a""ounting. ! worked at an a""ounting firm for two years and !
en0oy
bi"y"ling and 0ogging.;
;!1m an easy going #erson that works well with everyone. ! en0oy being around different ty#es of
#eo#le and ! like to always "hallenge myself to im#rove at everything ! do.;
;!1m a hard worker and ! like to take on a variety of "hallenges. ! like #ets$ and in my s#are time$
! like
to rela/ and read the news#a#er.;
;!1ve always liked being balan"ed. When ! work$ ! want to work hard. (nd outside of work$ ! like
to
engage in my #ersonal a"tivities su"h as golfing and fishing.;
&ong %nswer
;! went to the >niversity of Washington and ma0ored in <nglish ?iterature. ! went to graduate
s"hool
be"ause ! really en0oyed learning. (fterwards$ ! started my "areer at :oeing as a web "ontent
editor.
!1ve been there for 3 years now. (lthough my em#hasis is in writing$ ! like numbers. ! think
solving
logi" #roblems and riddles are 4uite fun. ! also en0oy 0ogging$ reading$ and wat"hing movies.;
There is no right or wrong answer for this 4uestion. 8ost im#ortant thing you should remember is
how
you deliver the message. The e/am#le above shows a short answer telling a little bit about the
#erson.
The answer went from edu"ation to "areer$ and then to #ersonal interests all in a smooth flow.
'. "What are #our strengths("
This is a #o#ular interview 4uestion. They want to know what you think of yourself. (lthough
this is a
general 4uestion$ there is a wrong and right answer. The wrong answer is a generi" answer saying
you
are organi)ed and friendly. (lthough it will not hurt you during the interview$ it will "ertainly not
hel#
you either. (nswer this 4uestion based on the ty#e of 0ob you are a##lying for.
Short %nswers
;! believe my strongest trait is my attention to detail. This trait has hel#ed me tremendously in
this field
of work.;
;!1ve always been a great team #layer. !1m good at kee#ing a team together and #rodu"ing 4uality
work
in a team environment.;
;(fter having worked for a "ou#le of years$ ! reali)ed my strength is a""om#lishing a large
amount of
work within a short #eriod of time. ! get things done on time and my manager always a##re"iated
it.;
;8y strongest trait is in "ustomer servi"e. ! listen and #ay "lose attention to my "ustomer1s needs
and !
make sure they are more than satisfied.;
&ong %nswers
?et1s say ! am interviewing for a management #osition. 5ou should mention traits that are
im#ortant
for managers.
;( "ou#le strengths ! have are #lanning and e/e"ution$ and working with #eo#le. !1ve always
been very
good at #lanning and detailing all the ste#s. <ven in "ollege$ ! would s#end time organi)ing my
week
and #lanning a strategy to ta"kle ea"h "lass or assignment. </e"uting a #lan has always "ome
easy for
me as well. ! believe it1s due to #ro#er #lanning. ! also work with #eo#le very well in a way
where ! use
the strengths of ea"h individual in a team to #rodu"e the best results. :e"ause of my easy going
#ersonality$ !1ve been told by my dire"ts that it1s easy to a##roa"h me.;
!f you are a##lying for an a""ounting #osition$ you should mention strong traits an a""ountant
should
have and "laim them to be yours.
;!1m very detail oriented$ good at managing time$ and very honest. ! always in"or#orate managing
time
and being detailed together. :y nature !1ve been detail oriented$ and that resulted in taking too
mu"h
time on a #arti"ular task. (fter in"or#orating time management into the mi/$ ! found that my
work and
effi"ien"y in"reased dramati"ally. ! #lan better and #rodu"e higher 4uality work in a time
"onstraint
environment. @inally$ !1m a very honest #erson. When ! was working as a valet attendant during
"ollege$ a lady gave me a twenty dollar bill to #ay for the three dollar fee. Ahe almost drove off
the lot$
but ! sto##ed her and said here is your "hange. 8y "o6workers said ! should have "onsidered the
"hange as ti#$ but ! know what ! did was honest and right. 5ou "an fool other #eo#le$ but you
"an1t fool
yourself. That1s what ! believe.;
The se"ond e/am#le "an seem a little wordy. :ut the #ower of an e/am#le is greater than any
great
words you "an string together. <veryone "an "laim they are honest$ but with an e/am#le$ it is
mu"h
more believable.
). "What are #our weaknesses("
@or this answer$ you should dis#lay a weakness that "an be seen as a strength. There are many
ty#es of
answers that will work. Aome answers will be good answers for "ertain 0obs$ while the same
answer
will be a bad answer for a different 0ob. Aele"t an answer that will work for the #osition you are
a##lying for. +ere are a few e/am#les.
Short %nswers
;This might be bad$ but in "ollege ! found that ! #ro"rastinated a lot. ! reali)ed this #roblem$ and
!1m
working on it by finishing my work ahead of s"hedule.;
;! feel my weakness is not being detail oriented enough. !1m a #erson that wants to a""om#lish as
mu"h
as #ossible. ! reali)ed this hurts the 4uality and !1m "urrently working on finding a balan"e
between
4uantity and 4uality.;
;! feel my <nglish ability is my weakest trait. ! know this is only a tem#orary #roblem. !1m
definitely
studying hard to "ommuni"ate more effe"tively.;
;The weakest trait ! struggled with was not asking for hel#. ! always try to solve my own
#roblems
instead of asking a "o6worker who might know the answer. This would save me more time and !
would
be more effi"ient. !1m working on knowing when it would be benefi"ial to ask for hel#.;
&ong %nswers
;! think my weakest trait is my im#atien"e. Whenever ! work in a team and a member is not
#erforming
u# to my e/#e"tations$ ! "an get im#atient and annoyed. ! understand if they are working hard and
their
#ortion is diffi"ult$ but sometimes a #erson "an1t do the assignment due to in"om#eten"e or
la)iness. (
while ba"k ! would get frustrated and start "om#laining$ but ! reali)ed that ! "an hel# out by
e/#laining
things to some #eo#le and en"ouraging la)y #eo#le by reminding them of deadlines. ! know it1s
bad to
be im#atient$ but !1m definitely working on it.;
;!1m too detail oriented. ! never want to leave anything out and ! want everything to be #erfe"t.
This is
bad be"ause it slows down my work. !nitially$ ! tried to work faster to "om#ensate$ but that only
made
me slo##y. Ao ! de"ided to #ut more em#hasis on #riority and #lanning. :y doing so$ !1m ho#ing
that !
"an make the #ro#er de"isions on what to work on and what to intentionally leave out.;
:oth of these e/am#les show an answer that is a""e#table. (lthough being im#atient is not good$
it
shows that you are a 4ui"k learner and that you like effi"ien"y. The se"ond dis#lays a #erson that
is
detail oriented$ whi"h "an be seen as a good trait. @inally$ both answers identify the weakness and
show
the a"tions of "orre"ting it.
*. "What are #our short ter! goals("
This 4uestion #rimarily de#ends on where you are in your "areer. ( #erson with 5 years of
e/#erien"e
will have different short term goals than a #erson with no work e/#erien"e. !1ll give an e/am#le
for
both s"enarios. :ut first$ here are some short answers.
Short %nswers
;8y short term goal is to find a #osition where ! "an use the knowledge and strengths that ! have.
!
want to #artake in the growth and su""ess of the "om#any ! work for.;
;!1ve learned the basi"s of marketing during my first two years. ! want to take the ne/t ste# by
taking
on "hallenging #ro0e"ts. 8y short term goal is to grow as a marketing analyst.;
;(s a #rogram manager$ it1s im#ortant to understand all areas of the #ro0e"t. (lthough ! have the
te"hni"al abilities to be su""essful in my 0ob$ ! want to learn different software a##li"ations that
might
hel# in work effi"ien"y.;
;8y goal is to always #erform at an e/"e#tional level. :ut a short term goal ! have set for myself
is to
im#lement a #ro"ess that in"reases work effi"ien"y.;
&ong %nswers
;8y short term goal is to learn everything ! "an about marketing. ! want to find a #osition where !
"an
"ontribute what !1ve learned through edu"ation and to gain real life e/#erien"e. ! believe the ne/t
"ou#le of years will be very im#ortant to me and my immediate goal is to learn and be"ome
skilled in
all as#e"ts of marketing.;
;8y short term goal is to get into a management #osition. The last five years of my "areer$ !1ve
"on"entrated on learning and a"4uiring all the skills needed to #erform e/"ellent work. Be"ently$
!1ve
taken more res#onsibilities in management be"ause ! eventually want to be"ome a sales manager.
!1m
e/"ited about the last few assignments ! "om#leted be"ause it involved working with vendors and
#artners while managing a small grou# of workers. Ao ! ho#e to be in a management #osition
within a
year or two and ! feel !1m doing a diligent 0ob by volunteering for e/tra work to gain more
e/#erien"e.;
The first e/am#le is a #erson straight out of s"hool. ?earning is a good short term goal to have
be"ause
it shows that you will be trying hard in your 0ob. The se"ond e/am#le is more detailed be"ause
that
#erson has several years of e/#erien"e. (nybody "an say they want a management #osition$ but
this
"andidate is taking it a ste# further by showing the ste#s he is taking to a"hieve the short term
goal.
Thus$ it be"omes a stronger answer.
+. "What are #our long ter! goals("
This 4uestion is asked to see how serious a "andidate is about his or her "areer. Aome #eo#le
might not
know their long term goals$ and some #eo#le might have long term goals of be"oming ri"h and
retiring
early. Those are in"orre"t answers for this 4uestion. The ty#e of answer you want to give is an
ambitious answer that shows you really love your "areer. ( good interviewer will read between
the
lines and find out if a #erson is going to be a hard worker or 0ust a medio"re one. :eing
des"ri#tive and
shooting for a big goal is something interviewers want to hear.
Short %nswer
;! would like to be"ome a dire"tor or higher. This might be a little ambitious$ but ! know !1m
smart$ and
!1m willing to work hard.;
;(fter a su""essful "areer$ ! would love to write a book on offi"e effi"ien"y. ! think working
smart is
im#ortant and ! have many ideas. Ao after gaining more e/#erien"e$ !1m going to try to write a
book.;
;!1ve always loved to tea"h. ! like to grow newer em#loyees and hel# "o6workers where ever !
"an. Ao
in the future$ ! would love to be an instru"tor.;
Tong hC# bCi 8uaCbuon44Dyahoo."om 666666666 3hE" "F" bCn thGnh "Hng 666666666 26.'6.2''%
&
;! want to be"ome a valued em#loyee of a "om#any. ! want to make a differen"e and !1m willing
to
work hard to a"hieve this goal. ! don1t want a regular "areer$ ! want a s#e"ial "areer that ! "an be
#roud
of.;
&ong %nswer
;8y long term goal is to be"ome a #artner for a "onsulting firm. ! know the hard work involved
in
a"hieving this goal$ and ! know that many #eo#le fail to be"ome a #artner. That1s not going to
sto# me
from working hard$ learning everything ! "an$ and "ontributing to a "om#any where !1ll be"ome a
valuable asset. ! know it1s not a guarantee$ but be"oming a #artner is a long term goal of mine$
and !
going to work towards this goal throughout my "areer.;
This e/am#le shows a "andidate with a big goal. This #erson identifies the diffi"ulty of the goal
and
shows the ste#s re4uired to a"hieve this goal. *es#ite the diffi"ulty$ this "andidate shows he or
she will
not get dis"ouraged with diffi"ult situations and will never give u#. !t is a short answer that goes a
long
way.
,. "What do #ou want to "e doing $ive #ears $ro! now("
"Where do #ou see #oursel$ in $ive #ears("
This is a similar 4uestion to the short term 4uestion$ but you should answer it a little differently.
+ere
are some e/am#les.
Short %nswers
;!n five years$ ! see myself as a valued em#loyee of a "om#any. ! want to be an e/#ert at my
#osition
and start training to be a manager.;
;!n five years$ ! want to be a senior analyst. ! want my e/#ertise to dire"tly im#a"t the "om#any in
a
#ositive way.;
;8y goal is to be"ome a lead in five years. (lthough not everyone gets #romoted to this level$ !
believe
! "an a"hieve this goal through hard work.;
;(lthough ! really en0oy working hands on as a me"hani"al engineer$ ! want to eventually
be"ome a
manager. ! want to "ontinue gaining e/#erien"e$ and after learning many different as#e"ts$ ! see
myself
in management.;
&ong %nswers
;@ive years from now$ ! would like to see myself in a management #osition. !1m going to be
learning
and gaining #ra"ti"al e/#erien"e until then$ but eventually$ ! want to be"ome a marketing
manager. !
know there are a lot of things to learn$ but !1m going to be working hard for the ne/t five years. !
believe o##ortunities "ome to great workers and !1m going to try to be one of them.;
;@ive years from now$ ! want to be a senior sales manager. !1m "urrently training to be"ome a
manager$
and if ! "ontinue to work hard$ ! feel !1ll have a management #osition soon. (fter gaining several
years
of e/#erien"e as a sales manager$ ! want to be in a #osition where ! "an train and #rovide my
e/#ertise
to newer sales managers.;
:oth answers dis#lay "hara"teristi"s of working hard. The se"ond e/am#le also mentions that he
or she
wants to train newer managers. This is a good answer be"ause it targets one good trait about
u##er
management7 the ability to train managers.
-. "I$ #ou could change one thing a"out #our personalit#. what would it "e and wh#("
This 4uestion is another variation to the weakness 4uestion. 5ou "an #rovide a similar ty#e of
4uestion
unless it is the same #erson asking them. To answer this 4uestion$ think of a #erson you res#e"t
and the
trait they have that you really like. ! used to have a manager that was very #atient and e/#lained
things
very "arefully. ! really liked this trait$ so !1m going to #rovide the long answer by using this
e/am#le.
:ut first$ let1s look at some short answers.
Short %nswers
;! get easily frustrated at #eo#le who don1t work very hard. :ut ! know #eo#le have different
work
styles and different work habits. Ao if ! "ould "hange something$ ! would like to be more
understanding.;
;! have high e/#e"tations and ! have these e/#e"tations on others. ! think if ! was more
understanding$ !
"ould hel# other workers im#rove instead of being disa##ointed.;
;! would like to be more of a risk taker. ! always do my work and "om#lete it at an e/"e#tional
level$
but sometimes taking a risk "an make the work even better. !1m working on this by thinking the
issue
through and weighing the #ros and "ons.;
;! would like to be more of an e/trovert. !1m a little 4uiet and a little "loser to the introvert side. !
would like to "hange this be"ause ! would a##ear more friendly.;
&ong %nswer
;! wish ! was more #atient with #eo#le. ! remember a manager ! had a "ou#le of years ago. +e
was very
#atient with everyone. <ven workers that were not that smart and failed to understand a "on"e#t
to
#erform the 0ob. ! remember thinking how "an this #erson who "an1t understand this "on"e#t
"ontinue
to work here. 8y manager took a different a##roa"h. +e was understanding of this worker and
e/#lained the "on"e#t in a different way. +e even e/#lained how to view #roblems from a
different
#ers#e"tive. That hel#ed this worker and in time that worker be"ame a strong "ontributor. Ao if !
"ould
"hange one thing about me$ ! would like to be more #atient and understanding. !1m taking the
ste#s to
"hange for the better by remembering the a"tions of my #ast manager whenever !1m in a similar
situation.;
This is a little long$ but if you "an s#eak smoothly$ it shows off your "ommuni"ation skills. (lso$
the
"ontent of the answer is not that bad. They want a #ersonality #roblem$ and this answer is
showing
im#atien"e while indi"ating that you understand diffi"ult "on"e#ts easily. !t also shows that you
are
working on "orre"ting the bad behavior.
/. "What does success !ean to #ou("
There are many things you "an say. This ty#e of 4uestion doesn1t have a wrong answer. (ll
answers
will be "orre"t. Ao the best answer is how good you "an make the answer. ( medio"re answer
will be
something like "om#leting a #ro0e"t on time. 5ou "an say this$ but add another twist to make the
answer a little better. +ere is an e/am#le.
Short %nswers
;To me$ su""ess means to have a goal$ #lan the ste#s to a"hieve the goal$ im#lement the #lan$ and
finally a"hieve the goal.;
;Au""ess means to a"hieve a goal ! have set for myself.;
;Au""ess means to #rodu"e high 4uality work before the deadline.;
;Au""ess to me is knowing that my "ontributions #ositively im#a"ted my "om#any.;
&ong %nswer
;Au""ess to me means "om#leting a task and when looking ba"k$ thinking ! "ouldn1t have done it
better. To su""eed is to "om#lete a task or assignment on time in an e/"ellent manner. :ut that1s
only
half of it. The results should be good and the #eo#le involved should gain a valuable lesson or
e/#erien"e. @or e/am#le$ if it was a grou# #ro0e"t$ and only two #eo#le out of four really did the
work$
! wouldn1t "all that su""ess. !f everyone #arti"i#ated and worked together #roviding a valuable
deliverable then it1s a su""ess. Ao ! think both the result and the #ro"ess should be great to "all
something a su""ess.;
This answer is showing that you believe in delivering great 4uality work. 8oreover$ it is im#lying
how
mu"h you value team work. !f you value teamwork highly$ then it is safe to assume that you
would
make a great team #layer.
0. "What does $ailure !ean to #ou("
This is 4uite sim#le. ! don1t see many right answers so this is what ! suggest. 5ou "an believe in
two of
the following. Ine$ you believe that failure is not a"hieving your goal no matter what. Ir two$
you "an
believe failure is only when nothing is learned from the failure. ! believe in the latter$ but you
don1t
have to agree with me.
Short %nswers
;@ailure is when ! do not rea"h my goal.;
;! think to fail at something is making a mistake and not learning anything from it.;
;To me$ failure means to have a goal and not do anything about it.;
;! think failure is not rea"hing your #otential. !f you do not use the resour"es you have and the
resour"es around you$ that1s failure be"ause the work or goal "ould have been done better.;
&ong %nswer
;! think it1s harder to fail than it is to su""eed. The reason is$ if you fail in a #ro0e"t$ you "an learn
a
valuable lesson from your mistake. ?earning from the mistake will allow you to im#rove future
#ro0e"ts$ or to sim#ly not re#eat them. Just be"ause ! believe this$ doesn1t mean ! believe it1s
a""e#table
to fail at a #ro0e"t$ but 0ust in "ase$ ! would try to learn everything ! "an7 even when the end
result
wasn1t that good. Ao$ failure to me means making a mistake and having learned nothing from it.;
Kobody wants a failure. Ao you "an feel that answering like this will be risky. +owever$ this is a
solid
answer that most #eo#le agree with. !f the #erson doesn1t like this answer$ then you might not
want to
work for this #erson. <veryone fails and if you work for someone who doesn1t tolerate failure$
then you
will be in a diffi"ult situation. <ven vi"e #residents of large "or#orations will believe that learning
from
mistakes is a valuable lesson. This answer also states that you will do you best not to fail$ but 0ust
in
"ase$ you want to gain something from your e/#erien"e.
11."%re #ou an organi2ed person("
5ou "an think that this 4uestion is stu#id. ("tually$ ! do. <veryone will say they are organi)ed.
Who
will admit otherwise? 5ou should know that everyone will say similar things. Take this time to be
"reative with your answer. 5ou "an use these ty#es of 4uestions to leave a strong im#ression with
a
"reative answer. Ir$ if you are not "reative$ then the best way to answer this 4uestion is with an
e/am#le. >sing a story is more believable and easier to remember. @eel free to mi/ in a little
humor to
make it more memorable.
Short %nswers
;!1m a very organi)ed #erson. ! like to know e/a"tly what !1m going to do for the day and the
week. Ao
! outline my tasks and organi)e my work load. :y doing so$ ! "an organi)e my time and work
better.;
;! believe !1m very organi)ed. ! like to organi)e my work by #riority and deadlines. ! do this so !
"an
#rodu"e the highest 4uality work in the amount of time ! have.;
;! think !1m 4uite organi)ed. ! like my do"uments and #a#ers in a way where ! "an retrieve them
4ui"kly. ! also organi)e my work in a way where it1s easy to see e/a"tly what !1m doing.;
;Irgani)ation has always "ome easy to me. ! naturally organi)e things like my desk$ time$
assignments$
and work without thinking about them. This hel#s me tremendously during times when !1m
a##roa"hing a deadline.;
&ong %nswer
;!1m a"tually a very organi)ed #erson. !t1s funny that you mention this be"ause 0ust the other day$
my
roommate wanted to borrow my suit"ase and saw my "loset. +e made fun of me for organi)ing
my
"lothes by length and "olor. !1m like that with everything. !t1s 0ust so mu"h easier to manage
things.
+owever$ !1m not #i"ky and don1t need to have things in a "ertain way. ! 0ust want things to be
organi)ed. Ao yes$ ! "onsider myself organi)ed.;
This e/am#le should only be done if you are "onfident with your "ommuni"ation abilities. !f you
a##ear awkward or if you sound like you are reading this ty#e of answer$ it "ould have a negative
effe"t. !nstead$ you should make a generi" answer if you are un"omfortable with this ty#e of
answer.
he 3ollowing ' 4sers
11."In what wa#s are #ou organi2ed and disorgani2ed("
This is another variation to the #revious 4uestion. This 4uestion is a little better be"ause the
4uestion
wants you to identify an area you are disorgani)ed. 8ake sure to em#hasi)e the organi)ed #ortion
of
the answer. !f you are truly an organi)ed #erson$ then it is really tough thinking about an area you
are
disorgani)ed. Ao thinking ahead of time will allow you to make a good im#ression with a solid
answer.
Short %nswers
;!1m very organi)ed with my time and work$ but my desk is a little disorgani)ed.;
;Ain"e ! work with many files$ ! like to kee# my desk organi)ed. ! always have everything in a
"ertain
#la"e so ! "an find things easier. The area !1m disorgani)ed is #robably my "om#uter deskto#. !
usually
have so many i"ons everywhere. ! should organi)e it a little$ but !1ve never needed to.;
;! organi)e my s"hedule the best. !1m used to many meetings so it1s im#ortant for me to be
organi)ed
with my s"hedule and time. The area ! need to im#rove is #robably my file "abinet. ! started to
sort
things al#habeti"ally$ but when !1m busy$ ! start #utting things in there. !t started getting hard to
find
things$ but this is something !1m going to fi/.;
&ong %nswer
;Ih7 that1s a good 4uestion. Well$ !1m organi)ed in almost everything ! do. !1m very organi)ed
with
my s"hedule and time. ! like to work effi"iently$ and being organi)ed with my time hel#s me. The
area
! feel !1m disorgani)ed is #robably my desk. ! like to work fast and don1t kee# my desk area as
tidy as
some #eo#le ! know. This however doesn1t #revent me from doing my 0ob well. 5ou know some
#eo#le "an have files and #a#er all over their desk but some how know e/a"tly where everything
is
lo"ated. ! think !1m one of those #eo#le. +owever$ if ! know !1m having a "lient or a guest$ then !
would definitely make things more tidy.;
This answer brings a little humor to the 4uestion. !t lightens the mood and makes a #erson seem
real
instead of a##earing to be #erfe"t. +owever$ if the 0ob you are a##lying for re4uires "onstant
"ustomer
intera"tion$ then this answer will not be good. This answer would be better for an offi"e 0ob
where not
many #eo#le will see your desk.
1'."5o #ou !anage #our ti!e well("
"In what wa#s do #ou !anage #our ti!e well("
The first 4uestion is a little easier. The se"ond 4uestion is more diffi"ult be"ause it re4uires an
e/am#le.
!1m going to give an e/am#le for the se"ond 4uestion and you should be able to use it for the first
4uestion as well.
Short %nswer
;! know ! manage my time well be"ause !1m never late to work$ and !1ve never missed a
deadline.;
;!1m good at managing my time. ! stay busy both at home and at work and being able to manage
my
time is ne"essary for me to do everything that ! want to do.;
;! manage my time well by #lanning out what ! have to do for the whole week. !t kee#s me on
tra"k
and evens hel#s me to be more effi"ient.;
&ong %nswer
;8anaging my time is one of my strong traits. ! #rioriti)e my tasks and this allows me to stay
ahead of
s"hedule. <a"h day ! manage my time so ! "an a"hieve more than ! set out to do. Ao managing my
time
in a goal oriented way is what ! feel very "omfortable doing.;
1)."6ow do #ou handle change("
"%re #ou good at dealing with change("
*ealing with "hange is "ommon in the work #la"e. ( sim#le yes will not be suffi"ient to im#ress
the
interviewer. This is another ty#e of 4uestion where everyone will have similar answers. If "ourse
everyone is going to "laim being e/"ellent dealing with "hange. 5ou got to "ommuni"ate that you
are
really good at dealing with "hange. +ere are some e/am#les for you.
Short %nswers
;!1m good at dealing with "hange be"ause !1m a 4ui"k thinker. !f new information makes us
"hange our
marketing strategy for e/am#le$ !1ll be 4ui"k to analy)e the information and "reate a #lan to make
the
"hanges.;
;!1ve e/#erien"ed many "hanges #reviously. ! handle the situation by 4ui"kly "oming u# to s#eed
on
the "hanges and a##lying myself to make them a su""ess.;
;!1m good at dealing with "hange be"ause !1m fle/ible with my work and abilities. !1m not afraid
of
learning new and diffi"ult things. Whenever !1m fa"ed with a "hange$ !1ll #ut in e/tra effort to
make the
"hange a smooth transition.;
;! handle "hanges smoothly. Whenever there1s a "hange of any sort$ ! analy)e the situation and !
always try to find ways ! "an "ontribute to the "hange in a #ositive way.;
&ong %nswer
;! believe dealing with "hange is a re4uirement in the work#la"e. The mission statement "an
"hange to
introdu"e a new market segment$ or the "om#any might need to "hange dire"tion. Whatever it is$
as a
member of this team$ ! would be e/#e"ted to do my share by absorbing the new information$
analy)ing
it thoroughly$ sharing my ideas$ and really being a valued team member. *ealing with "hange is a
ne"essary trait. ! think !1m also good at anti"i#ating "hange by being attentive and observant.;
Iverall$ this is a good answer. The last statement is a bold statement of being able to anti"i#ate
"hange.
!f the interviewer is im#ressed$ they might follow u# by asking for an e/am#le of how you
anti"i#ate
"hange. !f you use an answer like ! #rovided$ make sure you have an e/am#le. !f you don1t have
one$
then the answer you gave will be seen as a lie and you #robably failed.
1*."6ow do #ou !ake i!portant decisions("
There are many ways to answer this 4uestion$ and if you have a reasonable method of making
de"isions$ it will #robably be suffi"ient. Ine answer ! thought of in"luded not being afraid of
asking
your manager. 5ou "an follow u# by saying even the best needs mentoring$ and you always want
to
im#rove. Ao basi"ally$ this "ould work as an answer$ but de#ending on the 0ob$ you might have a
better
shot with an answer like my e/am#le.
Short %nswers
;! make im#ortant de"isions by e/amining all the details and then weighing the #ro1s and "on1s
for
ea"h de"ision.;
;! gather all the information ! "an find and based on the information$ !1ll "ome to the best de"ision
!
