answer them. Read the questions 1. Tell me about yourself: The most often asked question in interviews.

You need to have a short statement prepared in your mind. Be careful that it does not sound rehearsed. Limit it to work-related items unless instructed otherwise. Talk about things you have done and jobs you have held that relate to the position you are interviewing for. Start with the item farthest back and work up to the present. 2. Why did you leave your last job? Stay positive regardless of the circumstances. Never refer to a major problem with management and never speak ill of supervisors, co-workers or the organization. If you do, you will be the one looking bad. Keep smiling and talk about leaving for a positive reason such as an opportunity, a chance to do something special or other forward-looking reasons. 3. What experience do you have in this field? Speak about specifics that relate to the position you are applying for. If you do not have specific experience, get as close as you can. 4. Do you consider yourself successful? You should always answer yes and briefly explain why. A good explanation is that you have set goals, and you have met some and are on track to achieve the others. 5. What do co-workers say about you? Be prepared with a quote or two from co-workers. Either a specific statement or a paraphrase will work. Jill Clark, a co-worker at Smith Company, always said I was the hardest workers she had ever known. It is as powerful as Jill having said it at the interview herself. 6. What do you know about this organization? This question is one reason to do some research on the organization before the interview. Find out where they have been and where they are going. What are the current issues and who are the major players? 7. What have you done to improve your knowledge in the last year? Try to include improvement activities that relate to the job. A wide variety of activities can be mentioned as positive self-improvement. Have some good ones handy to mention. 8. Are you applying for other jobs? Be honest but do not spend a lot of time in this area. Keep the focus on this job and what you can do for this organization. Anything else is a distraction. 9. Why do you want to work for this organization? This may take some thought and certainly, should be based on the research you have done on the organization. Sincerity is extremely important here and will easily be sensed. Relate it to your long-term career goals. 10. Do you know anyone who works for us? Be aware of the policy on relatives working for the organization. This can affect your answer even though they asked about friends not relatives. Be careful to mention a friend only if they are well thought of.

11. What kind of salary do you need? A loaded question. A nasty little game that you will probably lose if you answer first. So, do not answer it. Instead, say something like, That s a tough question. Can you tell me the range for this position? In most cases, the interviewer, taken off guard, will tell you. If not, say that it can depend on the details of the job. Then give a wide range. 12. Are you a team player? You are, of course, a team player. Be sure to have examples ready. Specifics that show you often perform for the good of the team rather than for yourself are good evidence of your team attitude. Do not brag, just say it in a matter-of-fact tone. This is a key point. 13. How long would you expect to work for us if hired? Specifics here are not good. Something like this should work: I d like it to be a long time. Or As long as we both feel I m doing a good job. 14. Have you ever had to fire anyone? How did you feel about that? This is serious. Do not make light of it or in any way seem like you like to fire people. At the same time, you will do it when it is the right thing to do. When it comes to the organization versus the individual who has created a harmful situation, you will protect the organization. Remember firing is not the same as layoff or reduction in force. 15. What is your philosophy towards work? The interviewer is not looking for a long or flowery dissertation here. Do you have strong feelings that the job gets done? Yes. That s the type of answer that works best here. Short and positive, showing a benefit to the organization. 16. If you had enough money to retire right now, would you? Answer yes if you would. But since you need to work, this is the type of work you prefer. Do not say yes if you do not mean it. 17. Have you ever been asked to leave a position? If you have not, say no. If you have, be honest, brief and avoid saying negative things about the people or organization involved. 18. Explain how you would be an asset to this organization You should be anxious for this question. It gives you a chance to highlight your best points as they relate to the position being discussed. Give a little advance thought to this relationship. 19. Why should we hire you? Point out how your assets meet what the organization needs. Do not mention any other candidates to make a comparison. 20. Tell me about a suggestion you have made Have a good one ready. Be sure and use a suggestion that was accepted and was then considered successful. One related to the type of work applied for is a real plus. 21. What irritates you about co-workers? This is a trap question. Think real hard but fail to come up with anything that irritates you. A short statement that you seem to get along with folks is great. 22. What is your greatest strength?

Numerous answers are good, just stay positive. A few good examples: Your ability to prioritize, Your problem-solving skills, Your ability to work under pressure, Your ability to focus on projects, Your professional expertise, Your leadership skills, Your positive attitude 23. Tell me about your dream job. Stay away from a specific job. You cannot win. If you say the job you are contending for is it, you strain credibility. If you say another job is it, you plant the suspicion that you will be dissatisfied with this position if hired. The best is to stay genetic and say something like: A job where I love the work, like the people, can contribute and can t wait to get to work. 24. Why do you think you would do well at this job? Give several reasons and include skills, experience and interest. 25. What are you looking for in a job? See answer # 23 26. What kind of person would you refuse to work with? Do not be trivial. It would take disloyalty to the organization, violence or lawbreaking to get you to object. Minor objections will label you as a whiner. 27. What is more important to you: the money or the work? Money is always important, but the work is the most important. There is no better answer. 28. What would your previous supervisor say your strongest point is? There are numerous good possibilities: Loyalty, Energy, Positive attitude, Leadership, Team player, Expertise, Initiative, Patience, Hard work, Creativity, Problem solver 29. Tell me about a problem you had with a supervisor Biggest trap of all. This is a test to see if you will speak ill of your boss. If you fall for it and tell about a problem with a former boss, you may well below the interview right there. Stay positive and develop a poor memory about any trouble with a supervisor. 30. Don Not not What has disappointed you about a job? t get trivial or negative. Safe areas are few but can include: enough of a challenge. You were laid off in a reduction Company did win a contract, which would have given you more responsibility.

31. Tell me about your ability to work under pressure. You may say that you thrive under certain types of pressure. Give an example that relates to the type of position applied for. 32. Do your skills match this job or another job more closely? Probably this one. Do not give fuel to the suspicion that you may want another job more than this one. 33. What motivates you to do your best on the job? This is a personal trait that only you can say, but good examples are: Challenge, Achievement, Recognition 34. Are you willing to work overtime? Nights? Weekends? This is up to you. Be totally honest. 35. How would you know you were successful on this job?

Several ways are good measures: You set high standards for yourself and meet them. Your outcomes are a success.Your boss tell you that you are successful 36. Would you be willing to relocate if required? You should be clear on this with your family prior to the interview if you think there is a chance it may come up. Do not say yes just to get the job if the real answer is no. This can create a lot of problems later on in your career. Be honest at this point and save yourself future grief. 37. Are you willing to put the interests of the organization ahead ofyour own? This is a straight loyalty and dedication question. Do not worry about the deep ethical and philosophical implications. Just say yes. 38. Describe your management style. Try to avoid labels. Some of the more common labels, like progressive, salesman or consensus, can have several meanings or descriptions depending on which management expert you listen to. The situational style is safe, because it says you will manage according to the situation, instead of one size fits all. 39. What have you learned from mistakes on the job? Here you have to come up with something or you strain credibility. Make it small, well intentioned mistake with a positive lesson learned. An example would be working too far ahead of colleagues on a project and thus throwing coordination off. 40. Do you have any blind spots? Trick question. If you know about blind spots, they are no longer blind spots. Do not reveal any personal areas of concern here. Let them do their own discovery on your bad points. Do not hand it to them. 41. If you were hiring a person for this job, what would you look for? Be careful to mention traits that are needed and that you have. 42. Do you think you are overqualified for this position? Regardless of your qualifications, state that you are very well qualified for the position. 43. How do you propose to compensate for your lack of experience? First, if you have experience that the interviewer does not know about, bring that up: Then, point out (if true) that you are a hard working quick learner. 44. What qualities do you look for in a boss? Be generic and positive. Safe qualities are knowledgeable, a sense of humor, fair, loyal to subordinates and holder of high standards. All bosses think they have these traits. 45. Tell me about a time when you helped resolve a dispute betweenothers. Pick a specific incident. Concentrate on your problem solving technique and not the dispute you settled. 46. What position do you prefer on a team working on a project? Be honest. If you are comfortable in different roles, point that out. 47. Describe your work ethic. Emphasize benefits to the organization. Things like, determination to get the job done and work hard but enjoy your work are good.

