1. Tell me about yourself.

This basically just serves to make the person comfortable and gives me a chance to
figure out how they talk. This is a question that every interviewee should be
prepared to answer, so you should be able to deliver a steady answer here. Have
something clear in mind for this one before you even go in the door. The “best”
answer highlights aspects of yourself that make you stand out from Joe Average in a
positive fashion. Make a list of four or five of the biggest ones, then work that into a
thirty second bit.

2. Tell me what you know about us.

This question simply tries to determine if the person being interviewed has done
their homework. An exceptional candidate will be able to deliver a lot of information
about the company, but mostly this eliminates people who didn’t even bother to do
minimal checking - these are people we don’t want. In other words, before you go to
an interview, know what the organization is.

3. What sets you apart from other people that might apply for this job?

The answer is usually already known to the interviewer based on the resume, but
this is a chance for you to really sell yourself. Most interviewers will usually sit back
and see how well you can sell. On occasion, surprises can be good here, but this can
be tricky - if it’s something that should have been on your resume, why was it not
on your resume? You’re better off knowing what the cream of the crop of your
resume is and just listing it out.

4. Describe to me the position you’re applying for.

This is a “homework” question, too, but it also gives some clues as to the
perspective the person brings to the table. The best preparation you can do is to
read the job description and repeat it to yourself in your own words so that you can
do this smoothly at the interview.

5. Why are you interested this position?

This is actually something of a trick question, because it’s just a way of re-asking
the second question (what you know about the company) and the fourth (what you
know about the position). It’s asked because it tells whether people give flippant
answers to questions (things like “because I’m a people person”) or whether they
think about things and give a genuine question. This is a good question to formulate
an answer for in advance - basically, just come up with a few things that seem
intriguing to you about the company and the position and reasons why they interest
you.

6. What aspect of this position makes you the most uncomfortable?

Most people think this is some sort of filter, but it’s rarely used that way. This is
actually an honesty question. No one on earth will like every aspect of every
potential job - it’s just not in us. Location? Working hours? People? The company’s
too big? The company’s too small? Honesty really works here - I’d prefer to hear a
genuine reason for discomfort (particularly one that comes from real observation of
the company) than a platitude that isn’t really a discomfort at all. A good way to
answer is something like “I’ve never worked in a company this large before” or “I’ve
heard some strange things about the corporate culture” or “The idea of working for
a startup at such an early stage makes me nervous.”

7. What was the biggest success you had at your last job?

8. What was the biggest failure you had at your last job?
It’s usually good to pair these questions, but the important one is the biggest
failure. The best applicant is usually someone who will admit that they made a
disaster out of something (they’re fairly honest and willing to admit errors) and that
they learned from it, an incredibly important trait.

9. Tell me about the best supervisor you’ve ever had.

10. Tell me about the worst supervisor you’ve ever had.

These two questions simply seek to figure out what kind of management style will
work best for this person and also how that person is likely to manage people. Let’s
say I work in an organization with a very loose-knit management structure that
requires a lot of self-starting. If that’s the case, I want to either hear that the “best”
boss was very hands-off or that the “worst” boss was a micromanager. On the other
hand, if I came from a strict hierarchical organization, I might want to see the exact
opposite - a “best” boss that provided strong guidance and a good relationship or a
“worst” boss that basically left the applicant to blow in the wind. Your best approach
is to answer this as honestly as possible - the interviewer will have a good idea of
the corporate culture and, frankly, if you try to slip into a company where you don’t
match the culture, you’ll have a very hard time fitting in and succeeding. These
questions might be worded as “what kind of management style works for you.”

Another tip: highlight positives in all of the bosses you discuss. Never turn the
interview into a bash-fest of anyone. Your worst boss should have a very small
number of specific flaws and they should mostly relate to diverging expectations
from you, not in bad character traits. Bashing someone during an interview just
reflects poorly on you, so don’t jump for the bait.

11. Tell me about the most difficult project you ever faced.

The interviewer could usually care less what the exact project is. The question is
mostly looking to see if you have faced serious difficulty and how you overcame it.
For most people, this isn’t their biggest success or biggest failure, but something
that they turned from a likely failure into some sort of success.
12. What do you see as the important future trends in this area?

This works well for some positions - technical ones and leadership ones - and not
well for others. It should be pretty obvious from the type of job you’re applying for
whether this question might be asked. If it is, it’s easy to prepare for - just spend a
half an hour reading some blogs on the specific areas you’re applying for and you’ll
have some food.

