Are you willing to take calculated risks when necessary?
How do you define calculated risks? What sort of risks? Give me an example of a risk you have in mind; what are the stakes involved?“Naturally, I would never take any risk that would in any way jeopardize the safety or reputation of my company or colleagues. In fact, I don’t think any employer would appreciate an employee at any level taking risks of any nature without first having a thorough briefing and chance to give input.”
See this pen I’m holding? Sell it to me.
First you will want to establish the customer’s needs with a few question like “What sort of pens do you currently use? Do you read reports and need to recall important points?”
“Let me tell you about the special features of this pen and show you how they will satisfy your needs. First of all it is tailor made for highlighting reports, and that will save you time in recalling the most important points. The case is wide for comfort and the base is flat so it will stand up and be visible on a cluttered work area. It’s disposable―and affordable enough to have a handful for desk, briefcase, car, and home. And the bright yellow means you’ll never lost it. How many gross shall we deliver?”
How will you be able to cope with a change in environment after five years with your current company?
Take an implied negative and turn it into a positive.
“That’s one of the reasons I want to make a change. After five years with my current employer, I felt I was about to get stale. Everyone needs a change of scene once in a while. It’s just time for me to make some new friends, face some new challenges, and experience some new approaches; hopefully, I’ll have the change to contribute from my experience.”
Why aren’t you earning more at your age?
Compliment to your skills and accomplishments.
“I have always felt that solid experience would stand me in good stead in the long run and that earnings would come in due course. Also, I am not the type of person to change jobs just for the money. At this point, I have a solid background that is worth something to a company. How much should I be earning now?”
What is the worst thing you have heard about our company?
Just say with a smile:
“You’re a tough company to get into because your interviews and interviewers are so rigorous.”
How would you define your profession?
How well you would be able to defend your position in a no-holds-barred conversation with the chairman of the board, who says exactly what he or she thinks at all times.
“Why do you say that?”
Why should I hire an outsider when I could fill the job with someone inside the company?
Tell me why I should hire you. The first is a simple recitation of your skills and personality profile strengths, tailored to the specific requirements of the job. For the second step, they looking for someone can benefit the department in a larger sense.
“Those are my general attributes. However, if no one is promo table from inside the company, that means you are looking to add strength to your team in a special way. In what ways do you hope the final candidate will be able to benefit your department?”
Have you ever had any financial difficulties?
Employer wants to know whether you can control not only your own finances but also finances in general.
“No, I am good at manage my financial plan”
“I should tell you that some years ago, for reasons beyond my control, I was forced into personal bankruptcy. That has been behind me for some time. Today, I have a sound credit rating and no debts. Bankruptcy is not something I’m proud of, but I did learn from the experience, and I feel it has made me a more proficient account supervisor.”
How do you handle rejection?
Interviewer wants to know whether you take rejection as rejection of yourself or whether you simply accept it as a temporary rejection of a service or product.
“I accept rejection as an integral part of the sales process. If everyone said ‘yes’ to a product, there would be no need for the sales function. As it is, I see every rejection as bringing me closer to the customer who will say ‘yes’. I regard rejection as simply a fact of life, that the customer has no need for the product today. I can go on to my next call with the conviction that am a little closer to my next sale.”
Why were you out of work for so long?
Emphasize that you were not just looking for another paycheck―you were looking for a company with which to settle and to which to make a long-term contribution.
“I made a decision that I enjoy my work too much just to accept another paycheck. So I determined that the next job I took would be one where I could settle down and do my best to make a solid contribution. Form everything I have heard about this company, you are a group that expects people to pull their weight, because you’ve got a real job to do. I like that, and I would like to be part of the team. What do I have to do to get the job?”
Why have you changed jobs so frequently?
You may wish to impress on the interviewer that your job-hopping was never as result of poor performance, and that you grew professionally as a result of each job change.
“Now I want to settle down and make my diverse background pay off in my contributions to my new employer. I have a strong desire to contribute and am looking for an employer that will keep me challenger; I think this might be the company to do that. Am I right?”
Tell me about a time when you put your foot in your mouth.
The best thing to do is to start with an example outside of the workplace and show how the experience improved your performance at work.
“About five years ago, I let the cat out of the bag about surprise birthday party for a friend, a terrific faux pas. It was a mortifying experience, and I promised myself not to let anything like that happen again. As far as work is concerned, I always regard employer/employee communications on any matter as confidential unless expressly stated otherwise. So, putting my foot in my mouth doesn’t happen to me at work.”
Why do you want to leave your current job? Or why did you leave your last job?
Challenge: you weren’t able to grow professionally in that position.
Location: the commute was unreasonably long.
Advancement: you had talent, but there were too many people ahead of you.
Money: you were underpaid for your skills and contribution.
Pride: you wanted to be with a better company.
Security: the company was not stable.
“My last company was a family-owned affair. I had gone as far as I was able. It just seemed time for me to join a more prestigious company and accept greater challenges.”
What interest you least about this job?
Regardless of your occupation, there is at least one repetitive, mindless duty that everyone groans about and that goes with the territory.
“Filing is probably the least demanding part of the job. However, it is important to the overall success of my department, so I try to do it with a smile.”
What was there about your last company that you didn’t particularly like or agree with?
The company policies and/or directives were sometimes consciously misunderstood by some employees who disregarded the bottom line―the profitability of the corporation.
“I didn’t like the way some people gave lip service to ‘the customer comes first,’ but really didn’t go out of their way to keep the customer satisfied. I don’t think it was a fault of management, just a general malaise that seemed to affect a lot of people.”
What do you feel is a satisfactory attendance record?
“I’ve never really considered it. I work for a living, I enjoy my job, and I’m rarely sick.”
What is your general impression of your last company?
Always answer positively. “Very good” or “Excellent”. Smile and wait for next.
What are some of the problems you encounter in doing your job, and what do you do about them?
Give an example of a problem you recognized and solved.
“My job is fairly repetitive, so it’s easy to overlook problems. Lots of people do. However, I always look for them; it helps keep me alert and motivated, so I do a better job. To give you an example, we make computer-memory disks. Each one has to be machined by hand, and once completed, the slightest abrasion will turn one into a reject. I have a steady staff and little turnover, and everyone wears cotton gloves to handle the disks. Yet about six months ago, the reject rate suddenly went through the roof. Is that the kind of problem you mean? Well, the cause was one that could have gone unnoticed for ages. Jill, the section head who inspect all the disks, had lost a lot of weight, her diamond engagement ring was slipping around her finger, and it was scratching the disks as she passed them and stacked them to be shipped. Our main client was giving us a big problem over it, so my looking for problems and paying attention to detail really paid off.”