"an. !f ! know a "oworker was in a similar situation$ ! wouldn1t hesitate to find out the results to
make
sure my de"ision is the best one.;
;! believe all de"isions should be made by having all the information. !f you are missing an
im#ortant
detail$ it1s easy to make a bad de"ision. Ao ! make im#ortant de"isions by having all of the
information.;
;!m#ortant de"isions are made by knowledge through information and wisdom through
e/#erien"e. !1ll
gather all the information ! "an find and then a##ly my e/#erien"e while analy)ing the
information.
With this "ombination$ !1m "onfident !1ll make the "orre"t im#ortant de"isions.;
&ong %nswer
;! think all de"isions are im#ortant$ and having as mu"h information about the de"ision is one of
the
most im#ortant as#e"ts. (fter e/amining all the fa"ts$ ! would think about the out"ome and
"onse4uen"es of ea"h a"tion and after weighing the #ro1s and "on1s$ ! would "ome to the best
de"ision
#ossible. +owever$ !1m aware that some de"isions are not as bla"k and white. !n this situation$ !
would
rely on my e/#erien"e$ or even work with my team members to "ome u# with the best de"ision.;
This is a de"ent answer$ but ! think you might be able to think of a better one. @eel free to be
"reative
with your answers be"ause those are the answers the interviewer will remember the most.
1+."5o #ou work well under pressure("
!n most "ases$ the best answer to this 4uestion is answering yes. Working well under #ressure is a
good
trait to have. +owever$ ! think if you answer that you work the same with #ressure and without
#ressure$ the interviewer will be more im#ressed. +owever$ you will need to e/#lain in words
why this
is better. +ere are some of my answers.
Short %nswers
;! work well under #ressure be"ause ! use the #ressure to hel# me work more effi"iently.;
;! en0oy working under #ressure be"ause ! believe it hel#s me grow. !n my #revious e/#erien"e$ !
always worked well during deadlines$ and ! always learned how to work more effi"iently
afterwards.;
;! work well under #ressure be"ause ! don1t #ani". ! maintain self "ontrol and work as effi"iently
as
#ossible. !n all my e/#erien"es$ ! did well and ! always en0oyed the e/#erien"e.;
;*uring times of #ressure$ ! try to #rioriti)e and #lan as mu"h as ! "an. (fter !1m organi)ed$ !
really 0ust
#ut my head down and work hard in a smart way. ! don1t let the #ressure affe"t me. Ao ! believe !
work
well under #ressure.;
&ong %nswers
;To tell you the truth$ ! think ! work the same if there1s #ressure or if there1s no #ressure. ! try
and take
out negative emotional fa"tors and work hard regardless of down time or busy time. ! always
#rioriti)e
and organi)e my work$ and from there$ work effi"iently. !f the situation involved #ressure due to
a la"k
of time$ then the only differen"e in my work would be the e/tra time ! would need to #ut in to
meet the
deadline on time. Ain"e ! believe my normal work is great work$ then ! su##ose ! work well under
#ressure.;
! like this answer be"ause it is different than the standard answer. !f you are not "omfortable with
this
answer$ then you "an use the ne/t one.
;! have a "ou#le of friends who hate working under #ressure. ! don1t know if it1s odd$ but ! really
en0oy
working under #ressure. ! use the feelings of #ressure as a tool to motivate me to work harder and
more
effi"iently. !n my last 0ob$ ! remember we had a #ro0e"t to "om#lete in 4 days where it usually
took 1'
days. There was a lot of #ani" by some team members$ but ! ensured everyone that if we
"on"entrate on
the task and work real hard$ we "an "om#lete the #ro0e"t. !t took a lot of overtime$ and the last
day we
were in the offi"e until two (8$ but we managed to finish. !t was hard work$ but ! really en0oyed
that
e/#erien"e.;
5ou might not have e/#erien"ed this e/am#le before$ but what is #reventing you from making
something u#? To tell you the truth$ ! never e/#erien"ed it before either. There are some things
you
shouldn1t lie about be"ause they "an find out about it su"h as your 2L( or what s"hool you
attended$
but a story su"h as the one ! in"luded above "annot be verified by the interviewer. The only thing
you
have to be "areful about is being able to answer follow u# 4uestions.
Basic Interview Questions II
1."Which categor# do #ou $all under( % person who anticipates a pro"le! well. or a person
who
reacts to a pro"le! well("
This is a tough 4uestion be"ause both o#tions look #retty good. 8y re"ommendation would be to
answer de#ending on the #osition you are a##lying for. @or e/am#le$ if you are a##lying for a
ty#e of
analyst or u##er management #osition$ then anti"i#ating a #roblem would be more useful.
+owever$ if
you are a##lying to be a nurse for a hos#ital emergen"y room$ then rea"ting to a #roblem well is
stronger.
Short %nswers
;! think it1s good to be good at both. :ut in my e/#erien"e$ ! reali)ed ! rea"t to #roblems better.
Whenever !1m fa"ed with a new #roblem$ ! know what ste#s to take to deal with the #roblem.;
;! believe !1m strong in both$ but ! try to work more on anti"i#ating #roblems. !n this #rofession$
it1s
very im#ortant to anti"i#ate a #roblem and fi/ it before it be"omes a real #roblem.;
;!1m very observant and aware of what1s going on$ so !1m stronger at anti"i#ating #roblems.;
;!1m good at dealing with #roblems$ so !1m a #erson who rea"ts to a #roblem well.;
&ong %nswers
;! feel ! rea"t to #roblems well$ but !1m mu"h stronger at anti"i#ating them. !1m a ty#e of #erson
that
#ays attention to detail$ in"onsisten"ies$ and subtle signs. :asi"ally$ ! want to find a #otential
#roblem
and #ut measures in #la"e to "orre"t it before it ha##ens. !t1s interesting to see how the #eo#le
who deal
with #roblems get rewarded for resolving the issue. What about the #eo#le who #ut the fire out
before
it even started? Ao anti"i#ating #roblems before it ha##ens is what !1ve always done and ! believe
it1s
im#ortant in any work environment.;
;:eing a nurse re4uires many skills. Ine of the im#ortant traits is to be able to rea"t to #roblems
well.
Bea"ting to a #roblem well re4uires the ability for 4ui"k thinking$ ability to think of all the
o#tions
available$ and maintaining self "ontrol in he"ti" times. !n my s#are time$ ! even think about
"reative
#roblems that might "ome u#. Ain"e a #roblem "an arise at any time and in any form$ ! try to be
as
"reative as ! "an and ! walk through the situation as if !1m dealing with the #roblem. Ao this has
hel#ed
me to be"ome very good at rea"ting to #roblems.;
The answer gets stronger with e/am#les$ so if you have e/#erien"ed something that you "an
e/#lain$
feel free to use in"lude it in the answer. (lso$ if you are unsure about how to say it$ remember
that you
"an ask us.
'."%re #ou a risk taker or do #ou like to sta# awa# $ro! risks("
This also de#ends on the #osition. :ut in most "ases$ ! believe someone who likes to take risks is
a
better "andidate. !f you "hoose to answer saying you are a risk taker$ you should in"lude why and
how
you take risks.
Short %nswers
;! "onsider myself to be in the middle$ but if ! were to "hoose from my #ast e/#erien"e$ ! would
think !
would "all myself a "areful risk taker.;
;!1m reliable and believe in stability and guarantees. 8y work will be based on fa"ts without
assum#tions or guesses$ so ! tend to stay away from risks.;
;! think it1s im#ortant to take some risks. ! kee# the o#tions o#en and if the reward 0ustifies the
risks$ !
would definitely try. Ao !1m more of a risk taker.;
;! take risks be"ause through #lanning and working smart$ it1s #ossible to redu"e some of the risk.
Ao if
there1s a reasonable "han"e of su""ess$ ! would take the o##ortunity.;
&ong %nswer
;! see myself as a risk taker. :ut before taking the risk$ ! always evaluate all other o#tions$ weigh
the
#ro1s and "on1s of su""ess and failure$ and after "areful "onsideration$ ! would definitely take a
risk if
the rewards were high enough. ! view staying away from risks similar to staying away from a
gold
mine surrounded by dynamite. If "ourse if you don1t know what triggers the dynamite$ it would
be
unwise to take that risk. :ut if you study the situation and know the lo"ation of all dynamite and
the
way they are triggered$ then the risk is minimi)ed. Aome #eo#le would not e/#lore the o#tions to
redu"e the risk$ but ! would definitely study ea"h situation and take a risk that would im#rove my
#ersonal or "om#any1s situation.;
5ou don1t have to use the dynamite e/am#le. 5ou "an think of any other e/am#le. :ut ! used this
to
"learly e/#lain what ! feel about taking risks. Kot only did ! "hoose to be a risk taker$ but ! also
e/#lained how and when ! would take risks.
)."Wh# should I hire #ou("
! don1t know if this is a "ommon 4uestion$ but ! heard many #eo#le use this 4uestion. !n all the
interviews !1ve been through$ ! never re"eived this 4uestion$ nor did ! ask this 4uestion in any
interviews ! gave. :ut$ there are a lot of #eo#le asking this 4uestion$ so #re#aring for it is a must.
To
answer this 4uestion$ you need to know e/a"tly what they are looking for. With this information$
tie it
in with your strong traits. This will verify that you are "om#letely 4ualified for the 0ob. Ae"ond
and
more im#ortantly$ you need to stand out more than the other #eo#le interviewing for this #osition.
! will
give two e/am#les for the long answers$ one for a #erson with a lot of e/#erien"e$ and the other
for a
re"ent "ollege graduate.
Short %nswers
;!1m a #erfe"t fit for this #osition. ! have the e/#erien"e and the traits you are looking for. In to#
of
that$ !1m a great team #layer that gets a long with everyone.;
Tong hC# bCi 8uaCbuon44Dyahoo."om 666666666 3hE" "F" bCn thGnh "Hng 666666666 26.'6.2''%
2'
;! should be hired be"ause !1m effi"ient$ smart$ and friendly. !1m great at solving #roblems and
love
"hallenges. 8ost im#ortantly$ !1m de#endable and reliable.;
;There are two reasons ! should be hired. @irst$ my 4ualifi"ations mat"h your needs #erfe"tly.
Ae"ond$
!1m e/"ited and #assionate about this industry and will always give 1''M.;
;5ou should hire me be"ause !1m "onfident and !1ll do the best 0ob. ! have a #roven tra"k re"ord
of
su""ess starting from high s"hool until now. !1m res#onsible and smart.
This #osition re4uires someone that will work well without su#ervision. ! know how to manage
my
time and organi)e my work well. Ao$ !1m "onfident !1ll be the best "andidate for this #osition.;
&ong %nswers
;This #osition is for a 4uality assuran"e manager$ !1m "onfident !1m the best #erson for this 0ob
be"ause
of my #ast e/#erien"e. (t (:3 Aoftware 3om#any$ ! was in "harge of a team that was
res#onsible for
the 4uality of three different a##li"ations. ! have intimate knowledge of 4uality assuran"e$
#rodu"t
su##ort$ and even some "reative #ro"esses that will benefit a 4uality assuran"e team. !1ve built a
team
from s"rat"h and fully understand the #rodu"t develo#ment "y"le. @inally$ one of my traits is in
develo#ing and mentoring 0unior em#loyees. ! believe in transferring knowledge to everyone in
the
"om#any and investing a little more effort into the #eo#le who work for me. Ao ! strongly believe
that
!1ll be the best "andidate due to the "ombination of my e/#erien"e$ my managerial skills$ and my
desire
to #rovide growth in em#loyees.;
;The reason ! a##lied for this #osition is be"ause the 4ualifi"ations mat"hed my strengths
#erfe"tly. !1m
good at 0uggling multi#le tasks$ !1m very detail oriented$ and ! organi)e my time very effi"iently.
:ut
the truth is that many #eo#le have these traits. :ut if ! were in your #osition$ ! would hire myself
be"ause of the #assion ! have for this industry$ and my o#timisti" #ersonality. 8y edu"ation
ba"kground and my strengths show that ! "an do this 0ob. :ut ! want to make more of an im#a"t
than
0ust doing my 0ob. ! don1t want to blend in with the "om#any$ ! would rather want my addition to
im#rove it.;
The first answer is using e/#erien"e and skills to "onvin"e the interviewer to hire him or her. !n
addition to talking about #ast e/#erien"es$ this e/am#le also em#hasi)es the strong ability to
mentor
#eo#le. The se"ond e/am#le is more on the #ersonal level and definitely more "reative. <veryone
one
will "laim to have all the good traits. Ao this "andidate says it by saying$ ;7 the truth is that
many
#eo#le have these traits.; In to# of these traits$ this "andidate is in"luding #assion and
e/"itement. This
is very im#ortant during interviews. @inally$ the last senten"e is a good line that the interviewer
will
remember. !t is "reative and bold.
*.ell !e a"out Q7s... 8 ell !e a"out a ti!e #ou !ade a !istake.
9ell !e a"out:; ty#e of 4uestions are very #o#ular. !t is more effe"tive be"ause it is asking for
an
answer that "omes from e/#erien"e. !f you don1t have a #arti"ular e/#erien"e in one of the
4uestions
below$ make one u#. 5ou should #re#are ahead of time be"ause you don1t want to make u# a
story
during the interview. !t will be too hard to sound believable. @inally$ you should know that some
4uestions will not be asked to "ertain 0ob ty#es. @or e/am#le$ if you are not in a management
#osition$
you #robably won1t be asked how you saved the "om#any money. Ir if you are not in sales$ you
won1t
be asked about making a great sale.
These ty#es of answers are usually long be"ause it is e/#laining an e/#erien"e. !f you want the
interviewer to understand the signifi"an"e of your story$ they will need to understand it. Ao all my
e/am#les will be a little longer than regular interview 4uestions. @inally$ a lot of these are my
own
e/#erien"es. ! en"ourage you to think ba"k to your e/#erien"e and "reate one. !1m #roviding my
answers so you "an see the stru"ture and learn from my answers.
"ell !e a"out a ti!e #ou !ade a !istake."
The best answer for this 4uestion involves learning something from a mistake. !f you are having
diffi"ulty thinking about a mistake you made that will be an effe"tive answer$ try to think of a
lesson
you learned that im#roved a good trait. 8aking a mistake is not good$ but sin"e you have to tell
them
something$ you should tell them something that makes you look good. @or an e/am#le$ let1s
"reate a
s"enario where you learned how to be someone who anti"i#ates #roblems.
Short %nswer
;! was given a #ro0e"t to "om#lete in a week. ! understood the #ro0e"t$ but ! misinter#reted one
se"tion.
(fter "om#leting the #ro0e"t$ ! was told by my manager that it was done in"orre"tly. ! really made
a
mistake by assuming in"orre"tly in one of the se"tions instead of asking for "larifi"ation. !
learned not
to assume through the mistake ! made.;
&ong %nswer
;! had a #ro0e"t ! was working on$ and while ! was in the middle of ty#ing u# my do"umentation$
my
"om#uter started a"ting weird. !t fro)e for a while and so ! rebooted. (fter 1' minutes$ the
"om#uter
showed a blue s"reen saying that there were #roblems and re"ommended that ! reboot the
"om#uter
again. (fter another reboot$ everything a##eared to be ok. ! "ontinued my work and finished for
the
day. ! s#ent two days on this assignment and when ! went to retrieve my data the ne/t day to
double
"he"k my work$ my "om#uter wouldn1t start u#. ( te"hni"ian "ame and found that my hard drive
malfun"tioned. ! lost all the data and lost two days of work. ! was disa##ointed and thought !
would
never trust a "om#uter again$ but there was a great lesson to be learned. ! had a "ou#le of
warnings and
! ignored them. @rom then on$ ! #ra"ti"ed being someone who "an anti"i#ate #roblems. ! now
think of
#otential #roblems ahead of time and #ay attention to details along the way. !f ! a##lied this
sooner$ !
would have saved the data on another "om#uter and ! wouldn1t have lost a "ou#le days of work.
:ut !
"an1t say ! regret making the mistake be"ause it made me someone who "an anti"i#ate #roblems
better.;
This is a minor mistake$ and you "an say it is really the "om#uter1s fault. :ut this is a good
e/am#le
be"ause ! wasn1t really at fault. The "om#uter was. :ut this e/am#le is wording it so it looks like
the
#erson1s fault and it e/#lains how a great lesson was learned. !n the end$ this "andidate be"ame a
better
#erson through this mistake. ?earning from a mistake is #robably the key #oint here$ and this
e/am#le
demonstrates that.
+."ell !e a"out a ti!e #ou !ade a good decision."
"ell !e a"out a ti!e #ou $ound a solution to a pro"le!."
This is a little easier than thinking about a mistake. 5ou should make sure to in"lude why it was a
good
de"ision and the result should be obviously meaningful. ! also want to use this as an e/am#le of
answering multi#le 4uestions. ! would use this same answer for either of the two 4uestions above.
!t
was a good de"ision$ and ! fond a solution to a #roblem. Lre#aring for every interview 4uestion in
the
world will be too mu"h work. Think of key e/#erien"es and a##ly them to multi#le answers. !n
the "ase
where it is the same interviewer$ then you might be for"ed to think of a new answer. Ao it might
be
good to think of "ou#le of answers.
Short %nswer
;*uring my last #ro0e"t$ we ran into a diffi"ult #roblem. This was high #riority so everyone was
instru"ted to find a solution. ! started looking for more information on the !nternet$ ! even talked
to a
different manager on a different team. This hel#ed tremendously and our #roblem was solved. !
made a
de"ision to use every resour"e ! "ould find$ and in the end$ it solved the #roblem.;
&ong %nswer
;!n my last #osition at 8i"rosoft$ there was a time #eriod where our grou# was going to sli#
rea"hing
our milestone by one day. This was be"ause the day before e/iting the third milestone$ we found
a
#roblem in the #rogram. Ain"e we "reated a new build with all bug fi/es ea"h morning$ we had
two
"hoi"es. We "ould either fi/ the #roblem and verify the #rogram the ne/t day after we build
again$ or
we "ould #ost#one the #roblem and fi/ it in the ne/t milestone. :oth o#tions didn1t sound very
a##ealing. ! suggested fi/ing the #rogram now$ and #erform another build to verify the fi/ instead
of
waiting for tomorrow. 8any times #eo#le are used to following a #ro"ess$ but in this "ase$ !
"hallenged
the #ro"ess of building in the morning and re4uested another build to verify the last bug fi/. !n
the end$
we were able to "om#lete milestone 3 on time and fi/ed the im#ortant #roblem. This was
signifi"ant
be"ause if we didn1t e/it milestone 3$ then everyone waiting to start work on the ne/t milestone
would
have to wait another day. !n essen"e$ this saved a days work for more than 3' #eo#le.;
@or this e/am#le$ ! was "areful not to use too many te"hni"al 0argons that might not be
understood. !
also e/#lained the situation "arefully and e/#lained why the de"ision was a good one. Bemember
that
some of these answers will not work for you. !n this "ase$ if you never worked at 8i"rosoft and
never
e/#erien"ed this$ 0ust follow the ste#s of stating the #roblem$ e/#laining the "hoi"es$ why you
made the
de"ision$ and finally why it was a good de"ision.
,."ell !e a"out a ti!e #ou !ade a poor decision."
This 4uestion is similar to the mistake 4uestion. Ao first$ let1s think about what lesson we want to
learn.
( "ommon mistake is when #eo#le make assum#tions. !1ll give an e/am#le where a #oor de"ision
was
made due to making a bad assum#tion. The answer will also in"lude what was learned and how
the
#oor de"ision was used as a tool to be"ome a better worker.
Short %nswer
;When ! was doing an audit for a small "om#any$ there was a #roblem with one of the a""ounts. !
tried
to "onta"t the "om#any to ask 4uestions$ but they were not there. ! made the de"ision to kee#
looking
for the answer. @our hours later$ they returned my "all and ! reali)ed it was a sim#le ty#o. !
wasted 4
hours of my day. !n this "ase$ ! was too sensitive about detail. Ao ! learned how not to be so
detailed and #i"ky.;
&ong %nswer
;!n my first month working at Tiffany1s selling 0ewelry$ ! made a #oor de"ision by making an
assum#tion. ( #erson buying an engagement diamond wanted to see some rings. !t1s not #olite to
immediately ask for a #ri"e range$ so ! showed the #erson a variety of rings. +e #ointed to a ring
that
was about twelve thousand dollars. The diamond ring he #ointed to was one of the more
e/#ensive
ones ! showed him. <ager to sell him the ring$ ! e/#lained the 4uality of the ring$ e/#lained our
satisfa"tion guarantee #oli"y to him$ and made sure he was "omfortable with making a #ur"hase
at
Tiffany1s. +e bought the ring$ and ! thought ! made a great sell. +owever$ it turns out that on my
day
off$ he "ame in and e/"hanged the ring for one that was twenty five thousand dollars. !t was one
of the
rings that ! didn1t show him. Ao basi"ally$ ! made a bad de"ision on selling him what he first
#ointed
out instead of showing him more o#tions. ! assumed that the initial ring he sele"ted was the #ri"e
range
he was looking for. ! never made that mistake again and ! learned that ! shouldn1t assume so
mu"h.;
This e/am#le is geared towards sales$ but like ! said earlier$ make sure to "learly e/#lain the
situation$
identify the de"isions$ e/#lain why it was a bad de"ision$ and most im#ortantly what you learned
by
making a #oor de"ision.
-."ell !e a"out a ti!e #ou $ired so!eone."
@iring someone is a diffi"ult task. >sually you will not be asked this 4uestion unless it is for a
management #osition. 5ou should em#hasi)e a "ou#le of key things when you answer this
4uestion.
@irst$ you should be very #rofessional about firing someone. Ae"ond$ you should mention the
#ro"edures you took so the a"tion of firing is 0ustified. !1ll give an e/am#le for someone who has
never
fired someone and an e/am#le for having fired someone.
Short %nswers
;!n my last #osition$ ! had four #eo#le re#orting to me. Ine of my dire"t re#orts failed to show u#
on
time$ "om#lete assignments$ and really didn1t "are about the work. ! tried to en"ourage the
em#loyee$
assign different ty#es of work to him$ and even sat down and showed him how to do things. (fter
2
months of trying$ ! had to let him go.;
;Iur "om#any was down si)ing and ! had to let two #eo#le go. !t1s easier when a #erson does a
terrible
0ob$ but if everyone is doing there 0ob$ it1s more diffi"ult. ! had to sele"t the bottom two
#erformers and
e/#lained why they were being let go.;
&ong %nswers
;*uring my se"ond year as a manager$ ! had to fire one of my dire"ts. ! "an1t say it was a diffi"ult
task
be"ause not only did he not do his 0ob well$ he didn1t want to try. !nitially$ we #ut him on
#robation
monitoring his work$ we tried to give him different ty#es of work that he might do better at$ and
we
even assigned a mentor to him. +owever$ even through all this$ he was a weak #erformer. !
"onsulted
with other management members and we all agreed it was best for the "om#any to let him go. !
got
together with an +B re#resentative and told him that he no longer has a 0ob here. +e wasn1t
sur#rised at
all. +e 0ust #i"ked u# his things and left.;
;!1ve never had to fire somebody yet. ! believe that a manager should mentor and lead all team
members to be a solid #erformer. :ut ! know that there are some #eo#le who "an1t or won1t
#erform
des#ite management1s best effort. Ao in that "ase$ ! would have to let someone go in a
#rofessional
manner following the #ro"edures set by the "om#any.;
:oth of these are good answers. They mention that a manager should take a"tions to make the
worker
better$ but sometimes turning something bad to something good is im#ossible$ so the only a"tion
is to
fire someone. The #erson with e/#erien"e outlines the ste#s taken. @or e/am#le$ the #robation$
assigning different work$ #roviding a mentor$ et". Then in the end he was fired. The se"ond
e/am#le
shows des#ite e/#erien"e$ that he or she would fire someone in a #rofessional manner following
#ro"edure.
/."ell !e a"out a ti!e #ou hired so!eone."
!f you hired somebody before$ you know you "ould have hired someone great$ or someone bad. !f
you
have both e/#erien"es$ you "an ask if they want to hear a bad hire e/#erien"e or a good hire
e/#erien"e. Aometimes the 4uestion will be$ tell me about the time you made a bad hire. !n that
"ase$
then you don1t have to ask. !1ll give an e/am#le of a good hire and a bad hire.
Short %nswers
;! found a resume on the !nternet that was a #erfe"t mat"h for one of our o#en #ositions. !
"onta"ted the
#erson and we talked for about 1' minutes. *uring that "all$ ! e/#lained why our "om#any was a
great
#la"e to work and the o##ortunities we offered. (fter a "ou#le more "alls$ he agreed to "ome in
for an
interview and we made an offer. +e be"ame a great em#loyee.;
;! re"eived a resume but it didn1t have all our re4uirements. ! initially thought she wasn1t a fit$ but
after
looking over the edu"ation ba"kground and the #revious work e/#erien"e$ ! thought this #erson
would
have more #otential than other "andidates. (fter interviewing her$ we e/tended an offer. Ahe was
a
4ui"k learner and #erformed at an e/"e#tional level. Aometimes it1s im#ortant to see #otential and
in
this instan"e$ it was a great hire.;
&ong %nswers
;!n the last "om#any ! worked for$ we had a re"ruiting team. They go through all resumes and
submit
the ones that would be a good fit for a #arti"ular team. ! re"eived a resume and after looking it
over$ !
was 4uite im#ressed. ! "alled him for a #hone interview and after that we s"heduled a full
interview. +e
a"ed almost every 4uestion given to him by 5 different interviewers. We made a reasonable and
fair
offer. +e mentioned that he was "onsidering another "om#any. ! "alled him to tou"h bases with
him
and reiterated the o##ortunities$ the great environment here$ and ultimately that we all looked
forward
to having him 0oin our team. ! tried to make the #hone "all more #ersonal and warm to show him
that
our grou# was a #la"e to be "omfortable. +e 0oined our team and be"ame one of our strongest
#erformers. !t took a little e/tra work$ but it1s im#ortant to take e/tra ste#s when you see someone
who
is going to be great.;
;! had one bad e/#erien"e when hiring someone. ! remember ! was following #ro"edures and
verifying
everything ! "ould from #ast e/#erien"e$ "he"king "ommuni"ation skills$ #ersonality$ work ethi"$
te"hni"al skills$ and some tough logi" #roblems. We even had 4 different #eo#le interviewing this
"andidate. <verything looked great. :ut when the #erson started$ he had a hard time
understanding new
"on"e#ts. ! originally thought it was be"ause he was new and had to ram# u# on many things$ but
as
months #ast by$ this em#loyee was still unable to work alone. +e always had to ask how to do
even
sim#le tasks. ! remember going through his resume and looking over his ba"kground and even
thinking
about where we missed this flaw in the interview. >sing this same interviewing #ro"edure$ we
hired
many great #eo#le. :ut this one turned out a little sour.;
The first 4uestion is straight forward. This #erson took it one ste# farther by making a #hone "all
and
en"ouraging the "andidate to 0oin his team. :ut the se"ond answer is an e/am#le of doing
everything
right$ but seeing bad results. 5ou "an use something like this$ but if you do$ you must think of
follow
u# 4uestions su"h as$ ;what did you do to this em#loyee? What ha##ened in the long run? *id
you end
u# firing this #erson?; :ut ! re"ommend you think of a situation that you #ersonally e/#erien"ed.