13. Have you done anything in the last year to learn new things/improve yourself in
relation to the requirements of this job?

This is a great “deer in the headlights look” question, as most people simply don’t
have an answer. The best way to handle this question is simply to always spend
some time working on your skills in whatever way you can. Write open source code.
Participate in Toastmasters. Take a class. If you put effort into improving yourself
every year, you’ll not only have a strong resume, but this question will be a non-
issue.

14. Tell me about your dream job.

Never say this job. Never say another specific job. Both answers are very bad - the
first one sends the warning flags flying and the second one says that the person’s
not really interested in sticking around. Instead, stick to specific traits - name
aspects of what would be your dream job. Some of them should match what the
company has available, but it’s actually best if they don’t all perfectly match.
15. Have you ever had a serious conflict in a previous employment? How was it
resolved?

This question mostly looks for honesty and for the realization that most conflicts
have two sides to a story. It also opens the door for people with poor character to
start bashing their previous employer, something which leaves a bad taste in most
interviewers’ mouths. The best way to answer usually involves telling the story, but
showing within it that there are two sides to that story and that you’ve learned from
the experience to try to see the other person’s perspective.

16. What did you learn from your last position?

Although it’s fine to list a technical skill or two here, particularly if your job is very
technical, it’s very important to mention some non-technical things. “I learned how
to work in a team environment after mostly working in solo environments” is a good
one, for example. There should be no job where you learned nothing, and the
interviewer is expecting that you learned at least a few things at your previous
employment that will help at your current one.

17. Why did you leave your last position?

Mostly, this is looking for conviction of character. A strong, concrete answer of any
reasonable sort is good here. “I wanted to move on” is not a strong answer.
Downsizing is a good answer, as is a desire to seek specific new challenges (but be
specific on what challenges you want to face). Minimize your actual discussion of
your previous position here, as you’ll be very close to a big opportunity to start
bashing your previous position.

18. Tell me about a suggestion that you made that was implemented at a previous
job.
Since these answers usually are heavily involved with the specifics of the previous
position, the specifics aren’t really important. What’s most important is that you
actually have been involved in making a suggestion and helping it come to fruition,
ideally with some success story behind it. Having done so indicates that you’re
willing to do the same at this position, which can do nothing but improve an
organization. Not having an answer of some sort here is generally a sizeable
negative, but not a “do or die” negative.

19. Have you ever been asked to leave a position? Tell me about the experience.

Obviously, it’s great if you can answer “no,” but it’s usually not a deal breaker if the
answer is “yes.” In fact, a “yes” answer can be turned into a positive - it’s a great
way to show that you’ve made mistakes and learned valuable lessons from them.
Be honest here, no matter what, but don’t spend time bashing the people that let
you go. Only discuss them with respect, even if you’re angry about what happened.

20. Have you ever had to fire anyone? Tell me about the experience.

This is a question that is mostly looking to see if you have empathy for others. Take
it dead seriously when answering - it should not have been an easy choice or an
easy experience, but one that you handled and survived. Do not bash the person
you fired, either - be as clinical as possible with the reasons.

21. Are you applying for other jobs?

This is an honesty question. I’m looking for “yes,” but people who are trying too
hard to feed me a line of nonsense answer “no.” The best way to answer is to say
“Yes, in much the same way that you’re interviewing other people. We’re both trying
to find the best fit for what we need and what we want.” If your answer is truly no,
then say so - “No, I’m actually happy with my current position, but there were a few
compelling aspects of this job that made me want to follow up on it” and list those
aspects.

22. What do you feel this position should pay?

Surprising to many, this is often not salary negotiation. In most cases, the person
you’re interviewing with has little control over the final salary you’ll get. It’s usually
used as a reality check - if you’re hiring a janitor and they expect $80K, you can
probably toss the resume right then and there. At the same time, a highly-skilled
programmer selling themselves at $30K is also setting off some warning bells. A
good answer is usually on target or a bit on the high side, but not really low or
insanely high. I’d get an idea of the asking rate for the position before I ever go to
the interview, then request about 30% more.

23. Where do you see yourself in your career in five years?

This is something of a “junk” question, but it is useful in some regards as it filters

for people with initiative. A person who answers something along the lines of “I’m
going to be successful in this position that I’m interviewing for!” is either not
incredibly motivated to improve themselves or isn’t being totally honest. I’d rather
have an answer that involves either promotion or some level of enterpreneurship -
strong organizations thrive on self-starters. The only problem for potential
interviewees is that some companies - weak ones, usually - don’t want self-starters
and are particularly afraid of people who dream of becoming entrepreneurs. Talking
about promotion is thus usually the safest bet if you’re not familiar with the culture,
but I personally love it when people interviewing talk about entrepreneurship - that
means they’re the type that will be intense about succeeding.

