Unit 4-3 Answering Interview Questions

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Unit 4-3Answering Interview Questions
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Answering Interview Questions

• Good interview preparation includes trying to
  guess the questions you may be asked in an
  interview and give some thought to how you will
  answer them.

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Answering Interview Questions

• Most interview questions fall into 3 categories
• Why you are applying
• What kind of person you are
• What you can do

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Answering Interview Questions

• Below are some typical questions.
• General
• Why do you want to work for us?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• What would you like to be doing in five years
  from now?

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Answering Interview Questions

• Educational
• What is your grade point average?
• What have been your favorite and least favorite
  courses?
• Were your extracurricular activities worth the
  time you put into them?

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Answering Interview Questions

• Job Related
• Why should I hire you?
• How long a commitment do you plan to give this
  company?

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Answering Interview Questions

• Personal
• Tell me something about yourself.
• What accomplishment in your life has made you the
  proudest?
• What is the last book you read?

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Answering Interview Questions

• A good interviewee will take advantage of
  questions, to tell the interviewer certain
  positive things about themselves.
• Prepare a short list of positive points you wish
  to make about yourself.
• Be alert for situations where you can bring the
  points into the conversation naturally, such as
• Puff balls, Pauses, and Bridges

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Answering Interview Questions

• Puff balls easy questions, such as Tell me
  about yourself, that allow you to easily tell
  the interviewer anything you want them to know
  about you.

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Answering Interview Questions

• Pauses give you a chance to use some
  initiative. You dont have to wait to be
  questioned.

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Answering Interview Questions

• Bridges are transitions from one subject to
  another. You take the opportunity to answer the
  interviewers questions and then immediately show
  how it relate to something else you want them to
  know.

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Answering Interview Questions

• Elaborate on all your answers, which means to
  give more detail than just a simple one word or
  short phrase answers. Give examples that act as
  evidence that your answers are true.
• Instead of just saying you are an organized
  person, back up your answer by telling how you
  organized a complex school project from beginning
  to end.

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Answering Interview Questions

• Although you want to elaborate on your answers,
  you want to keep your answers relatively brief.
  You dont want to monopolize the conversation.
  Plan to answer each question in about 30 seconds.

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Answering Interview Questions

• Consider the purpose of typical questions.
  Prepare answers that will tell the interviewer
  what they want to know, while taking the
  opportunity to sell yourself. Here are some
  common questions with their purpose

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Answering Interview Questions

• Where do you see yourself in five years?
• The interviewer probably wants to know if you
  are ambitious.

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Answering Interview Questions

• Why should I hire you?
• Heres where the firm finds out how well you
  understand its needs.

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Answering Interview Questions

• Why do you want to work here?
• This is where the employer finds out how much you
  know about its organization.

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Answering Interview Questions

• A common questions is What is your greatest
  weakness?
• Be careful with this one. You may be tempted to
  answer it with a positive trait, disguised as a
  weakness. For example I tend to be a
  perfectionist. Answers like this sound canned
  and may work against you.

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Answering Interview Questions

• Be more original and state a true weakness of
  yours and show how you are overcoming it.
• For example Ive had trouble delegating
  duties to others because I felt I could do things
  better myself. This has sometimes backfired
  because Id end up with more than I could handle.
  However, I am studying time management and am
  learning effective delegation techniques. I feel
  I am overcoming this weakness.

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Answering Interview Questions

• Be sure the weakness you talk about is NOT a key
  element or requirement of the position!

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Answering Interview Questions

• 9. If the interviewer asks why you are lacking
  in a particular area, such as grades,
  extracurricular activities, or work experience
  you need to stay positive.

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Answering Interview Questions

• In response to a question about a low grade
  average, you might way something like,
• I had not yet learned how to say no. I was on
  the soccer team, the speech team, and Student
  Council. There just werent enough hours in the
  day and my grades began to slip. But I learned
  my lesson and now know how to prioritize.

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Answering Interview Questions

• Take your time. If you are asked an extra-tough
  question that take you by surprise, dont let it
  make you nervous.
• Take a moment or two to gather your thoughts.
• When you pause before answering, you show your
  poise (a dignified, self-confident manner.)

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Answering Interview Questions

• You may want to ask the interviewer to give you a
  moment to think. You would not want to do this
  more than once or twice.
• Pausing shows the interviewer that you are able
  to think before speaking, a positive trait that
  is becoming less common.

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Answering Interview Questions

• Once in a while, the best answer to a tough
  question is simply, I dont know. If
  appropriate, most interviewers will appreciate
  your honesty.
• The worst mistake you can make is to try to bluff
  your way through when you really dont know what
  youre talking about.

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Answering Interview Questions

• Some interview questions are inappropriate and
  possibly illegal.
• Interviewers should only ask questions that show
  your ability to do the job.
• They should not ask questions that might give
  employers a reason to unfairly discriminate
  against some applicants.

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Answering Interview Questions

• Just asking the wrong question is not illegal in
  itself. But it may open an employer up to a
  lawsuit if an ohterwise-qualified applicant is
  passed over for ajob based on her or his answer.
• Sometimes interviewers dont realize that they
  are asking improper questions.

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Answering Interview Questions

• Some interviewers know and ask anyway to see how
  you handle uncomfortable situations. (This
  should not happen in our class interviews.)
• Some questions may seem inappropriate however,
  if they have to do with your ability to perform
  the job, they are fine.

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Answering Interview Questions

• Acceptable examples
• Are you in good health? What do you do to stay
  in shape?
• Do you have any physical problems that may limit
  your ability to perform this job?

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Answering Interview Questions

• Some illegal questions
• What political party are you affiliated with?
• Do you go to church regularly?
• Are you currently married?
• What is your sexual orientation?
• Do you drink?
• Do you have a girlfriend/boyfriend?
• Do you have a physical disability?
• What is your IQ?
• How much do you weigh?

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Answering Interview Questions

• How to handle an inappropriate question
• Pause and consider the overall situation and try
  to consider the employers real concern.
• Try to answer the question in a manner that would
  show your ability to meet the requirements of the
  position.
• It is best not to make a big deal about the
  question being inappropriate.
• The interviewer may even recognize his or her
  mistake and appreciate your willingness to put in
  aside and go on.

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Answering Interview Questions

• Rehearse your answers. Practice saying your
  answers out loud. It will force you to consider
  your answers in advance. However, do NOT
  memorize your answers it will be obvious and
  make it sound like a canned speech.

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Answering Interview Questions

• Questions to ask the interviewer
• Near the end of the interview, you should be
  given a chance to ask questions.
• This is NOT optional. Dont underestimate the
  importance of asking questions.
• If you dont, the interviewer might assume you
  are uninterested.

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Answering Interview Questions

• Expect to be judged on the quality of questions
  you ask.
• Have several good questions prepared. The
  answers to your prepared questions may naturally
  get answered before you have a chance to ask
  them.

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Answering Interview Questions

• On a first interview, do NOT ask Whats in it
  for me? questions, such as
• Questions about the pay
• Questions about the days off or flexibility of
  hours
• Questions about the benefits

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Answering Interview Questions

• No matter what method you use to tell the
  interviewer about yourself, be sure to make it a
  natural conversation, not an interrogation, (an
  intimidating question and answer session.)

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Answering Interview Questions

• Your goal is to be well prepared so you can
• Relax and make your answers sound spontaneous and
  natural
• Sell yourself
• Convince the interviewer you are the best person
  for the job.