48. What has been your biggest professional disappointment? Be sure that you refer to something that was beyond your control. Show acceptance and no negative feelings. 49. Tell me about the most fun you have had on the job. Talk about having fun by accomplishing something for the organization. 50. Do you have any questions for me? Always have some questions prepared. Questions prepared where you will be an ass et to the organization are good. How soon will I be able to be productive? and W hat type of projects will I be able to assist on? are examples. Like 35 bloggers like this post. asakpke afournier aircraftengineering Erinmr mummyyz Clean beavy Li Yan einstein009 ????????? Vu lenardregencia alabasterwords thestillcity kass30 katapadu akuchlous grrlgenius22 Matthew vrikmace doantrangnguyen89 Ming Gel Datu raystar89 Lady Sassafrass casperwatt kaylarantz Charles Alamo Maxwell Knight ParisLove Career Cruiser geldatu Yong Nian itsmyspace8 Kristen Sharp Posted in Interview Q & A | 1,799 Comments 1,799 Responses on August 19, 2006 at 1:26 pm | Reply smiggs Might be a british but one of the questions I always get asked is my biggest weakness.

For me there are two approaches to this either something really obvious like lacking experience (I m a recent graduate) or the biggest interview cliche saying that you can work to hard. But I ve had both thrown back in my face in a couple o f interviews so what s the answer should I just be honest? on May 13, 2009 at 7:26 am | Reply Leo Always respond with a weakness that is real/authentic (about self vs. bu siness processes) but always offer a way that you have overcome the weakness and now have developed this into a strength on October 8, 2009 at 12:47 am Dean Unless it is something that a boss is defenitley not going to be loo king for in a person e.g. if your lazy you would nt mention it because it would st raight away ruin the interview. You may be lucky and have a good interviewer who is willing to give you a chance on the job though. on June 9, 2009 at 8:13 pm | Reply Bosco I ve had this asked of me in America, too. My answer (luckily, I d prepared one!) was to go Ummm. [thinking hard for a second or two] and then give them somet hing totally unrelated to the job at hand. In my case, I was really having nothi ng to do with budgets and numbers, but guessed that I had a weakness about doing math problems in my head, and gave an example of someone I knew who could walk into a room and do mental arithmetic calculations about the amount of electricit y being used. on February 1, 2010 at 6:31 pm Dee Bosco this is the absolute best answer I have come across for the we akness question. I have been looking for an appropriate question for years!!!! T hank you so much! I have an interview this week and will definitely be using the skill answer to that question. on March 30, 2011 at 8:36 am Free interview questions Hi all of you! 23. Tell me about your dream job. The best is to stay genetic and say something like: A job where I love the work, like the people, can contribute a nd can t wait to get to work. on July 1, 2009 at 9:07 pm | Reply Luis The best way to answer this is simply mention a specific skill, but you are planning on developing or take courses to improve yourself. For example, if you are an accountant, say that you would like to improve your knowledge in taxa tion. If you work with technology, say that your weakness is not to know enough about certain technology/language/operating-system, and that you want to take tr aining. This is very good answer because: (1) everybody understands that nobody can know everything, (2) it s a weakness you can remedy, and (3) show that you are willing to improve your knowledge or skills. on March 31, 2011 at 5:06 am Peter

Hi Luis Tks for your comments. Good ideals on October 19, 2009 at 6:24 am | Reply Jessica For what was my question was what kind of customers do you like I respon ded; I dont like niggers, mexican, jews or indians, other wise I am good. Thanks on October 21, 2009 at 1:35 am Gary Too funny Jessica! I too, wish I had the nerve to say the same thing ! on October 21, 2009 at 8:43 pm Sue So Ignorant to say that statement! on October 22, 2009 at 9:16 pm Dora Jessica, I TRIED TO LET THIS ONE GO, BUT I COULD NOT. HOW DARE YOU SAY SUCH A N IGNORANT THING. YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF HOW IGNORANT YOU REALLY ARE. A PERSON LIKE YOU WOULD NOT DARE SAY SUCH A THING WHILE IN THE COMPANY OF THE SO CALLED ABOVE MENTIONED. BETTER YET A PERSON LIKE YOU WOULD NOT EVEN THINK SUCH A THING WHILE WITH EITHER ONE. DO YOU HAVE THE SLIGHTEST IDEA WHY? OF COURSE NOT YOU ARE I GNORANT. YOU USE A WEBSITE/INTERNET TO REALLY SAY HOW YOU REALLY FEEL ABOUT SOME ONE. YOU ARE VERY PATHETIC. I WILL SAY THIS COUNT YOUR DAYS TO SEE HOW LONG IT WIL L BE BEFORE YOU HAVE RELY ON SOMEONE, NO MATTER WHAT THEIR SKIN COLOR MAY BE. IF YOU ARE CAPABLE OF THINKING TRY THIS WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CHECKED YOUR FAMILY TREE? WAS IT WHAT YOU THOUGHT IT WOULD BE? I M SURE YOU ARE NOT 100% PURE OF WHATEVER YOUR RACE MAY BE. i M SORRY, I FORGOT TO TELL YOU, YOUR FAMILY TREE IS NOT THE TREE IN T HE FRONT OF YOUR HOUSE. NOW THANK YOU! on October 27, 2009 at 7:57 pm Matthew you fucking ignorant cunt on October 27, 2009 at 8:13 pm Matthew you fucking ignorant cunts (jessica and gary), hope you both haven t p rocreated and produced more poisoned minds with your revolting racism on October 28, 2009 at 6:52 pm alicia Jessica, I just read your comment and if you were being serious, I c an only say that you are a despicable and sick human being and I use the term human

being very lightly. You should be ashamed of yourself, but you can not take all the credit I also would blame your parents for raising such a heartless and bigote d person. After all you heard the saying the fruit does not fall far from the tre e I m sure your parents are also despicable people. People like yourself make me si ck!!! on October 30, 2009 at 1:26 am Flip Oh lord, some people just can t take a freekin joke. Lighten up people and quit taking yourselves so damn serious. If Dave Chappell was to do that on a comedy skit, you all would be laughing your asses off. Plus, remember Jessica s response next time you get a letter for jury duty, you re guaranteed not to be called up! Make sure you end with your own race. That way they know you hate everyone equally! (This is a joke so it is ok to la ugh). on November 2, 2009 at 3:28 pm shantae williams you know what, i think sue was right but, i would have been a little nastier than that. you just plain out stupid to say somethung like that. i feel SORRRRRRRRRY!!!!!!!!!, FOR YOUR MOM AND DAD. I FEEL SORRY FOR YOU BECAUSE THE W AY YOU WAS RAISED YOU SUCK on November 4, 2009 at 4:49 pm rob thank you jessica you made my day a little better on November 11, 2009 at 10:54 am Belinda Jessica & Gary 2 morons who would never get a job in Australia with a comment like that not that you d probably care do you even know where Australia i s??? on November 18, 2009 at 5:40 pm Danny i hate fucking niggers too. i will pay money to have the ten- foot p ole surgically removed from all of your uptight assholes. fuck. on November 18, 2009 at 7:59 pm Austin That a girl Jessica FUCK THE OTHER RACES!!! you should have put some thing about sand niggers and the nigger in our white house lol on November 20, 2009 at 2:18 am nana well thanks because the devil is coming for you watch out for the vo doo honey on November 26, 2009 at 4:34 pm william get the fucking sticks out of your asses. this is the fucking intern et, you can say whatever the fuck you want. no shit people woulndt say racist re marks in an interveiw but this isnt a fucking interview so lighten the fuck up p eople . christ. on November 26, 2009 at 4:37 pm Mike Holy god damn people, what is the big deal with racism we all do it every fucking day and there is no problem with it. If Russel Peters can do it th