Then
you "an answer all follow u# 4uestions easily. :ut if you never hired anyone before$ then sim#ly
say
that. !t shouldn1t hurt unless it is for a re"ruiting #osition.
0."ell !e a"out a ti!e #ou $ailed to co!plete an assign!ent on ti!e."
!f you are a good worker$ then you #robably haven1t failed to "om#lete an assignment on time.
:ut if
you have a lot of e/#erien"e$ you might have some situations where e/ternal fa"tors "aused you
to miss
a deadline. This is what my e/am#le will be about. :ut if you have an e/am#le where you failed
to
"om#lete an assignment$ make sure you give "lear reasons why you failed and what you learned
from
it. (lso$ if you "an1t think of any$ then use an e/am#le from your university days stating. :ut if
you do$
make sure you tell them that so far in your 0ob e/#erien"e$ you "om#leted all assignments on time
or
ahead of s"hedule.
Short %nswer
;Ine time$ ! had a #ro0e"t that was due on Tuesday. In @riday ! analy)ed our #rogress and ! was
ahead
of s"hedule. ! didn1t have to work over the weekend to "om#lete the assignment. In 8onday$ my
manager was si"k so ! had to attend several meetings that took all day. :e"ause of that$ ! didn1t
"om#lete my assignment until Wednesday. Kow$ ! try to finish my assignments a day or half a
day
early be"ause something une/#e"ted "ould "ome u#.;
&ong %nswer
;With #ro#er #lanning and good e/e"ution$ ! think it1s hard to fail at meeting a deadline. :ut !
remember one time in the middle of the #ro0e"t$ our "lients wanted to "hange one as#e"t of the
assignment that we already "om#leted. ! analy)ed the "hange re4uest and told them that we
wouldn1t
be able to make the date. ! estimated that it will take three additional days. They insisted that we
finish
on the agreed u#on time s"hedule. ! told them we1d try but "ould not #romise anything. <ven with
hard
work and overtime$ we missed the due date. We did however$ finish one day late. !n this situation
where ! didn1t feel we "ould rea"h the deadline$ ! s#e"ifi"ally told them that we "ouldn1t$ !
"ontinually
sent u#dates on the #rogress to kee# the "lients informed. Ain"e we missed the deadline$ they
were not
too ha##y$ but overall they were satisfied be"ause ! effe"tively "ommuni"ated the #rogress
regularly.;
! like this answer be"ause they want a situation that should make you look bad. !nstead$ you gave
them
a s"enario where you failed to "om#lete an assignment$ but really it wasn1t your fault. !n the end$
this
answer makes you look good be"ause you did everything right from "ommuni"ating #ro#erly$
giving
them a new time frame$ and rea"hing the goal two days ahead of s"hedule des#ite missing the
original
date by one. :ut 0ust in "ase they ask what you "ould have done better$ you "an say something
like$ ;!
feel ! should have been more firm with the three additional days ! re4uested. ! like to meet
diffi"ult
deadlines$ but ! knew the additional work was too large to finish on time.;
11."ell !e a"out a ti!e #ou $ound a solution to save the co!pan# !one#."
This 4uestion is also for a management level #osition. !f you are not in management$ then you
#robably
won1t fa"e this 4uestion. :ut 0ust in "ase$ here are a "ou#le of answers. !f you are not in a #osition
to
save the "om#any money$ then you "ould think of something small.
Short %nswer
;+mmm7 ! wasn1t really in any #osition to save the "om#any money$ but ! have one small
e/am#le.
When we were a smaller "om#any$ we didn1t get a signifi"ant "or#orate dis"ount on our
hardware.
(fter we grew in si)e$ we 4ualified for the larger dis"ount$ but nobody reali)ed that we now met
the
4uota. ! #ointed this out and we started saving 5M more on our hardware.;
&ong %nswer
;We were outsour"ing a #ortion of our work to a 3rd #arty "om#any. We had two #hases for this
#ro0e"t. (fter the first #hase$ ! was given the task to "om#lete the work be"ause the original
worker
res#onsible for this #ro0e"t left our grou#. ! 4ui"kly got u# to s#eed on the details of the work. !
analy)ed the information and reali)ed that one #ortion of the work given to them "ould1ve been
done
by our grou# be"ause we already had the infrastru"ture in #la"e. Ao ! only s#ent half a day to set
this u#
and in turn$ we were "harged 35M less for the se"ond #hase from the first one.;
This is a sim#le story of an e/#erien"e. !t doesn1t in"lude every detail on the ty#e of work that
was
outsour"ed$ or what ! s#e"ifi"ally did during the half days of work. !f they "hoose to ask this$ then
!
will be #re#ared to answer it$ but this answer gives enough details to allow the interviewer to
understand how you "ontributed in saving the "om#any money. (lso$ de#ending on the field of
work$
answers will vary. !f your 0ob s#e"ifi"ally oversees the finan"e$ then it is #robably im#ortant to
think of
a mu"h better answer s#e"ifi"ally for that #osition. Think of some s"enarios$ write them down$
and feel
free to ask us if the grammar is "orre"t.
11."ell !e a"out a ti!e #ou ai!ed too high."
This is another 4uestion where you "an turn this answer into a good e/#erien"e. ! am going to be
using
the answer as the one where you failed to "om#lete an assignment on time. This is good #ra"ti"e
to use
a similar answer by "hanging only a few senten"es to answer another tough interview 4uestion.
:ut
first$ !1ll give an e/am#le of a different short answer.
Short %nswer
;We had a new #ro0e"t that ! was interested in. <ven though ! was busy$ ! volunteered to take on
the
assignment. ! had to work so mu"h more. (lthough ! managed to "om#lete the assignment$ it
really
burned me out. ! feel ! aimed too high and ! would have benefited by doing a better 0ob on my
"urrent
assignments instead of wanting more "hallenges.;
&ong %nswer
;! believe aiming high is a good #ra"ti"e. (iming high kee#s me fo"used and for"es me to grow
by
trying to rea"h high goals ! have set for myself. :ut ! know there are times where aiming too high
is not
good. @or e/am#le$ one time in the middle of the #ro0e"t$ our "lients wanted to "hange one as#e"t
of the
assignment that we already "om#leted. ! analy)ed the "hange re4uest and told them that we will
not be
able to make the date. ! estimated that it will take three additional days. They insisted that we
finish on
the agreed u#on time s"hedule. ! told them we would try but we "ould not #romise anything.
<ven with
hard work and overtime$ we missed the due date. We did however$ finish one day later. !
"hallenged
myself to "om#lete on time$ but with the large "hange re4uest$ it was too high of a goal to rea"h.
!n this
"ase$ ! really aimed too high. ! should have been more firm telling them that we will need a few
more
days.;
This is a similar e/#erien"e we already used$ but you "hanged the beginning and the end to tailor
it to
this 4uestion. Bemember that you "an use one answer for multi#le 4uestions. This answer should
make
you look good instead of looking like you made a terrible mistake.
1'."ell !e a"out a ti!e #ou ai!ed too low."
! have never been in sales$ but the e/am#le answer ! want to give is an e/am#le of answering the
4uestion while dis#laying good traits. Bemember to be "lear when e/#laining your e/#erien"e
and
don1t assume that they will understand everything. 5ou should e/#lain it ste# by ste#.
Short %nswer
;There was a new #ro0e"t that ! was interested in. :e"ause ! had other res#onsibilities$ ! didn1t
volunteer. ! wasn1t too busy$ but ! was worried ! wouldn1t "om#lete the assignment on time. !
reali)ed !
missed a wonderful o##ortunity be"ause ! aimed too low.;
&ong %nswer
;When ! was selling "ell #hones for Neri)on Wireless$ ! had a great month where ! rea"hed the
4uota in
0ust two weeks. 8y goal is to always break 4uota by more than 1' #er"ent$ and this month$ ! new
it was
going to be easy. ! s"heduled to take a week off to rela/$ and at the end of the month ! sur#assed
the
4uota by 31M. ! had an o##ortunity to break the lo"ation1s re"ord$ but ! didn1t 0um# on the
o##ortunity.
! was basi"ally thinking that having a"hieved my original goal of 1'M was suffi"ient. :ut ! think
when
o##ortunities arise$ ! should be fle/ible and willing to "hange my goal. ! aimed too low and !
missed a
rare o##ortunity.;
This is not a bad mistake. 5ou "an say you were burned out$ or needed to take some time off$ or
wanted
to re0uvenate yourself. This answer doesn1t show a failure$ but shows a great su""ess. !n this
e/am#le$
aiming too low resulted in great numbers and great results at the end of the month$ so there is no
harm
done. !n the end you are indi"ating that you "ould have done even better$ that you are willing to
reevaluate
your goals$ and that you are now able to see and 0um# on o##ortunities.
1)."ell !e a"out a ti!e #ou !ade a great sale."
This is similar to the 4uestion$ ;what does it mean to make a great sale?; 5ou "an "hange the
words a
little and use the answer for both 4uestions. The key to this answer is e/#laining what it means to
make
a great sale$ and then giving a good e/am#le of a great sale that you made.
Short %nswer
;! had a "ustomer "ome in that was a little rude. +e had many 4uestions and "ut me off very
fre4uently.
! stayed #atient and e/#lained everything to his satisfa"tion. +e ended u# re#resenting a medium
si)ed
business that re4uired a large order. ! feel this was a great sale be"ause ! treated this "ustomer
with
res#e"t and #atien"e.;
&ong %nswer
;8aking a great sale "an be measured by how mu"h the "om#any made$ but ! think making a
great sale
is how satisfied the "ustomer is. ( satisfied "ustomer will return and "ontinue to be a valued
"ustomer$
so it1s im#ortant to make sure that the "ustomer is satisfied. Ine day$ a "ustomer was debating on
two
different ty#es of wat"hes. Ine was O12'' and the other was O4''. This was a huge differen"e. !
believe ! "ould have sold him the O12'' wat"h$ but instead$ ! laid out all the #ro1s and "on1s for
him$
and asked him 4uestions to find out the #ur#ose of the wat"h$ if it was for "asual wear or formal
wear$
and eventually hel#ed him reali)e e/a"tly what he was looking for. +e ended u# buying the O4''
wat"h. Aome #eo#le might think that was not a great sale$ but ! felt as a salesman and a #erson
re#resenting the "om#any that ! did a great 0ob in satisfying this "ustomer. !n the ne/t "ou#le of
years
while ! was working there$ he "ame and bought many more items and had other friends "ome in
to buy
more #rodu"ts. ! "an "onfidently say that the O%'' in missed sale resulted in thousands more for
the
"om#any.;
This e/am#le has several key #oints. @irst$ this answer is telling the interviewer what you believe
is a
great sale. Ae"ond$ it is giving a good e/am#le. @inally$ it is showing a good sign of an em#loyee
by
saying$ ;a #erson re#resenting the "om#any.; (ll salesman or someone who works with
"ustomers is
re#resenting their "om#any in some way. Aaying this "asually in an e/am#le is definitely
#owerful.
1*."ell !e a"out a ti!e #ou went over "udget."
!f you go over budget$ it is a bad sign. !t "an mean you are not organi)ed$ do not #lan well$ or are
not
good with finan"e. Ao when you think of an answer$ make sure you 0ustify it with a good reason.
+ere
is an e/am#le of what ! am talking about.
Short %nswer
;*uring our marketing "am#aign$ we reali)ed how many "ustomers we were gaining through the
radio
advertisements. (lthough we didn1t have budget for more radio advertisement$ ! still made the
de"ision
to #la"e our ad on three more stations. We in"reased sales by 25M for that month$ but ! ended u#
going
over budget by 5M.;
&ong %nswer
;There was a #ro0e"t that had a stri"t 4 month deadline. ! didn1t have enough em#loyees to
"om#lete
the task$ so ! had to hire tem#orary workers. ! was given a budget to either hire three e/tra heads
for
four months or to hire four e/tra heads for three months. :e"ause of the im#ortan"e of the #ro0e"t
and
the stri"t deadline$ ! "hose to hire 4 tem#orary workers for 3 months to give us a time "ushion at
the
end. We had a "ou#le of une/#e"ted obsta"les and it turned out that we needed the tem#orary
workers
for another two weeks. We "om#leted the #ro0e"t on time and everything turned out well$ but in
this
instan"e$ ! went over budget by 5M. *ue to the im#ortan"e of this #ro0e"t$ ! didn1t want to risk
sli##ing
the date. <ven though everyone was "ongratulating me on this a""om#lishment$ ! feel ! "ould
have
done better if ! "al"ulated a "ushion for une/#e"ted obsta"les.;
This answer is admitting to going over budget$ but the reason was good enough. The answer
indi"ates
that by saying how everyone was ha##y and making sure to say how im#ortant the #ro0e"t was. !n
the
end you say you learned something. :ut you "an "hange this answer a little. !f you want to be
more
"lear on the im#ortan"e of the #ro0e"t$ you "an say a monetary value$ like it was a two million
dollar
deal$ and going over budget by O1'$''' was a""e#table by u##er management.
Tong hC# bCi 8uaCbuon44Dyahoo."om 666666666 3hE" "F" bCn thGnh "Hng 666666666 26.'6.2''%
3'
School Related Interview Questions
1."What e<tracurricular activities were #ou involved in("
!f you don1t have any work e/#erien"e$ then a "om#any wants to know what e/tra a"tivities you
did in
s"hool to see if you are a"tive. !t is best to list a "ou#le of things des"ribing what the grou# is and
what
role you had in the grou#. !f you were not a #art of any grou#$ it might be ok to make something
u#. !t
is hard to verify this so they will not find out. :ut it "ould ba"k fire$ if the interviewer ha##ened
to be
in the same grou# at the same university.
Short %nswers
;! was involved in our s"hool news#a#er. ! was one of the writers for three years.;
;! was very a"tive in our university #oliti"s. !n my senior year$ ! was the vi"e #resident of the
>niversity.;
;:esides studying$ ! #layed baseball for our s"hool. ! really like to study and to stay #hysi"ally
a"tive.;
;! was involved with a grou# that hel#ed awareness of environmental #roblems su"h as #ollution.
! was
on a team that edu"ated #eo#le about driving alternatives su"h as buses and "ar#ooling.;
&ong %nswer
;! was very a"tive in the university maga)ine "ommittee. ! was a member of that grou# for four
years. !
hel#ed write arti"les about events o""urring in s"hool. !n my senior year$ ! was the editor and did
less
writing and more managing in regards to the maga)ine stru"ture$ what "ontents to add$ and
distributing
work among the 0unior members of the grou#. ! really en0oyed my e/#erien"e there and learned
about
working "losely together as a grou# to deliver a 4uality maga)ine.;
!f you don1t have work e/#erien"e$ then you will need to say something to show them that you
learned
some valuable lessons su"h as team work. ! suggest you to refle"t on what you did during s"hool
and
"reate a list of what you learned.
'."Wh# did #ou choose #our !a=or("
"Wh# did #ou choose to !a=or in 6istor#("
!f you are a "om#uter s"ien"e ma0or interviewing for a "om#uter #osition$ then they will not ask
you
this 4uestion. :ut if you are an <nglish ?iterature ma0or and interview for a "om#uter #osition$
then
they might want to know why you "hose to ma0or in <nglish ?iterature. To "reate an answer for
<nglish ?iterature$ you "an say things learning to be a better "ommuni"ator$ having better reading
"om#rehension$ and say how skills learned from <nglish ?iterature "an be a##lied towards many
fields.
:ut something like +istory is different. >nless you are going to be a +istorian$ it1s hard to 0ustify
how
your ma0or is going to hel# you in your 0ob.
Short %nswers
;! ma0ored in +istory be"ause ! en0oyed learning about the #ast. ! always try to a##ly my history
knowledge in many things ! do. This knowledge allowed me to study many different
e/#erien"es.;
;! ma0ored in <nglish be"ause it was a ma0or that would make me more skilled in reading$
writing$ and
"ommuni"ating. ! believe <nglish is a tool that is used everywhere$ so ! thought it was the best
ma0or
for me.;
;! ma0ored in Lsy"hology be"ause ! was interested in seeing how the mind works. ! also found it
useful
be"ause it hel#ed me to work with #eo#le better by understanding differen"es in everyone.;
;! ma0ored in :iology be"ause ! initially wanted to go to med s"hool. (lthough ! de"ided not to
go to
med s"hool$ ! still wanted to "om#lete my ba"helor1s degree.;
&ong %nswer
;! ma0ored in +istory be"ause ! always had a strong interest in histori"al fa"ts. ! grew u# very
"lose to
history and "hose this ma0or be"ause ! really en0oyed the sub0e"t. ! #lanned on be"oming a high
s"hool
history tea"her or even a #rofessor$ but then ! started to get into "om#uters. !t1s totally different
from
history but it really fas"inated me. Kow$ instead of looking in the #ast$ !1m always looking into
the
future through all the te"hnologi"al "hanges.;
!t doesn1t "onne"t the ma0or to the 0ob but at least it gives an e/#lanation. !t1s not bad to say you
ma0ored in something be"ause you liked the sub0e"t. The only bad answer is to say you didn1t
know
what else to do and you "ouldn1t get into a better de#artment.
)."I$ #ou redo college again. what would #ou !a=or in("
! already e/#lained this a little in another 4uestion about restarting your "areer. 5ou "an use the
same
answer here if you want$ but ! will give one more e/am#le of not "hanging your ma0or in the long
answer se"tion.
Short %nswers
;! didn1t reali)e ! was so interested in "om#uters until ! graduated "ollege. Ao if ! "ould sele"t a
different ma0or$ ! would ma0or in 3om#uter A"ien"e.;
;! liked the fa"t ! "om#leted my degree in <nglish. :ut if ! "ould redo "ollege again$ ! would like
to
double ma0or in <nglish and :usiness.;
;! would liked to have ma0ored in <ngineering. ! have a strong interest in hardware so ! believe
<ngineering would have hel#ed.;
;! would "hoose to ma0or in 8arketing in the :usiness A"hool. ! really en0oy this ty#e of work
and
having more ba"kground would have hel#ed me to e/"el more.;
&ong %nswer
;!f ! were to redo "ollege again$ ! don1t think ! would "hange my ma0or. ! liked the fa"t that !
ma0ored
in :usiness and ! believe it will hel# me with my "areer. !1m #retty good with the "om#uter$ but !
would like to have taken more "om#uter "lasses. :e"ause te"hnology is growing so 4ui"kly$ !
think !
would have benefited from having a dee#er understanding in "om#uters.;
This answer demonstrates a good "hoi"e in the beginning. ! in"luded the #ortion about "om#uters
be"ause they want to see something you would have done differently. (nd making the "omment
about
"om#uters shows the interviewer your understanding about te"hnology to some degree. :ut don1t
say
this answer without first stating that you are #retty good with the "om#uter.
*."What course did #ou like the !ost("
"What was #our $avorite su"=ect("
When you answer this 4uestion$ use a sub0e"t that hel#ed you be"ome a better #erson or a better
worker. (lthough this 4uestion is asking for you o#inion and there is no wrong answer$ you
should take
advantage of this 4uestion by showing your strengths.
Short %nswers
;! really en0oyed an <nglish writing "lass ! took. This "lass taught me to write more "learly and
"on"isely.;
;8y favorite sub0e"t was Lhysi"s. !t really hel#ed my logi" abilities and ! use this knowledge to
solve
#roblems in a variety of ways.;
;There was a s#ee"h "lass ! took that ! really en0oyed. !t hel#ed me to s#eak in grou#s better and !
learned to s#eak #rofessionally in front of an audien"e.;
;8y favorite sub0e"t was a##lied s"ien"e. ! really en0oyed learning different ways of a##lying
s"ien"e
into ordinary things.;
&ong %nswer
;! really en0oyed ma0oring in ele"tri"al engineering and it really hel#ed me to #re#are for my
"areer$
but the "lass ! en0oyed the most is #robably a "ou#le of #sy"hology "lasses ! took. (lthough it
didn1t
hel# me in any te"hni"al way$ ! learned a little bit about human behavior and learned how the
brain
works. ! started to understand the reasons for my strengths and weakness instead of 0ust knowing
them.
(lso$ it hel#ed me to understand #eo#le who are different than me.;
This is a sim#le answer but a very good one. (n engineer is mostly te"hni"al and they might la"k
skills
in human intera"tion. Ao an engineer saying their favorite "ourse was #sy"hology demonstrates
that this
#erson has both te"hni"al skills and the ability to work with others better. !t lists several good
e/am#les
su"h as understanding both strengths and weakness along with understanding different #eo#le.
+."What course did #ou like the least("
"What course did #ou struggle in the !ost("
This is an easier answer be"ause you don1t have to show off your strength here. (ll you have to
do is
make sure you don1t #i"k a sub0e"t that relates to your 0ob. !t is also safer to #i"k something that
most
#eo#le do not en0oy. @inally$ #i"king something that you are not good at is a""e#table if it is not a
skill
re4uired on the 0ob. 8y long e/am#le will be about a drama "lass.
Short %nswers
;! didn1t en0oy history that mu"h. !t wasn1t that diffi"ult$ but it didn1t allow me to think
"reatively.
8ost of the "lasses ! took were about memori)ing dates and fa"ts. Ao history is my least favorite
sub0e"t.;
;! struggled in a musi" "lass the most. ! really en0oy listening to musi" so ! tried to learn a little
about it.
:ut it was a disaster. 8y tone was off and ! "ouldn1t tell if something was flat or not.;
;8y least favorite "lass was #robably #oetry. *uring that "ourse ! struggled writing a real #oem. !
reali)ed ! am not a #oet.;
;! disliked my geogra#hy "lass. !t wasn1t diffi"ult$ but ! sim#ly didn1t find it very interesting.;
&ong %nswer
;@or me$ ! had a tough time in my drama "lass. ! didn1t reali)e that ! was a terrible a"tor. ! didn1t
think
it would be that hard$ but week after week$ my instru"tor would #oint out #roblem after #roblem.
+e
gave me a :$ but ! think it was be"ause of my effort$ not be"ause of my abilities. ! say this
be"ause
when ! saw myself on video$ oh my gosh$ it was terrible.;
5ou are #utting yourself down a lot here$ but in this e/am#le it is a"tually good. !nterviewers are
worried that a #erson who "an a"t well will be able to lie about many things during the interview.
(
#erson without a"ting skills will not be able to hide automati" body gestures that the interviewer
is
looking at. (lso$ this answer is good be"ause it shows that this #erson never gives u# and #uts in
a lot
of effort.
,."6ow will #our per$or!ance in #our worst class a$$ect #our per$or!ance on this =o"("
This 4uestion is another o##ortunity to show many good traits. 5ou "an dis#lay traits su"h as
enduran"e$ effort$ and willingness to work on things you don1t like. This is very im#ortant
be"ause
during your "areer$ you will have to do many boring things. This long answer will dis#lay that
you are
a #erson that will do good at any task.
Short %nswers
;Ko matter if ! liked the "lass or not$ ! always tried my hardest. (s a result$ the lowest grade !
ever
re"eived was a :. Ao !1m "onfident that !1ll be good at any task.;
;! had one "lass where ! really struggled. ! asked more 4uestions and studied more. (s a result$ !
did
very well. Ao even if !1m struggling$ ! feel ! "an find ways to do a good 0ob by #utting in more
effort.;
;8y #erforman"e in my worst "lass will #ositively im#a"t my #erforman"e on this 0ob. !
struggled with
a logi" "lass$ but ! studied harder$ resear"hed more information$ and ! never gave u#.;
&ong %nswers
;! remember ! did terrible in my astrology "lass. ! didn1t have mu"h interest in the sub0e"t and !
really
didn1t know that ! would struggle in it. ! thought about 0ust doing enough to make it through$ but !
de"ided that ! was going to #ut some effort into it. ! "ontinually asked 4uestions and studied more
for
this "lass than ! did in others. ! got a : for all my effort$ but at least ! didn1t give u# and ! ke#t
#ushing
forward. Ao now ! know that whether ! like a #ro0e"t or not$ !1ll do the best ! "an be"ause it1s my
res#onsibility.;
This answer shows maturity and the interviewer should like it.
-."6ow would #our "est $riend descri"e #ou("
This answer "an be short. >se key words that show how you are a good fit for this #osition. !f it if
a
sales#erson$ mention things like$ an easy #erson to talk$ good #ersonality$ and de#endable as the
traits.
:ut if it is for a manager #osition$ then you "an use different words like organi)ed$ hel#ful$
"onsiderate$
and smart. Ao it all de#ends on the #osition. 8ost #eo#le will be honest and say what the best
friend
will a"tually say$ but it is more effe"tive to "hoose the words so it relates to the 0ob. +ere are
some
e/am#les.
;Ih$ let1s see7 ! think my best friend would des"ribe me as honest$ detailed$ and very
organi)ed.;
;! think my best friend would say that !1m very res#onsible. Whenever our grou# of friends had
to
"oordinate an a"tivity$ they always relied on me.;
;8y best friend would #robably say that !1m warm$ friendly$ and understanding.;
!t doesn1t have to be long$ but don1t blurt out the answer without thinking. Then it makes it
a##ear as
you are thinking about it instead of saying an answer you already #re#ared.
/."6ow would #our pro$essor descri"e #ou("
Aame thing here$ but you "an1t "hoose any words. 5ou have to "hoose one that relates to s"hool
work.
Aele"t words that are general and that a##lies to most ty#es of 0obs.
;! think my #rofessor would des"ribe me as a great team member and "onsistent in my s"hool
work.;
This is good be"ause s"hool has grou# #ro0e"ts. !t shows team work e/#erien"e and it also
mentions
"onsisten"y.
;8y #rofessor told me one time that ! was like a fireball. ! always had a good attitude that
#ositively
affe"ted other students in grou# a"tivities.;
;8y #rofessor always told me that ! was very "reative. +e liked my #a#ers be"ause it showed that
!
really thought about the #roblem and ta"kled it in a different way.;
0."6ow would #our !other descri"e #ou("
5ou "an use more #ersonal words here be"ause your mother knows you in a different way.
;! think my mother would say !1m very friendly be"ause ! had a lot of friends and that !1m very
fo"used
be"ause ! always finish what ! start.;
This answer is showing two different ty#es of "hara"teristi"s. Ine is more #ersonal and one is a
good
work trait. !t also shows reasons by saying be"ause7 Iverall$ these ty#es of 4uestions are not
that
signifi"ant and a short answer that is good should be fine.