24. What are your long-term goals - say, fifteen years down the road?
This is a great late question because it tells you whether the person is a long-term
thinker or not. People that plan for the long term are usually in a good, mature
mental state and will often wind up being stronger workers than people without
long-term plans.

25. Do you have any questions about this job?

Yes, you do have questions about this job. Not having questions is a sign that you
aren’t really that interested in the position. Thus, your job as an interviewee is to
have a few questions already in mind when you walk in the door. Most interviewers
are happy to answer most anything you ask them - just make sure your questions
are intelligent ones, though.

Do Your Homework!

Here are the things you should do in advance of any interview that will help you
handle almost all of the questions above.

Work on a very brief description of yourself that you can bust out at any interview.
The big trick is to mention things that are unusual or even unique to you, but stick
to the things that are either positive or (at worst) neutral - keep the negatives to
yourself unless they’re tied to a big positive. A thirty second spiel will do.

Research the company by visiting their web site and finding out exactly what they
do. Good things to read include the company’s most recent annual report and their
Wikipedia entry (if they’re big) or just by Googling the company’s name and location
(if they’re small). If it’s a startup, just try to absorb as much as you can from
whatever sources you can get, but if it’s truly a tiny startup, don’t sweat it if you
can’t find much information.
Research the position by reading the job posting very carefully and looking up any
pieces that you don’t know. You might also want to refresh yourself on what’s
cutting edge in the areas covered by the job posting by reading up a bit if you’re not
already familiar - blogs and news sites are a good place to start. You should also get
a good grip on the regular starting salary for this type of job by searching around for
similar jobs near your location.

Know how you match the position by taking the pieces of the company information
you found and the job posting and matching them to your skills. Do about five of
these, as these are going to be silver bullets during the interview. Also, identify at
least one thing that makes you uncomfortable about the company and position and
think about why it makes you uncomfortable.

Always work to improve your skills by participating in activities that sharpen the key
skills you need for the field you’re in. Are you in public relations? Join a Toastmasters
group. Are you an administrative assistant? Do volunteer work for an organization
that could use your skills but does things in a different way (the same goes for
many tradespeople). Are you a programmer? Contribute to an open source project.

Have a few questions about the position in mind when you walk in the door. This
creates a strong impression during the interview that you are actually interested in
that specific position, which is a big positive for you. Questions of all kinds are good
here, but the best ones usually address corporate culture and technical specifics of
the job.

Do not bash your previous job. If there are specific things about your last job that
really, really irritate you, spend some time trying to think of positives about it. Know
when you go in that your previous job will likely be discussed at least to a degree,
and be prepared to discuss it without being negative. Look for positives, and also be
able to state the reasons for leaving as clinically as possible.

Be honest, above all else. If you make up things at your interview and you slip at all,
the interviewer will toss your application in the trash. Instead, just try to focus on
the positives of what you already have. If you’ve made it to the interview, there’s
something the organization likes about you. Don’t waste time inventing stuff to say
I am going to give you two “tips’ for skillful communication in a job interview. Just
two, but they are a very big two. Careful attention to them will make you the
candidate of their dreams.

1. Make the interview a two way conversation.

Never show up for an important interview without knowing everything you can
about their operation. You must go to their website and see how they position
themselves, their reports and mission, what they have in the pipeline and who the
important players are. They have your resume in front of them; you need to walk in
with equal information about them. This information will become evident –don’t
force it- during the interview and will make a very good impression. You are turning
an interview into a conversation. They’ll know that you are smart, that you are a
self-starter and that you can hit the ground running.

The company is trying to solve a problem by hiring a solution. You can help them
see you as a solution by probing in an empathic, nurturing manner to clarify the
problem.

“Can you tell me more about that? Is there a recent example? What solutions have
you tried already? Why do you suppose they failed? What did that cost you? Have
you given up?”

You can see this is a long way from sitting passively and just trying to answer their
questions. While you will not be taking over the interview, you will be an equal
partner in defining your suitability for their perceived problem. You will not only hit
the ground running, but you’ll be way ahead of everybody else.

