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Q: Should I bring my most recent job Evaluations with me to a interview? If yes, how do I use them to my advantage?
Q: Being a recent college graduate, I can't really afford to buy a nice business suit to go on my interviews with. How much emphasis really goes into appearance?
Q: How should I respond in an interview when one of the interviewers asks what I thought of other interviewers? Is that a fair question?
Q: How should I respond when an employer asks a question--like "What kind of animal would you like to be?"--that isn't related to the job I'm interviewing for?
Q: What's the best way for really shy people, who are good at their jobs, but awful at interviews, to interview well?
Q: What should I tell interviewers who ask what my five and 10 year goals are?
Q: What is the most tactful way to respond to the interviewer who asks what your current salary is?
Q: How do I keep an interviewer focused on my strengths and abilities, not on my apparent youth and inexperience?
Q: I was recently terminated from my last job. How should I handle this in future interviews?
Q: How do you respond to an employer who wants you to tell him/her about a mistake you made and how you fixed it?
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Q: Should I bring my most recent job Evaluations with me to a interview? If yes, how do I use them to my advantage?
A:Certainly you can bring your job evaluations to interviews. Have
very professional copies made and leave the originals at home. Then, treat your evaluations as you would references. If you are asked for references, ask if you could also include recent job evaluations. One thing that is very important: Are your evaluations superlative and do they talk about what you accomplished beyond the limits of your job description, or do they just say you did your job well? If they only record that you did what you were paid to do, leave 'em home - they won't help you that much.
--Marvin Wahlberg
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Q: Being a recent college graduate, I can't really afford to buy a nice business suit to go on my interviews with. How much emphasize really goes into appearance?
A: In a word: Everything! First impressions are made in the first 30 seconds to five minutes of an interview. In "Interview for Success" by Ron and Caryl Krannich, they state if a first impression is positive, then "75% of the time the person will be offered the job." How's that for increasing your chances? Just wearing a suit may make you more likely to get hired. Buy a suit. If you need to go on more than one interview with the same company, wear a different tie, or a slightly different dress shirt. You don't need to buy an Armani three-piece suit, but do buy for quality and value.
--Michelle Watson
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Q:
How should I respond in an interview when one of the interviewers asks what I thought of other interviewers?
Is that a fair question?
A:
There is no such thing as a fair or unfair question. If it is legal to ask it is fair game. A
company has a right to try to see how you will fit in. What you think about the people who have
interviewed you might shed some light on that. There is no right answer to that question;
however, there are wrong answers. One should never say anything negative about other
interviewers. In fact, you should never say anything negative in an interview. Employers are
looking for positive, enthusiastic employees. You should always present that image when you are
interviewing. As long as you can be positive, you should be honest about what you think.
Otherwise,take the advise my mother gave me when I was a little boy: "If you can't say
anything nice don't say anything at all."
--Lee Miller
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Q:
How should I respond when an employer asks a question--like "What kind of animal
would you like to be?" or "Tell me about the last time you sang karaoke."--that
isn't related to the job I'm interviewing for?
A:
Your question suggests a certain naiveté about the interview process. If
an employer is willing to spend their time interviewing you, s/he has
already determined that you probably can do the job; s/he's probably using
the interview process to confirm a first impression. Sometimes one candidate
will clearly be the most qualified. If, as is usually the case, no candidate is clearly
superior, the interviewer will try to determine which of the qualified
candidates will fit in best.
Although these types of questions are not likely
to be particularly useful in doing that, questions that aren't directly
job-related you are very important in the selection process because they
reveal something about. If you treat those questions like they're a waste of
time, you'll miss out on many excellent job opportunities over the
course of your career. From among a group of several well qualified
candidates an interviewer is going to select the person he or she finds
most interesting and thinks they will most enjoy working with. Use those
questions as an opportunity to connect with the interviewer on a personal
basis and to demonstrate to the interviewer that he or she will enjoy
having you around.
--Lee Miller
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Q:
What's the best way for really shy people, who are good at their jobs, but
awful at interviews, to interview well?
A:
The same way you get to Carnegie Hall: practice, practice, practice.
Try role playing with a friend or with a career counselor. Even if you're shy,
you can be excited about what you do and enthusiastic about the job you are
seeking. Work on exhibiting a high energy level. This will
make up for any lack of polish or interviewing technique.
--Lee Miller
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Q:
I am often asked what my five and 10 year goals are. As a person in my
mid-twenties, it's hard to say what I want to do with my life next week!
How do I answer this question, knowing that my life is full of
possibilities and that I don't want to get myself boxed in? Should I
answer in the "right" way, or should I be honest?
A:
Both. You should always be honest in the hiring process. But you should
never forget that you are always marketing yourself during the interview
process. An interviewer's purpose is to try to find reasons to disqualify
you to reduce the number of candidates being considered as quickly as
possible. That way only one candidate remains and the interviewer can move
on to other things.
Your job, on the other hand, is to
get the interviewer to fall in love with you and get the
opportunity to make yourself stand out from the crowd. (Once you do that
you'll not only get the job offer but be in an excellent position to
negotiate a favorable compensation package). Your other objective is to get
enough information to find out if you want the job.
Therefore you need to practice talking about some positive things that you
might actually like to be doing in 10 years and to package them in a way to
sell yourself to a potential employer. Remember, no one will actually check
up on you in ten years and see if you are doing what you said you would be
doing. Even in the unlikely event that you are with the same company in 10
years, no one will even remember what you said.
--Lee Miller
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Q:
What is the most tactful way to respond to the interviewer who asks what your
current salary is?
A:
Tell the interviewer that it's too early in the process to discuss
compensation. If the job is right for you and you are right for the job,
money should not be an issue. When you have to discuss your salary do so
only in a general way and describe it in the most favorable light.
--Lee Miller
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Q:
How do I keep an interviewer focused on my strengths and abilities,
not on my apparent youth and inexperience?
A:
Take control of the interview at appropriate points and focus it on what
you have accomplished and what you can do for the company. Be sure to have
tangible examples of things that you have done. While I don't know what you
do, if it involves producing something i.e. software, reports etc., bring
samples along with you. If the focus of the interview is on the your
achievements, and they are substantial, your age and chronological
experience are not likely to become an issue.
--Lee Miller
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Q:
I was recently terminated from my last job. Now that I have to look
for another job, what should I tell employers about why I left my last job?
Do I tell them the truth and have them overlook me, lie
to them, or try to evade the question completely?
A:
That is a tough question. You should never lie during the interviewing
process. You should also never badmouth a former employer. You are not,
however, required to answer this question directly. I would try to come up
with an answer that is truthful but is more positive than "I was terminated."
If you were not replaced you might be able to say "the position was
eliminated." You might say something like the "job didn't turn out to be what
I had expected" and then be able to say why without speaking badly of the
employer. You need to develop and practice a response to this question until
you have come up with one that is both truthful and positive.
--Lee Miller
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Q:
How do you respond to an employer who wants you to tell him/her about a
mistake you made and how you fixed it?
A:
Carefully. Choose a mistake that will not be considered a serious negative or
one which happened a long time ago from which you have learned something. Like
questions that ask you about your weaknesses, this question is designed to
get you reveal something about yourself that might cause the interviewer not
to hire you. You want every answer you give during an interview to help sell
you to the company. This is not a time for confession to unburden yourself.
That is why you need to prepare for an interview. To be able to answer this
type of question truthfully and positively takes practice. So practice role
playing interviews with a friend or relative and focus on these difficult
questions.
--Lee Miller
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