en why cant we? and what is with voodo honey WTF your are a dumb hoe on November 26, 2009 at 4:39 pm Mike DONT TALK SHIT ABOUT TOTAL!!!!! on December 1, 2009 at 9:43 pm Rose Jessica, The real matter is that you do not like yourself for all of us are c onnected whether you like that fact or not. Too bad your so angry at the world. I hope you get well someday and see the sunlight of the spirit. on December 10, 2009 at 5:33 am Luis :| really guys your re getting work up over this? your fighting a trol l. here s a little lesson on the wonderful interwebz. whenever you see so mething ignorant like that, just let it go. please you are simply adding fuel to the fire making more people want to agree with her just to piss you off. let s put an end to trolling. just let te comment slide and enjoy your time on the interwebz :) on December 17, 2009 at 10:55 am Alejandra dont be such an asshole ! u rasist!!! on December 17, 2009 at 1:11 pm hater You go Jessica Fuck niggers, mexicans,jews and indians if u don t like that fuck you too! on December 30, 2009 at 5:53 am Eahfu The message here is a simple one- racism is not funny. I doubt Jessica really gave this answer. A job interview is certainl y not a place to make these kinds jokes. Who would hire an insensitive moron lik e this? on December 31, 2009 at 4:09 am joyce joke or not that really is a stupid thing to say, I also feel sorry for your parents. on January 8, 2010 at 8:37 pm Rachel Funny ! lol Buh i wouldnt ever say anythin like that, im not racist in anyway at all tho, i hav loads of coloured friends, all different races, but i Do hav a s ense of humour, unlike anyone else below , except from Gary he got the joke :) Lighten Up People Really, Again Funny, :) on January 10, 2010 at 8:40 pm Jessica fart I hat Customer like Jessica.

on January 12, 2010 at 3:17 pm Dejasder YOU ARE A EVIL LITTLE FAT BITCH ALL OF THE NIGGERS WILL FIND WERE YOU LIVE AND BEAT YOUR STUPID ASSES. YOU ARE THE MOST IGNORED PERSON ON THE INTERNE T YOU AND THAT GARY GUY. BUT YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT I AM A VERY SMART PERSON AND I CAN FIND WERE YOU LIVE AND YOU PHONE NUMBER AND YOUR PARENTS PHONE NUMBER I WIL L CALL AND CALL TILL YOU LEARN HOW TO RESPECT PEOPLE YOU DIRTY WHORE AND I SAY THIS WITYH ALL CAPS BECAUSE I MEAN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! on January 12, 2010 at 10:36 pm Esh Unfortunately for you Dejasder, personal threats are treated much mo re severely than racist comments. While the original comment was racist, ignoran t, or just in bad taste, your outburst would lead to a much more severe punishme nt than anything anyone previously had said if the person were to take it seriou sly. While I sympathize with how a person could/would feel in this situat ion it does not help matters any to reinforce the behavior by allowing them the satisfaction of knowing they got to you. Especially in a way that could hold con sequences for yourself rather than the person who offended you. on January 15, 2010 at 4:39 pm Sherl Hei Jessica does that mean that your racist?You seem to be a young p erson but you shocked me at this age and time you still hate other human beings or is it coz they are very hardworking -the mexicans,africans etc. You need to e xit from that mentality and leave people alone and mind your own life even if yo u hate working with them or not just keep it to your pretty little white head an d don t let others know coz we don t like you guys too but we don t tell but rather ke ep it to our big foreign heads.Thank you and one thing without us so many things would be were they are today!!!!!GROW UP AND LET GO OF THE HATING MENTALITY LEA VE IT TO YOUR GRANDPA OR GRANDMA COZ THIS IS A NEW GENERATION HEADED BY ONEOF TH E PEOPLE YOU HATE .MR PRESIDENT OBAMA full stop. on January 20, 2010 at 10:19 pm william i would still like to maintain that all you people that dont findthe original comment, and the outcry of people afterwards funny, you need to lighte n the fuck up. there is a giant stick up your ass that society has put there, an d you need to remove it before you can have any fun in this life. on February 19, 2010 at 7:53 pm shannyn in response to allll of the feedback that jessica and gary recieved, it was not a proper comment on jessica,s behalf. although, in a situation like this you ALL must ask yourselves what makes you any better ? If jessica was seri ous , she may feel that way for blaming others( black, mexican..etc.) for things she believes theyy may be responsible for or maybe judging someone before getti ng to know them ..HMMM seems similar to what you all have just done to her INNOCENT parents !!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU MAY NEVER ASSUME THAT SOMEONE ELSE IS TO BLAME FOR ON ES ACTIONS !!!!!!!!! YOU ARE HARRRASSING HER FOR ( WHAT WAS PROBABLY A RESULT OF HER HUMOR) .AND ATTTTTTACKING HER MOTHER AND FATHER !!!!!! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES FOR ALLOWING THIS COMMENTTO PUT YOU IN SUCH A PATHETIC STATE OF M IND(IN THE EXACT SAME CATAGORY AS UR CONDEMING) INSTEAD YOU SHOULD TRY A MORE CO NTROLLED AND INSPIRING AND MAYBE EVEN EDUCATIONAL APPROACH IN THE CASE , OF COURSE , THAT SHE WERE SERIOUS !!!! THINK PEOPLE , THINK ABOUT WHAT U R SAYING AND HOW U DIFFER FROM WHO U ARE ATTACKING !!!!

on April 21, 2010 at 6:15 pm don Hi jessica, every body is an human , one cannot say i don t like to li ve air , i love water, i like cold , not hot, it all about nature , human is an nature gift to earth to which ever body has to be consider with all equal, no co lour,no country, unless we love each other there is no peace, everybody is relat ed to each other somewhere, some else in this goble. on April 23, 2010 at 4:01 pm Con People have right to like or don t like for their own reason(s). So let her alone on April 27, 2010 at 9:11 pm Vanessa loL!!! on May 16, 2010 at 8:12 pm guy latty a fuck you u bigot die and burn in hells pit on June 24, 2010 at 8:33 am micheal your a stupid bitch i wish i new where you lived so you could say th at to my face ill show you a nigger on the real white trash you are very stupid we would beat the shit out of you and any one else who talk shit on June 24, 2010 at 8:40 am micheal you are the kinda of person i would love to meet in person !!! your not funny i hope some one beats the shit out of you my girl friend is black and i love here to dealth alot of them know how to treat people thats why i dont mes s with dumb white girls like you! on July 15, 2010 at 1:51 am Jessica is Immature @ micheal I think that u r absolutely right. @ Jessica that was kind of rude to say, all I know is that u would not say that to a black persons face FYI! Hunni im black, and my mom taught me not to take any shit from anyone! I m ab solutely astonished, I have white men in my family and I am glad that they do no t have your mentality. What you said is going to come back on you. Grow up, and this goes to everybody else that made a racist comment. And to the person that s aid that we have a black person in the white house, just to let you know a black man built it! on July 27, 2010 at 11:09 am Doug So did you get the job BITCH !!

