|
by Eric Celidonio
When answering interviewing questions, what you
don't say and how you act can be as telling as the answers you provide. An
adept interviewer is looking at your body language and behavior as much as the
answer you give. Accordingly, you can answer questions "correctly" but
if you're looking at your shoes and mumbling your chances of getting the
position are as good as if you gave wrong answers. Interview questions
must be answered using the three c's: clear, concise and careful. Although these
adjectives might seem to be obvious in terms of answering, you won't know if you
are hitting them until you practice- be it on a bungled interview or on a
trusted colleague or friend.
You may think you are being clear and concise but
the eyes of an interviewer can be more discerning than your own. Being careful
isn't as easy to illustrate.
It entails using good judgment and common sense knowing what to say and when. Be choosy about
your word selection and the information you provide; the same goes for
non-verbal communication laughing, twitching your leg, picking your nose and so
on.
It is important to note that, generally
speaking your interviewer
wants you to make a mistake. S/he wants to "weed" you out so
ultimately, the most appropriate candidate can be identified. The theory is that
if you slip up during the interview you're bound to slip up on the job. You
can increase your odds by being prepared
and by adapting to your interviewers
style. Know your resume inside and out--any question regarding your resume is
very fair game. You should know as much about the company (and the people with
whom you are interviewing) as possible. This
will not only answer your obvious questions but more importantly, it will give
you the basis to ask intelligent questions that might decide whether you want to
work with a given prospective employer. Remember you are interviewing the
company as much as it is interviewing you.
Some Common interview Questions:
- Tell me about yourself.
- What sort of job are you looking for?
- Are you ready for a job like this?
- You have changed jobs frequently. Why?
- Why do you want to work here?
- How can you add to our company?
- What motivates you?
- How long would you stay with us?
- What do you do for fun?
- What are your goals? Long term? Short Term?
- Where do you live? Will you relocate?
- What are you looking for in a job?
- Why should we hire you?
- Do you work well under pressure?
- What are you worth?
- What are your biggest accomplishments thus far in
your career?
- What is your greatest strength? weakness?
- What is the most difficult situation you were in? How
did you handle it?
- How do you work as part of a team?
- Do you plan on going back to school?
- Do you know (put a name here) from you last position?
Before you finish writing down all your answers, keep in
mind that there is nothing worse than some canned-ham response that sounds like
you memorized your part in the school play. Even though you will undoubtedly see
many of these questions pop up in a given interview, many an interview has
been conducted with off the wall questions that an interviewer might ask
impulsively. "Hey did you see the game last night?" "Tell me
what you know about clinical trials management?", "What was the last book you
read?" "What type of music do you like?" "I was once asked
if I knew how to fix a paper jam on a printer!?" I guess the point is you
really have to know who you are and why you are there. That takes some soul
searching and you really have to internalize your answers to sound genuine.
Suffice it to say, these questions are all baited.
Be ready to defend your answer even if it is right. If you don't know the
answer to the question don't try to fudge it, "I don't know" is a perfectly
valid answer. It denotes honesty and straightforwardness even if it may
disqualify you. The bottom line is that
the interviewer
wants to see how you'll fit in and whether s/he likes you and, oh yeah, whether
you have the skills for the position. Reccommended Reading :
Contact Eric
Celidonio
|
