Job Interview Questions and Answers
1. Tell Me Something About Yourself
Now, this is a golden classic used at the start of interviews to break the ice and to get you to give them a good initial run down of who you are and your "hidden" characteristics, demonstrated in the way you present this self-story.
You should prepare a 2 to 3 minute presentation that briefly introduces your self (where you're from), your personal interests (hobbies, community involvement etc), your work history, and recent career experience. The most time should be spent on the accomplishments in the last two areas.
Interviewers look out for three things:
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1. Tell Me Something About Yourself
Now, this is a golden classic used at the start of interviews to break the ice and to get you to give them a good initial run down of who you are and your "hidden" characteristics, demonstrated in the way you present this self-story.
You should prepare a 2 to 3 minute presentation that briefly introduces your self (where you're from), your personal interests (hobbies, community involvement etc), your work history, and recent career experience. The most time should be spent on the accomplishments in the last two areas.
Interviewers look out for three things:
- If you are able to give a brief, sequential summary of your life and career that relates to the job for which you're interviewing. Don't ramble on aimlessly on irrelevant nitty gritty details though. If you find yourself at the 5 minute mark talking about your high school days, you are WAY off the mark!
- Your conversational style, your confidence level, your ability to organize and present information.
- An idea of the person your are behind the suit.
2. Why Do You Want To Join This Company?
OK, now they want to know your motivations for joining the company. And this is usually where they can read between the lines in your answer, so think carefully when answering.
First, do your research on the company, its culture and market. Not enough job seekers do enough or ANY of this which is a real no-no! Make sure you understand who you are being interviewed by.
Second, DON'T give answers such as "Oh, because its such a cool place to work!", "I like your salary and benefits package," or "My friends are already there and it makes it easier for us to hang out together." OK, so maybe I exaggerate a little bit, but you should get the picture.
These answers seem "give-me" oriented and do not show the interviewer how your skills and experience deliver what the company needs.
Third, DO demonstrate to them how you can contribute to the company's goals and how your skills and experience match their requirements. Use concrete examples as if you were already working there.
OK, now they want to know your motivations for joining the company. And this is usually where they can read between the lines in your answer, so think carefully when answering.
First, do your research on the company, its culture and market. Not enough job seekers do enough or ANY of this which is a real no-no! Make sure you understand who you are being interviewed by.
Second, DON'T give answers such as "Oh, because its such a cool place to work!", "I like your salary and benefits package," or "My friends are already there and it makes it easier for us to hang out together." OK, so maybe I exaggerate a little bit, but you should get the picture.
These answers seem "give-me" oriented and do not show the interviewer how your skills and experience deliver what the company needs.
Third, DO demonstrate to them how you can contribute to the company's goals and how your skills and experience match their requirements. Use concrete examples as if you were already working there.
Let's say you are going for an interview tomorrow. You have prepared yourself well for the occasion - anticipating the questions and getting ready the answers - but have you given a thought to what you will wear?
If you have not peeked into your wardrobe yet, it's time to take a real hard look now. Your application's fate depends not just on how well you answer the interview questions, but also on how well you project yourself physically.
The first impression your interviewer makes about you is based on the way you look, and you know what they say about first impressions. The right dressing is a measure of the seriousness that you place on the position, as a person normally spends time on his looks if he considers an event important enough.
Trying to prove your mettle during a 30-minute interview is hard enough as we well know. Trying to achieve the same effect over a 30 minute telephone interview is another ballgame altogether.
The advantages you can leverage through a freshly pressed suit, a brilliant Colgate smile or a firm handshake are no longer available. You are now challenged to convey the very same effects via the tone of your voice, content of your speech and the cadence of your answers. No mean feat.
Having the opportunity to carry out a considerable number of tele-interviews over the past few weeks, a number of glaring interview mistakes came to my attention as I attempted to screen for successful candidates. This is my advice…
A candidate is successful in job interview if he can convince the interviewer that he is more capable of doing the job than any other candidates. Unless a candidate has established personal networks with the company, a job is usually offered based on the assessment of the candidate's performance during the interview. This assessment places great pressure, both mentally and emotionally, on the candidate who needs the job desperately.
What then, are the criteria for selection in this process?
Successful candidates often manage to select key items from their own experience which show that they can do the job, and will do it better than any of the other candidates. They are the ones who project themselves into the job by asking the right questions, knowing the problems faced in that position, and even offering the solutions to such problems.
Successful interviewers, on the other hand, conduct an interview to find the right applicant to fill a particular job vacancy. They are not trying to trick or trap the candidates, nor are they going to penalize or find fault with the candidates. In fact, they are most relieved if the candidate can convince them that he or she is the right person for the job.