on July 28, 2010 at 2:40 pm LONZO BLACK POWER YOU MOTHER FUCKERS WE ARE GOING TOO TAKE OVER THE WORLD OUR LEADER IS BLACK OBAMA BITCHES YOU FUCKING trailer trash WHITE PEOPLE GOING DOWN 1 AT A TIME YEAH BLACKS MEXICANS INDIANS EVERYBODY IS UNITED AGAINST THE WHITES YOU FUCKING HONKEYS FOLLOW UR LEADER OBAMA AND KILL URSEL F BEFORE IT COMES TO YOU . BLACKS KILL THE WHITE AND WHITE FALL DOWN

on August 16, 2010 at 3:55 pm JezykahLyn WOW! People have way too much free time! lmao! on August 17, 2010 at 2:09 am Black and Proud You guys are so funny.. I can t believe that this informative web page turned into human hatred but I guess that s what you all do the best is hate .the mos t hateful people in the world if you ask me and Austin I m sooooo glad that Obama bein g in the White House pisses you off I m tickled love and peace everyone . on August 17, 2010 at 4:27 pm indian I have seen jessica eating the excreta of indian and drinking urine of indian on August 22, 2010 at 6:00 am true indian Hi!.. jesy.. fold your fingers and open the middle finger f**k on September 25, 2010 at 3:45 pm JoAnne Patterson Thank God for America! You do have freedom of speech. You, however, need to use your brain, mind and emotions. God forgive you! on October 17, 2010 at 4:45 am Shocked She was joking!!! She did not mean that comment literally, jeez peop le! The hate going out towards her was much more real than what she portrayed. P lease know that her comment was in bad taste, but your truthfully hateful respon ses (e.g. white racism, etc.) were disturbing. on October 28, 2010 at 11:41 pm ugh dumb bitch. on November 1, 2010 at 9:37 am amazed @jessica okay so i know this was most likely a joke so i dont plan o n talking about you in anyway but for those that do think this way, that is pretty ignorant of you im mexican -american & loveeee all cultures. im fluent in english and spanish and speak some arabic and some filipino. i love all cultures & i fi nd it very amousing that people can have comments like these and think that it s o kay racism=ignorance. my last 2 boyfriends have been arabic and i love white guys. yes, you can tell im sooo not racist.lol race is not something that should defi ne anyone. every race has its pros and cons we all have good and bad people, diffe rent traditions, etc. its not your race that defines you, its your abilities to succeed and your personality. its who you are as a person that defines you. much love, the least racist/judgemental person i know :) best wishes. on November 15, 2010 at 10:50 pm ahahaha wow one little comment like that and you people are still carrying o n over a year later? fuck imagine if she said it to your face. im just surprised there are that many black/jew/mexicans/indians that can actually read english t o respond to this or did you guys have it translated? on February 1, 2011 at 6:21 am Pam you knw tht u can get F**d up for something like that rite cracker

on February 23, 2011 at 10:12 am klsdf slkf jlk why don t u add ur mom to that list :P on February 27, 2011 at 5:14 pm unknown you re an idiot! you have no culture-just ignorance! on February 27, 2011 at 5:15 pm unknown jessica you re an idiot! you have no culture-just ignorance! on March 10, 2011 at 8:46 am Meagan. People like this don t really deserve your anger. She may have been jo king but it s really not funny any way you look at it. Also Lonzo, you re showing about as much ignorance as Jessica. Quite a few white people respect other races and cultures and don t think like that. And being angry at something like this doesn t mean you have a stick u p your ass. It means you re human and don t like being blamed for who you are. on May 25, 2011 at 7:54 am wanda Funny!Are you single? I know someone who you would really get along with. He thinks just like you. Just wondering on May 27, 2011 at 1:53 pm Jessica I m back bitches and I still hate dem niggers jews homosexuals and ara bs!!! on July 14, 2011 at 11:24 am Candyce Golden d half black Did it ever occur to anyone here that our president is half white an not just black .

on September 19, 2011 at 7:43 am Corina so pretty much you are a racist. The exact type of Co-workers OR cus tomers I and normal human beings can t stand. on February 16, 2010 at 10:50 am | Reply im hi on February 18, 2010 at 4:58 am bubbles Guys, its funny because you would ABSOLUTELY NOT SAY THAT because it s so despicable. Its irony. IRONY. - Bubbles (the half-mexican black lesbian jew) on November 25, 2010 at 11:15 pm Jessica Yo all the people talking in caps lock, you should turn it off you l

ook like stupid niggers on April 19, 2011 at 5:16 am Katie It s rather funny actually, for all the blacks commenting (obviously, we know who you are with those names) saying how she is the stupid one and how you are so smart, please re-read what you have written. Poor grammar and lack of la nguage art skills. Before, you go ahead and claim someone as stupid, please try to at least make sense and stop being so illiterate. You are making yourselves l ook bad. Go ahead and say how this will be black America because we have a black p resident. You are forgetting one small detail he is Muslim too. So I do believe th at before he gathers all the blacks and takes over, he will bomb all of you firs t. Props to the original racist comment for having the balls to say it. on June 2, 2010 at 6:14 pm | Reply Dante Most employers love a sense of character, something to differentiate you from the norm, while not being a bit too different. As stated below, you might pause and think for a few seconds and then state that your biggest weakness is ch ocolate , or some other hobby you crave. You re turning a loaded question into one t hat gives you a bit of personality. Note, don t be too different. You don t want you r employer to know that you are absolutely cuckoo for cocoa puffs. on September 27, 2010 at 6:33 pm | Reply Mariah H. LMAO! im spanish n not racist at all, but that is pretty funny. imagine an ignorant girl sayin this in an interview! the face on that person!! haha spec ially if that person interviewing her was of one of the races she mentioned! hah a i wouldn be surprised is she got a punch to the throat! LMAO! good one jess, b ut just so everyone doesn get butthurt mention your own race at the end or somet hing;) on December 21, 2010 at 8:58 pm | Reply Silver Fighter Smiggs, when an interviewer asks you about your biggest weakness or weak point, you must always be positive in your answer and don t go too deep in replyi ng to this question because sometimes it is nothing more than a tricky question. You only reply by stating that if you knew what is your weak point, it won t be a weak point of you anymore! This is a very neutral answer to this question on January 9, 2011 at 4:28 am | Reply neo That s an american thing too For tech job interviews, I go read at http://bit.ly/hzRU2P on January 22, 2011 at 6:03 pm | Reply RAMANAN Hi! By this time, you may have been employed having successfully negotia ted such tricky questions. Usually it is advisable to quote one of your areas of actual weakness, say communication skill, as your weakness. Your answer should sound confident to indicate that you have already started working on that partic ular weakness. Temperamental qualities should not be attributed as weakness sinc e they are more associated with your personality. You may communicate through this blog about your actual weakness. Hopefu lly we shall settle on something that would help people like us. Good Luck.