;Ain"e ! was the oldest out of three$ ! think my mother would des"ribe me as res#onsible and
someone
who is looked to for answers.;
;8y mother told me ! was always smart. When ! was younger$ she was sur#rised to see (1s in my
re#ort "ard. (fter awhile$ she would be sur#rised when ! didn1t re"eive an (.;
11."Wh# are #ou appl#ing $or a =o" that #ou didn;t !a=or in("
"Wh# didn;t #ou pursue a career in #our !a=or("
!n the >nited Atates the statisti"s for a #erson "hanging "areer #aths is very high. !t1s something
like an
average #erson will "hange "areers five times. 3hanging 0obs is one thing$ but "om#letely
"hanging
"areers is a big move. Ao this 4uestion is not that signifi"ant. !f everyone worked in the industry
as their
ma0or$ then this 4uestion is more im#ortant$ but be"ause everyone "hanges 0obs fre4uently$ it1s no
big
deal. 5ou 0ust have to use this o##ortunity to show them how mu"h you like the "urrent industry
you
are in.
Short %nswers
;! ma0ored in <nglish be"ause ! liked to write. :e"ause ! didn1t know e/a"tly what ! wanted to
do$ !
ma0ored in something ! was very interested in. (fter working for a year on the marketing team$ !
reali)ed that this is what ! want to be doing.;
;! ma0ored in +istory$ but during my senior year$ ! had an o##ortunity to work at an a""ounting
firm.
(fter seeing first hand at the work they were doing$ ! really wanted to be"ome an a""ountant.;
;! was #lanning on going to *ental A"hool so ! ma0ored in :iology. (fter working with
"om#uters$ !
reali)ed how interesting and "hallenging it was. Ao ! studied "om#uters on the side be"ause !
wanted a
"areer working with "om#uters.;
&ong %nswer
;! en0oyed ma0oring in #sy"hology$ but ! didn1t want to be"ome a #sy"hologist. ! 0ust found the
sub0e"t
to be very interesting. !t also hel#ed me to understand a wide variety of things. @or my "areer$ !
wanted
to be doing something ! was good at and what ! en0oyed doing. ! had an o##ortunity to work at a
smaller logisti"s "om#any as an administrative assistant. *uring that time #eriod they were short
handed and ! a"tually got to do some #lanning and organi)ing for one of the smaller "lients. !
didn1t
lead anything$ but ! reali)ed how mu"h ! en0oyed the work. <ver sin"e then$ !1ve been studying
u# on
#lanning$ logisti"s$ and business.;
This e/am#le does three things. !t e/#lains why this #erson is not going into a field related to
their
ma0or$ it is e/#laining why this #erson is going into logisti"s$ and finally it is showing #assion for
the
industry and a desire to learn. Ain"e you are #robably "om#eting against #eo#le who ma0ored in
logisti"s$ you need to make an im#ression with your answer. Ao you should definitely show
enthusiasm
here.
11."5uring college. how did #ou spend #our su!!er vacations("
The best answer is to have s#ent your summer #rodu"tively su"h as working as an intern. <ven if
you
did only one intern$ the interviewer will like that. The worst answer is to say you didn1t do
anything. Ir
say you worked in the su#ermarket to get some money so you "an #arty at night. Ao think of
something
#rodu"tive$ and if you don1t have an intern e/#erien"e$ you "an say that you s#ent your summer
learning something new.
;8y last two summers of "ollege$ ! did an intern for a "onsulting firm. ! gained e/#erien"e
working on
offi"e solutions for large "om#anies.;
;! have a strong interest in traveling$ so ! used my summer to travel. ! went to <uro#e$ (ustralia$
:ra)il$
and 3hina.;
;<very summer$ ! took e/tra <nglish "lasses. ! also took some drawing "lasses be"ause it1s one of
my
hobbies. Ao ! s#ent my summers learning more things.;
;8y first two summers$ ! had to work to save money for tuition. :ut after saving enough money$
! had
a free summer. ! a"tually ended u# taking some "om#uter "lasses to #re#are myself for the
business
world. These days it1s a re4uirement to know "om#uters$ so ! #re#ared for that.;
(lthough ! said don1t mention useless work$ it is ok if it is for tuition. !t shows finan"ial
res#onsibility.
@inally$ taking some "om#uter "lasses for the summer is a great way to #re#are for work life and
it was
a summer well s#ent. 8ake sure you have an answer that shows #rodu"tivity.
1'."What did #ou learn $ro! #our internship("
!f you worked as an intern$ your resume will say it. 5our resume should also in"lude a list of
what you
learned during your internshi#. 5ou "an answer this 4uestion re#eating what was on the resume$
but
using full senten"e and with more enthusiasm.
;!n my final summer va"ation$ ! had the o##ortunity to work as an intern for a #ubli" a""ounting
firm.
!t was only for 3 months$ but ! learned a lot about #erforming 4uarterly ta/ servi"es for small and
medium si)e "om#anies. ! also learned to deal with time #ressure and learned how to #rioriti)e
work to
be more effi"ient. !t was a great e/#erien"e that ! know will hel# me when ! start my "areer.;
1)."5id #ou do an# internships("
5ou should be asked this 4uestion if your resume doesn1t have any internshi# e/#erien"e$ or if
they
didn1t look at your resume. !f you do have internshi# e/#erien"e$ then you "an answer$ that you
do and
say the same answer as the one #rovided with the 4uestion$ what did you learn from your
internshi#.
:ut if you don1t$ you "an sim#ly answer that you didn1t do any internshi# but give a good e/"use.
;5es. ! did two internshi#s. The first internshi# was for Johnson and Johnson. ! worked in the
distribution team$ and my se"ond internshi# was for Atarbu"ks. (t Atarbu"ks$ ! had the
o##ortunity to
work on overseas venture.;
;! did one internshi# for !:8. ! was on the develo#ment team "reating a##li"ations for business
solutions.;
;! love to travel and ! reali)ed that when ! start my "areer$ ! won1t be able to travel for long
durations.
Ao ! used my summers to travel a lot. ! s#ent one summer in <uro#e for 2 months. ! s#ent another
summer traveling between 3hina and some Aouth <ast (sian "ountries$ and finally$ ! took a road
tri#
through the >nited Atates.;
Traveling is not a bad answer. !t is not as good as doing an internshi#$ but definitely better than
nothing. !t is definitely not a wasted summer. (lso$ if the internshi# was useless and generi"$ then
the
interviewer will not remember this answer as a good answer. Ao it didn1t do any good. !n this
"ase$
traveling "ould be better be"ause the e/am#le ! gave is signifi"ant and interesting. Aomething
different
always stands out more.
1*."I$ #ou could learn so!ething such as a new skill. what would it "e("
"What;s the ne<t thing #ou want to learn("
This is another ty#e of 4uestion that has no wrong or right answer. That means you need to make
your
answer a little more "reative so it stands out.
Short %nswers
;! would love to learn more about auditing. (s a ta/ a""ountant$ ! #rimarily work on ta/. :ut !
like all
as#e"ts of a""ounting and ! think auditing would be very interesting.;
;The ne/t thing ! want to learn is how to make web #ages. ! think this skill "an be used anywhere.
!f !
want a #ersonal web site$ ! would make it myself. (nd if my grou# at work needed an internal
web site
to organi)e a"tivities$ ! would be able to make one.;
;! want to learn the different ways to market globally. !n my marketing team$ ! learned everything
about marketing on a lo"al level$ but ! would really love to learn about marketing to different
"ountries.;
&ong %nswer
;! use the "om#uter on a daily basis and know how to use everything ! need to be good at my 0ob.
:ut
sometimes something goes wrong with the "om#uter for no reason at all. :e"ause !1m not a
"om#uter
engineer$ ! have no idea what1s going on. :asi"ally$ ! have to wait for a te"hni"ian to fi/ it.
*uring
these times$ ! want to ki"k the "om#uter out of frustration. 8ostly$ it ends u# being a #roblem !
"ould
have fi/ed if ! new the details of how a "om#uter works. Ao even though it1s not in my 0ob
des"ri#tion$
! want to know how to fi/ "om#uters at a basi" level.;
! heard from many #eo#le who don1t know "om#uters that well that they get frustrated with them.
Ao
wanting to ki"k the "om#uter is understandable and it is a little humorous. Wanting to learn a
little
more about the "om#uter is always good and it would definitely hel# out with future work by not
having to wait for a te"hni"ian.
Work Related Interview Questions I
1."I$ #ou could start #our career over again. what would #ou do di$$erentl#("
This de#ends on several fa"tors. !f your university ma0or is different than your "areer "hoi"e$ then
you
"ould answer that you would "hoose a different ma0or to #re#are you for your "hoi"e in "areer. Ir
if
you started at a small "om#any and didn1t have many o##ortunities$ you "an say that you would
have
started at a larger "om#any. This is not a signifi"ant 4uestion so a regular answer should suffi"e.
Short %nswers
;! started my "areer at a small "om#any. ! feel ! would have benefited more if ! started at a larger
"om#any. ( large "om#any usually #rovides training that ! didn1t re"eive$ so ! would like to have
started my "areer in a larger "om#any.;
;! didn1t know how mu"h ! liked working with "om#uters until ! finished "ollege. !f ! had known
earlier$ ! would have liked to have worked with "om#uters earlier in my "areer.;
&ong %nswer
;Well$ ! ma0ored in "hemistry and now !1m working in the marketing de#artment for a
tele"ommuni"ations "om#any. ! had a lot to learn in the beginning$ but ! 4ui"kly learned what !
needed
to know to be an effe"tive member of the marketing team. +owever$ ! always felt that if !
ma0ored in
business or marketing$ ! would have started off with a better foundation. !1m great at what ! do$
but if !
"ould start over again$ ! would #robably "hoose to have ma0ored in business administration.;
This is an a""e#table answer be"ause the answer doesn1t dis#lay any #roblems in the work
history.
8any #eo#le "hange "areers or go into a field that is unrelated to their ma0or. This is "ommon$ so
answering this 4uestion using this answer is "ommon. !f you don1t want to use this "ommon
answer$
then thinking about a s"enario early in your work "areer that you would have done differently
might be
more effe"tive.
'."5uring #our per$or!ance reviews. what criticis! do #ou hear the !ost("
This 4uestion is #rimarily for #eo#le with work e/#erien"e. !f you are fresh out of "ollege$ then
you
will not be asked this 4uestion. The answer to this 4uestion should not dis"lose any real faults.
!nstead$
try to think of something that doesn1t sound too bad. +ere is what ! hear at my reviews and this is
how
! would answer this 4uestion.
Short %nswers
;! heard that ! need to be #roa"tive. ! always #erform at an e/"e#tional level$ but ! didn1t
volunteer for
additional work. ! wasn1t a""ustomed to it so !1m glad that ! re"eived this "riti"ism. ! now
#ra"ti"e
kee#ing an eye out for additional #ro0e"ts ! "an take on.;
;*uring my review$ my manager told me to voi"e my o#inions more fre4uently. +e always liked
my
suggestions when ! told him$ but in grou# meetings$ ! usually let my manager s#eak. Kow$ ! feel
more
"onfident that ! "an suggest my ideas in grou#s.;
;8y manager told me that ! should send more u#dates. +e told me ! did my #ro0e"ts well$ and
that !
was never late$ but he would like more u#dates so he "an re#ort to his manager.;
&ong %nswer
;! a"tually like to re"eive "riti"ism be"ause it gives me information on how to im#rove. :ut the
most
"ommon "riti"ism ! hear is hard to "orre"t be"ause ! disagree with the "omment. !1m told that !
should
be more visible. !1m told that ! do great work and ! do a lot of e/tra work$ but in a large
organi)ation$
it1s im#ortant to visibly stand out. !1m not a #erson who likes to be se"luded in the offi"e. ! like to
go
out and "ollaborate$ ! like to work with #eo#le$ and ! email my "o6workers with valuable
information
that will hel# with their 0ob$ so ! "an1t say ! agree$ but ! always try to be more visible.;
This "riti"ism is a"tually a "ommon "omment used by managers if they "an1t give you a good
review
s"ore but have nothing bad to say about you. !n large organi)ations$ you are measured against
your
#eers. That means if you do well$ you might get a bad review s"ore be"ause everyone did better.
?ikewise$ if you are 0ust medio"re and everyone else is terrible$ you will get a good review s"ore.
:e"ause of this system$ !1m regularly told to be more visible. Ao when ! answer this 4uestion$ !
make
sure to ba"k u# my disagreement with e/am#les of being visible.
)."ell !e a"out #our last three positions("
This ty#e of 4uestion is generally asked by la)y interviewers who want to hear you talk for a
while. (
better 4uestion would be to se#arate the three #ositions and ask them one by one. :ut some
#eo#le will
ask this 4uestion$ so you should definitely #re#are for it. 5ou "an use this as your advantage. !f
you
don1t have many good things to say about your se"ond #osition$ you "an briefly "omment on it
and
s#end more time talking about the other two #ositions. !1ll give an e/am#le in the long answer$
but here
are some short answers first.
Short %nswers
;!1ve only had one #osition. !n my last #osition$ ! worked as a marketing analyst for Aouth
(meri"an
markets. ! worked "losely with #artners in 3hile and (rgentina.;
;!1ve only held two different #ositions. !n my first 0ob$ ! was a lab manager for (:3 Aoftware
"om#any. ! monitored 5' "om#uters and #erformed diagnosti"s regularly. !n my last #osition$ !
was a
network engineer fi/ing network #roblems and trouble shooting bottlene"ks.;
;! worked as a translator for the =ing 3ounty "ourt house. (fterwards$ ! worked as a translator
for
hos#itals. 8y last #osition was translating hel# do"uments for a software "om#any.;
&ong %nswer
;The first #osition ! held was working at Badio Aha"k as a salesman. ! learned a great deal about
retail
stores$ about sales and working with "ustomers$ and be"ame more inde#endent. ! thought !
learned a
great deal and en0oyed my work$ but ! wanted to e/#erien"e different ty#es of work. Ao ! started
working for Neri)on. ! had an offi"e 0ob and did a variety of different tasks su"h as #lanning$ data
entry$ and organi)ing #ro0e"ts. ! learned a little about the offi"e setting$ but ! wanted to get ba"k
into
sales. Ao ! was given an o##ortunity to sell "ell #hones for Neri)on at a retail store. ! used my
#ast sales
e/#erien"e and worked hard be"oming one of the to# sales #erson three years in a row. !1ve been
there
ever sin"e.;
! haven1t worked at three different #ositions$ so ! 0ust made one u#. The 4uestion is #retty
general$ so
the answer is #retty general. !t does em#hasi)e sales skill and "oming ba"k to the ty#e of work
that this
#erson en0oys. :ut you should think of something that is related to the #osition you are
interviewing
for. Inly thing you should be "on"erned about it "learly e/#laining your #ast three #ositions$
what you
learned there$ and if you did something notable$ in"lude that as well.
*."ell !e a"out #our last position( What did #ou do and how did #ou do it( Include the
people
#ou worked $or and the people #ou worked with."
This 4uestion is a little better than asking about the last three #ositions. !t is more dire"t and
fo"uses on
getting more information about the last #osition. 5ou might not get this 4uestion with so mu"h
detail. !t
might 0ust be$ ;Tell me about your last #osition.; :ut you "an use the other 4uestions as a guide
when
answering this 4uestion. 5ou should mention what you did$ how you did it$ how you work in a
team$
what you learned$ how well you did your 0ob$ et".
Short %nswers
;! was a staff auditor for a small a""ounting firm. ! #erformed audits for small to medium si)e
businesses. This involved meeting the "lients and retrieving data re4uired to "om#lete the audit. !
worked "losely with my su#ervisor that #resented my findings of the audit to the "lients.;
;! worked for a large insuran"e "om#any as an agent. ! made sales to new "ustomers and #rovided
"ustomer servi"e to e/isting "ustomers. ! worked with three other #eo#le in my grou# and we
hel#ed
ea"h other by sharing ideas and e/#erien"es.;
;! was a #rogram manager for a manufa"turing "om#any. ! was in "harge of "ost analysis
"on"erning
different 4uantities of manufa"turing. ! also worked on #lanning the #ro"edure for the ne/t
deliverables.;
&ong %nswer
;!n my last #osition$ ! was a senior auditor. 8y duties in"luded auditing governmental businesses
and
Kative (meri"an tribes. @or all the audits ! was "ondu"ting$ ! was the in "harge auditor
overseeing the
audits of other team members and doing a #ortion of the audit myself. ! have e/#erien"e in
"ondu"ting
an audit from beginning to end without su#ervision and ! worked with "ontrollers and senior
a""ountants on a regular basis. (long with working with e/#erien"ed and knowledgeable "lient1s$
!
also had to work with 0unior level a""ountants that didn1t know all the details of auditing. ! was
"lear
and "on"ise in asking for what ! needed. !n the last year ! was working as the senior auditor$ !
#lanned
and organi)ed ea"h visit to our "lient1s site. ! regularly trained and managed new members of our
team
and ! was the go to #erson for te"hni"al auditing 4uestions.;
The 4uestion wanted detail so the answer has to be a little long detailing some of the highlights of
the
last 0ob. ! in"luded the ty#e of #eo#le ! worked for$ the #eo#le ! work with$ the 0ob des"ri#tion$
and
in"luded that ! was a great team member and a leader at the last #osition. 8ost of you will not be
in the
a""ounting field$ so you "an1t use this e/am#le. :ut you should follow the ste#s of being detailed
and
showing off your strengths.
+."What is #our !anage!ent philosoph#("
This is another 4uestion only for managers and above. 5ou "an make this short or long$ but in the
least
it should be an answer that stands out. Think of a guideline that you follow as a manager that you
think
is a good #hiloso#hy to follow.
Short %nswers
;! think management should #rovide guidan"e$ dire"tion$ leadershi#$ and finally set an e/am#le to
subordinates.;
;8y management #hiloso#hy is to #rovide an environment that leads to #rodu"tive em#loyees. !
a"hieve this through "onfli"t management$ kee#ing the morale high$ #roviding en"ouragement to
low
#erformers$ and also rewarding the strong #erformers.;
;! believe in setting an e/am#le. 8y favorite managers in the #ast were the ones that worked
smart and
effi"iently. ! learned a great deal and found that leading by e/am#le is a strong way to influen"e
dire"ts
to work diligently.;
&ong %nswer
;:efore ! was in management$ ! had many ty#es of managers. ! learned a lot from observing their
management styles. ! also learned a lot from the bad managers ! had. ! had a manger who was
never
there$ another that didn1t "are$ and another that had a #hrase similar to$ Pdo as ! say$ not as ! do.1
Ao the
traits ! a"4uired are from my good managers su"h as working smart instead of working long$ but
the
#hiloso#hy ! always think about is from my bad managers. Ao ! believe ! should lead by e/am#le$
#rovide guidan"e and growth by giving im#ortant feedba"k$ and to be a""essible to everyone.;
!f you want a shorter answer that is to the #oint$ you "an "onsider this one.
;! believe management should #rovide guidan"e for em#loyees to do their 0ob well. This in"ludes
several meanings. @irst$ it means management should #rovide "hallenging tasks related to the 0ob
that
gives em#loyees e/#erien"e. This also stret"hes their abilities and brings growth. (lso$ by
guiding
em#loyees to do their 0ob well$ it benefits the "om#any by having #rodu"tive em#loyees.;
,uestions that are related to what you think should differ #erson to #erson. Ao think what your
management #hiloso#hy is and write it down. Lut more thought into it and then you will be able
to
e/#lain e/a"tly what you mean. !f you have no idea$ then "onsider what ! wrote down in my two
e/am#les above.
,."What was #our $avorite =o"("
! have never been asked this 4uestion$ but ! know some #eo#le who ran into it. That means you
should
at least give it a little thought so you "an think of a good answer ahead of time. The best way to
answer
this 4uestion is to sele"t a 0ob that is most similar to the 0ob that you are a##lying for. @or
e/am#le$ if a
#erson who is a##lying to be a finan"ial analyst says their favorite 0ob was being a salesman$ then
the
answer is basi"ally useless and not effe"tive at all. Bather$ you should say that you like your last
marketing 0ob be"ause you have #assion for it and you really en0oy it. 8any #eo#le fail
interviews
based on la"k of enthusiasm. Ao make sure you show them that you love the 0ob you are a##lying
for.
;8y favorite 0ob was working as a finan"ial analyst. ! wanted to #ursue other areas of finan"e so !
a""e#ted a #osition as a finan"ial "onsultant. (fter a while$ ! reali)ed how mu"h ! en0oyed my
work as
a finan"ial analyst so !1m looking for a finan"ial analyst #osition.;
;The last #osition ! held was my favorite 0ob. ! really en0oy all as#e"ts of a""ounting and
auditing.
+owever$ ! don1t want to limit myself to 0ust governmental a""ounting so ! want a #osition where
! "an
be doing similar ty#e of work but in a larger setting.;
;8y favorite 0ob was the last #osition ! held in the marketing de#artment. That1s why !1m
a##lying for
this 0ob. !t1s similar to my last #osition and ! really en0oyed it. <ven though ! really like my 0ob$ !
want
to e/#erien"e the same work for a larger "om#any. That1s the #rimary reason for wanting to leave
my
"urrent 0ob.;
This answer is brief but effe"tive. !t states that this #erson loves marketing. The se"ond #art of the
answer is basi"ally answering a 4uestion before it is asked. !f you love your 0ob$ why are you
leaving?
5ou "an answer this in several ways$ but my e/am#le is using the e/"use of wanting to work for
a
larger "om#any be"ause it shows that ! want to take the ne/t ste# in my "areer. !t shows that !
want to
grow and that ! want to go to bigger and better o##ortunities. :asi"ally$ it is showing a little
ambition
without saying it dire"tly.
-."ell !e a"out the "est !anager #ou ever had."
This 4uestion is #rimarily used to see what you value in a manager. The best way to answer this
4uestion is to e/#lain a little bit about the manager and list the things you res#e"t. (lso in"lude
that you
learned how to be"ome a good manager through your e/#erien"e with your good manager.
Short %nswers
;8y favorite manager was a #erson with a lot of knowledge. Ahe stood her ground firmly and
knew the
best #ro"ess to take by analy)ing all the information.;
;8y favorite manager was very trusting and easy to a##roa"h. ! grew in many ways under this
manager
and ! valued his method of dealing with dire"ts. ! believe in growing em#loyees and this manager
did a
great 0ob.;
;! had a manager that worked effi"iently. !nstead of bossing everyone around$ he set an e/am#le
of
hard work through his a"tions. ! res#e"ted that trait and learned to be more like him by working
smarter.;
&ong %nswer
;The best manager ! had was during my first year at 8i"rosoft. Ain"e then$ ! have been under
many
different managers$ but nobody mat"hed u# to his level. ! res#e"ted him the most be"ause of two
reasons. +e s#ent a great deal of time mentoring me and tea"hing me many work related things. !
be"ame a great em#loyee be"ause of him. (nd se"ond$ he #rodu"ed the greatest amount of
4uality
work among all the other managers. ! always wondered how he "ould s#end so mu"h time with
me and
still find ways to out #erform other managers. :ut that is where ! learned how to work smart and
effi"iently. +e showed me how to be the best em#loyee through his a"tion and through the
individual
lessons he gave me. ! was so ha##y to have had a great manager early in my "areer.;
This is an easy answer for me be"ause ! was truly ama)ed at my first manager. ! made sure to
e/#lain
why he was the best manager and what ! learned from him. (nother reason why it is im#ortant to
be
able to answer this 4uestion is be"ause most great em#loyees were taught by a great manager.
/."ell !e a"out the worst !anager #ou ever had."
Just like learning from a good manager$ you should learn from bad managers as well. When you
tell the
reason why your manager was bad$ make sure to in"lude that you learned not to be like that.
Short %nswers
;!n my last #osition$ ! had a manager who didn1t like to give instru"tions. ! managed to figure a
lot of it
out$ but ! would have saved a lot of time if my manager gave a sim#le 5 minute overview on the
#ro0e"t.;
;! had one manager that was very disorgani)ed. Whenever ! ask a 4uestion$ he would look around
his
desk for a "ou#le minutes looking for information to give to me. ! like to be organi)ed so this trait
really bothered me.;
;Ine manager didn1t like talking to #eo#le. +e always had his offi"e door "losed and whenever
anyone
asked a 4uestion$ he seemed disturbed. +e was very intelligent and #rodu"ed a great deal of work$
but
as a manager$ ! believe you should be a##roa"hable by your dire"ts.;
&ong %nswer
;The worst manager ! had was when ! was working at a database "om#any. ! didn1t like my
manager
be"ause he was never available. When ever he was given an assignment$ he always delegated the
work
without e/#laining the details. We were told to figure it out. ! believe that you "an learn from
figuring
some things out by ourselves$ but it was obvious that this wasn1t his intention. :ut the worst thing
about it was that ! didn1t know that he was bad until ! "hanged to a different manager. +e ke#t
feeding
us false ho#e saying we are "lose to being #romoted. :asi"ally it was a way to kee# us motivated
to
work e/tra hard. Aure it worked for a while$ but ! didn1t gain anything else out of it e/"e#t what
not to
be as a manager.;
This is a #retty easy answer that 0ust e/#lains the behavior of a bad manager. !f you haven1t had
many
managers$ then it might be diffi"ult to think of one. :ut you should definitely think of an answer
even
if you have to bend the truth a little. (lthough my e/am#le was ordinary$ you "an make a better
answer
by listing out what you learned through your bad manager.
0."What could #ou have done to i!prove #our relationship with a !anager #ou didn;t
like("
This 4uestion "ould be a follow u# to the 4uestion about having a bad manager. !n my "ase$ !
didn1t
know he was a bad manager until ! swit"hed managers. :ut here is a generi" answer that shows
#rofessionalism.
Short %nswers
;!f ! "ommuni"ated my #roblems earlier$ ! feel we both would have benefited. ! waited several
months
before a##roa"hing my manager$ and after our talk$ our relationshi# got mu"h better. Ao ! "ould
have
im#roved my relationshi# by talking about #roblems sooner than later.;
;! feel ! should be more understanding of different work styles. ! didn1t like my manager not
"ommuni"ating enough$ but that didn1t mean we "ouldn1t a##roa"h him. Ao !1m learning to work
seamlessly with different ty#es of #eo#le.;
;Ine of my managers gave too mu"h "riti"ism. ! value "riti"ism$ but hearing something negative
every
other day was diffi"ult. ! think ! "ould have "ommuni"ated how the "riti"ism affe"ted me in order
to
im#rove our relationshi#.;
&ong %nswer
;! had a manager in the #ast ! didn1t like that mu"h$ but ! "ouldn1t say he was a bad manager. Iur
#ersonalities "onfli"ted and we had some arguments. This affe"ted my #erforman"e and
willingness to
work in the beginning$ but ! asked myself this same 4uestion. ! thought ! should try to get along
with
my manager des#ite my #ersonal feelings. ! set them aside and maintained a #rofessional
relationshi#.
Taking this a##roa"h really hel#ed. :e"ause ! was willing to look #ast minor differen"es$ our
work
relationshi# got stronger and ! #erformed at a higher level.;
This answer shows that this #erson took #ro#er a"tions before it was too late. !t shows that this
"andidate has the ability to work with managers and team members des#ite #ersonal differen"es
or
feelings of dislike. When you think of your own answer$ make sure you answer this 4uestion
showing
that you dealt with this #roblem before and that you over"ame the situation.