2. Hear yourself as others hear you.

You need to increase your awareness of your impact on others by becoming a bit
more objective about your communication characteristics when under stress. Here
are some places to start:
Preparation habits: You have probably heard that anticipating questions and
preparing your answers in advance is a good thing. It is. But have you heard of “too
much of a good thing”? You may be so over prepared that your sentences are
spoken in the flat, hurried manner of the memorized rather than the conversational
and melodic style of the spontaneous answer. This also adds to your stress because
you can now worry about not remembering your answer!

What to do: Never prepare complete sentences but outline your pertinent
information using number, words, and short, short phrases. You are now free to
select the supporting language in a more natural way that is appropriate to the
relationship you are currently in.

Point of view: Let’s say that you are asked why you are interested in this job, and
you respond along these lines; “Well, I’ve always love working with people. Even
when I was a little girl, I just wanted to help people. I guess I was just a little
mother, hahaha. In high school I was a pin stripper at the Catholic Hospital and….I
think it was a Catholic Hospital, but now I’m not sure. Anyway, it was so much fun
getting to…..”.

They do not care. They are getting bored. You are rattling on from the point of view
of your personal experience about which no one is the least bit interested.

What to do: Consider every question from their point of view. “Why are they
asking?” and “What do they want?” should be questions you are asking yourself so
you can get right to the point. Perhaps something like, “I’ve had 12 years in
Customer Service positions, with 4 years managing the whole department. Your
position clearly demands strong Service component in areas where I’ve had
experience.”

Speech Clarity: You will be anxious to talk and may speak too rapidly for your
listener. Since your information is ‘old’ to you, it will not feel as if you are speaking
rapidly. But, consider their point of view (again). They are hearing this stuff for the
first time and need to process your language to extract the meaning. Many people
are so anxious to race through the words that they neglect the speech sounds
necessary for projection to other people.
What to do: You’ve heard it before; record a trial interview, wait for a while, and
then, listen to the recording. Nothing else will be more convincing or effective in
inducing change. You may be astonished at how rapidly you speak when you are
pressed. You will want to practice, consciously speaking in a more deliberate style,
even though it will feel really weird. You will be glad that you did this when you are
in the actual interview.

Interview is an opportunity for both the employer and the applicant to gather
information. The employer wants to know if you, the applicant, have the skills,
knowledge, self-confidence, and motivation necessary for the job. At this point you
can be confident that the employer saw something of interest in your resume. He or
she also wants to determine whether or not you will fit in with the organization's
current employees and philosophy. Similarly, you will want to evaluate the position
and the organization, and determine if they will fit into your career plans. The
interview is a two-way exchange of information. It is an opportunity for both parties
to market themselves. The employer is selling the organization to you, and you are
marketing your skills, knowledge, and personality to the employer.

Interview Preparation

Research is a critical part of preparing for an interview. If you haven't done your
homework, it is going to be obvious. Spend time researching and thinking about
yourself, the occupation, the organization, and questions you might ask at the end
of the interview.

Step 1: Know Yourself

The first step in preparing for an interview is to do a thorough self-assessment so

that you will know what you have to offer an employer. It is very important to
develop a complete inventory of skills, experience, and personal attributes that you
can use to market yourself to employers at any time during the interview process.
In developing this inventory, it is easiest to start with experience. Once you have a
detailed list of activities that you have done (past jobs, extra-curricular
involvements, volunteer work, school projects, etc.), it is fairly easy to identify your
skills.
 Simply go through the list, and for each item ask yourself "What could I have
learned by doing this?" "What skills did I develop?" "What issues/circumstances
have I learned to deal with?" Keep in mind that skills fall into two categories -
technical and generic. Technical skills are the skills required to do a specific job. For
a laboratory assistant, technical skills might include knowledge of sterilization
procedures, slide preparation, and scientific report writing. For an outreach worker,
technical skills might include counseling skills, case management skills, or program
design and evaluation skills. Generic skills are those which are transferable to many
work settings. Following is a list of the ten most marketable skills. You will notice
that they are all generic.

Analytical/Problem Solving

Flexibility/Versatility

Interpersonal

Oral/Written Communication

Organization/Planning

Time Management

Motivation

Leadership

Self-Starter/Initiative

Team Player
Often when people think of skills, they tend to think of those they have developed in
the workplace. However, skills are developed in a variety of settings. If you have
ever researched and written a paper for a course, you probably have written
communication skills. Team sports or group projects are a good way to develop the
skills required of a team player and leader. Don't overlook any abilities you may
have When doing the research on yourself, identifying your experience and skills is
important, but it is not all that you need to know. Consider the answers to other
questions such as:

How have I demonstrated the skills required in this position?