on February 28, 2011 at 2:49 pm | Reply Jenny - Interview expert Hi Smiggs I agreed with you, weakness and strength questions are most important qu estions for an job interview. But I think now it is popular so that I like behav ioral interview. rgs on April 7, 2011 at 3:20 pm | Reply josh hahahaha yall ned to get a life and get off the computahh>:) on July 5, 2011 at 4:40 pm | Reply madisa Okay dont dtate your biggest weakness state something what you are stron ger. on August 19, 2006 at 7:55 pm | Reply TR Bobby Regarding the What is your greatest weakness? question,

ugh! That question is a sure indicator that the person interviewing you does not know what theya re doing. It s a sure loser. Either the applicant is honest a nd stupid enough to market their truly worst flaws (and every applicant has some serious flaws, like arrogance or laziness or sex obsession they ALL have somethi ng that they ned to control as part of the human experience) Either they tell tha t or they lie. The most common and cliche inexeperienced lie they tell is the pe rfectionist flaw what Lakuma said. This might work, I suppose, since your intervi ewer is probably an idiot, but it s also a sure sign that you are not very experie nced as doing much beyond reading simplistic career books. It s a cliche answer to say you are super hard working and somehow you truly gr eatest flaw is also what makes you a good worker that s so blatantly dishonest that it shows serious judgemental defieciencies. Can you imagine the worker who real ly thinks the fact that they are super detail oriented or a perfectionist is the ir greatest weakness? it is so nakedly false, fake, and disrespectful that peopl e who say this must just not be thinking their answer through at all! And again, it is very very tired and cliche. No, a better ones. Tell them eople to realize s true, if it is answer is to name a legit flaw, but not one of your truly worst you have a shy personality and it may take a little while for p that you aren t stuck up and really want to be friends (if this i not tue it will be obvious).

Or say that you have a no experience (a pretty good answer if true because i t isn t really giving any information up) I m not sure how this gets thrown back in your face, smiggs, if it s true, then reality was being thrown in your face, no di srespect intended. Tell them the truth and consider asking your interviewer what they mean to a ccomplish with that question. I want to know that the place I m going to work take s its emplioyees seriously. That question indicates an unseriousness about inter viewing. Almost like throwing artificial obstacles in the way of getting the rig ht employee. Inviting dishonesty or stupid answers it s just not professional. The interview may not define the company, but all else being equal, I would consider it a strike against considering a job offer.

on January 22, 2010 at 6:48 pm | Reply Yaminashi Zooru you are all dumb in every way possible. PEACE on May 2, 2011 at 5:19 pm | Reply Either I m preparing to retake an interview for a master s program. Last year they had the weakness question but I felt it was a very good question. Everyone focus es on people s strengths but what about the weaknesses that everyone has, they don t just go away. We can find ways to make them work and that s what the interviewer wants. In my situation they asked for my weakness and how I worked with it. We are all human. Some of us are better as some things and worse at others. So we c an delegate somethings were bad at. Maybe you have trouble with public speaking then you spend more prep time, you write out all your notes in full before hand. It s a weakness but it doesn t mean you do a bad job, you just have to work harder. Companies want to see you doing your best for them. on August 19, 2006 at 8:21 pm | Reply Rocco Stanzione One question I ve often been asked, and which cost me the job (I m pretty sure, in retrospect) the first time I was asked it is: where do you see yourself in (s ay) 5 years? The incorrect answer is that you want to open up a business just li ke this one, up the street over there. on July 28, 2009 at 3:59 am | Reply Laura Funny!! on February 19, 2010 at 8:00 pm | Reply shannyn LOL, YEAH THAT COULD BE A LIL INTIMIDATING ! FUNNYYY! on April 24, 2010 at 2:52 am | Reply MMM Seriously?? U answer that?? LOL on August 3, 2010 at 7:45 pm | Reply Jenine Funny, I applied to an interior designing company and said the samething . Sometimes you don t thing a good answer is acctually a bad one. Thank goodness f or a wabsite like this. on April 5, 2011 at 2:47 am | Reply Second interview questions I also like this questions.Tks for all. It is not direct question so that candidate may give incorrect answer. on August 19, 2006 at 8:32 pm | Reply Eric Matthew Biggest Flaw: For a while I refused to answer this question and told them why. Now I have to answer honestly and say something like, Hmmm. I d have to say that I get a littl e to upset with slow drivers. Most of them are old and have been around a long t ime and their driving ability does not define who they are as a person or their

contribution to society. on August 19, 2006 at 8:48 pm | Reply Jesus How soon will I be able to be productive? Gross. on August 19, 2006 at 9:32 pm | Reply Frank One I got asked often was Do you prefer to work solo or in a team? s can be pretty tricky depending on the type of job. on July 24, 2009 at 3:00 am | Reply Jeff I m actually comfortable working independently as well as being team player . on August 19, 2006 at 10:12 pm | Reply Eben de Lange I agree with Eric, although, the idea is to try to make it relevant to the c ompany as well. My answer to this is: I tend to get annoyed when things are going inefficient , and then IMMEDIATELY jump to the traffic situation. Most people wil l be able to identify with the stuck in traffic concept, and if you specify that you feel that you can do MORE in that time, then it is usually a sure-fire winn er. In addition, the idea behind the worst-flaw type question is to see what you are doing to improve it. With regards to the traffic question, I usually reply that I try to relax by listening to classical radio stations or whatever. This s hows that I am aware of my flaw, and am working towards fixing it. NEVER mention more than one flaw! on July 22, 2010 at 3:20 pm | Reply Maritsa I always say that I am too efficient. I worked at a place where I was as ked to update law books every week on Friday first thing in the morning. I take everything I am told to do very serious. So I did update them accordingly. and my supervisor told me that she did say to update them every Friday first thing in the morning but that people do n ot really have time to read the old version before I put it away. She said that I was too efficient . Then, corrected herself by stating that there was no such thi ng. I was asked to wait a few days before I updated it. on August 19, 2006 at 11:18 pm | Reply GoogleHateMe Had 2 phone interviews with Google. Got rejected. Here s the questions they as ked me: You have a cluster of web servers, each with several log files. Each line in each log file contains the time that it took to serve the request. You have 1 o ther machine to use to coordinate the work. How do you find the median response time efficiently? The answer that the interviewer was looking for was this: Have each server sort its own log files. Ask each server for its median resp onse time. Combine the responses and come up with your best guess at the median I think thi

for the cluster. Ask each server how many response times were less, and how many were more than your guess. Use their replies to refine your guess. Repeat. You have a list of strings. How do you find the longest common prefix that o ccurs in at least 75% of the strings. How do Vectors in Java work? You have 2 unsorted arrays of integers. How can you efficiently determine th eir intersection? on August 20, 2006 at 1:26 am | Reply smiggs TR Bobby: yeah I ve come to accept it as written that most people who do the i nterviewing don t really know what they are doing. I think most of them know it as well and are just as nervous or in fact since I ve become a bit blase about the w hole process are more nervous than me. Most of them are determined to put you th rough the mill though so come up with the most cliche questions possible and the n expect you to ask them seriously. on August 20, 2006 at 3:35 am | Reply Chris Sherret Regarding the What is your greatest weakness? question,

There is an answer to this The principle is: Don t mention a weakness without knowing the solution. Every one has weaknesses. To recognise this and have a solution is what makes the diff erence. Most people are lazy and not willing to go the extra mile to find an ans wer. Excuses don t get the job done. Technical Person: I am a technical person and I realise that my people skills may not be as strong as other people. In order to overcome this I have been rea ding people skills books because I know I need to improve. . You better be telling the truth though. Only above average candidates will be able to answer honestly. Even if interviewers don t know why they are asking the question they will rec ognise a gem or a fraud. The only reason to hide the weakness is if you don t have a solution. Better figure out the truth and do something about it. on August 20, 2006 at 4:25 am | Reply sharpcraft On #11, the salary question, I don t think this is a loaded question. You shou ld establish as early as possible the range you expect. You have to determine th at you both are on the same page. If the company has a hard limit that s $20k belo w your minimum then you are all wasting your time. Salary may be one of the few hard points dictated to the person hiring you, and negotiable only within the ra nge they ve had approved. If you re going into a stable company with low turnover, they may not hire eno ugh people to know what to pay. http://www.salary.com is a good start. Once you ve established that they ll put you in the tax bracket you want, then y ou can proceed with the rest of it and put off the exact amount until they re gett ing ready to make an offer. on June 3, 2009 at 2:15 pm | Reply DELIWE INTERVIEW TIPS on August 20, 2006 at 4:25 am | Reply Mad Interviewer