In most interviews, knowing what the interviewer is looking for means you have won half of the battle. The other half of the battle: be prepared to show your knowledge about the organization, ask tactful questions about the job, and give a good impression that you can do better than others, if you are offered the job.
The interviewer has two methods of judging your suitability for the job. First, by questioning you and evaluating the things about you and your experience, based on what you tell him. Second, by observing person-to-person how you handle the interview.
Dos and don'ts during job interviews:
Dos
Dos
- Be specialized in an occupational field and have work experience in that field.
- Be precise and accurate when describing the nature of your previous job(s), use technical terms and statistical figures as much as possible.
- Be honest with your work history, personal profile and especially your salary.
- Be multilingual, take up foreign language proficiency courses.
- Do not hop from one job to another frequently without good reasons.
- Do not badmouth about your previous boss or company.
- Do not judge a job only by the pay it offers.
- Do not hesitate to work for long hours.
Interview Tips – How do you beat the competition?
You Have 10 Brown Eggs, But Which Makes the Best Ommelette?
The interview is basically a tool used by employers/HR managers to select the right candidate for the right position. Now, it seems pretty simple, but the mechanics behind the process lends more than the eye can see. Most employers will start the recruitment process by using objective minimum requirements - i.e. skill, education, experience, expected salary etc. - to shortlist the candidates down to a manageable number out of the confusion of applications.
So how do they pick from say, 10 equal candidates who match up to the minimum requirements mentioned above? Even if you hit a match of 5 out of 5 for job requirements, someone else may get the job instead of you.
And so your intrigue rises. This is where the interview steps in to siphon out those more suitable based on "touchy feely" emotional aspects of the candidate.
Let's Get Touchy Feely, Shall We?
The emotional aspects being selected in the interview are generally as follows: initial impression, management potential, motivation/enthusiasm, personal chemistry, and competence.
Initial Impression:
Making the right first impression on your interviewer is vital to setting the scene for the rest of the interview. Humans naturally make a judgement about another by the way they look, act, speak etc. So the first few minutes in the interview are crucial to get across your nonverbal factors such as: vocal quality, body posture, eye contact, and facial expressions. Project self-confidence, professionalism, and eager interest in the company through your actions and demeanor, and you will make an effective initial impression.
Management Potential:
Employers hire people with potential to advance in the company as they usually prefer to grow their own management team. They look for people who have the capacity to take on more responsibilities, lead their team members and manage projects. Typically, this evaluation is based on a gut feel and the onus falls on you to point out relevant experiences that indicate your potential to adapt to a changing environment and growing roles.
You Have 10 Brown Eggs, But Which Makes the Best Ommelette?
The interview is basically a tool used by employers/HR managers to select the right candidate for the right position. Now, it seems pretty simple, but the mechanics behind the process lends more than the eye can see. Most employers will start the recruitment process by using objective minimum requirements - i.e. skill, education, experience, expected salary etc. - to shortlist the candidates down to a manageable number out of the confusion of applications.
So how do they pick from say, 10 equal candidates who match up to the minimum requirements mentioned above? Even if you hit a match of 5 out of 5 for job requirements, someone else may get the job instead of you.
And so your intrigue rises. This is where the interview steps in to siphon out those more suitable based on "touchy feely" emotional aspects of the candidate.
Let's Get Touchy Feely, Shall We?
The emotional aspects being selected in the interview are generally as follows: initial impression, management potential, motivation/enthusiasm, personal chemistry, and competence.
Initial Impression:
Making the right first impression on your interviewer is vital to setting the scene for the rest of the interview. Humans naturally make a judgement about another by the way they look, act, speak etc. So the first few minutes in the interview are crucial to get across your nonverbal factors such as: vocal quality, body posture, eye contact, and facial expressions. Project self-confidence, professionalism, and eager interest in the company through your actions and demeanor, and you will make an effective initial impression.
Management Potential:
Employers hire people with potential to advance in the company as they usually prefer to grow their own management team. They look for people who have the capacity to take on more responsibilities, lead their team members and manage projects. Typically, this evaluation is based on a gut feel and the onus falls on you to point out relevant experiences that indicate your potential to adapt to a changing environment and growing roles.
Job Interview Questions and Answers
1. Tell Me Something About Yourself
Now, this is a golden classic used at the start of interviews to break the ice and to get you to give them a good initial run down of who you are and your "hidden" characteristics, demonstrated in the way you present this self-story.
You should prepare a 2 to 3 minute presentation that briefly introduces your self (where you're from), your personal interests (hobbies, community involvement etc), your work history, and recent career experience. The most time should be spent on the accomplishments in the last two areas.