11."What were the !ost !e!ora"le acco!plish!ents in #our last position("
"What were the !ost !e!ora"le acco!plish!ents in #our last career("
:oth of these 4uestions "an be answered with the same 4uestion. !f you do not have mu"h
e/#erien"e$
it might be hard to think of a good answer. (lso$ if your #revious 0ob was very sim#le or followed
a
regular routine$ then a memorable a""om#lishment might be hard to think about. Ao take a lot of
time
to think of anything. :e"ause answering this 4uestion with nothing to say is basi"ally the only
wrong
answer. +ere are some ideas. *id you save the "om#any money? *id you "reate a new #ro"ess
and #ut
it into #la"e? *id you break a sales re"ord? *id you meet a diffi"ult deadline? 5ou "an use all of
these
ty#es of e/#erien"e for this answer.
Short %nswers
;! remember the day ! "om#leted an audit from beginning to end all by myself. Ain"e ! was an
entry
level auditor$ this a""om#lishment really felt good be"ause it was my first ma0or ste#.;
;Ine day our dire"tor "ame out of his offi"e asking who wrote u# the do"umentation for (:3
firm. !
didn1t know if he was u#set or im#ressed. ! said ! did it and he basi"ally said$ great 0ob and went
ba"k
to his offi"e. This was memorable be"ause the dire"tor never did this before.;
;The most memorable a""om#lishment ! had as a sales asso"iate for a software "om#any was
"losing a
deal worth O1 million. This was the se"ond largest order our "om#any ever had and it felt like
hitting a
grand slam.;
&ong %nswer
;8y last #osition was selling "o#y ma"hines. ! had one month where ! broke the sales re"ord for a
given month. ! think that was a great a""om#lishment. +owever$ throughout the "alendar year$ !
e/"eeded the average number of sales by 2'M ten out of twelve months. +aving a great month is
good$
but ! feel it is a greater a""om#lishment maintaining solid numbers throughout the whole year.;
;! think the greatest a""om#lishment in my last #osition was im#lementing a sim#le #ro"ess that
redu"ed the number of broken builds by 2'M. Whenever we have a broken build$ it slows down
work
for 2' different #eo#le. That #uts risk on sli##ing the shi# date. :ut my #ro"ess involved
following 25
ste#s #rior to building to ensure a su""essful build. The 25 ste#s only took 15 minutes to
"om#lete and
we redu"ed the number of build breaks signifi"antly. !t worked for our #rodu"t and u##er
management
instru"ted other grou#s in our organi)ation to #ut this #ro"ess in #la"e. ! really felt e/"ited about
that
a""om#lishment.;
These two e/am#les are different. Ine is for a sales #osition and the se"ond is for a te"hni"al
engineer
#osition. :oth of them are great a""om#lishments. Aales is easy to answer be"ause you "an 0ust
throw
out numbers and it sounds good. The se"ond is a little more diffi"ult be"ause you have to e/#lain
the
situation a little. :ut make sure you e/#lain your s"enario enough so the interviewer "an see the
signifi"an"e of your "ontribution.
11."Wh# do #ou want to leave #our current =o"("
There are many wrong answers to this 4uestion. Aome of them in"lude saying things like$ ! hate
my
0ob$ ! hate the "om#any$ !1m not a##re"iated there$ ! hate my boss$ !1m si"k of working there$ et".
:asi"ally$ anything negative is a bad answer. !f you say something negative$ they will think you
will
eventually get into that situation again while working for them. Ao ! highly re"ommend you have
a
good answer that leaves a #ositive im#ression while dis#laying good traits.
Short %nswers
;! want to find a "om#any with more o##ortunities. 8y #revious "om#any was very small and
didn1t
have o##ortunities for growth. (fter learning about the work environment here$ ! felt this is
e/a"tly the
ty#e of #la"e ! want to work.;
;8y "urrent "om#any is very large and it1s diffi"ult to do different tasks. We have routine work
that
never "hanges. ! want to work in an environment where ! "an utili)e more of my skills.;
;Iur family moved to live near a better s"hool distri"t for our "hildren. This area is great and !
want to
find a 0ob "loser to my new home. 8y #revious 0ob was too far away to "ommute.;
&ong %nswer
;! really en0oy what !1m doing$ but ! feel !1m following a routine. ! looked around for more
o##ortunities to grow$ but be"ause the "om#any is small$ !1m very limited. ! want to work in an
environment that will hel# me reali)e my full #otential and a #la"e ! "an "ontribute everything
!1m
"a#able of doing. 8y "urrent 0ob doesn1t #rovide these things for me and that1s why ! want to
work
here. ! know (:3 3om#any has a lot of o##ortunities for growth and en"ourages em#loyees to
take on
"hallenging #ro0e"ts to learn more. That is what !1m looking for.;
This answer shows a "ou#le of good traits. !t also shows e/"itement and mentions the "om#any
name.
!t is #ersonal and dire"t. This is a generi" answer so you "an use this if you want. !f you de"ide to
think
of your own$ make sure it dis#lays good traits and the reason for wanting to leave your "urrent
0ob is
not a negative reason.
1'."Where did #ou tell #our "oss #ou were going("
"Where does #our "oss think #ou are("
! highly doubt you will be asked this 4uestion. :ut it is true that interviews are "ondu"ted during
offi"e
hours. That means if you are em#loyed$ then you will have to have a reason for not working.
There are
a "ou#le of o#tions. !f the interview is less than two hours$ you "an s"hedule one during lun"h
time. !f
so$ you "an say you told your boss that you had to take "are of some #ersonal matters and you are
taking an e/tended lun"h. (nother o#tion is to tell the interviewer that your boss is aware of your
interview s"hedule. :ut make sure it is true. ! don1t know what the best way to answer this
4uestion.
:ut if ! had to res#ond to this 4uestion$ ! would answer by saying !1m taking a #ersonal day$ or a
va"ation day. :ut make sure you don1t say you are using a si"k day. That is a "om#lete lie and the
interviewer will see that you are willing to lie for your #ersonal gain.
;! wasn1t re4uired to tell my boss be"ause ! used one of my va"ation days to be here. !1m really
e/"ited
to have this interview o##ortunity and using a va"ation day was very well worth it.;
This answer is turning an awkward 4uestion into an o##ortunity to show enthusiasm for the
interview
and the "om#any. This is a key e/am#le where little things "ount. :y adding the last senten"e$ the
interviewer is sure to remember your answer more. That is be"ause he or she will see your
enthusiasm
and e/"itement. !f all the answers are the same$ this one will be sure to stand out. When
interviewing$
everyone has similar answers. The key is to find o##ortunities to #ut in little e/tra "omments to
give
you the advantage.
1)."%re #ou currentl# e!plo#ed at the last place listed on #our resu!e("
This is a sim#le yes or no answer. ! do not re"ommend lying. They "an find out and if they "at"h
you
lying$ then you lost your "han"e at this 0ob. The reason this 4uestion is im#ortant is be"ause
someone
who is "urrently em#loyed a##ears to be a better "andidate than someone who doesn1t have a 0ob.
! do
not believe it is true that an em#loyed #erson is better 4ualified for any 0ob$ but it is one of those
things
that most #eo#le grew u# with. !f you are "urrently em#loyed$ then sim#ly answer yes. 5ou
don1t1 have
to say anything else. !f no$ then you "an say something to 0ustify your reason for not having a 0ob.
:ut
make sure it is a good reason. Itherwise$ it might be better to sim#ly answer$ ;Ko$ !1m not
"urrently
em#loyed.;
1*."What is the title o$ the person #ou report to( What responsi"ilities does he or she
have("
This is a tri"k 4uestion for #eo#le who are giving them a bigger title. (n interviewer will know
what
you really did by finding out what your manager does. @or someone who didn1t #re#are for this
4uestion$ he or she will fall into a tra#. ?et1s say a #erson said he or she was a manager. !f the
interviewer asks this 4uestion and the #erson res#onds by saying similar ty#es of res#onsibilities$
then
something is wrong. Why do you have the same res#onsibilities as your manager? To #re#are for
this
4uestion$ make sure you answer that your manager did higher level work than your own. The
work that
you mention you did should be showing off your skills$ but your manager should have even
greater
res#onsibilities. Then it really shows how high you are. The e/am#le !1m going to give re#resents
me
as a 2rou# Lrogram 8anager.
Short %nswers
;+e was a sales manager. +is duties in"luded s"heduling$ "ustomer su##ort$ and managing a
grou# of
15 sales asso"iates.;
;8y manager had a su#ervisor title. +e was in "harge of distributing work to staff auditors$
reviewing
final audits$ s"heduling business tri#s$ and he also #erformed audits as well.;
;8y manager had the title Test 8anager. Ahe was in "harge of delivering high 4uality features for
ea"h
software a##li"ation. Ahe #lanned ea"h #ro0e"t giving a timeline of "om#letion$ worked with
management from different grou#s to make sure 4uality is assured$ and #rovided dire"tion to our
team
of 2' testers.;
&ong %nswer
;The title of the #erson ! re#ort to is Lrodu"t >nit 8anager. The Lrodu"t >nit 8anager is
res#onsible
for overseeing the entire #ro0e"t. +e uses the information from Test$ *evelo#ment$ and Lrogram
managers to make sure the #ro0e"t is on line. +e also is the #erson re#resenting our whole grou#
and
re#orts #rogress to the vi"e #resident of our organi)ation. +e #rovides high level guidan"e and
dire"tion making sure we are following our mission statement. Ither #eo#le who re#ort to him
are the
*evelo#ment manager and the 2rou# Lrogram manager.;
The more details you #rovide the better your answer. !t ensures you are telling the truth and that
you
are aware of what you need to be able to do to take the ne/t ste# u#. @inally$ a great way to
answer this
4uestion is to know what #osition you are a##lying for and then list off the res#onsibilities of the
#erson you would be re#orting to if you got hired. That will make the interviewer think that you
have
very similar or e/a"t e/#erien"e for the 0ob you are a##lying for.
1+."In #our previous position. how !uch ti!e did #ou spend on the phone("
"In #our previous position. how !uch ti!e did #ou spend in !eetings("
"In #our previous position. how !uch ti!e did #ou spend working "# #oursel$("
"In #our previous position. how !uch ti!e did #ou spend working in a tea!("
These 4uestions all de#end on the ty#e of #osition you are a##lying for. !f the #osition is a
#rodu"t
su##ort #osition$ then time s#ent on the #hone is going to be large. ?et1s say your #revious work
involved working alone a lot$ and the #osition you are a##lying for re4uires a lot of teamwork.
<ven
though you worked by yourself a lot$ you should em#hasi)e the work you did in teams. !f this is
the
situation$ then ! would say ! did a "ombination of both.
;!n my last #osition$ we had large #ro0e"ts that involved multi#le #eo#le. We had meetings to
dis"uss
the #ro0e"t and worked in teams whenever it involved overla# of feature. (fter the meetings and
working with the team$ ! was re4uired to finish my work by myself. Ao it was 4uite balan"ed
between
meetings$ team work and working by myself.;
This is not an e/travagant answer$ but it definitely shows that this #erson is "a#able of working in
grou#s and working alone. 8ost offi"e work re4uires a "ombination of working in grou#s and
alone$
but if your situation is different$ then answer a""ording to what the interviewer wants to hear.
1,."I$ #ou don;t leave #our current =o". what do #ou i!agine #ou will "e doing in several
#ears("
There are several things the interviewer wants to learn from this 4uestion. The interviewer knows
you
are looking for another 0ob be"ause you are not ha##y with where you are at. =nowing this$ they
want
to find out how you rea"t to situations where you are not ha##y. 8ost #eo#le who do not #re#are
for
this 4uestion will have a generi" answer that doesn1t stand out. 5ou "an use this o##ortunity to
give a
solid answer.
;!1m "onfident !1ll be in a management #osition several years from now. !n my "urrent #osition$
0unior
em#loyees ask me many 4uestions and ! like to mentor #eo#le. 8y work is very routine and !1m
very
effi"ient. ! want to find more "hallenges my work "urrently doesn1t offer.;
;To tell you the truth$ ! feel !1ll be doing the same thing !1m doing now. ! always look for more
work
and different o##ortunities$ but my "urrent "om#any doesn1t have many o##ortunities for
advan"ement.;
;!1m a very #roa"tive #erson and !1ll "ontinue to do my 0ob well. !1ll always look for
o##ortunities and
even "reate #la"es where ! "an im#rove my work. ! know if ! "ontinue to #erform well$ !1ll have
more
o##ortunities to get #romoted when a #osition o#ens. Ao ho#efully$ in several years$ !1ll be
managing
#eo#le that are in my "urrent #osition now.;
*es#ite having some negative feelings about work$ this answer shows that he or she will "ontinue
to do
hard work regardless of being unha##y. 5ou shouldn1t say you are unha##y$ but looking for
another
0ob is one indi"ation of not being ha##y.
1-."I$ #ou;re ver# happ# with #our current =o". wh# do #ou want to leave("
!f you #ortray that you are very ha##y with your "urrent 0ob$ then they might ask you this
4uestion. !
was in a very similar situation and ! will in"lude my answer as the e/am#le. 5ou "an use other
reasons$
but make sure it doesn1t "ontradi"t you being ha##y.
Short %nswers
;! like the work !1m doing and ! like everyone on my team$ but ! have a strong desire to learn
other
as#e"ts ! "an1t learn in my "urrent #osition.;
;! have been in my "urrent #osition for four years and ! want to gain e/#erien"es in other areas. !
love
my 0ob$ but ! want to grow more as a #rofessional.;
;! love to learn new things and after several years in my "urrent #osition$ ! reali)ed ! was doing
the
same thing over and over again most of the time. Ao the only reason ! want to leave my "urrent
0ob is to
broaden my knowledge by gaining other e/#erien"es.;
&ong %nswer
;! have been with my #revious grou# for more than three years. ! was doing the same thing on a
regular
basis. (lthough we re"eived different #ro0e"ts from time to time$ it was very similar to my
#revious
work. Ao ! had a desire to gain new e/#erien"es and learn from different #rodu"ts. ! believe
having a
variety of e/#erien"e is good for my "areer so ! made the de"ision to leave my "urrent 0ob.;
This is sim#le and dire"t. !t answers the 4uestion without in"luding unne"essary e/"uses. !t also
shows
my desire to grow$ learn more$ and im#rove myself. This is a good indi"ation of a good em#loyee
so
using an answer like mine is a safe answer.
Work Related Interview Questions II
1."I$ #ou have pro"le!s or co!plaints with #our current =o". wh# haven;t #ou "rought it to
their
attention("
!f the interviewer knows you have "om#laints about your "urrent 0ob$ then they might ask you
this
4uestion. 8ake sure the "om#laints are things that do not make you look bad. @or e/am#le$
having no
o##ortunities is a good "om#laint$ but not getting a good raise is a bad "om#laint. (fter you
de"ide on
the "om#laint$ then you "an "reate your answer around it. !t is better to answer that you did bring
this
u# multi#le times. That way$ you are dis#layed as honest.
Short %nswers
;! a"tually told my manager several times. ! told him about my desire to learn new things and take
on
new "hallenges$ but there aren1t many o##ortunities in my "urrent grou#.;
;! believe in being straightforward$ and ! told my manager on numerous o""asion that ! was
interested
in taking on more res#onsibilities. +owever$ my "urrent grou# doesn1t have o##ortunities !1m
looking
for.;
;(fter working the night shift for a "ou#le of years$ ! wanted normal working hours. ! told my
manager
about this$ but there was no #ositions available for regular hour shifts.;
&ong %nswer
;8y biggest "om#laint is that there are no o##ortunities to grow. 8y manager tells me !1m doing
great
work$ but ! feel ! am stu"k at this level. ! s#oke with my manager for more work so ! "an grow
and gain
more e/#erien"e$ but unfortunately$ there isn1t any work to give. ! even had a dis"ussion about
"hanging roles$ but be"ause there is no o#en head"ount in other divisions$ it was hard to do that.
Ao !
definitely "onveyed my desire for more work or for "hange$ but it was something they "ouldn1t
#rovide.;
+aving an em#loyee that "om#lains about a lot of things is an em#loyee you do not want to hire.
+owever$ if an em#loyee "om#lains about not having enough work$ it "ould be seen as a good
"om#laint. 8ost work #la"es have more work than resour"es$ so giving more work isn1t a
#roblem. Ao
this "om#laint shows that you are a #erson who wants to work and wants to learn. These are good
traits
and that makes this answer a good one.
'.">ive !e a speci$ic e<a!ple at #our last position where #ou increased revenue."
">ive !e a speci$ic e<a!ple at #our last position where reduced cost."
">ive !e a speci$ic e<a!ple at #our last position where #ou !ade things !ore e$$icient."
These are very similar to the PTell me about1 ty#e of 4uestions. They want a s#e"ifi" e/am#le
from
your work e/#erien"e. :ut if the #osition is an engineer #osition$ you will not get 4uestions about
revenue and "ost$ but you might get one about effi"ien"y. !n other 4uestions$ ! gave an e/am#le
of
redu"ing "ost$ so ! will use this time to give an e/am#le of in"reasing revenue.
Short %nswers
;(s a sales asso"iate$ ! do my #art in in"reasing revenue by making more sales. <ven if !1m
having a
good month$ ! "ontinue to work hard to make sure our "om#any is "ontinually in"reasing its
revenue.;
;!t1s something small$ but in our offi"e$ everyone left there monitors and lights on. ! sim#ly #ut
u#
signs to turn off their monitors and to turn off offi"e lights. This really hel#ed and our NL even
told me
he a##re"iated the small effort.;
;We #rovide many different bro"hures for our "lients$ and when we get low on a s#e"ifi"
bro"hure$ we
have to order ea"h one se#arately. ! "reated a small tool that automates this #ro"ess and saved
about 3'
minutes of work ea"h time we ordered bro"hures. !t was something small$ but my manager
a##re"iated
it.;
&ong %nswer
;!n my last #osition$ ! was the manager for a Ja#anese restaurant. We were lo"ated in downtown
and
reali)ed that not everyone had a full hour for a lun"h break. ! "reated a system to turn 5 of our
dishes
into meals that would be ready in three minutes. We #ut u# a sign indi"ating that we would have
meals
in less than three minutes and revenues 0um#ed 3'M. ! "onsidered the lo"ation of the restaurant
and
saw an o##ortunity to #rovide meals to "ustomers that would1ve never "onsidered our meal due to
their
la"k of time. The store owner was really #roud of this a""om#lishment.;
(ll e/am#les will be different be"ause everyone has different e/#erien"es. When you think of
your
own$ you should #rimarily be "on"erned about how "lear you are. Think of something you did
and #ut
them into words. +aving answers ahead of time will kee# you organi)ed during the interview.
)."What do #ou $eel an e!plo#er owes an e!plo#ee("
This #ur#ose for this 4uestion is basi"ally to see what you e/#e"t from the "om#any. !t is a sim#le
answer$ but you should also mention what you will give$ in return for what you are e/#e"ting.
Short %nswers
;! believe an em#loyer should #rovide a good work environment and o##ortunities for growth in
return
for hard work.;
;! believe an em#loyer should res#e"t their em#loyees and treat them fairly. ! #lan on working
hard and
! should be re"ogni)ed for my "ontributions.;
;! believe an em#loyer should #rovide an environment where everyone "an su""eed. ! also
believe that
o##ortunities for growth and advan"ement should be #rovided by the em#loyer.;
&ong %nswer
;! have a lot of e/#e"tations from my em#loyer. @inan"ial "om#ensation is a given$ but there are
other
things ! e/#e"t. ! feel an em#loyer should #rovide a good work environment$ o##ortunities for
growth$
reward and re"ognition for e/"ellen"e$ and guidan"e in "areer develo#ment. ! know ! will be
giving
everything ! "an to hel# my em#loyer su""eed$ and in return these are some of the e/#e"tations !
have.;
!f you look at the list of things ! mentioned$ all of them are strong indi"ators of a good em#loyee.
!f a
#erson is wanting to grow and guidan"e in "areer develo#ment$ then that worker is serious about
im#roving him or herself. (lso$ wanting reward and re"ognition for e/"ellen"e indi"ates that this
#erson is going to try to a"hieve e/"ellen"e to get the reward. ! would try to avoid saying things
like$
having a good si"k day #oli"y$ or an understanding of missed days due to mis"ellaneous issues$ or
mentioning a good maternity leave #lan. These things are all #rovided by large "om#anies$ but
mentioning them indi"ates that you are a #erson who gets si"k easily$ or a #erson #lanning on
having a
baby$ or an unlu"ky #erson that misses work due to bad lu"k.
*."What do #ou e<pect $ro! #our !anager("
This 4uestion should be answered that shows what ty#e of worker you are. 8ention things that
will
hel# you to be"ome a better worker instead of mentioning that you want an understanding
manager.
Short %nswers
;The most im#ortant thing ! want from my manager is "onstru"tive feedba"k so ! know where !
need to
im#rove. ! want to "ontinually grow and having a good manager will hel# me a"hieve my goal.;
;! e/#e"t my manager to #rovide work that is relevant to both the "om#any and my growth. 8y
manager should know my strengths and also hel# me work on my weaknesses.;
;! e/#e"t my manager to be a smart #erson who works hard. !f my manager is setting a #ositive
e/am#le$ ! believe !1ll be more en"ouraged to work harder. +aving a manager that bosses #eo#le
around without doing any work is very dis"ouraging. Ao ! e/#e"t my manager to lead by
e/am#le.;
&ong %nswer
;! e/#e"t my manager to give me relevant work$ to be a""essible$ setting an e/am#le through
a"tion$
#roviding both #ositive and negative feedba"k so ! "an im#rove$ and finally a manager that will
hel#
me su""eed. >ltimately$ ! know it1s my res#onsibility to be a great #erformer$ but having a
manager
that ! "an learn from "an hel# me grow that mu"h more. That1s what !1m looking for.;
This e/am#le shows the use of key words su"h as$ su""eed$ great #erformer$ im#rove$ and grow.
<a"h
item listed demonstrates a desire to work hard and to im#rove. !f you want to think of your own
answer$ kee# this in mind.
+."Would #ou like to have #our "oss;s =o"("
>nless you have a better answer$ the best answer for this 4uestion is a yes. +owever$ you should
"learly state that you want to learn everything and eventually move into a similar #osition. *o not
sound like you are a #erson who is going to steal the 0ob$ but rather someone who is going to
work hard
to earn the #osition.
Short %nswers
;When ! gain a little more e/#erien"e$ !1ll be looking to find a #osition that is similar to my
managers
0ob. :ut for now$ ! want to "ontinue to learn as an em#loyee while hel#ing the "om#any grow.;
;!1m always learning new things and in time$ ! would like to have my boss1s #osition. ! believe
!1m on
tra"k to be"ome a manager and !1ll "ontinue to work hard to #rove my abilities to the "om#any.;
;5es. ! have several years of e/#erien"e and ! also took on #ro0e"ts to learn more about
management. !
don1t ne"essarily want to re#la"e my manager$ but ! would like to learn more about management
so !
"an be ready when a #osition is available.;
&ong %nswer
;! would definitely like to have my boss1s 0ob. +owever$ before taking on that role$ ! want to gain
more
e/#erien"e and learn from my manager. ! believe in thorough #re#aration and ! am doing
everything !
"an to learn more about management and taking on more diffi"ult #ro0e"ts. ! know through my
hard
work ! will eventually have the o##ortunity to have a similar #osition to my boss.;
:eing ambitious is im#ortant and this answer shows that. !t also shows that this #erson has a
strong
understanding on the ste#s to be"ome a manager by learning about management and taking on
more
res#onsibilities. @inally the last senten"e dis#lays "onfiden"e. !f you are "reating your own
answer$
make sure use a similar stru"ture as this one or if not$ make sure it is better.
,."What did #ou hear a"out us("
"What do #ou know a"out us("
"What do #ou think we do at this co!pan#("
! feel this 4uestion is not to 4ui) you about your knowledge about the "om#any. !t also doesn1t
test if
you resear"hed this "om#any or not. ! feel that this 4uestion is to find out what you know before
they
e/#lain some things about there "om#any. 5ou should understand that if you are a strong
"andidate and
you are doing well on your interview$ then they will start sharing some things about the "om#any
to
enti"e you to take the #osition. +owever$ it "ould turn out to be a 4ui) so make sure you do your
resear"h before interviewing for a #osition.
Short %nswers
;! heard that (:3 3om#any is the leader in "o#y ma"hine distribution. (:3 3om#any is a global
"om#any in 1% different "ountries$ and finally$ it1s one of the best "om#anies to work for.;
;! heard (:3 3om#any has a great work environment and a #la"e where strong "ontributors are
rewarded. ! want to work for a "om#any with o##ortunities and ! know (:3 3om#any #rovides
these
things.;
;! read on your website that (:3 3om#any #rovides a""ounting servi"es to small and medium
si)e
"or#orations. ! also know (:3 3om#any is the leader in ta/ servi"es in this area. That1s why !1m
e/"ited to have the o##ortunity to 0oin this "om#any.;
&ong %nswer
;! heard a lot of good things about (:3 3om#any. ! know this "om#any #rovides finan"ial
servi"es to
small and medium si)e "or#orations. A#e"ifi"ally$ (:3 3om#any fo"uses on "reating automation
for
routine finan"ial transa"tions. :esides what the "om#any #rovides$ ! heard that the offi"e
environment
is great and the em#loyees are well taken "are of.;
5ou don1t have to list everything you know7 0ust enough to let them know that you did your
homework. (lso$ take a little time to give the "om#any a "om#liment su"h as the last senten"e. !t
is a
#sy"hologi"al tool that you should use to your advantage. This ty#e of "om#liment is dire"ted at
the
"om#any and the interviewer will be ha##y to hear this.
-."What do #ou know a"out our product("
"5o #ou know what our tea! is !aking("
This is another ty#e of 4uestion they ask to find out what you know so they don1t tell you
something
that you already know. !f it is an e/isting #rodu"t$ then you should definitely know what it is. !f
not$
and after you resear"hed as mu"h as you "ould$ tell them the little that you know. @or e/am#le$ !
interviewed for a grou# within 8i"rosoft that was very new. ! had no idea what the team was
"reating
but ! was interested be"ause it was a new te"hnology. ! found out as mu"h as ! "ould and when
they
asked me this 4uestion$ this is how ! answer.
;There isn1t mu"h information about your #rodu"ts yet$ but ! heard you are "reating new
te"hnology to
"reate a more se"ure database. ! worked with databases most of my "areer and the thought of
more
se"urity really interested me.;
;! heard this "om#any is "reating a "amera lens for dee# sea #hotogra#hy. :e"ause my ma0or was
in
engineering and my hobby is in #hotogra#hy$ ! believe this is the #erfe"t #osition for me.;
;! hear this grou# has several fun"tions. !t has an in"ubation team that grows new ideas and if the
#rodu"t has #otential a new #rodu"t is formed. ! also hear this grou# "reates solutions for
"om#anies to
enti"e them to buy more 8i"rosoft #rodu"ts.;
! didn1t know mu"h$ but after resear"hing$ this is all ! "ould find. This is e/a"tly what ! said and
they
res#onded by telling me more detail. !t wasn1t wrong$ but at least ! said enough about the grou#
to
sound like ! resear"hed a little bit. That1s basi"ally all you have to do for this 4uestion.