I would commend you for most of your answers except for these two: 11. What kind of salary do you need? I think you should state the salary you want and then some. This puts you on a higher plane in the mind of the hiring company. No matter how good you really are, no company will respect you if you work for peanuts. People (and companies) value what they pay most for. 37. Are you willing to put the interests of the organization ahead of your o wn? Of course not! on August 3, 2010 at 7:53 pm | Reply Jenine I m assuming your joking, funny stuff. Thats true about the peanuts, but o nly if your worth the pay. Someone just graduating from a four year college has to have a realistic view of acceptable salary ranges. Honestly I think I deserve to make $90,000 a year but if I tell the interiver that they will laugh in my f ace. on August 20, 2006 at 6:14 am | Reply Jason 8. Are you applying for other jobs? Be honest but do not spend a lot of time in this area. Keep the focus on this job and what you can do for this organization. Anything else is a distraction. There can be only one response to this question: Are you interviewing other people for this job? Duh. You are looking for the right job, not any job that comes along. They a re looking fro the right employee. You are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you. Do not let an interviewer forget that. on August 20, 2006 at 7:37 am | Reply John Good list of questions! This would be a great tool for someone to use in pre paring for interviews with a friend. A few other tips from my experience have been to always be positive in inter views. Negative comments say that you are an individual who is critical of other s, and no one wants to work with an asshole. This will automatically put you in the second round interview pools if the rest of the interview goes smoothly. Why make it in two interviews, if you can make it in one by avoiding this pitfall. Avoid the negative at all costs! Do not try and be funny. Save the sarcasm and facetiousness for your firends . You are being interviewed by a stranger who might have a completely different set of values from your own, ie not getting the joke. Just don t. What is your greatest weakness? I have never been asked this question. But I know this one is a test to see how tactful an interviewee is. A good reply would be I m sure I have short commings , but no one has ever enlightened me to them nor have they ever interfered with

my productivity or work. Not exactly these words, but you should get the sentimen t. Do not make your reply to this question an introspection. This is an intervie wer, not your shrink! A good thing to remember is interviewers are not your frie nd, they are merely doing their job by finding applicants to fill a vacant posit ion. I think women have more problems with this question, as sexist as this soun ds. Do you have any questions? This has been asked in every interview I have ever had, even if I was not ap plying for a job. Its a question that allows the interviewee an opportunity to a nswer potential questions some one might have, but also illustrates interest in a job, ie you are there for more than a quick dollar. Failing to ask questions is a mistake because it shows a lack of sincere int erest on the interviewees part on a job position. Ask about the job Do not be condescending, shaming, judgemental, critical, avoidant, short, fr ank, angry, or exhibit any sort of anti-social behavior. Above all, be inquisitive, be positive, be friendly, be courteous, and walk into this interview like you are going to your first meeting with your new boss ou ll have the spot landed in no time. Cheers on July 13, 2009 at 4:21 am | Reply Grand Marquis John, I m totally with you about staying positive and coming into the inte rview with a good attitude, but I would definitely disagree with your suggestion to avoid being funny. Certainly, acting clownish is a bad idea in general, but if you walk in with a good joke to break the ice, that could mean the difference between getting the cold shoulder and walking out of there on a first-name-basi s with the interviewer. I suppose, on the other hand, if the interviewee completely sucks at com edy or is a closeted bigot, then joking should be avoided at all costs. So knowi ng your abilities in this area is probably an important consideration. For the r est of us, it can only help the cause. on July 28, 2009 at 4:11 am | Reply Laura Thank you for taking the time to write this. I plan to use your idea for a response on the (stupid) weakness question if asked tomorrow! I m sure I have sh ort commings, but no one has ever enlightened me to them nor have they ever inte rfered with my productivity or work. Thank you! Laura on September 2, 2010 at 3:06 pm | Reply Jeff I myself have fallen into the void where all joke tellers are cast durin g interviews. If you re going to joke, make sure there is no chance for misinterpr etation at all. Even if it seems that one would have to be drooling and wearing a bicycle helmet backwards not to pick up how obviously you are kidding, don t try it if there s a chance they won t. Interviewer: And of course the drug policy is zero tolerance. Me: Wait, zero tolerance? Haha ha ..ha? Interviewer: . Y

That one was obviously a bad idea, but I was young and way to confident this fellow had a sense of humor. on August 20, 2006 at 10:36 am | Reply mq 23. Tell me about your dream job. The best is to stay genetic and say something like: A job where I love the work, like the people, can contribute and can t wait to get to work. Could you mean generic?

on August 20, 2006 at 11:40 am | Reply itbiz 11. What kind of salary do you need? Say, Industry Standard!. Never disclose your salary. Say, your current CTC i s confidential (Infact, it is, if u read the previous company policy). And honestly telling the present CTC will give the intervier, a ground to FI X your next salary on August 20, 2006 at 6:15 pm | Reply Jacobo 37. Are you willing to put the interests of the organization ahead of your o wn? I belive the only correct answer would be something like I shall struggle to make them coincide . Nobody is going to believe you if you start saying that any o rganization is more important for you than yourself, and saying the opposite mig ht seem selfish to the interviewer. Sorry for my bad english but it is not my mother tongue. I hope I have been able to get through to you. on April 24, 2010 at 2:59 am | Reply MMM that s a good answer and I understand you, because english is (almost) my se cond language on August 20, 2006 at 11:40 pm | Reply Bill on the biggest weakness question I alway go with I find I tend to lack Patien ce with stupid people, after showing them something more than 3 times I tend to get frustrated and let it show a bit This won t work in a Sales position but for most anything else it works well. on August 19, 2010 at 10:56 am | Reply domi Bill . that was seriously funny!!!!! on June 30, 2011 at 5:16 pm Maureen I would never hire someone hat responded in such a manner. That answ er was lacking tack. on August 21, 2006 at 1:59 am | Reply Drew Interviews go both ways. My honest answer to question #9 recently was I m not s

