Ten
Tough Interview Questions and Ten Great Answers
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.
1. Tell me about
yourself.
My background to
date has been centered around preparing myself to become the very best _____ I
can become. Let me tell you specifically how I've prepared myself . . .
2. Why should I
hire you?
Because I sincerely believe that I'm the best
person for the job. I realize that there are many other college students who
have the ability to do this job. I also have that ability. But I also bring an
additional quality that makes me the very best person for the job--my attitude
for excellence. Not just giving lip service to excellence, but putting every
part of myself into achieving it. In _____ and _____ I have consistently
reached for becoming the very best I can become by doing the following . . .
3. What is your
long-range objective? Where do you want to be 10 or 15 years from now?
Although it's
certainly difficult to predict things far into the future, I know what
direction I want to develop toward. Within five years, I would like to become
the very best _____ your company has. In fact, my personal career mission
statement is to become a world-class _____ in the _____ industry. I will work
toward becoming the expert that others rely upon. And in doing so, I feel I will
be fully prepared to take on any greater responsibilities that might be
presented in the long term.
4. How has your
education prepared you for your career?
As you will note on
my résumé, I've taken not only the required core classes in the _____ field, I've
also gone above and beyond. I've taken every class the college has to offer in
the field and also completed an independent study project specifically in this
area. But it's not just taking the classes to gain academic knowledge--I've
taken each class, both inside and outside of my major, with this profession in
mind. So when we're studying _____ in _____, I've viewed it from the
perspective of _____. In addition, I've always tried to keep a practical view
of how the information would apply to my job. Not just theory, but how it would
actually apply. My capstone course project in my final semester involved
developing a real-world model of _____, which is very similar to what might be
used within your company. Let me tell you more about it . . .
5. Are you a team
player?
Very much so. In
fact, I've had opportunities in both athletics and academics to develop my
skills as a team player. I was involved in _____ at the intramural level,
including leading my team in assists during the past year--I always try to help
others achieve their best. In academics, I've worked on several team projects,
serving as both a member and team leader. I've seen the value of working
together as a team to achieve a greater goal than any one of us could have
achieved individually. As an example . . .
6. Have you ever
had a conflict with a boss or professor? How was it resolved?
Yes, I have had
conflicts in the past. Never major ones, but certainly there have been
situations where there was a disagreement that needed to be resolved. I've
found that when conflict occurs, it's because of a failure to see both sides of
the situation. Therefore, I ask the other person to give me their perspective
and at the same time ask that they allow me to fully explain my perspective. At
that point, I would work with the person to find out if a compromise could be
reached. If not, I would submit to their decision because they are my superior.
In the end, you have to be willing to submit yourself to the directives of your
superior, whether you're in full agreement or not. An example of this was when
. . .
7. What is your
greatest weakness?
I would say my
greatest weakness has been my lack of proper planning in the past. I would
over commit myself with too many variant tasks, then not be able to fully
accomplish each as I would like. However, since I've come to recognize that
weakness, I've taken steps to correct it. For example, I now carry a planning
calendar in my pocket so that I can plan all of my appointments and "to
do" items. Here, let me show you how I have this week planned out . . .
8. If I were to ask
your professors to describe you, what would they say?
I believe they
would say I'm a very energetic person, that I put my mind to the task at hand
and see to it that it's accomplished. They would say that if they ever had
something that needed to be done, I was the person who they could always depend
on to see that it was accomplished. They would say that I always took a keen
interest in the subjects I was studying and always sought ways to apply the
knowledge in real world settings. Am I just guessing that they would say these
things? No, in fact, I'm quite certain they would say those things because I
have with me several letters of recommendation from my professors and those are
their very words. Let me show you . . .
9. What qualities
do you feel a successful manager should have?
The key quality
should be leadership--the ability to be the visionary for the people who are
working under them. The person who can set the course and direction for
subordinates. A manager should also be a positive role model for others to
follow. The highest calling of a true leader is inspiring others to reach the
highest of their abilities. I'd like to tell you about a person who I consider
to be a true leader . . .
10. If you had to
live your life over again, what would you change?
That's a good
question. I realize that it can be very easy to continually look back and wish
that things had been different in the past. But I also realize that things in
the past cannot be changed, that only things in the future can be changed.
That's why I continually strive to improve myself each and every day and that's
why I'm working hard to continually increase my knowledge in the _____ field.
That's also the reason why I want to become the very best _____ your company
has ever had. To make positive change. And all of that is still in the future.
So in answer to your question, there isn't anything in my past that I would
change. I look only to the future to make changes in my life.
Important:
- Do not reproduce the answers verbatim.
- Do not repeat the same answer in each and every company, as this might put you in a tight situation. Research the company well before attending the interview.
- If possible, try to know the area in which you are expected to work and model your answers accordingly.
- Give a small pause before you start answering a question and also in between your answers. This conveys a fact to the interviewers that you are thinking before answering, and not just blurting out the mugged up answers.
CHEERS!!!!!!!!
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