/."6ave #ou !anaged people in an# o$ the positions #ou;ve held("
!f your resume states that you are a manager or states that you manage #eo#le$ then they won1t
ask you
this 4uestion. !t is for those that are not in a defined management #osition. :asi"ally$ they want to
know if you have any e/#erien"e managing #eo#le. ! do not re"ommend lying. They "an kee#
asking
4uestions until they find you in a lie. ! would re"ommend telling the truth. !1ll give two e/am#les.
Ine
is my e/#erien"e of managing two tem#orary workers. (nd another is an e/am#le that would
show
some managing e/#erien"e without a"tually saying you managed #eo#le.
Short %nswers
;5es. ! have one year e/#erien"e in managing three #eo#le. ! distributed work to ea"h member of
my
team$ #rovided assistan"e and guidan"e$ and mentored ea"h em#loyee to be a better em#loyee.;
;! have three years of e/#erien"e managing #eo#le. ! managed a team from 3 #eo#le to a grou# of
1'.
8ost of my duties as a manger was to make sure our #ro0e"ts were on tra"k and that ea"h
em#loyee
was "om#leting their work.;
;!1ve never managed #eo#le yet$ but ! have 2 years of e/#erien"e mentoring new em#loyees. !
took
several "ourses on management and ! feel !1m ready to take the ne/t ste# of managing #eo#le.;
;! didn1t hold a management #osition$ but ! was in "harge of several #ro0e"ts where ! had to
manage a
grou# of 4 workers to "om#lete #ro0e"ts for a three month duration ea"h. These #ro0e"ts gave me
great
e/#erien"e in managing #eo#le.;
&ong %nswers
;!1ve never been in a management #osition yet$ but ! did manage two tem#orary em#loyees for a
one
year duration. *uring that time$ ! was given a large area of work to "over. ! #lanned and
organi)ed the
work to distribute to the two e/tra workers. ! managed their work and ke#t tra"k of how many
hours
they worked ea"h week. ! met with them on a regular basis and #rovided feedba"k on where they
are
doing well$ and where they needed im#rovement. Their time in our team ended after we
"om#leted the
#ro0e"t. !t wasn1t a management #osition$ but ! gained e/#erien"e in managing #eo#le.;
;! never held a #osition where ! was managing #eo#le$ but ! had a lot of e/#erien"e where ! was
in
"harge of large #ro0e"ts. (lthough it was my "o6workers$ ! had the e/#erien"e of taking the lead
on
#ro0e"ts where ! had to manage #eo#le for a s#e"ifi" time #eriod. (lthough ! didn1t e/#erien"e
the full
as#e"t of managing #eo#le$ ! learned how to bring #eo#le together$ how to use individual
strengths of
ea"h worker$ and how to organi)e and break down a large task to distribute to several #eo#le.;
!f you have management e/#erien"e$ then you "an tell them about your e/#erien"e. :ut if you
haven1t$
then it might be good to show them that you have some e/#erien"e in managing #eo#le as !
illustrate in
my e/am#le.
0."What t#pes o$ people do #ou have trou"le getting along with("
<ven if you believe you get along with everyone$ the interviewer will not believe you so don1t
say that
you do. ! re"ommend thinking about a ty#e of #erson that is a bad worker. >se that #erson as an
e/am#le and then e/#lain what you do to #ut effort into the troubled relationshi#.
Short %nswers
;! get along with almost everybody$ but ! tend to get frustrated at #eo#le who always say yes and
end
u# not delivering. ! e/#e"t honesty and integrity$ and saying yes should mean yes.;
;!1m very understanding of different #eo#le and different work styles$ but ! have a hard time with
#eo#le who only do work that is seen by management. There1s so mu"h work that needs to be
done and
not everything is seen by the manager. Ao ! get u#set when work is negle"ted.;
&ong %nswers
;! get along with almost everyone$ but ! think ! have the hardest time tolerating #eo#le who think
they1re always right. Kot everything is bla"k and white and many times there are multi#le ways
of
doing something. !n my last grou#$ ! had a "oworker that believed his way was the "orre"t way.
That1s
fine$ but when you try to e/#lain another view #oint$ he doesn1t listen$ starts to talk louder and he
begins to think it1s a debate. ! avoided him for a while$ but reali)ed ! should #ut in an effort to
deal with
his #ersonality.;
@or a follow u# 4uestion$ the interviewer "an ask you what you did in this situation. +ere is an
e/am#le
of dealing with this ty#e of #erson.
;:asi"ally$ ! had to "hange the way ! talked to him. ! was very "areful with my words and always
said
something like$ Pthat1s a great idea$ but "ould we add this to it1 or P! definitely agree with you$ but
"an !
get your o#inion on this method.1 To tell you the truth$ ! would rather not deal with a #erson like
that$
but ! thought the right thing to do was find a way to deal with him so that is what ! did.;
The reason why it is a""e#table to say you have a diffi"ult time dealing with #eo#le like this is
be"ause
everyone will have a hard time dealing with this ty#e of #erson. Ao it doesn1t make you look bad
be"ause you "an1t get along with this #erson$ however$ this is a good answer be"ause it shows
taking
initiative to "orre"t the relationshi#.
11."Who do #ou think are our two !a=or co!petitors("
! never re"eived this 4uestion$ but it is very likely if it is im#ortant to know "om#etitors. 8ake
sure
during your resear"h$ you also investigate the "om#etitors of the "om#any you are interviewing
for.
5ou "an make your answer if you know more details su"h as market #er"entage of ea"h
"om#any$ or if
it is a #rodu"t "om#any$ what #rodu"ts they make. @or the long answer$ !1ll give an e/am#le of a
#erson interviewing for a marketing #osition for 8"*onalds. This is a good e/am#le$ be"ause
one of
the "om#etitors is obvious. !t is :urger =ing. :ut what is the se"ond "om#etitor. That is the
signifi"an"e of this e/am#le. !t gives you an o##ortunity to e/#lain your o#inion of the se"ond
"om#etitor. :ut the figures !1m giving for all the answers are fake. 5ou should make sure you
resear"h
numbers so you "an use them in your answers.
Short %nswers
;The number one "om#etitor to Neri)on is 3ingular. (fter they merged with (TQT$ they be"ame
the
largest "ell #hone #rovider with a 1&M market "ontrol. The ne/t "om#etitor is Ke/tel. (lthough
they
only have 1'M of the market$ they are in"reasing in strength.;
;The two "om#etitors of Kokia are 8otorola and Aamsung. 8otorola has a strong #resen"e in the
>nited Atates where Aamsung is more global.;
;8i"rosoft is "om#eting with many different "om#anies be"ause 8i"rosoft #rovides many
different
software. 8AK is growing and (I? is the number one "om#etitor for this business$ while the
8i"rosoft IA is "hallenged by ?inu/ be"ause it1s free.;
&ong %nswer
;The biggest "om#etitor is :urger =ing. Where ever you see a 8"*onalds$ it1s "ommon to see
:urger
=ing near by. They s#e"iali)e in flame broiled burgers and use that as their marketing strategy.
The
Who##er is their number one selling burger selling a##ro/imately 3'M more than all their other
burgers. The se"ond "om#etitor is Wendy1s. (lthough in some regions other hamburger stores
sell
more$ if you take international sales into "onsideration$ Wendy1s "learly is a strong "om#etitor.
They
advertise o#ening late and "on"entrate on their dollar menu luring #eo#le in to buy other more
e/#ensive items.;
This e/am#le "learly demonstrates knowledge about the industry instead of 0ust 8"*onalds.
=nowing
the industry is im#ortant be"ause and this 4uestion gives you the o##ortunity to show that off.
This
e/am#le also demonstrates an understanding of the international as#e"t of selling burgers.
@inally$ their
marketing strategy is in"luded in the answer. When you are interviewing for a #osition$ make sure
you
know as mu"h detail as you "an to show that you are knowledgeable about the whole industry.
11."Wh# do #ou like sales("
5ou "an answer this 4uestion in numerous ways. :ut to make your answer effe"tive$ you should
think
of an answer that will show your strong #oints as a salesman. 8ake sure to "over your own traits
that
are im#ortant to sales. +ere is an e/am#le.
Short %nswers
;! like sales be"ause ! like talking with #eo#le and !1m good at making #eo#le feel "omfortable.;
;! en0oy sales be"ause it re4uires strong "ommuni"ation skills and that1s one of my strong traits. !
like
the "hallenge of making a sale and ! feel good whenever ! make a good sale.;
;! like sales be"ause it fits my #ersonality. ! en0oying working with all sorts of #eo#le and ! like
to
#rovide great "ustomer servi"e by answering 4uestions about #rodu"ts #rofessionally.;
&ong %nswer
;!1ve always liked sales. ! en0oy working with and talking to #eo#le. !1m good at making #eo#le
"omfortable and ! also like the "hallenge. !n the #ast with my friends$ ! heard "omments
fre4uently that
! would make a good salesman even before ! got into sales. Ao basi"ally$ ! like sales be"ause it
fits my
#ersonality and ! really en0oy it.;
This is a sim#le short answer. Kot everyone "an be a sales#erson. They need to have the right
#ersonality su"h as good "ommuni"ation skills. 5ou don1t have to have a great answer for this
4uestion. :ut the most im#ortant as#e"t is showing that you en0oy sales.
1'."5o #ou see that stapler( ?onvince !e to "u# it."
This is a test to see if you are an e/#erien"ed sales#erson. ! do not have mu"h sales e/#erien"e
but !
would answer this 4uestion by thinking of salesman ! en"ountered in the #ast that ! felt was good.
Think about your e/#erien"e with sales #eo#le and list what they did. @or e/am#le$ they #robably
follow a format. @irst$ they e/#lain what the #rodu"t is. Then they tell you the fun"tionalities and
where
you "an use it. Third$ they should tell you how mu"h easier it will make your work. @ourth$ it
should
have a good warranty. The 4uestion didn1t give you details. Ao feel free to make something u#. !t
will
show your "reativity. 3ontinuing$ the #rodu"t should have a good return #oli"y. @inally$ you "an
talk
about the redu"ed #ri"e$ or the #ri"e guarantee.
Short %nswers
;This sta#ler is the newest model with easier to use features su"h as 4ui"k loading and safety
#rote"tion. !t also "omes with a money ba"k guarantee for any reason if you are not satisfied.;
;This sta#ler is on sale for 3'M off. The manufa"turer is a new "om#any so their #ri"es are great
right
now. They have a great warranty #rogram and it will save your "om#any a lot of money with the
substantial dis"ount.;
;This sta#ler has the best value. With a 15M lower sti"ker #ri"e$ it #rovides identi"al fun"tionality
with
the more e/#ensive brands. !t1s durable and sta#les through more #a#er than the other brands.;
&ong %nswer
;We are #roud to "arry this sta#ler. !t1s very durable and easy to use. ?oading the sta#les is as
sim#le as
"li"king this button on the bottom to o#en the to#. The design is made with more "urves to make
it
more a##ealing on the desk. !t also is designed with more safety in mind. !f you a""identally dro#
the
sta#le on your foot or hit it with your hand$ the "urves are smooth enough where it will not break
the
skin. The warranty on the sta#ler is great too. !t "omes with a five year guarantee. We are
"urrently
offering this sta#ler for a low #ri"e of O1&.&&$ and we have a low #ri"e guarantee. !f you find a
lower
#ri"e in the ne/t thirty days$ we will gladly #ay you the differen"e.;
!f you are a##lying for a sales #osition$ you have to be ready to be able to sell anything in the
room. !
would re"ommend thinking about an outline. 2et that in your head. Then use the outline to
#ra"ti"e
selling variety of things. 5ou "an use my answer as an outline "overing features$ fun"tionality$
safety$
design$ warranty$ and #ri"e. :ut don1t limit it to 0ust these$ if you have another idea$ add it to this$
or
make u# your own.
1)."6ow long have #ou "een looking $or a =o"("
! don1t know if this is legitimate 4uestion for an interviewer to ask$ but it is definitely #ossible. !
don1t
like the 4uestion$ but at least we should think about it and #re#are an answer. !f you have been
looking
for a 0ob for like eight months$ it "ould sound like you are a bad "andidate be"ause nobody wants
to
hire you. !nstead$ ! would take a different a##roa"h than answering honestly. !f the resume shows
you
have been out of work for a year$ then you have to e/#lain the one year. 5ou have two o#tions.
@irst$
you "an be honest and say you have been looking for one year$ or you "an think of a good e/"use.
!t1s
hard to lie and sound believable so !1m going to give an honest answer. !f you have a good e/"use
for
not working for a long duration$ feel free to use that as an e/"use.
Short %nswers
;! sent out my resumes 0ust last week. !1m very e/"ited to 0oin a "om#any where ! "an hel# out.;
;!1ve been looking for about a month now. :e"ause of the slow e"onomy it1s taking a little longer
than
! e/#e"ted$ but !1m "onfident that ! "an be a valuable asset to any "om#any.;
;!t1s been about 2 months now. ! wasn1t as aggressive in the beginning be"ause ! was taking some
"lasses$ but now that !1m done with "lass$ !1m really trying now.;
&ong %nswers
;To be honest$ !1ve been looking for a 0ob for 4uite a long time. The 0ob market hasn1t been that
great
and it1s been a little rough. :ut ! s#ent my year #rodu"tively by reading u# on new te"hnologies$
self
studying$ and trying to "hallenge myself with small #ro0e"ts. ! definitely learned a lot and !1m
really
ready to start working again.;
!f you have a real e/"use su"h as a si"k mother you have to take "are of$ here is an e/am#le.
;! have been out of work for a year$ but ! have only been looking for a 0ob for about 3 weeks now.
8y
mother had "an"er and ! wanted to s#end the final months with her. Ahe #assed away and ! "an
starting
work again.;
! don1t re"ommend lying for this 4uestion. !t "ould turn bad if they find out the truth later. Telling
them
the truth like my first e/am#le shows honesty and shows that you tried to stay #rodu"tive.
1*."Wh# haven;t #ou received an# o$$ers so $ar("
"What o$$ers have #ou received so $ar("
This is another ty#e of 4uestion that most interviewers will not ask. :ut 0ust in "ase$ !1ll #rovide
an
e/am#le. @or the 4uestion asking what offers have you re"eived so far$ you "an sim#ly list the
ones you
have re"eived without details. @or e/am#le$ ;! re"eived offers from :oeing and !nfoA#a"e.; :ut if
they
ask you why haven1t you re"eived any offers$ then your answer will de#end on if you have an
offer or
not. !f you do$ then you "an #olitely "orre"t them by saying$ ;("tually$ ! re"eived an offer from
!ntel.
:ut ! didn1t res#ond with my answer yet be"ause this "om#any is my first "hoi"e.; !f you do not
have
any offers$ then you "an say something like this e/am#le.
;! 0ust started interviewing this #ast week$ so it1s a little too early to tell.;
;! re"ently started looking for a 0ob$ but !1m ho#ing that !1ll re"eive offers soon.;
;! re"eived one offer from a smaller "om#any$ but ! want to see what else is out there. ! like what
this
"om#any has to offer so !1m ho#ing everything turns out well today.;
;!1ve only interviewed with two other "om#anies so far and ! have a se"ond interview with one of
them. !t1s too early to tell if !1ll be re"eiving any offers right now$ but !1m "onfident that ! will get
a
"ou#le.;
This answer is suggesting that you are a"tively interviewing. 8entioning a se"ond interview with
another "om#any also shows that you #assed the first interview stage. 5ou are not admitting to
any
fault by not re"eiving any offers$ but sim#ly saying it is too early be"ause you haven1t been
sear"hing
for a 0ob that long.
!f you have been looking for a 0ob for a long time$ then you will not be able to use an answer like
! 0ust
showed. !nstead$ you might have to be honest and try to #ut the blame somewhere else. 8ore
likely
you will not re"eive this answer$ but 0ust in "ase$ here is one more e/am#le. This e/am#le admits
dire"tly to not re"eiving any offers but shows diligen"e and shows that this #erson doesn1t give
u#.
;8ost of the 0obs ! have been a##lying for re4uire more e/#erien"e than ! have. (lso$ be"ause the
0ob
market is rough right now the "om#etition has been #retty tough. :ut ! #lan on self studying
"ontinually and ! know through my diligen"e that ! will get a 0ob soon.;
1+."I$ #ou don;t understand #our assign!ent and #ou can;t reach #our "oss. what would
#ou
do("
This 4uestion is seeing how you rea"t to ambiguous situations. (lso it "he"ks to see how
resour"eful
you are. The best way to answer this 4uestion is to #rovide ste# by ste# a"tions you would take in
this
situation.
Short %nswers
;! would investigate the assignment dee#er by sear"hing for more information$ asking "oworkers
or
other managers and make the smartest de"ision on how to ta"kle the assignment.;
;There are many #la"es ! "an look for "larity. ! would look through some books$ or the !nternet$
or my
#eers$ or even other managers. !f ! try to look for answers$ most of the time ! "an find them.;
;! would first see what the deadline is and if my manager will be ba"k before the deadline. !f not$
then !
would leave a message on my managers #hone. (fterwards$ ! would ask my #eers or other
managers to
see if they know the assignment. ! believe investigating the assignment further will hel# me
understand
it.;
&ong %nswer
;@irst$ ! would read the assignment again thoroughly to see if ! missed a "lue or anything. ! "ould
even
turn to the !nternet and look u# other do"umentation if it was something like a diffi"ult #ro"ess !
didn1t
know. (fter investigating this assignment$ and ! still don1t understand it$ then ! "ould turn to my
#eers
and see if anyone has done an assignment similar to the one ! re"eived. !f my #eers do not know
either$
then ! "ould ask my boss1s manager and verify with him. (fter e/hausting these o#tions$ then !
would
have to make a de"ision on how to do the assignment and make the best de"ision ! "an on how to
ta"kle
the assignment. :efore engaging in the assignment$ ! would leave a message on my boss1s "ell
#hone.;
There might be a better answer$ but in my e/#erien"e many interviewers are looking for a #ro"ess
of
rea"hing a goal. !n this e/am#le$ it shows ea"h ste# from beginning to end. @eel free to add or
"hange
these ste#s after thinking about it.
Work Related Interview Questions III
1."I$ ever#one on the tea! is a veteran. what will #ou do to $it in and "e a "ene$icial tea!
!e!"er instead o$ a person who appears to "e in training("
This is a"tually an easy 4uestion. <veryone should have a similar answer be"ause there are only a
few
things that you "an do. !1m going to be giving an e/am#le of #re#aring and reading u# on
information
more than usual.
Short %nswers
;!n this situation$ !1ll have to ram# u# 4ui"kly and study notes from #revious meetings before
attending
any. !1ll also do a lot of studying to "at"h u# so ! "an #arti"i#ate in dis"ussions instead of
a##earing to
be in training.;
;!n the beginning$ !1ll #ut a lot of effort into "at"hing u# on any e/isting #ro0e"ts ! 0oin. ! believe
studying a lot in the beginning to be aware of what is going on is very im#ortant.;
;!1ll study as mu"h as ! "an to fit into a grou# of veterans. ! know !1ll have many 4uestions along
the
way$ but listening "arefully and #utting #ie"es together will allow me to "at"h u# 4ui"kly. ! know
!1ll
be able to be an effe"tive team #layer in a short time by following this method.;
&ong %nswer
;<ven if everyone is a veteran$ ! feel "onfident ! "an fit right in. ! would #re#are as mu"h as ! "an
by
reading e/isting material to "at"h u# on the #ro0e"t. ! would #lan for meetings by making a list of
4uestions ! have and finding the answers to these 4uestions before the meeting. ! would also
"reate a
list of ideas through the do"uments ! have read. ( fresh mind "ould hel# with "reative solutions. !
know
that ! would be re4uired to study a lot in the beginning$ but ! would be able to do so at home or by
working late in the offi"e.;
This answer shows ste#s of be"oming a team member that doesn1t a##ear to be in training. !t is
des"ribing ways to limit training times in meetings$ and in"ludes that a new worker "ould benefit
an
e/isting team by making a list of ideas.
'."6ow do #ou intend to learn what #ou need to know to per$or! well $or this =o"("
We have a similar 4uestion here$ but we "an use this o##ortunity to see another e/am#le.
Short %nswers
;! have e/#erien"e in learning new "on"e#ts without training. ! usually look through books or
manuals
to find answers. :e"ause !1m good at learning$ !1ll study relevant material to hel# me do my
duties
well.;
;! have e/#erien"e in this area so ! won1t need mu"h training. +owever$ ! know different
"om#anies
have different ways of doing things$ so !1ll learn "om#any #oli"ies and methods 4ui"kly to a##ly
my
e/isting knowledge to do a good 0ob.;
;The first "ou#le weeks are im#ortant. ! think it1s im#ortant to study the "orre"t material$ ask the
right
4uestions$ and #ut in e/tra effort to learn what ! need to know. This is what ! usually do to make
sure
!1ll be #erforming well.;
&ong %nswer
;!f the "om#any #rovides training$ !1ll utili)e the training to learn. !f not$ then !1ll learn by being
attentive to what other #eo#le do$ read u# on the do"umentation$ and be willing to ask 4uestions
when
ne"essary. ! know the first "ou#le of weeks are im#ortant and !1m willing to #ut in e/tra effort to
start
off on the right tra"k.;
This e/am#le is shorter and more to the #oint. !t is not an answer that will astonish the
interviewer$ but
it is an answer that will show "ou#le good traits about yourself.
)."I$ #our supervisor tells #ou to do so!ething that #ou "elieve can "e done in a di$$erent
wa#.
what would #ou do("
This 4uestion is designed to see how you would rea"t to your manager when you disagree. !t is
im#ortant to trust your manager$ but at the same time$ not follow blindly. That means ! should ask
4uestions to "larify$ make suggestions$ and after a dis"ussion$ follow the instru"tions of your
manager.
This is the ste#s ! would take to answer this 4uestion.
Short %nswers
;! will tell my su#ervisor of an alternative way and e/#lain the benefits. !f my su#ervisor is not
"onvin"ed$ then !1ll follow his instru"tions.;
;!1ll suggest a different way of doing the assignment along with the benefits. !f my su#ervisor
disagrees
and insists ! do it a "ertain way$ !1ll follow the instru"tions.;
;!1ll suggest a different method and ask my su#ervisor if ! "an do this work the new way. !f the
result
will be the same but would #otentially save more time$ then ! believe my manager will allow it.
+owever$ if my manager wants it done a "ertain way for other reasons$ !1ll follow his or her
instru"tions.;
&ong %nswer
;! would 4uestion my su#ervisor why he or she wants it done this #arti"ular way. !f ! still don1t
agree
with the method$ ! would suggest alternate ways of ta"kling the assignment and e/#lain how my
suggestion would be better. (fter having a good "onversation$ if we still "an1t see eye to eye$ then
!
would have to trust my su#erior and follow his or her instru"tions.;
This is a solid answer be"ause it is showing inde#enden"e by having my own suggestion and
thought$ it
shows ! "an think for myself$ and finally$ shows that ! would be an em#loyee that trusts the
su#ervisor.
>ltimately$ this answer shows that !1m a smart #erson willing to make ad0ustments. !1ll take a
moment
here to "larify something. +ow does this answer show that !1m smart and a #erson willing to
make
ad0ustments? Well$ many times$ the interviewer will not see e/a"tly what you want them to see.
+owever$ even if they don1t see all your good intentions$ they will at least get a good feeling
about you
through your solid answers.
*."I$ #ou;re told to do so!ething that #ou $eel is illegal. what would #ou do("
This is an easy answer. >nless you are interviewing to be a gangster$ you should have a similar
answer
to mine.
Short %nswers
;! would first verify if it1s legal or not. !f it is legal$ then ! would "ontinue with the work. !f it1s
illegal$
! would not do the work and tell my manager that this work is illegal. ! would also let +uman
Besour"es aware of the situation.;
;!1d verify if the work was legal or not. !f it wasn1t legal$ then !1d "onfront my manager and my
manager1s manager with this in"ident.;
;! wouldn1t 0um# to any "on"lusions. ! would rather 4uestion my manager to verify if it is illegal
or not.
!f !1m not "onvin"ed through fa"ts$ then ! would investigate through other means. !f ! find it is
illegal$ !
will not "ontinue with the work and inform +uman
Besour"es of this in"ident.;
&ong %nswer
;!f !1m not sure$ ! would verify whether it1s legal or illegal before #erforming the task. !f ! find it
is
legal$ then ! would "ontinue with the task. !f not$ then ! would re#ort the re4uest to the boss of the
#erson who asked me to do it. !f the boss does not take a##ro#riate a"tion$ ! would find out why
and
re#ort the in"ident to +uman Besour"es myself.;
This is making you sound firm and stubborn. :ut in this situation$ you have to be bold with your
answer. 5ou "annot let them think that you would hide the fa"t. This is es#e"ially true if you are
interviewing for a finan"e or a""ounting #osition that deals with money or other im#ortant
information.
+."I$ #ou were un$airl# critici2ed. what would #ou do("
This is the hardest 4uestion ! have to answer here. :eing unfairly "riti"i)ed is one of my biggest
#et
#eeves. ! hate it when it ha##ens and ! usually blow u#. ! get mad and start to argue. :ut as you
know$
this is a bad answer to this 4uestion. They are asking you this 4uestion be"ause they want to see if
you will rea"t #rofessionally. (ny answer that shows #rofessionalism will be good.
Short %nswers
;!1d #robably ask for "larity on the "riti"ism. ! think it1s im#ortant to a""e#t "riti"ism for self
im#rovement$ but if it1s unfair$ then ! will "lear things u# by asking for "larity.;
;When !1m unfairly "riti"i)ed$ ! usually think about the "riti"ism and try to view it from a
different
angle. !f ! still "an1t see why ! was "riti"i)ed$ then !1ll a##roa"h the #erson and initiate a dialog to
resolve the unfair "riti"ism.;
;! usually use all "riti"ism to hel# me grow. !f ! was "riti"i)ed unfairly$ there must be a little truth
to it.
!1ll learn as mu"h as ! "an from it$ but if it was really out of line$ ! would definitely a##roa"h the
#erson
and ask for "larity.;
&ong %nswers
;!f ! was unfairly "riti"i)ed in #rivate$ then ! would initiate dialog asking why he or she thought
this
way. ! would try to understand their #oint of view and e/#lain my #oint of view. !f ! was unfairly
"riti"i)ed in #ubli"$ then ! would be a little u#set but ! would wait to address the #roblem until the
#erson "riti"i)ing me was alone. ! would do this be"ause if !1m u#set$ ! wouldn1t want to start an
argument without thinking. Ao after some time$ ! would a##roa"h the #erson and ask him or her
why !
was "riti"i)ed. !f it was 0ustified$ then ! would use that as "onstru"tive "riti"ism to im#rove
myself. !f
not$ then ! would tell that #erson that it isn1t good to #ubli"ly "riti"i)e someone when they are not
sure
if it is "orre"t.;
This is a #rofessional answer$ but it "ould sound like you are a weak #erson. !f you want an
e/am#le of
be"oming u#set$ then this is how ! would get u#set in a #rofessional way.
