FORMULATE INTELLIGENT QUESTIONS TO ASK THE INTERVIEWER
- Please describe a typical day on the job.
- What do you see as the greatest challenge in this position?
- What personal qualities, skills or experience would help someone do well in this position?
- What are the company's plans for future growth?
- How do you view this organization as a place to work
- What are the typical career paths?
What are realistic time frames for advancement?
- How are employees evaluated and promoted?
- How much contact and exposure to management would I have?
- What type of training program do you offer new employees?
- How much freedom and responsibility is given to new employees?
- Can you explain the performance review process?
- What is the retention rate of people in this position?
- What opportunities exist for professional growth and development?
- What makes your organization different from your competition?
Are co-op, internship or summer positions available?
How to answer 3 most common interview questions
"Tell Me a Little About Yourself "
Sometimes the most general question can be the hardest. How can you sum up your entire life story in just a couple of minutes?
Here is a request for you to describe what you can offer the company.
Focus on:
-Your key accomplishments at previous jobs.
-The strengths demonstrated by those accomplishments.
-How these relate to the job for which you're applying.
The goal is not to summarize your resume -- the interviewer already has a copy of that.
"What's Your Biggest Weakness?"
What are you supposed to do -- tell them why they SHOULDN'T hire you?
The "weakness" question is popular with interviewers not because they want to torture you, but because they're interested in hearing how you tackle challenges.
The most important thing to remember is that after you name your weakness,
you MUST discuss what you have done to overcome it.
Pick a weakness that is real but understandable or relatively harmless. Whatever weakness you pick, be sure that it is work-related. Here are a few examples:
"I used to have a tendency to procrastinate. So now I am always sure to set a strict schedule for all of my projects well in advance and I set personal deadlines. This organization has really helped."
You don't want to pick a weakness that will torpedo your chances -- even your weakness should speak strongly toward your skills. The examples above all address honest weaknesses; here are a few other "safe" weaknesses that are easy to discuss:
I tend to be a perfectionist.
I sometimes work too hard, leading to unnecessary stress.
"Do You Have Any Questions for Me?"
Yes, you do!
You should always try to ask a thoughtful question or two at the end of an interview. It shows that you've been listening and that you've done your research on the company.
What should you ask? In his book 101 Great Answers to the Toughest Interview Questions, Ron Frey suggests some of the following queries:
Does this job usually lead to other positions at the company? What kind of positions?
What do you like best about this company? Why?
DO NOT ask about salary, vacation days, benefits or anything else that would make it look like you're more interested in the compensation package than the company.
Also, don't ask too many questions; just a couple will be fine.
And the most important question of all: Don't forget to ask for the job!
“I'm very interested in this job. It's exactly the kind of job that I'm looking for. What is the next step in the interview process?”
Excerpt taken from Yahoo! HotJobs |