Interviewers look out for three things:
1. Tell Me Something About Yourself
Now, this is a golden classic used at the start of interviews to break the ice and to get you to give them a good initial run down of who you are and your "hidden" characteristics, demonstrated in the way you present this self-story.
You should prepare a 2 to 3 minute presentation that briefly introduces your self (where you're from), your personal interests (hobbies, community involvement etc), your work history, and recent career experience. The most time should be spent on the accomplishments in the last two areas.
Interviewers look out for three things:
- If you are able to give a brief, sequential summary of your life and career that relates to the job for which you're interviewing. Don't ramble on aimlessly on irrelevant nitty gritty details though. If you find yourself at the 5 minute mark talking about your high school days, you are WAY off the mark!
- Your conversational style, your confidence level, your ability to organize and present information.
- An idea of the person your are behind the suit.
2. Why Do You Want To Join This Company?
OK, now they want to know your motivations for joining the company. And this is usually where they can read between the lines in your answer, so think carefully when answering.
First, do your research on the company, its culture and market. Not enough job seekers do enough or ANY of this which is a real no-no! Make sure you understand who you are being interviewed by.
Second, DON'T give answers such as "Oh, because its such a cool place to work!", "I like your salary and benefits package," or "My friends are already there and it makes it easier for us to hang out together." OK, so maybe I exaggerate a little bit, but you should get the picture.
These answers seem "give-me" oriented and do not show the interviewer how your skills and experience deliver what the company needs.
OK, now they want to know your motivations for joining the company. And this is usually where they can read between the lines in your answer, so think carefully when answering.
First, do your research on the company, its culture and market. Not enough job seekers do enough or ANY of this which is a real no-no! Make sure you understand who you are being interviewed by.
Second, DON'T give answers such as "Oh, because its such a cool place to work!", "I like your salary and benefits package," or "My friends are already there and it makes it easier for us to hang out together." OK, so maybe I exaggerate a little bit, but you should get the picture.
These answers seem "give-me" oriented and do not show the interviewer how your skills and experience deliver what the company needs.
Interview Questions – Managing Bad Interview Questions
Who has not felt nervous during an interview? Sometimes an applicant can become so anxious about giving the right answer that he does not realize that he is being asked the wrong question.
Illegal interview questions are queries that a person may refuse to answer as they violate his rights as an applicant. In fact, in the United States, some states allow a person to sue an interviewer for asking such questions.
But with jobs scarce to come by on the local market, it may be more prudent to think of how best to answer brash questions than to reject them outright. It may be that these “unethical” questions are being asked to determine if an applicant meets specific requirements for the position.
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Illegal interview questions are queries that a person may refuse to answer as they violate his rights as an applicant. In fact, in the United States, some states allow a person to sue an interviewer for asking such questions.
But with jobs scarce to come by on the local market, it may be more prudent to think of how best to answer brash questions than to reject them outright. It may be that these “unethical” questions are being asked to determine if an applicant meets specific requirements for the position.
SAFETY GUIDELINES
IN APPLYING JOBS ON THE INTERNET
Illegal ads sometimes do appear on job sites. If you find any ad of the following nature, please do not respond to it:
Also, be aware in misusing your application information, such as:
This is just a reminder to everyone who are applying on jobs through the internet. We are all aware that there are so much sprouting fake mushrooms on the net just to take advantage of the opportunities that the world is experiencing: underemployment on most countries...
BE AWARE!!!
IN APPLYING JOBS ON THE INTERNET
Illegal ads sometimes do appear on job sites. If you find any ad of the following nature, please do not respond to it:
- Ads that require payment for applications.
- Ads that promote pyramid selling or similar schemes.
- Ads that are untrue or misleading (e.g. misleading job title, job description or company description).
- Ads with dubious ethical credentials (e.g. social escorts, etc.).
Also, be aware in misusing your application information, such as:
- Any advertiser/employer/staff using the information in your job application to approach you and sell insurance, promote multi-level marketing (MLM) or make offers that are not connected to the job advertised;
- Offering jobs that require you to pay money, processing fees, training fees, make a purchase etc. in order to obtain the job. Should fees be required, verify from an accredited government agency if the company is a licensed recruiter and/or placement agency.
- Jobs that seem proper up to the interview stage but later, are revealed to be a guise to promote other schemes.
This is just a reminder to everyone who are applying on jobs through the internet. We are all aware that there are so much sprouting fake mushrooms on the net just to take advantage of the opportunities that the world is experiencing: underemployment on most countries...
BE AWARE!!!
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