;!f !1m #ubli"ly "riti"i)ed un0ustly$ ! would immediately ask that #erson on what grounds he or
she is
saying that. Ine of my #et #eeves is #utting someone down in #ubli" and if ! don1t say anything
there$
then this #erson is getting away with something terrible$ and everyone there will think ! did
something
wrong. ! would kee# my tem#er in "he"k but make sure that #eo#le know the "riti"ism wasn1t
0ustified.;
,."What are #ou looking to gain $ro! #our ne<t =o"("
The answer will de#end on where you are in your "areer. !f you are new$ then you want to gain
more
e/#erien"e and learn a wide variety of things. !f you have a lot of #revious e/#erien"e$ you might
want
to find something "hallenging and more o##ortunities for growth.
Short %nswers
;! want a #osition where !1ll be "hallenged. ! want to learn a lot of new things and ! want to
"ontinually
grow. Ao !1m looking for a 0ob that will #rovide these things for me.;
;! want to gain e/#erien"e in many areas of a""ounting. ! want a #osition where things are not
routine and where many of my a""ounting skills are utili)ed.;
;!n my ne/t 0ob$ ! want more o##ortunities to write automation. !n my #revious #osition$ we
didn1t
have these o##ortunities be"ause we outsour"ed this work to other grou#s.;
&ong %nswer
;@or the last several years$ ! have done a wide variety of things. ! have set my goals and
"ontinually
moved forward. ! have worked in a time "onstraint environment$ 0uggled many tasks at one time$
and
even managed several #eo#le. +owever$ one of my goals is to im#rove my "reative side of
design.
Working for a large "om#any demands a lot of work from ea"h designer. Ao although "reating
gra#hi"s
"ame naturally for me$ ! never had the lu/ury of "reating work without being #ulled in four
different
dire"tions. Ao ! want to find a #osition where ! "an use more of my "reativity.;
This is a stronger answer than the generi" one about learning and finding something "hallenging.
This
answer dis#lays a lot of e/#erien"e$ ability to work hard$ and the ability to deliver items 4ui"kly.
This
#erson answers by saying he wants to find a #osition where he "an use more "reativity$ while
showing
off his "redentials as a good worker.
-."What aspects o$ this =o" interest #ou the !ost("
This is a 4uestion to see how interested you are in the #osition. @or this 4uestion$ how you talk
will be
more im#ortant than what you say. 8any #eo#le fail interviews due to the la"k of enthusiasm$ so
make
sure you sound e/"ited when you answer this 4uestion.
Short %nswers
;!1m very e/"ited about this 0ob be"ause of the variety of different work. !1m well rounded and
it1s
always e/"iting when ! "an use many of my skills for a 0ob.;
;The most interesting as#e"t of this 0ob is the #rodu"t you1re working on. ! think it1s so e/"iting
working on a #rodu"t that twelve million #eo#le use. ! want to be on a team where my work will
make
many #eo#le en0oy our #rodu"t more.;
;! like the fa"t that this #osition re4uires someone who is detail oriented. :e"ause we1re working
with
sensitive data$ it1s im#ortant that all the information is #erfe"t. This ty#e of "hallenge always
interested
me.;
&ong %nswer
;<ver sin"e ! was studying me"hani"al engineering in "ollege$ ! had a strong interest in
automobile
engines. This #osition is to hel# the engine design team to "reate better fuel effi"ient "ars. When !
read
that$ it really 0um#ed out to me. ! knew ! really wanted this #osition be"ause it "ombined my
interest
and my e/#erien"e into one. Ao being on a team where ! "an work on something ! love is what
a##eals
to me the most.;
?isten to how this e/am#le is said more than the words. 5ou really have to "onvey the message
that
you are interested in the 0ob.
/."I$ #ou are given work $ro! #our !anager that is "oring and tedious. what will #ou do("
This is an im#ortant 4uestion for the manager. !f you are hired on as a analyst and you have to do
some
data entry$ you might not be ha##y about it. :ut if there it has to be done$ then the manager has to
assign the work to someone. They want to find out if you are the ty#e of #erson who is willing to
work
on boring and tedious things. The long answer is the answer ! gave when ! was asked this
4uestion.
Short %nswer
;!f it1s hel#ing the "om#any in any way$ ! don1t mind doing boring work.;
;8y res#onsibility as an em#loyee is to hel# the "om#any su""eed. !f the work !1m given will
hel# the
"om#any$ then !1ll do the best that ! "an no matter if it1s boring or tedious.;
;! don1t mind doing boring and tedious work. (s long as ! don1t have to do it for a long duration
su"h
as si/ months$ then ! really wouldn1t have a #roblem.;
&ong %nswer
;! trust that management knows what is best for the #ro0e"t. Whatever work !1m given$ !1m going
to do
my best knowing that it1s hel#ing the entire "om#any. !1m more oriented towards the su""ess of
the
"om#any and !1ll do whatever it takes to hel# out. Ao ! wouldn1t mind doing boring and tedious
work
for awhile.;
This answer is showing loyalty and being able to sa"rifi"e #ersonal interest for the su""ess of the
"om#any. 8aybe it was this 4uestion that hel#ed me #ass my third interview.
0."6ow long do #ou plan on sta#ing with this co!pan#("
This 4uestion is usually asked to the #eo#le who move between 0obs fre4uently. They do not want
to
hire someone who will leave after several months. The hiring #ro"ess "osts the "om#any money
and
time and they want to hire someone who is looking to stay for awhile. ! re"ommend saying you
want to
stay for a long time.
Short %nswers
;To tell you the truth$ ! have been working and gaining e/#erien"e to get into this "om#any. This
is
where ! want to be and ! #lan on staying a long time if !1m offered the 0ob.;
;The only time ! get bored is if there is no work to do. (s long as there1s a lot of work$ then !1ll
be
ha##y and stay a long time. !1m a busy body and ! need to do work.;
;This "om#any has everything !1m looking for. !t #rovides the ty#e of work ! love$ the em#loyees
are
all ha##y$ and the environment is great. ! #lan on staying a long time.;
;Ine of my goals is to obtain a #osition in this "om#any. ! know that on"e ! start working here$
it1ll be
for a long time.;
&ong %nswer
;(s far as ! "an tell$ this "om#any has everything !1m looking for. ! en0oy this ty#e of work and
the
benefits at this "om#any are great. !1m looking for a long term #osition and if there are
o##ortunities
for advan"ement and growth here$ then ! want to stay for a long time.;
This is another 4uestion you "an answer in a short way. 5ou don1t want to answer with a single
line
answer be"ause it doesn1t sound believable. Ao a "ou#le of senten"es e/#laining what you want
will
"onvin"e them that you want to stay for a long time.
11."6ow do #ou e<plain the $act that #ou $re@uentl# change =o"s( I see that #ou haven;t
sta#ed
with a co!pan# $or !ore than ' #ears."
To #ass this 4uestion$ you have to "onvin"e them that you are going to sti"k around. This isn1t a
4uestion to see what you know or what your #hiloso#hy is$ it is a "on"ern they have that you have
to
address. 5our #ersuasion skill will be re4uired for this answer. :ut if you "an1t be #ersuasive$
"onvin"e
them through ste# by ste# fa"ts that leads to the fa"t that you are going to stay with this "om#any
if
they hire you.
Short %nswers
;! have been gaining e/#erien"e and knowledge to have the minimum re4uirements to work for
this
"om#any. 8y goal is to work for this "om#any$ and !1ll be working here a long time be"ause this
is
where ! want to be.;
;! #lanned on staying with my "urrent 0ob for a longer time #eriod$ but when this #osition o#ened
u#$ !
really wanted to a##ly be"ause this "om#any has everything ! need. Ao even though ! "hange 0obs
fre4uently$ !1m "ertain that ! love this industry and that this is a great "om#any to work for. ! #lan
on
staying a long time.;
;! want to work for a large "om#any that has many o##ortunities. ! didn1t re"eive this in my other
"om#anies be"ause they were smaller$ but ! learned this "om#any has a lot of great work to do
and a lot
of different o##ortunities.;
&ong %nswer
;To tell you the truth$ early in my "areer$ ! didn1t know what ! wanted to do. !1ve been in a "ou#le
different industries$ and it wasn1t until my last #osition that ! found e/a"tly what ! wanted to be
doing. !
stayed with my #revious "om#any for more than a year but there weren1t enough o##ortunities. !
finally found what ! love to do and now ! want to find a "om#any where ! "an be a #art of the
"om#any
instead of a worker that has no interest in the overall "om#any. !1m being "areful to "hoose my
ne/t 0ob
be"ause ! want to establish my "areer in my ne/t 0ob$ and after resear"hing$ ! found that (:3
3om#any
"an #rovide everything !1m looking for. Ao !1ll definitely be here for the long term.;
This answer is a little long$ but if you don1t "onvin"e them that you are going to stay long$ then
you
have a very little "han"e of being hired. Ao take whatever time you need to "onvin"e them. !f you
think
of your own answer$ write it down and be able to say it smoothly so they "an fully understand
that you
are serious about staying.
11."ell !e a"out a ti!e #ou had a "ig disagree!ent with #our "oss. What did #ou do and
what
was the outco!e("
+ere is another Ptell me about1 4uestion. 5ou will have to think of an e/am#le of your own. The
items
you need to in"lude in your answer should "onsist of you showing #ro#er "ommuni"ation$ taking
a##ro#riate a"tion$ and ending with a good out"ome. !t1s #erfe"tly natural to disagree with your
boss. !t
is im#ortant how you rea"t when you have a disagreement. Ahow the interviewer that you are
#rofessional about disagreements.
;! never really had a big disagreement with my manager. The only thing ! "an think of was when
!
re"ently got ba"k from a business tri#$ my manager told me ! had to go on another one the ne/t
day. !n
my #revious "om#any$ it wasn1t "ommon to send someone on a business tri# immediately$ but
another
em#loyee got si"k so ! had to fill in.;
;! had a disagreement with my boss on how to do an assignment. !t was easy to resolve by having
a
dis"ussion on the #ro1s and "on1s of both methods. We didn1t "ome to any "on"lusion whi"h way
was
better$ and ! ended u# #erforming the work the way my manager wanted. This was be"ause in
"ase !
"ouldn1t finish the assignment$ he "ould easily #i"k u# where ! left off.;
;! don1t think !1ve had a large disagreement with my boss before$ but ! do remember a small
disagreement. ! re"eived an email from my boss telling me that he wants me to sto# the work !
was
doing on my #ro0e"t and give it to a "o6worker. +e wanted me to start on a new #ro0e"t
immediately. !
s#ent two and a half weeks on this #ro0e"t and ! only had three days left. ! really wanted to finish
this
and it didn1t make sense for me to hand this #ro0e"t off to someone else. Ao ! #ut some thought
into it$
went over to my boss1s offi"e$ and asked him why this #ro0e"t "ouldn1t wait three days. +e made
his
argument and ! still didn1t agree. We dis"ussed this for a while and we "om#romised by having
someone hel# me finish the #ro0e"t ! was working on so ! "an have some time to ki"k start the
ne/t
#ro0e"t. That1s the only e/#erien"e ! had with a disagreement$ but ! learned that it only takes
sim#le
dialog and a little "om#romise to over"ome a disagreement.;
! know this answer is long$ but all ty#es of Ptell me about1 4uestions are long. 5ou have to tell a
story in
the shortest way for them to understand while e/#laining the disagreement along with the
out"ome. !t1s
a huge 4uestion and it will take a long time to master Ptell me about1 4uestions. That is why you
should
diligent on these ty#es of 4uestions.
1'."What do #ou do when there is no work to do("
The interviewer wants to find out what ty#e of #erson you are. (re you a busy body looking for
work$
or are you a la)y #erson doing only the work that they tell you to do? This 4uestion will
determine 0ust
that so make sure you give them an answer showing your great work habits.
Short %nswers
;! always try to be #rodu"tive even if there isn1t mu"h work to do. ! use my time to find areas of
im#rovement within the offi"e$ take time to study new things that will hel# me on future #ro0e"ts$
and
volunteer to hel# other "oworkers that might have too mu"h work.;
;>sually when ! have nothing to do$ ! ask my manager if any of my #eers need hel#. !f not$ then !
usually s#end time studying material that will hel# me on my ne/t #ro0e"t.;
;(s a sales asso"iate$ there are many times when there is no work. :ut ! always stay busy by
"leaning
and rearranging the items !1m selling before "ustomers "ome in.;
;When ! have no dire"t work$ ! always find side #ro0e"t su"h as thinking about a #ro"ess of some
sort
that hel#s with offi"e effi"ien"y. Ine time$ ! "reated a small tool using 8A Word that hel#ed our
team
s#eed u# the mailing #ro"ess.;
&ong %nswer
;!1m a ty#e of #erson who hates not having work to do. !n my last #osition$ ! fre4uently asked my
su#ervisor for more work when ! finished early. (nd in times when there really is no work$ ! go
around
sear"hing for work and if !1m still unsu""essful$ !1ll try to make work that will make e/isting
#ro"esses
more effi"ient. Ao ! believe there never is a time when there is no work to do.;
Would you want a #erson like this? ! think most "om#anies will love an em#loyee who wants to
"ontinually work. Ao the e/am#le is the ty#e of answer you should give.
1)."What do #ou do when there are too !an# things to do("
When someone is busy$ it is im#ortant to take some time to organi)e and #rioriti)e the work.
8any
#eo#le 0ust try to work faster$ but that doesn1t really hel#. Llanning and working smarter is the
best
answer when times get busy.
Short %nswers
;! usually #lan$ organi)e$ #rioriti)e and then work real hard. ! always kee# my "ool and work on
one
item after another. ! found that this is effi"ient instead of worrying about how mu"h work there is
to
do.;
;! really like it when there is so mu"h work. !1m a fast and effi"ient worker and ! like taking
"hallenges
that are big. With #ro#er #lanning and e/e"ution$ ! have always managed to "om#lete all my
tasks.;
;! regain my "om#osure$ take a dee# breath$ and work diligently. !f there is a "han"e that ! might
not
finish something due to the si)e of the work item$ !1ll inform my manager and make sure my
manager
is aware of my situation.;
;! believe in hard work. ( lot "an get a""om#lished by working diligently. !n a situation where
there
are many things to do$ !1ll re#rioriti)e my work$ #lan and organi)e as mu"h as ! "an and work
hard.;
&ong %nswer
;@or me$ the busier it gets$ the more ! organi)e and #lan. Aome #eo#le might think ! "ould use the
time
! s#end in #lanning out my day to work on something$ but ! reali)ed how effi"ient ! "an work
when !
organi)e my work ahead of time and #lan out my day thoroughly. (lso$ it #revents me from
#ani"king
or from blowing u# from the #ressure. ! learned from my #revious manager that when there are
many
things to do$ you should work smarter instead of faster.;
5ou "an answer by saying that you will work harder or work faster or even work overtime$ but
#eo#le
with e/#erien"e knows that working smarter by #lanning and organi)ing "omes from e/#erien"e.
Ao
even if you don1t have mu"h e/#erien"e$ this ty#e of answer "an make you look like you have
been in
this ty#e of #osition many times and over"ame them.
1*."What do #ou do when #ou $eel "urned out("
!f you never burn out$ then you are either su#erman or you don1t work that hard. !t is ok to admit
to
burning out at times$ and you should #rovide an answer that shows how you deal with the times
when
you do get burned out.
Short %nswers
;! think it1s im#ortant to anti"i#ate being burned out before it ha##ens. :ut if a deadline re4uires
me to
work so mu"h that ! end u# being burned out$ ! try to rela/ myself and get reenergi)ed by not
thinking
about work at home and wat"hing a good movie.;
;When ! feel burned out$ ! go to the gym and work out. This a"tually hel#s me be"ause it moves
the
fo"us from my mind to my body. (fter a good work out$ ! really feel mentally re0uvenated.;
;! usually use the weekends to engage in my #ersonal hobbies to #revent me from burning out. !
like to
#lay tennis and golf$ and these a"tivities kee# me mentally energi)ed to work hard in the offi"e.;
&ong %nswer
;! try to #revent burning out by maintaining a healthy balan"ed life. ! try to engage in #ersonal
hobbies
outside of work su"h as #laying the guitar or going for a hike. They kee# me energi)ed to work
hard in
the offi"e. :ut if ! do feel burned out$ ! like to rent a movie and rela/ for the night.;
(s you "an tell$ this is an easy answer. 8any times a #erson who "onstantly works without a
break "an
eventually be"ome a bad em#loyee by burning out. :eing able to "ommuni"ate e/a"tly what you
do
during burnouts or how to #revent them indi"ates that you have balan"e. Ao sim#ly listing a
"ou#le of
hobbies and adding$ Pkee#s me energi)ed to work hard in the offi"e1 is a good enough answer that
the
interviewer will a""e#t.
1+."6ow do #ou !anage having so !an# things to do such as work. $a!il#. and school("
"6ow do #ou "alance "oth #our $a!il# and #our =o"("
This is another easy answer where you "an show your willingness to work hard. :ut it is unlikely
you
will get this 4uestion. 8ost of the time$ the interviewer will ask this during small talk. When
interviewing in (meri"a$ ! noti"ed there are many times where small talk is im#ortant. @or
e/am#le$
walking together to the offi"e "ould take two minutes. (re you going to say nothing during those
two minutes? What if the interviewer asks how your day is going? +e or she is basi"ally initiating
small
talk. Ao it is definitely #ossible you will engage in small talk$ and you should definitely #ra"ti"e
small
talk.
;With my kids in s"hool$ it1s really easy to manage my time. ! have the full day to myself and !
want to
be #rodu"tive by hel#ing a "om#any grow.;
;!1m very organi)ed and ! #lan everything ! do. This hel#s me to easily find a balan"e between
family
and work.;
;Well$ during the day while my kids are in s"hool$ ! like to work. (nd in the evenings we s#end
time
together doing homework. ! really en0oy being busy and managing multi#le things in my life.;
This is a short answer that shows the ability of multi6tasking. (lso$ a #erson who en0oys being
busy is a
good sign. Ao even if you re"eive 4uestions during small talk$ make sure to give answers that
show
good traits.
1,."Aou;ve "een with one co!pan# #our entire career. 5on;t #ou think #ou will have a
tough
ti!e ad=usting to a new environ!ent("
!f this is the "ase and you have been with only one "om#any your entire "areer$ then the best way
to
answer this 4uestion is to say how many "hanges you e/#erien"ed in your #revious #osition.
Then it
will sound like you are good with "hange and "an ada#t to new situations easily.
Short %nswers
;!n my "om#any$ my #ro0e"ts "hanged very fre4uently and ! was re4uired to ram# u# on new
te"hnologies. !1m also very friendly and like to meet new #eo#le. Ao ! think !1ll have an easy time
ad0usting to a new environment.;
;! a"tually like being in new environments. ! like to travel a lot and even when !1m in a different
"ountry$ ! have always blended in smoothly.;
;! don1t think it will be very diffi"ult. ! learned that this "om#any is very diverse and has a great
offi"e
environment. ! feel !1ll blend right in and make solid "ontributions to this "om#any.;
&ong %nswer
;(lthough !1ve been with one "om#any$ ! have e/#erien"ed many "hanges and new roles in my
"areer.
@or e/am#le$ during the middle of a long #ro0e"t$ the vi"e #resident sent out a grou# wide mail
"om#letely "hanging our dire"tion. We had to basi"ally start from s"rat"h with half the time left.
!t felt
like ! was a new em#loyee again having to ram# u# on new te"hnology$ reading u# on
instru"tional
do"umentation$ and learn new a##li"ations. Ao through my e/#erien"e dealing with "hange and
ad0usting to new #ro0e"ts$ ! am "onfident ! will not have a tough time ad0usting to this new
environment.;
Aaying this "onfidently is the key. !t1s not an im#ortant 4uestion$ but more like a 4uestion
verifying that
you are willing and "a#able of new things. :ut the more you "onvin"e them of your abilities to
"hange$
then the better you will a##ear.
1-."What have #ou heard a"out our co!pan# that #ou didn;t like("
This is an unusual 4uestion but 0ust in "ase you will need an answer. (fter resear"hing and you
find out
that everything is good$ you "an basi"ally say that you "ouldn1t find anything wrong. Try to mi/
in
humor if you "an sin"e this is an odd 4uestion. (lso$ take a moment to #retend to be thinking
about the
4uestion before answering immediately.
;@rom my resear"h$ ! didn1t find anything ! disliked. This "om#any #rovides great benefits$
works on
e/"iting #rodu"ts$ and is listed in the to# 1'' "om#anies to work for.;
;When ! sear"h for a 0ob$ ! always look for negative things. +owever$ ! didn1t find anything that !
didn1t like. That1s why !1m very e/"ited to have this o##ortunity to work here.;
;+mmm7 ! read u# on this "om#any thoroughly and even s#oke with a friend who works here. !
didn1t hear anything negative about (:3 3om#any. !s there something ! should know before
working
here?;
The last senten"e in the answer is a 4uestion you should say with a slight smile. That should
lighten the
tension a little and show that you are fully "onfident.
1/."5o #ou want to work $or a s!all or large co!pan# and wh#("
This all de#ends on what si)e "om#any you are interviewing for. >sually$ large "om#anies will
not ask
this 4uestion. :ut if they do$ make sure you mention you want to work for a large "om#any
be"ause of
the resour"es$ the training$ and other things you "an think of. 8ore likely$ a smaller "om#any will
ask
you this wondering why you would "hoose a small "om#any. The best way to answer this
4uestion is to
first think about what a small "om#any "an #rovide over a big "om#any. The most signifi"ant
advantage of working for a small "om#any is having the o##ortunity to work on a variety of
tasks.
;! want to work for a large "om#any be"ause there are different o##ortunities within the
"om#any. !
also feel a larger "om#any #rovides better training. @inally$ a larger "om#any already has key
#ro"esses
in #la"e to #rovide em#loyees tools to work effi"iently.;
;! worked for a small "om#any for a year and missed out on a lot of benefits a larger "om#any
#rovides
su"h as training$ stru"tured work environment$ and a wider variety of work. Ao ! want to work for
a
large "om#any.;
;! want to work for a small "om#any be"ause ! feel !1ll have more o##ortunities to gain valuable
e/#erien"e. ! know some friends in large "om#anies and they have s#e"ifi" roles that limit what
they1re
"a#able of doing. !1m ho#ing that a small "om#any will have more variety and "hallenges for
ea"h
em#loyee.;
This is #retty short but to the #oint. !t dis#lays wanting to learn and an eagerness to try a variety
of
things.
Working With People Interview Quetions
1."What do #ou do when #ou;re having di$$icult# solving a pro"le!("
There are many different ways to a##roa"h this answer. Ao there are many right answers. Just
remember to e/#lain yourself ste# by ste#.
Short %nswers
;! usually take a short break. ! found that this hel#s me think "learer and often times ! end u#
solving
the #roblem.;
;! break down the #roblem #ie"e by #ie"e and try and solve diffi"ult #roblems ste# by ste#. This
a##roa"h hel#s me not to get overwhelmed by diffi"ult #roblems.;
;! always do my best solving diffi"ult #roblems. !f ! have trouble$ !1ll use resour"es around me
su"h as
looking through the !nternet$ asking "o6workers$ asking my manager$ or looking through some
books.;
&ong %nswer
;There are "ou#le things ! do when !1m having a #roblem. Aometimes ! try to fo"us so hard that !
miss
a #oint that would hel# me solve the #roblem. Ao ! take a 2 minute break to hel# me a##roa"h the
#roblem in a different way. ! "ould either go get a drink of water$ or stand u# and move around. !
find
that this hel#s me at times. :ut if ! still "ontinue to have #roblems$ ! don1t mind asking a "o6
worker for
some assistan"e. ! believe in using all the resour"es around me and ! think "o6workers should use
me as
a resour"e as well.;
This answer first tries to solve the #roblem without bothering another #erson. :ut if everything
fails$ it
is ok to ask 4uestions to someone else.
'."What do #ou do when #ou have a pro"le! with a direct("
This is more of a 4uestion for management. There are multi#le ways you "an answer this$ but you
should show that you are res#onsible and that you know how to resolve these ty#es of #roblems.
Short %nswers
;! believe in o#en "ommuni"ation. ! always analy)e the #roblem and then tell my dire"t "learly. !
always #rovide ste#s that we both "an take to deal with the #roblem. This a##roa"h hel#s me
be"ause it
shows my res#e"t.;
;!n this situation$ ! believe "ommuni"ation is very im#ortant. !1ll usually have a meeting with my
dire"t
on the #roblems ! have. !t1s easier to work on a #roblem together when everyone involved is
aware$ so
! always "ommuni"ate the #roblems that ! see.;
;! believe feedba"k is im#ortant to solve #roblems with a dire"t. ! meet with my dire"ts regularly
and
always #rovide suggestions on how to im#rove. ! also use this time to work out #roblems we
might
have. !t1s im#ortant to let my dire"ts know where ! stand so they don1t have to make
assum#tions.;
&ong %nswer
;:e"ause !1m the manager$ ! feel it1s my res#onsibility to im#rove the relationshi#. !f the #roblem
is
work related$ !1ll narrow the #roblem down whether it1s with his working style or another ty#e of
#roblem and assist in anyway ! "an. This would also involve #roviding feedba"k and suggestions
on
how to a##roa"h #roblems. :ut if our #ersonality1s "onfli"t then ! would try to be more
understanding.;
)."What do #ou do when #ou have a pro"le! with #our "oss("
This 4uestion is a little easier for me be"ause ! haven1t had many dire"ts ! didn1t like. !t is easier
to tell
a manager your #roblems be"ause they are in a #osition where they should a""e#t listening to
your
#roblems. Ao in this "ase$ ! would answer it by showing some honesty trait.
Short %nswers
;!1m very o#en with my manager. ! feel it1s im#ortant that my manager knows about how ! feel. !
always start a "onversation and try and solve our differen"es through #rofessional "onversation.;
;When ! have a #roblem with my boss$ ! don1t like to kee# it bottled u#. ! want to resolve
#roblems so !
"an work effi"iently without distra"tions. Ao ! always talk to my manager about the #roblems that
!
have o#enly.;
;! deal with different ty#es of #eo#le very well$ but if ! have a #roblem that affe"ts my work$ !
will
o#enly tell my manager and the reason why it1s bothering me.;
&ong %nswer
;!1m a very honest and o#en #erson. Ao anytime ! have a #roblem with my boss$ ! always let him
or her
know. ! make a list of things that bother me. ! ask my boss for time to "hat and ! reveal these
#roblems
and the reasons for them. ! want to make sure !1m not being offensive or sound like !1m a""using
my
boss of anything.;
*."What do #ou do when #ou have a pro"le! with #our =o"("
Kobody likes to be working when there is a #roblem with the 0ob. 5ou "an hate it$ or you "ould
be too
busy and too tired. What ever the reason$ it is best to show that you will look for the #roblem and
take
measures to solve it.
