Answering Interview Questions

- Abhilash Abraham

(Abhi)

What is an interview?

It’s your opportunity to tell an

employer what you’ve accomplished

in the past and how you’ll help them

in the future

What Are the Most Valued Competencies Hiring Managers look in

suitable candidates?

• Flexibility. The ability to change, sometimes quickly, from one set of job

duties to another, or from one team to another or to working extra or different

hours.

• Adaptability. The ability to tolerate and maximize the potential of large

organizational shifts such as mergers or layoffs. Also, the ability to adjust to

new leadership and management—to change departments, divisions,

locations,

or job titles.

• Problem-solving skills. The ability to self-correct. Having the tendency to

tackle problems independently and with a minimum of supervision. Having the

ability to tolerate frustration and/or failure until the solution to the problem

is found. Maintaining persistence despite ambiguous or incomplete information

and perseverance despite initial failure or frustration.

• Interpersonal communication. The ability to communicate in a way that is

appropriate to company culture as well as individual preferences, with

empathy, clarity, and good listening behaviors. Having the ability to give

feedback and having sensitivity to multicultural preferences in communication

style. Being technologically literate and able to utilize the latest forms of written

and electronic communication.

• Ability and willingness to learn. A willingness to attend professional

development workshops and seminars. The ability to self-correct and alter

one’s own behavior. Having a propensity to pursue outside sources of formal

5 Types of Interview Questions

Straightforward Questions

Questions behind questions

Stress questions

Questions you ask the

employer

Illegal questions

Straightforward Questions

50% of interview questions are

straightforward

Designed to assess whether

you possess the kinds of skills,

and to what degree you are in

command of those skills, that

the job requires

Your skills arsenal + Q

statements

QUESTION:

Why do you think you are a good fit for this position?

or

Why should we hire you?

Very brief synopsis of your background

Research about the company

It’s a “positioning statement” since it positions you for the rest of interview

ANSWER: I believe that my management, budgeting, and purchasing skills

matches exactly with the position and would benefit the company. In my

last company, I initiated a new procedure for purchasing materials that

ended up in a 37 percent decrease in annual materials. That’s what I’d

like to do for your company.

I also believe that my skills would be an ideal match for an organization

like…., which is …….

2) What are some of your strengths?

ANSWER: My strengths are my negotiating, training, and

marketing skills. An example of my training ability is a

project for which I trained a group of 16 new employees

for the help desk, and they were able to function 20

percent faster than their predecessors.

Let’s look at a different question of this type:

QUESTION: What would your last boss say about you?

ANSWER: I believe she would say I’m innovative,

dependable, and professional. An example of my ability

to innovate is that wrote an award-winning software

program for training new employees.

QUESTION: What accomplishments are you most proud

of?

ANSWER: I’m most proud of producing, writing,

and directing my own documentary, of winning

a citywide triathlon, and of producing a show

for CBS television.

When I produced a movie-of the-week for CBS,

I was able to cut 3 days out of the production

schedule, saving the company over $650,000.

Questions behind questions

QUESTION: What do you think you’ll be doing 5 years from now?

or

What is your long term career goals?

Questions behind question

1. Are you going to stay at the company for a

while so that the time it takes to orient and

train you yields a return on our investment,

or are you here just for a short stay?

2. If I hire you, are you going to try to take my

job?

ANSWER A: I’d like to be the vice president of

Human Resources in 5 years.

ANSWER B: I would really like to make just

enough money here to be able to buy a plane

ticket to Hawaii and pay my first and last

month’s rent.

ANSWER C: My goal is to grow and learn

more as a professional in this organization

QUESTION: Why did you apply for this job?

or

What do you know about this company?

The question behind the question is

“Did you just stumble upon our company, or did you put some thought and effort into making a choice to work with us? Have you done your homework?”

ANSWER A: I was just looking through the

newspaper, and I came across this one.

ANSWER B: I have been targeting my job search

toward major companies in the software industry. I

came across yours on the Internet and decided to

research it a bit further. According to your Web site,

you’ve introduced several new product lines in the

past few years. I was impressed by your track record

and wanted to find out more.

ANSWER C: I heard about it from a friend.

QUESTION: Why did you leave

your last job?

The question behind the question is..

The real fear behind this question is

that you may have been fired or that

you are just changing jobs on a whim,

only for the money, or that you are a

“job hopper.”

ANSWER A: I became aware that there were

some excellent new opportunities in the field of

biotechnology. I really wanted to expand my

professional growth by finding out more about

them. This company, judging by your Web site,

seems like it would have some interesting

opportunities.

ANSWER B: I felt pretty bored at my last job, so I

just wanted something more stimulating.

ANSWER C: My last boss and I really didn’t see

eye to eye. He wouldn’t give me a raise no

matter how many times I tried to get one.

Stress Questions

The object of a stress question is

not to gain information from the

content of your answer.

Stress questions are designed to

gain information about how you

behave under stress.

What was your greatest failure?

ANSWER: Perhaps my greatest failure

was not going to college right after

graduating from high school. Anyway, I

waited until I got a few years of work

under my belt and then I got a degree

in physics, with highest honors. I

guess it didn’t turn out so badly.

What is your greatest

weakness?“I am at times late for work and I tend to

work late”

Answer : I’ve been told a few times that

I’m just too much of a perfectionist. Yes,

it’s true. I do make it a practice of

checking my work at least once or twice

to make sure that it’s absolutely

accurate.

Questions to ask the

employer1.) What exactly would my day to day

responsibilities be?

2.) Can you describe a typical week or month

in the job?

3.) What are the key objectives for the job

holder over the next three months?

4) What are the training and development

opportunities?

5) What is the next step in the process?

6) May I have your business card?

Illegal Questions

95% of interviewers will not ask you illegal

questions.

You have a legal right not to discuss the

following issues:

1) Marital status

2) Number of children

3) Arrest record

4) Physical or mental disabilities

5) Race, religion, sexual preference, or

ethnicity

How to handle an illegal

question?ANSWER A: I’m not sure how my

marital status would have any bearing

on my ability to carry out my job

responsibilities.

Could you please clarify that for me?

Or . . .

ANSWER A: Does my race have

something to do with the job

description? I don’t think I understand

the question.

QUESTION: Do you have any physical

condition that would prevent you from

doing this job?

“Do you have a

disability?”