ure whether I want to work here or not yet. The interview process isn t just about whether you want me, but also about how interested I would be in working here. O r something to that effect. Not only did it get a great reaction from the fellow who was interviewing me, but I think it helped segue into all of the questions I had to ask about the company. And it worked. I am now quite happy in my new role at Essential Security Sof tware. :-) on March 15, 2011 at 6:48 am | Reply Todd I wouldn t agree with this one. I once lost a job because I was equivocabl e about whether I wanted to work there. The interviewer said, So, if you were off ered the job, you would take it then? I was so caught off guard by the directness and prematureness of the question, that I said, I don t know. I haven t decided yet. I felt I couldn t say yes until I WAS offered a job and after we talked money and benfits, etc. In hindsight, I should have said something like, Everything sounds positi ve so far. I feel strongly that if we could come to terms with the conditions of employment, we could definitely move forward. on August 21, 2006 at 2:58 am | Reply The New Revelation Biggest Weakness: Here s what I say it s a total deke that I refuse to or that I simply don t think of myself in terms of weakness. That it s not how I define myself. That for me, I ju st see opportunities to better myself that as a person, I view myself as a consta nt work in progress always looking to improve myself both personally and profess ionally, Then if I feel like, i ll make up some example of a daunting task I took on (m anaging a project with unfamiliar people) and used that as a catalyst to force m yself to further develop my leadership qualities and organizational skills That s all just for example , but I have a pretty good batting average with job i nterviews == you re hired! on August 21, 2006 at 3:17 am | Reply Raena 29. Tell me about a problem you had with a supervisor Stay positive and develo p a poor memory about any trouble with a supervisor. oh noes. I know if I were in terviewing someone I would never believe it. Everyone has an argument with a sup ervisor sooner or later, for some reason, even if it s just a friendly disagreemen t about the direction of a project or the right way to go about doing something. People ask this to find out about your internal dispute resolution skills, not just to see if you re in the habit of fighting with the boss. The way to turn this into a positive answer is to think of a situation where you could talk about it reasonably and reach a nice compromise (or at least pea ce). on June 10, 2009 at 12:05 pm | Reply Bosco What about reaching way back into your past? This seems to have worked f or me, anyway. The situation I recalled for the interviewer was on my first job right out of grad school and was with our communication styles. Handled it by gu tting it out. That way I didn t have any recent problems with recent supervisors.

I think the question is looking for an acknowledgement that there are pr oblems that arise, but that I can work through them amicably. on August 21, 2006 at 3:55 am | Reply figz I was once asked: If you were an animal, what animal would you be? ght answer? on June 18, 2009 at 5:23 am | Reply Marius I think Dog. :) Dogs are really faithful to their owners, so will you be to your company. :) They feed you with money (bones), you ll stick with them. The y don t have money (you re getting hungry), and you ll look for a bone (maybe you ll fin d it in a different house/company). on August 9, 2009 at 6:25 am | Reply Ed How about . human being !!! or carbon based biped What s the ri

on September 27, 2009 at 3:21 am | Reply J Any answer would be correct. This question is used to show how you deal with an unexpected situation and how you overcome it. on November 6, 2009 at 3:29 pm | Reply Dave A dolphin, because they are the only other animals who have sex for plea sure on May 14, 2010 at 2:01 pm Katschy Nonsense, bonobos do as well :) on August 3, 2010 at 8:05 pm | Reply Jenine Unfortunately there are stupid question and the animal question was it. Bu t I guess if you were asked that question then you can t not answer it. The best t hing is mention an animal that is strong and current (no dinosaurs or mythical c reatures). Don t mention animals that are beautiful, because you may come off as s pacy and young. Be specific and mention one characteristic this animal has that you also poses. (Spelling errors may be present) on August 22, 2006 at 9:09 pm | Reply Ashley A question I always ask is: What was your biggest mistake at work and what d id you do about it? I have passed over people for having no answer to it; or for the slightest w hiff of lie or omission on many of the questions you advise people to answer wit h a lie or to weasel out of. Not everyone in the private sector belongs in a Dil bert strip. Playing that game might get you hired but it will never make you or an yone who works with you happy. on August 22, 2006 at 9:24 pm | Reply I have hired more people than you What is your biggest weakness. A good manager will ask this to understand if you recognize things you need to improve (or do you think you re perfect a flaw i n and of itself) AND more importantly what are the things that s/he can help you with from a career development standpoint.

on August 23, 2006 at 12:14 am | Reply Anonymous >21. What irritates you about co-workers? > This is a trap question. Think real hard but fail to come up with > anything that irritates you. A short statement that you seem to > get along with folks is great. If I heard this answer from a candidate I would not hire them. It indicates to me that the candidate has no depth, judgment or ability to hire the kind of p eople they need on their team, or to reject inappropriate team members or employ ees. Some people *do* fail to follow appropriate cultural or company procedures, are vindictive, abusive, dangerous, or otherwise unsuitable for any legitimate organization. on June 10, 2009 at 12:09 pm | Reply Bosco Exactly! Co-workers who don t pull their weight and contribute to team proj ects; ones who flaunt company rules; ones who habitually come in late and leave early; . That s the kind of answer I d be looking for. on August 23, 2006 at 4:32 pm | Reply Kris #11 The salary question

I m in HR and do a lot of interviews and I think that the best answer is: I would expect to be paid competitively and commensurate with the level of sk ill, experience and responsibility that this particular job requires. on May 12, 2009 at 11:41 pm | Reply Sue This kind of a diplomatic answer did not work for me as I was asked to b e specific about the amount of Salary. I don t know what happened ? on June 10, 2009 at 12:13 pm Bosco Plus, job applications I ve filled out recently want a salary history (starting & ending for each previous job) or a single number for past and curren t job. They re going to know that you probably won t take a pay cut if you re currentl y employed. This is the hardest question I face because it s so two-edged: don t wan t to price myself out of their (unpublished!) range, but also don t want to sell m yself cheap. on August 3, 2010 at 8:19 pm Jenine The best thing to do is just to be honest. I was asked the same thin g and I said, The salary that would fit me is one that I could live off of. Depend ing on the city you live in, wether the job is part time or full, and the kind o f job you applying for this answer is fair. You can t work at a job that does not pay you enough to pay your rent (especially if its full-time). Calculate cost of living for a year and use that number as a base. And if the company is not will ing to hire you, you may wabt to look for another job. Thats the truth. Comfortable living In South Carolina (may be different for other sta te) Rent: $800 per month Utilities: $100 per month

Groceries: $300 per month Gas: $200 per month Loans/Credit Card: $200 per month Other: $400 Per month Total= $2,000 per month Total= $24,000 per year (starting number) on August 23, 2006 at 8:29 pm | Reply groom After being rejected for one of the biggest job opportunities I had, the hea d of the review board called me and asked if I wanted to come in and discuss why I wasn t hired (which was VERY cool of him to do!). He went over all the question s, my replies and how it effected their decision. The biggest common flaw I had lege for over a year with no luck e centered around the fact that I eting applicants hands down in my as basically a loser. was that I wasn t upbeat enough. I d been out of col in my intended field. Most of my responces wer have been down on my luck. I beat all the comp technical ability, but my personality came off

Just remember to keep a 100% positive attitude during the entire interivew. Act excited to be there, about the job opportunity, about your skills, everythin g. on July 24, 2009 at 2:27 pm | Reply recent applicant Good point! Along with an upbeat, positive attitude, courteous manners a re always essential, too. I asked to meet with an interviewer after failing to g et hired to find out what I could do to improve my interview skills. I was glad I did, although it was tough hearing the truth. Turns out that I interrupted mem bers of the panel several times when I was excited about a topic they were talki ng about, in my haste to let them know that I agreed or was informed about the t opic. Interrupting is a bad habit that may be tolerated among equals /peers, but re mains a definite taboo when talking with superiors, especially during a formal int erview process in which I was being questioned. I learned a valuable lesson: sta y quiet and say nothing until it s my turn to talk! Use formal manners and don t try to be too familiar/chummy with the interviewer(s). on August 23, 2006 at 9:01 pm | Reply spoonyfork 29. Tell me about a problem you had with a supervisor Biggest trap of all. This is a test to see if you will speak ill of your boss. If you fall for it and tell about a problem with a former boss, you may well below the interview right there. Stay positive and develop a poor memory about any trouble with a supervisor. WARNING: This is bad advice. The question is designed to demonstrate the int erviewee s skills in resolving a conflict. Claiming to never had a problem is an i nterview ender. There are always personality and judgment conflicts that can app ear to be problems. You want people on your team to disagree with you if they ha ve a good reason to disagree. How everyone works through disagreements and probl ems to work together reaching a common goal is key. on August 24, 2006 at 1:39 am | Reply Dan O Another opinion from the hiring side: I often ask about greatest strength and greatest weakness that the person ha s FOR THIS POSITION in an interview. And I preface my question about greatest we

