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Job Hunter Newsletter Ten Tough Interview Questions and Ten Great Answers (Part 1)Disclaimer: please note that all of the links were active as of the newsletter publication, but some may become inactive over time. Previous |
View 2007 Newsletters | -------------------- IN THIS ISSUE:
-------------------- - Job Search Tip of the Week, by Brian Krueger, author of "College Grad Job Hunter," the #1 book for entry level job search: "Ten Tough Interview Questions and Ten Great Answers (Part 1)" Mental fear of the unknown is often what produces the physical symptoms of nervousness. In addition to preparing yourself physically, you need to prepare yourself mentally. The best way to prepare mentally is to know what may be coming. Fear of the unknown can only exist when there is an unknown. Take the time to understand some of the "standards" when it comes to interviewing questions. The following are some of the most difficult questions you will face in the course of your job interviews. Some questions may seem rather simple on the surface--such as "Tell me about yourself"--but these questions can have a variety of answers. The more open ended the question, the wider the variation in the answers. Once you have become practiced in your interviewing skills, you will find that you can use almost any question as a launching pad for a particular topic or compelling story. Others are classic interview questions, such as "What is your greatest weakness?" Questions most people answer improperly. In this case, the standard textbook answer for the "greatest weakness" question is to provide a veiled positive such as: "I work too much. I just work and work and work." Wrong. Either you are lying or, worse yet, you are telling the truth, in which case you define working too much as a weakness and really do not want to work much at all. The following answers are provided to give you a new perspective on how to answer tough interview questions. They are not there for you to lift from the page and insert into your next interview. They are provided for you to use as the basic structure for formulating your own answers. While the specifics of each reply may not apply to you, try to follow the basic structure of the answer from the perspective of the interviewer. Answer the questions behaviorally, with specific examples that show that clear evidence backs up what you are saying about yourself. Always provide information that shows you want to become the very best _____ for the company and that you have specifically prepared yourself to become exactly that. They want to be sold. They are waiting to be sold. Don't disappoint them! 1. Tell me about yourself. Wrong. What the hiring manager really wants is a quick, two- to three-minute snapshot of who you are and why you're the best candidate for this position. So as you answer this question, talk about what you've done to prepare yourself to be the very best candidate for the position. Use an example or two to back it up. Then ask if they would like more details. If they do, keep giving them example after example of your background and experience. Always point back to an example when you have the opportunity. "Tell me about yourself" does not mean tell me everything. Just tell me what makes you the best. 2. Why should I hire you? For example: "You should hire me because I'm the best person for the job. I realize that there are likely other candidates who also have the ability to do this job. Yet I bring an additional quality that makes me the best person for the job--my passion for excellence. I am passionately committed to producing truly world class results. For example . . ." Are you the best person for the job? Show it by your passionate examples. 3. What is your long-range objective? Make my job easy for me. Make
me want to hire you. For example: "Within five years, I would like to become the very best accountant your company has on staff. I want to work toward becoming the expert that others rely upon. And in doing so, I feel I'll be fully prepared to take on any greater responsibilities which might be presented in the long term. For example, here is what I'm presently doing to prepare myself . . ." Then go on to show by your examples what you are doing to reach your goals and objectives. 4. How has your education prepared you for your career? An example: "My education has focused on not only the learning the fundamentals, but also on the practical application of the information learned within those classes. For example, I played a lead role in a class project where we gathered and analyzed best practice data from this industry. Let me tell you more about the results . . ." Focus on behavioral examples supporting the key competencies for the career. Then ask if they would like to hear more examples. 5. Are you a team player? A sample answer: "Yes, I'm very much a team player. In fact, I've had opportunities in my work, school and athletics to develop my skills as a team player. For example, on a recent project . . ." Emphasize teamwork behavioral examples and focus on your openness to diversity of backgrounds. Talk about the strength of the team above the individual. And note that this question may be used as a lead in to questions around how you handle conflict within a team, so be prepared. Stay tuned next week for the next five questions and answers! Next newsletter: "Ten Tough Interview Questions and Ten Great Answers (Part 2)" -------------------- - Help Spread The Word! Do you know of someone who can benefit from the information in this newsletter? Simply forward this e-mail to them and tell them to subscribe at http://www.CollegeGrad.com/newsletter. Thanks for spreading the good word! -------------------- Job Search Links:
-------------------- - Job Search Book Online There are at least two other entry level Web sites that offer books on job searching, proclaming that they will tell you everything you need to know about entry level job search. However, there is a very important point about these books they don't mention up front: they cost money. At CollegeGrad.com, we give you two things they don't: 1. The #1 entry level job search book ("College Grad Job Hunter"). It's that simple. So don't buy the hype. Read the real information you need for FREE: http://www.CollegeGrad.com/book Don't ever pay for books or reports or resources of lower quality when you can access the very best quality information for free. P.S. Yes, you can buy "College Grad Job Hunter" in hardcopy format as well at Amazon.com for $15 (actually, 30% off that price), but the online version is better. Why? Because the version at Amazon.com (the 2003 edition) is being continually updated at CollegeGrad.com. So the most current version of the book is actually the online, free version. Previous |
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