What are my strong points and weak points?

What are my short term and long term goals?

What can I offer this particular employer?

What kind of environment do I like? (i.e. How do I like to be supervised? Do I like a

fast pace?)

What do I like doing?

Apart from my skills and experience, what can I bring to this job?

Step 2: Know the Occupation

The second step in preparing for an interview is to research the occupation. This is
necessary because in order to present a convincing argument that you have the
experience and skills required for that occupation, you must first know what those
requirements and duties are. With this information uncovered, you can then match
the skills you have (using the complete skills/experience inventory you have just
prepared) with the skills you know people in that occupational field need. The
resulting "shortlist" will be the one that you need to emphasize during the interview.

It is also in your best interest to identify the approximate starting salary for that
position, or those similar. There are several ways to find out about an occupation:

Acquire a copy of the job description from the employer (Human

Resources/Personnel) or check with Student Employment Services. If you are

responding to an advertisement, this may also supply some details.

The Career Resource Centre has general information files on a variety of

occupations. Make sure you have read through the appropriate file and are updated
on the occupation. If you belong to a professional association related to the
occupation, use its resources. These associations often publish informative
newsletters and sponsor seminars. It is also a good way to meet people working in
the field. Conduct information interviews with people working in the field. Read
articles about people in the occupation, and articles written by people in the
occupation. Sources include newspapers, magazines and the internet. Find out what
the future trends are in the area. Is technology changing the job?

Step 3: Know the Organization

The more you know about an organization, the better prepared you will be to
discuss how you can meet its needs. Some of the characteristics that you should
know about an organization are:

Where is it located?

How big is it?

What are its products and who does it serve?

How is the organization structured?

What is its history?

Have there been any recent changes, new developments?

There are a number of ways in which you can access this information. Most
medium- to large-sized organizations publish information about themselves. You can
access this a number of ways:

On campus at the Student Employment Services (company literature and business

directories) or at the Drake Centre Library

The Winnipeg Centennial Library has a business microfiche with information on over
5000 Canadian companies and business directories

Many companies have internet home pages which you can locate by searching by
industry and company name

Finally, you can visit or phone the organization and request some information on
their products, services or areas of research

If the organization is fairly small, or fairly new, there may not be much information
published. In this case, it will be necessary to do an information interview. Contact
someone within the organization, introduce yourself, explain that you are
considering moving into the field, and ask if it would be possible to meet with
him/her to inquire about the company/organization and about what exactly the
position would involve.

Step 4: Prepare Questions

Having completed your background research, you are now ready to prepare
questions to ask the interviewer(s). Try to think of questions for which the answer
was not readily available in company literature. Intelligent well thought-out
questions will demonstrate your genuine interest in the position. Be careful how
many questions you ask, however, as too many can imply you feel the interview
was not successfully run. Pick your questions with care - this is your chance to
gather information, so ask about what you really want to know. Avoid sounding
critical by mentioning negative information you may have discovered. This is one of
the most effective ways to compare different employers, so for issues of particular
importance to you (for example, whether they support staff upgrading), you should
ask the same questions of each employer. Some sample questions are:

What are the most significant factors affecting your business today? How have
changes in technology most affected your business today?

How has your business/industry been affected by the recession?

How has your company grown or changed in the last couple of years?

What future direction do you see the company taking?

Where is the greatest demand for your services or product?

Where is most of the pressure from increased business felt in this company?

Which department feels it the most?

How do you differ from your competitors?

How much responsibility will I be given in this position?

What do you like about working with this organization?

Can you tell me more about the training program?

Have any new product lines been introduced recently?

How much travel is normally expected?

What criteria will be used to evaluate my performance?

Will I work independently or as part of a team?

How did you advance to your position?

What are the career paths available in this organization?

When can I expect to hear from you regarding this position?

It is very important to ask the last question because employers want to hire
individuals who are interested in the position - and asking this question definitely
helps to demonstrate interest on your part. Exercise judgment when asking
questions to an employer. When being interviewed by a large company that has a
high profile, one would not ask the question "What is the history of your company
and how was your company started?" You can find the answer to this question in the
company's annual report or articles in magazines/newspapers. However, small- and
medium-sized companies do not always produce publicly available annual reports
and it may be difficult to access information on the company and its role in the
industry. This question is appropriate if you have exercised all other ways to find out
the answer.