Top 10 Interview
Questions
Congratulations!
You
have made it to the all-important
interview.What’s
next you ask?
Interview
Preperation. You do your research; grab a
friend or a video camera, and practice, practice,
practice your interview
skills!
A great
resume and fancy clothes can only get you so far in this
process.
Employers want to see
your interview skills, your technique, confidence and most of all the
knowledge you have about this particular job
opening.
Ready? Take a deep breath and
relax. It isn’t
as bad as you think. Let’s start with interview tips
and some answers to the top 10 interview questions that
will get you that job.
1.
Tell me about
yourself.
|
This is not
an invitation to tell your perspective employer how
much you weighed at birth or what you did over the
weekend. This question is to find out about why you
are right for this job. Your answer should be a
quick summary of your best qualities and why they
are relevant for this position in their
organization. Once you have determined your answer,
write it down and practice saying it ahead of time.
This will make your answer come out more relaxed
and natural.
|
2. What do you know about our
company?
|
You hopefully have done
your
homework
before now, which should
have included researching the company
thoroughly. You
can’t go into an interview not knowing about
the company that you are hoping will hire
you. The Internet is a
wonderful tool for
research.
Take
advantage of all that information and make sure
you are up to date on recent articles and
accomplishments of this
company.
|
3. What did you like and dislike
about your previous job?
|
Wow!
Are
you stressing now or
what? This is not a
trick question. It’s a chance to
highlight the positive aspects of your
past job. Respond with the
good points from your former job that
corresponds with the
position you are
seeking with this new
company.
You
should give one quick answer to the
“dislike” question. Don’t say that there
was nothing you disliked about your previous
job. If you say that then
you will be seen as untruthful, because
after all, you are interviewing for a
new job! You could say that
the previous company was a smaller company
and you were looking to be a part of a
growing organization to achieve your future
goals./
|
4. Why should we hire you for this
position?
|
Don’t just say, “Because I
am the best person suited for this
job.” You need to explain
that your
skills and experience, along with
the knowledge of this position will make you
the best candidate for the job. Describe what
makes you unique and how you can bring those
traits to the position to become a
valuable
employee. Describe some of your
previous accomplishments in a similar type
job.
|
5. Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10
years?
|
This question is to find out if
you have
career
goals and
if you plan on staying with the
company. Sometimes a perspective
employer will not want to take the time and
money to incorporate you if you will not be
staying with the company for
long. You should
think carefully before answering
this question because it could make or break
the interview. Describe your goals to
become more involved in the organization as you
enjoy your work as a new
employee. State that you are
always open to trying things outside of your
job
description.
|
6. Do you prefer to work alone or as a
team?
|
This
is to see how well you can work together in
the workplace with existing
employees. You should say that
you definitely are
confident enough to take on
assignments alone but would fit right in
working as a team member.
Hearing
and considering points of views from
others, to make a proper decision, is
something that you have enjoyed in
previous
jobs.
|
7. What do you consider your
weakness?
|
This should be dealt with briefly
enough to state your weakness but more to
highlight what you are doing to
improve on your
weakness. Some might consider
being demanding or aggressive to be a weakness,
but that could be turned around to highlight
the fact that you are a go-getter and like to
push forward to make sure tasks are completed
on
time.
|
8. What are your
strengths?
|
Pick 2
or 3 of your best strengths and elaborate on
them. These could be
things like your ability to comprehend new
programs and ideas, your
positive
attitude and how you enjoy working
with others to achieve a common goal in the
workplace. Give some examples that
showcase these
qualities.
|
9. Why did you apply for this
job?
|
A
definite answer not to say is that you are
applying because you are not happy at your
current/previous
job. Your
research will give
you all the information that you need to answer
this question. You state that you are
looking to advance in this industry and with
this organization you feel that can be easily
accomplished. Your goals match well
with the company. It’s an opportunity to
learn and grow in your
field.
|
10. How do you feel about working long
hours and weekends?
|
Surely
you won’t answer this question with a
bold statement of how you only want to
put in your 40-hour workweek and the
weekends are out because that’s your
party time!
The correct way
to approach this question is to say
that you would be open to working longer hours
to achieve a specific goal or important
project. Occasional weekends
could be arranged if the need should
arise. Stress that you strive
to get your work done during regular business
hours, but understand the occasional need to
sacrifice some of your personal time for the
betterment of the company.
|
|