;!n this situation$ ! ask my self why !1m having the #roblem. (fter identifying it$ ! work on
solving the
#roblems so ! "an be more effi"ient in my work.;
;!t de#ends on the s#e"ifi" #roblem$ but in most "ases$ !1ll fa"e the #roblem that ! have with my
0ob and
find a solution. !f ! avoid the #roblem$ it will always be there and my work 4uality will de"rease.
Ao !
Tong hC# bCi 8uaCbuon44Dyahoo."om 666666666 3hE" "F" bCn thGnh "Hng 666666666 26.'6.2''%
%
found that solving the #roblems immediately hel#s me in the long term.;
;!f ! have a #roblem that ! "an solve$ !1ll do everything ! "an to "orre"t it. !f the #roblem is out of
my
"ontrol$ ! feel it1s im#ortant to let my manager know what my #roblems are.;
;Whether !1m ha##y or unha##y$ !1ll always do my best work. !f the #roblem ! have with my 0ob
is
affe"ting the 4uality of my work$ !1ll identify the #roblem and then take ste#s to find solutions.;
+."What do #ou do when #ou have a pro"le! with a coBworker("
>sually when two "o6workers have a #roblem$ then they will 0ust hate ea"h other and try to be
better
than the other. 5ou "an1t say this be"ause it is the wrong way to handle it. ! would #robably not
deal
with the #roblem and hate the other #erson$ but that is not what ! would say in an interview. 5ou
"an
mention that you believe having to deal with a #roblem with a "o6worker is diffi"ult be"ause
"om#etitiveness "omes into fa"tor. (long with this statement$ follow u# with how you would try
to
look beyond that to make your relationshi# better.
Short %nswers
;!f ! have a #roblem with a "o6worker$ ! believe it1s so im#ortant to talk to them. <ven if !1m the
one
with the #roblem$ ! want to know so ! "an be a better team mate.;
;!f ! have a #roblem$ ! try to a##roa"h my "o6worker and let them know as #rofessionally as
#ossible. !f
!1m the one with the #roblem$ !1ll #olitely ask what ! "an do to im#rove the relationshi#. ! found
that
#ro#er "ommuni"ation solves many #roblems.;
;!1ve always been told that !1m a great #erson to work with$ but if ! were in a situation where !
was
having a #roblem$ ! believe ! would work on our relationshi# by being more understanding.;
&ong %nswer
;Well it all de#ends on if it1s a #ersonality "onfli"t or an issue that is "ausing the #roblem. (n
issue is
easy to deal with. ! think !1d go and talk with the "o6worker saying something like$ P!f you have
some
time$ ! think it will be good for us if we talk about this issue.1 Atarting a "onversation to deal with
the
#roblem with a "o6worker is the hardest ste#$ and if it1s done #ro#erly$ then the issue "an easily
be
resolved. !f it is a #ersonality issue$ then ! would try to be more understanding and at worst deal
with
the #roblem by anti"i#ating "onfli"ts ahead of time to #ut myself in a #osition to either avoid it or
to
make it less of a #roblem.;
This is showing answers by using s"enarios. !t is a solid answer but if you disagree$ feel free to
think of
a good s"enario that will fit you better.
,."6ow do #ou handle con$lict("
This is a general 4uestion. !t doesn1t ask if you are the one with the "onfli"t$ if it is a "onfli"t with
another #erson$ if it is a "onfli"t of s"hedule$ or if it is a "onfli"t with "hanges at work. !f you
want$ you
"an ask a 4uestion to "larify. :ut if you want to answer in a general way$ try to think of an answer
that
will work for all ty#es of "onfli"t.
Short %nswers
;! treat most "onfli"ts the same. ! analy)e the "onfli"t and "reate a list of ste#s ! "an take to
resolve it.
:y thinking about these ste#s and taking a"tion$ ! found that most "onfli"ts are easy to handle.;
;! handle "onfli"ts by analy)ing them. !1m a very analyti"al #erson and ! feel all #roblems have a
solution. ! usually think about the "onfli"t and find ways to deal with it.;
;Whenever !1m "onfronted with a "onfli"t$ ! always follow a sim#le #ro"ess. ! think about what
the
"urrent "onfli"t is$ think of several ways ! "an deal with this "onfli"t$ and then take the best a"tion
after
my analysis.;
&ong %nswer
;Whenever ! have a "onfli"t ! have to deal with$ ! like to follow a sim#le #ro"ess. ! first identify
the
#roblem "ausing the "onfli"t$ think about solutions or ideas that will solve the #roblem$ and then
try to
im#lement a solution. (lthough it1s very sim#le$ it makes sure that !1m not #ani"king$ losing my
tem#er or losing "ontrol of the situation. (nd it #revents me from rushing into a de"ision that
might
make the #roblem worse.;
This is an answer that "ould be a##lied to all ty#es of "onfli"ts. !t doesn1t state the e/a"t
situations of
ea"h "onfli"t$ but it does state why following a #ro"ess is good. The interviewer will not think
this is an
original idea. +owever$ the answer #rovides reasons why it hel#s. These reasons are the key to
the
answer and it shows that you are organi)ed and in "ontrol. This answer$ without the last senten"e
is 0ust
medio"re. :ut the last senten"e makes is very strong.
-."6ave #ou $ired an#one( %nd i$ so. wh#("
!f you fired someone before$ then that means you are a manager or hire. !f your answer is no$ then
this
is an easy 4uestion. :ut if you answer yes$ then you have to give a reason why. !f you say ! fired
one of
our em#loyees be"ause he or she "ouldn1t do the work #ro#erly$ then this is a regular answer that
will
not hel# you. ?arge "or#orations have a #ro"edure they follow to fire someone. !f you "an
in"or#orate
using the #ro"ess of firing into your own e/#erien"e$ then the answer will be stronger. +ere is an
e/am#le.
Short %nswers
;!1ve never had to fire anyone yet$ but if !1m in this situation$ ! would follow "om#any #oli"y and
do it
#rofessionally.;
;! had to fire one em#loyee who "ontinually failed to "om#lete #ro0e"ts. :efore firing this
em#loyee$ !
tried to work with him by motivating$ en"ouraging$ and even #roviding different work. !n the end$
nothing worked and ! had no "hoi"e but to let him go.;
;The only time ! had to fire someone was when an em#loyee was "ontinually late. We have a
"om#any
#oli"y of giving a verbal warning for the first three offenses$ and then a written warning after the
3rd
offense. ! had many dis"ussions about this #roblem with this em#loyee$ but it didn1t hel#. !n the
end$
we had to let him go.;
&ong %nswers
;When ! was a managing a grou# of 4 #eo#le in my last #osition$ ! unfortunately had to fire one
of
them. The #erson was unable to #erform at an a""e#table level for a long #eriod of time. Iur
"om#any
has a #ro"ess in #la"e of trying to grow our em#loyees$ em#ower them$ and hel# them find their
strengths$ but nothing hel#ed. ! #ut the #erson on #robation and e/#lained that he will have to try
harder. :ut after seeing bad #erforman"e due to a la"k of effort for a long time$ ! had to fire him.;
(nother a##roa"h to this 4uestion is to take a strong stan"e on #erforman"e. (s ! said before$ if
the
answer is different and "reative$ the interviewer will remember it more and that means they will
remember you more. Then your "han"es of getting the 0ob in"rease more than others. +ere is an
e/am#le of an answer that the interviewer will remember.
;Ih yeah$ ! fired a lot of #eo#le. (ll of the reasons were the same. They were not #erforming
their
0obs. ! believe in good management. ! believe ! should mentor and hel# grow our em#loyees. This
is a
business and we need to do whatever we "an to hel# our "om#any grow. Ine of the biggest
fa"tors on
the su""ess of a "om#any is having great em#loyees. Ao ! won1t hesitate to fire someone that isn1t
#erforming their 0ob. !t leaves more room to bring in someone who will benefit the "om#any.;
This is an answer ! would be willing to use. :ut before using this answer$ you must first look at
the
ty#e of #erson asking this 4uestion and determine if he or she will like it. !f the #erson is a strong
#erson that shows no emotion$ then it might be good. :ut if a #erson is very friendly$ then that
#erson
might not like it. <ven though it is a good answer$ a friendly #erson might not like it be"ause it
"ould
indi"ate that you are a "old #erson. :asi"ally friendly #eo#le don1t like "old #eo#le and if you
have to
work together$ they might not want to work with you. Ao be "areful on using this ty#e of answer.
/."What do #ou do when a worker is giving the tea! !ore pro"le!s then helping("
!f you have a lot of team work e/#erien"e$ you know that there are a lot of #eo#le like this. !t is a
fa"t
that some #eo#le a"tually slow down the work than hel# the work. That is why this is a good
4uestion
to ask. ( good em#loyee will know how to handle this situation. ( bad em#loyee will do all the
work
themselves. (lthough doing the work is good$ it doesn1t show that you "an deal with different
ty#es of
#eo#le.
Short %nswers
;! follow a #ro"ess of hel#ing my "oworker out in any way ! "an. This "an in"lude assistan"e in
their
#ortion of the work or by en"ouragement. !f that doesn1t work$ then we redistribute the work to
make
sure everything is "overed. ! believe it1s im#ortant to let my manager know of the #roblem as
well.;
;!f the #roblem is related to a diffi"ult task that a "oworker "annot solve$ then !1ll get all the team
members to hel# out. :ut if the #roblem is due to la)iness or unwillingness to work$ then !1ll
inform my
manager of the #roblem.;
;!t1s hard to deal with a worker that #uts in great effort but slows down the team. ! noti"ed it is
best to
ta"kle the #roblem early. Ine way ! found that was hel#ful was to be more firm. This way$ the
#ro0e"t
"ontinues to move forward without so many interru#tions due to small arguments.;
&ong %nswer
;!1ve been in this situation a "ou#le of times. Ine time$ we organi)ed and distributed easier work
to the
worker with #roblems. :ut this is only a short term solution. 8ost of the time$ ! end u# s#ending
a lot
of time hel#ing the #erson out. !t might have been 4ui"ker if the rest of the team members did all
the
work$ but ! figure hel#ing this #erson now will benefit us in our ne/t #ro0e"t. (lthough this
method
doesn1t work all the time$ ! really get e/"ited when it does work. Then ! know ! really hel#ed
another
#erson su""eed and this in turn hel#s the "om#any.;
This answer will also work if you leave out the last two senten"es. :ut ! in"luded the last two
senten"es
to em#hasi)e that hel#ing other #eo#le su""eed is really the truth instead of 0ust words. !f you
"hoose
the right way to say something$ it sounds mu"h more believable.
0."When do #ou know enough is enough when dealing with a su"ordinate that doesn;t see!
to "e
helping("
This is another good management 4uestion. The best way to answer this 4uestion is with a
#ro"edure in
mind. :asi"ally after you tried everything$ then enough is enough. :ut what e/a"tly is everything.
5ou
"an1t use everything be"ause that shows you really don1t know. !nstead of the word everything$
list out
all the ste#s so the interviewer believes you know what to do in this situation.
;! know enough is enough when !1ve e/hausted all measures to hel# this em#loyee grow. ! would
do
my #art by #roviding en"ouragement$ giving e/tra instru"tions$ mentoring$ and giving different
ty#es of
work. !f ! e/haust all of these ste#s$ then ! know ! "an1t do anything further and that is when
enough is
enough.;
11."5o #ou like to work "# #oursel$ or with others("
<ven if you have a strong #referen"e to work alone or with others$ the best answer is to say both.
<ven
if a 0ob is mostly about working alone$ there might be some team work involved. 8ost em#loyers
want
someone who "an work well in a team and work well alone.
;That1s a tough 4uestion7 ! like the "ombination of the two. !t1s great working in teams while
getting
and sharing ideas with ea"h other$ but it1s also ni"e to sit at your desk and work hard
#rodu"tively. !
like to do both so it1s hard to "hoose one over the other.;
!f they insist on "hoosing one$ then "hoose the one that is relevant to the 0ob you are interviewing
for.
8ake sure you #ause a little before saying so.
;!f ! had to "hoose 0ust one$ then7 !1d #robably "hoose to work alone.;
11.6ow do #ou get along:
This isn1t a very #o#ular 4uestion be"ause it1s hard to learn about the #erson answering. The
answers
are all going to be the same. !t1s 0ust a matter of how you say it. :e"ause there isn1t anything
e/"iting
to say here$ you should show friendly "hara"teristi"s so it is believable. These answers "an be
short. !t
really doesn1t matter how long the answer is but you have to make sure you show your
friendliness
through your voi"e.
;+ow do you get along with your subordinates?;
;8y relationshi# with my dire"ts is very good. They1re very o#en and honest with me and !1m
sure
they feel they "an "ome to me with any #roblems.;
;+ow do you get along with your "o6workers?;
;!1ve always had an easy time getting along with different ty#es of #eo#le. Ao ! never had a
#roblem
getting along with my "o6workers. ! "onsider many of them my friends.;
;+ow do you get along with your su#eriors?;
;!1ve had my share of great managers and medio"re managers$ but !1ve always gotten along with
all of
them very well. !1ve rarely had "onfli"ts with them and if there was an issue$ ! always talked it
over
with them.;
Miscellaneous Interview Questions
1."What do #ou do to sta# in shape("
Ataying in #hysi"al sha#e also hel#s the brain fun"tion better. !t really doesn1t matter if you are
"om#letely in sha#e or not. :ut being a"tive indi"ates that you are not a la)y "ou"h #otato.
;! like to take long walks with my dog on a regular basis$ and ! also go on weekly hikes at a trail
near
my house.;
;! work out at a gym a "ou#le times a week. ! like to stay a"tive.;
;! #lay for a "o6ed softball team. !t1s fun and it gives me a little e/er"ise.;
(ll these e/am#les will work. !t doesn1t have to be long but you should answer with something
that
indi"ates that you are a"tive.
'."What do #ou like to do when #ou;re not in the o$$ice("
This is another 4uestion where they want to find out some of your hobbies. :asi"ally$ you "an
answer
this 4uestion similar to how you would answer$ what are your hobbies.
;When !1m not in the offi"e$ ! like to #lay golf$ read maga)ines$ and s#end time with my wife.;
;Well$ ! like the #iano so ! have #iano lessons on a weekly basis. ! also like gardening$ so ! work
on my
yard a lot. :ut if ! want to rela/$ ! like to wat"h videos at night.;
Aomething short and sim#le is the best answer. Ko need to elaborate on why.
)."What;s the !ost recent "ook #ou read("
!f you are interviewing for a marketing #osition$ don1t say you are reading a book "alled
!nternational
8arketing Atrategies. Bather$ answer with a novel su"h as 8i"hael 3ri"hton books or John
2risham
books. !t is more realisti" and shows other interests that you have.
;! 0ust finished The Bunaway Jury by John 2risham. ! find all of his books very entertaining.;
;! have a strong interest in World War !!$ so ! was reading a book about +itler. !t1s 4uite
interesting to
see how he grew u# and what lead him to his hatred towards the Jews.;
Aomething sim#le like this will be good enough.
*."What is the !ost recent !ovie #ou saw("
5ou "an either answer by using a similar answer to the re"ent book 4uestion$ or you "an say that
you
don1t wat"h movies that mu"h.
;The last movie ! saw was The ?ast Aamurai. ! thought it was great.;
;Ih gosh7 it1s been a while sin"e !1ve seen a movie. ! think it was A#ider 8an. ! like to s#end
my
time outside$ so ! don1t see movies that often.;
:oth of these answers are fine. Whether you like to see movies or not$ 0ust tell them e/a"tly what
you
think. 5our answers will be more natural. !f you answer these ty#es of 4uestions awkwardly$ they
might get the im#ression that you are un"omfortable or that you are not "a#able of small talk. Ao
answer without thinking too mu"h about these 4uestions.
+."5id #ou have an# trou"le $inding this place("
This 4uestion is not an interview 4uestion$ but a 4uestion usually asked by an interviewer right
when
you see them. This is es#e"ially "ommon if the building lo"ation is hard to find. +ere is another
4uestion you should tell e/a"tly what ha##ened.
;Ko #roblem at all. ! "he"ked for dire"tions on the !nternet and found it #retty easily.;
;( little bit. ! didn1t reali)e that there was another building ba"k here$ so ! drove by a "ou#le
times$ but
that1s ok$ ! eventually found it.;
With the first answer$ they will say something like$ that1s good. Then they will move on to other
4uestions. !f you answer with the se"ond 4uestion$ they will #robably talk a little more about how
he or
she agrees that this building is hard to find. <ither answers are a""e#table.
,."Will working on weekends "e a pro"le!("
!f the interviewer is asking this 4uestion$ then this #osition is #robably going to re4uires some
weekend
work. 8aybe it1s not a lot$ but they want to make sure that if something goes wrong and more
work is
re4uired$ you will be able to work on weekends. ! re"ommend answer by saying it will not be a
#roblem. !f you want to find out how often you will have to work weekends$ you "an ask it after
answering the 4uestion.
;!t shouldn1t be a #roblem at all. ! fre4uently worked on weekends in my other #osition$
es#e"ially
during ta/ season. +ow often is weekend work re4uired here on average?;
This answer is stating that it is no #roblem. !t also su##orts the answer by saying ! have worked
on
weekends in my #revious grou#. (nd the last senten"e is an e/am#le how you "an ask them about
weekend work.
-."6ow do #ou $eel a"out overti!e("
!f this is an hourly 0ob$ then #ay is given to em#loyees working e/tra hours. !f it is a salary
#osition$
most of the time they will not ask this 4uestion be"ause they e/#e"t you to work overtime. :ut
e/#e"t
this #osition to have some overtime re4uirements if the interviewer is asking this 4uestion.
;! don1t mind working overtime at all. ! know during busy times #eo#le are e/#e"ted to work
more$ and
!1m fle/ible with my hours so ! won1t have a #roblem.;
/."6ave #ou $iled $or "ankruptc#("
This 4uestion is for #ositions that deal with finan"e and money. 5ou might see this 4uestion if
you are
interviewing for a banker #osition$ a finan"ial analyst #osition$ or a sto"k broker. !f money is a
fa"tor$
then they want someone who is res#onsible with money. Just sim#ly tell them the truth. !f you
have
filed for bankru#t"y$ then you #robably shouldn1t be a##lying for this 0ob anyway. Ao !1m going
to give
only one answer of no.
;Ko. !1m very res#onsible with money and ! have great "redit.;
0."5o #ou own or rent #our ho!e("
Benting or owning a home sometimes indi"ates your finan"ial status. Benters are usually #eo#le
who
do not have enough down #ayment for a house or #eo#le with bad "redit who "annot get a loan.
Ao it is
best to have your own home$ but if you don1t$ then give them an answer that shows you are
#re#aring
to buy a home.
;!1m "urrently renting$ but ! #lan on buying my own #la"e ne/t year.;
;!1m renting right now$ but !1ll #robably buy a house when ! get married.;
!f you own your house$ then a sim#le$ ;! own my house; will be a good enough answer.
11."5o #ou have an# outside inco!e("
This might be a 0ob interview 4uestion$ or it "ould be a 4uestion when you are talking to a
"reditor. !n
either "ase$ you "an sim#ly re#ly with a yes or no. !f it is a yes$ then briefly tell them the other
sour"e
of in"ome.
;! get #aid "hild su##ort from my e/6husband.;
;! have a rental #ro#erty.;
;Ko. ! do not.;
11."5o #ou earn an# inco!e $ro! invest!ents or ho""ies("
!f you are a"tive in the sto"k market$ then you "an mention something like that. (nother in"ome
from
investment is from your savings a""ount or mutual funds. Whatever it is$ sim#ly tell them what it
is.
;! have a savings a""ount that ! earn a little e/tra in"ome from.;
;! have some mutual funds that #erform about %M a year.;
;! have some investments in the sto"k market.;
1'."%re #ou a"le to !ake $re@uent "usiness trips("
"%re #ou willing to travel("
!f they are asking this$ then this #osition #robably re4uires some traveling. !f you say no$ then you
#robably won1t get hired be"ause they want someone who is able to travel. :ut de#ending on
your 0ob$
you will already know if it re4uires traveling or not.
;! know as an auditor that !1ll have to make business tri#s. Ao !1m definitely willing to travel.;
;! don1t have any #roblems with traveling.;
1)."%re #ou willing to relocate("
This is a tough 4uestion be"ause relo"ating means moving to a "om#letely new area. !t might be
ok to
answer with a no$ but ! would answer with a maybe. +ere is an e/am#le.
;! guess it would de#end on the lo"ation and the #ay. !f everything is the same$ ! would rather
stay here
be"ause this is where ! grew u#. :ut ! would be willing to "onsider it.;
This answer is not saying yes or no. This is saying maybe in a #olite way. *on1t answer with a
dire"t
maybe. That is bad. !nstead use something similar to my e/am#le. !f you are willing to relo"ate$ it
is an
easy answer.
;! love "hange and !1d definitely be willing to relo"ate.;
1*."Ma# I contact #our current e!plo#er("
This all de#ends on if your "urrent em#loyer knows that you are sear"hing for another 0ob. !f you
are
not em#loyeed$ they might ask if they "an "onta"t your former em#loyer. Begardless$ the best
answer is
to say yes. !f not$ then they will think you have something to hide.
;5es. *o you have their "onta"t information?;
1+."Ma# I contact #our re$erences("
The only "orre"t answer to this 4uestion is a yes. !f they have your referen"es$ then a sim#le yes
will be
enough. !f they do not$ then answer yes and offer them a list.
;Aure. (fter the interview$ ! "an email or fa/ you a list of referen"es. Will that be ok?;
1,."Is there an#thing else I should know("
"Is there an#thing else #ou want to add("
(dding one more senten"e to state one more thing never hurts. :ut "hoose "arefully be"ause it is
their
last im#ression of you. !f you felt you didn1t show that mu"h enthusiasm$ here is your "han"e. Ir
if you
feel that they didn1t ask you about one of your strong traits$ you have a "han"e to state it.
;! don1t know if ! e/#ressed it that well$ but !1m very e/"ited about this #osition. !1m "onfident
that !
"an do very well here.;
;Ine final trait that ! have that would be #erfe"t for this #osition is my organi)ational skills. !1m
very
detailed and #lan very well.;
1-."What kind o$ salar# are #ou looking $or("
"What pa# range are #ou looking $or("
There are a "ou#le of ways to answer this. !f you state a figure$ you risk stating something that is
too
high$ or something that is too low. <ither "ase$ you will not benefit from this 4uestion. ( lot of
#eo#le
suggest saying something like$ ;!1m sure whatever !1m offered will be a fair #ri"e.; :ut ! don1t
agree. !t
is a safe answer$ but if ! was the interviewer$ ! would a##re"iate numbers instead of a safe
answer. Ao !
re"ommend answering this 4uestion with a range. !1ll e/#lain this more in the negotiation #ortion$
but
0ust in "ase you ski# that se"tion$ here are some e/am#les.
;!1m e/#e"ting somewhere between O5'$''' 6 O6'$'''.;
!f you know the #ay for the #osition you are a##lying for. Then giving a figure is not that bad.
Just state
something a little higher with a small range in"luded
;! know that the average #ay for this #osition is roughly around O45$'''$ but be"ause ! have a
"ou#le
years more e/#erien"e$ ! would want something around O4%$''' to O5'$'''.;
!f the salary range is already in"luded in the 0ob des"ri#tion$ then you "an answer that you are
willing to
"onsider any offers stated in the 0ob des"ri#tion.
;The 0ob des"ri#tion says that the salary will be around O45$''' to O53$'''. ! think it1s a fair
range.;
1/."hat;s a high salar# $or this positionC Where did #ou co!e up with that $igure("
!f you said a figure that was too high$ you might here this 4uestion from the interviewer. This is
not
good be"ause they would only ask this if the figure you stated was too high. Ao ! would first
0ustify the
larger figure and e/#lain that would "onsider a little less.
;! have three more years of e/#erien"e that will hel# a lot. ! also have a "ollege degree that is not
stated
as a re4uirement. :ut if the figure is too high$ ! would "onsider something a little less.;
10."6ow !uch do #ou currentl# get paid("
! don1t think you "an lie about this 4uestion. !t1s easy to find out the truth. ! would re"ommend
saying
e/a"tly how mu"h you made.
;! was #aid O5'$''' a year #lus an %M bonus.;
;! re"eived O2.5' an hour at my last #osition.;
'1."When are #ou a"le to start("
!f you are not working$ then you are able to start immediately. :ut saying immediately sounds too
des#erate so tell them ne/t 8onday or something. !f you are "urrently em#loyed$ then you have
to show that you are res#onsible by giving your "urrent em#loyer a two week noti"e.
;!1ll be able to start as early as ne/t 8onday.;
;! have to give my "urrent em#loyer a two week noti"e so ! "ould start immediately after that.;
'1."%re #ou considering an# other o$$ers right now("
This 4uestion is not asking if you got an offer or not. !t is asking if you are "onsidering it.
Begardless$
you "an tell them the truth.
;!1m not "onsidering any of my offers right now.;
;! was "onsidering an offer ! re"eived last week$ but ! don1t think ! will be a""e#ting that
#osition.;
;!1m thinking about an offer ! have$ but ! want to kee# my o#tions o#en.;
''.%sking Questions
8ost of the time$ the #erson interviewing you will ask if you have any 4uestions. !t is im#ortant
that
you ask intelligent and relevant 4uestions. 8ake sure you #re#are some 4uestions before you
interview
so you "an learn more about the "om#any and the #osition. +ere is a small list of 4uestions you
"an
ask. @eel free to "reate more of your own.
;*o you have any 4uestions?;
;*oes this 0ob usually lead to other #ositions at the "om#any?;
;Tell me some of the skills that you want in a "andidate for this #osition.;
;What are the #eo#le !1ll be working with like?;
;What do you like the most about this "om#any and why?;
;+ow is this "om#any doing in "om#arison with "om#etitors?;
;! know of #rodu"ts / and y$ does the "om#any #lan to introdu"e any new #rodu"ts?;
;What is the "om#any doing to maintain its market strength?;
;+ow many em#loyees work for this "om#any?;
;What has been the "om#any1s layoff history in re"ent years?;
;*o you know of any anti"i#ated "utba"ks in any de#artments in the near future?;
;What ma0or #roblems has the "om#any re"ently fa"ed?;
;What ty#e of training do you #rovide here?;
;What do you like best about this "om#any?;
;What #osition title will ! be re#orting to?;
;What other de#artments does this de#artment work "losely with?;
;What kind of training should ! e/#e"t?;
;+ow long is the training #rogram?;
;+ow did this #osition be"ome available?;
;!s a written 0ob des"ri#tion available?;
;Llease des"ribe a ty#i"al day for this #osition.;
;+ow long has this #osition been available?;
;+ow many "andidates have you interviewed for this #osition?;
;+ow many total "andidates will you be interviewing for this #osition?;
;*o you interview a large number of #eo#le before making an offer to a #erson$ or do you make
an offer to the first #erson who is 4ualified?;
;What ty#e of hardware and software will ! be working with?;
;What will my workstation be like? Will it be an offi"e$ a "ubi"le$ or a desk?;
;What o##ortunities for advan"ement are available here?;