aknesses by noting that everbody has area that stand out in both directions, and *no* working too hard is not the kind of weakness that I am talking about. Nor wi ll I accept a statement about their experience. Often I get resistance on this question, but I press the issue. Everyone kno ws a significant weakness, they are just reluctant to bring it to light. But pre ssing this issue, I find that I can drive the interview to areas that really may affect their performance on this job. If you wanted to game this line of questioning, you could identify a list of minor flaws. But generally I can tell you are just dodging rather than sincerel y addressing the question. I think the better answer was listed above. List real issues you have, but t hen explain your mitigation stratgy in a very positive way. The disdavantage of this approach is that you have alerted me to an issues that I will pay close att ention to, when calling your references (which is my goal). But on the plus side , if I do sense this weakness in info that I find, I am already predisposed to a ccept your mitigation strategy. In general I agree, that an overwhelming positive attitude is huge (even tho ugh I try to discount the fact that people are often intentionlly doing that in an interview) Best of Luck. on August 24, 2006 at 2:31 am | Reply Robin Really good tips for job hunters on August 24, 2006 at 9:58 am | Reply Still looking My two worst interview questions: #1: Name a hero. I got caught flatfooted on this one. Name a hero? Like, Captain America? Sil ly. So silly. I groped a bit and coughed up Jon Stewart. Pretty good, I thought. B ut the interviewer had never heard of him. Had never heard of the Daily Show. (! !) I had to spend the time explaining the Daily Show, explaining Jon Stewart, ex plaining the concept of humor in all, eating up valuable interview minutes when the y were limited and therefore precious. Booooo on that question. From now on I m ju st sticking with Captain America. #2: Describe yourself in one word. Again, got caught flatfooted. How the hell do you describe yourself in one w ord. What one word is sufficient? I mean, my first name, sure. But besides that? Handsome. Beneficent. Well-hung, if hyphenated words count. But none of those a re appropriate. I came up with Authentic, which is a nice way to say that I haven t t old a lie this entire interview and is therefore a great way to say nothing at al l worthwhile. What a waste of a question. I ve been waiting to complain about that one for months. Thanks for listening. on August 24, 2006 at 2:39 pm | Reply Kib Do you have any questions for me? I always ask the interviewer What brought you to company X and what keeps you

motivated to stay part of the team instead of working for one of your competito rs? This has always elicited positive responses from the interviewer about their history with the company (and people generally like to talk about themselves) a nd it is always perceived by the interviewer that I am loyal and looking for a l ong term relationship with my employer. The interviewer usually seems to open up to me more after this question. The key is sincerity in the question. on November 2, 2009 at 11:39 pm | Reply stressprogress That s a great response, Kib! I have an interview tomorrow and now I hope they say, Do you have any questions for me? I would then reply, Yes I do do YOU like working here? Why? That s a great way to turn things around onto them in a completely appropr iate way. And you re exactly right, everyone likes talking about themselves, at le ast a little. on November 19, 2009 at 11:05 am optimistic i have read a lot of coments but no one ws such usful as yours on September 25, 2010 at 12:00 pm deepika hey, kib thats really very gud point.. i am a fresher and after a few months my campus recruitment is goin to be held.. thanks for these tips . on August 24, 2006 at 3:12 pm | Reply BooTCaT Thanks Bhuvans , this is one great post and i am at a mistake , if i dont wr ite a comment . I have a few tips , which i think would rather help readers more , 1. CONFIDENCE , is the Mother of all kinda thingy , you initially need in at tending interviews . So i would say that , it is the most essential thingy neede d , before , u attend the interview . 2. NEGATIVE CONFIDENCE , is the one , which i want ALL Freshers , to hold on to . This may seem negative , but it is the most POSITIVE THINGY from my side . Consider , the JOB is NOT FOR YOU . Consider , that something ( POLITICS may be ) has been commited , and u know that the job aint for u . Use this to build a confidence , that u have a BETTER JOB Waiting for u , and sincerly and completely believing it . Then , the actual part comes , with facing the interview , with this confide nce and see how it helps you out . But one point is that , no NEGATIVE feedbacks , or shouts or attitudes , shou ld be accompanied with this method . Just the confidence , and a positive aurora , around this , and the JOB is 4 SURE . Thank You all , and esp. Bhuvana , thats a nice post . My Personal BLog is at , http://catshideout.blogspot.com/ on August 24, 2006 at 4:01 pm | Reply Harvey

11. What kind of salary do you need? Just say it depends on what (or even better, who, as in expertise) the posit ion requires. If they press for a number say depending on what I know so far of t he reqs., up to $X and know X before you go in. Make X more than you want but not by too much (5-10k perhaps because you may just get it and most people underest imate their worth). Don t give a bottom number or that s what they ll give you. Your starting salary is the most important part of your new job hunt since a ll of your raises will be based on this number. Unless you have a really good re ason, never take less than your last salary and try to always improve your salar y by more than the standard 3-5% raise. 37. Are you willing to put the interests of the organization ahead of your o wn? If you need a way to show how unfair this question is, ask them if the compa ny is willing to put your interests above its own . If they need an example, ask them if they ve ever had a layoff. The only time this question is valid is if the job truly requires a career-only, no-family employee and pays/rewards according ly. So your answer should be NO and try to remember that when you re working there . on June 10, 2009 at 12:27 pm | Reply Bosco re: #11 good take on the question. One piece of advice I got in grad sch ool was that if they offer to pay for your move or add a little to your base sal ary take the higher base (for exactly the reason you bring up). re: #37 What about answering with some sort of Well, if the company ever veered away from its current principles so far that there was a conflict, I beli eve I d have to stick up for my own interests and part ways. That would show that w e re both on the same page now and I can t imagine a conflict, but that either way I intend to remain true to high moral principles and standards. Not that I could ever imagine the company losing its bearings, of course! on August 24, 2006 at 6:02 pm | Reply Angela I love #37: Are you willing to put the interests of the organization ahead ofyour own? This is a straight loyalty and dedication question. Do not worry about the deep ethical and philosophical implications. Just say yes. This is such a Dilbert question. If I actually got asked this in an intervie w I d know the job was probably not for me. on August 10, 2011 at 10:44 pm | Reply Mercedes haha that is such a Dlibert question .so strange .hope i never get asked it! ! on August 24, 2006 at 6:39 pm | Reply Sarvesh s Blog 50 common interview quest ions. [...] Bhuvan just posted 50 common interview questions. [...] on August 25, 2006 at 2:56 am | Reply Shaun Richardson

Speaking as an employer: *be sincere and honest it s really obvious if you re not *answer the questions to the best of your ability, but bear in mind that the interviewer has a whole lot of them, so don t launch into a five minute epic on y our high school grades *give examples many interviewers are taught situational techniques to elicit a response from you that gives a concrete example of how you behaved in the pas t to give them an idea of how you might act in the future. If that is the type o f answer the interviewer is fishing for, then you ll help your cause a lot by talk ing about what you have done, not making stuff up about how you plan to behave a fter they hire you *don t be late interviewers are confronted with a large number of equally tale nted people. If you got to the interview, your resume shows you have the skills. The interviewer will then be looking to reduce the number of people they have t o consider to find the best candidate. *ask your interviewer questions tips 32 and 39 are great asking questions sh ows that you are interested. on August 25, 2006 at 3:00 am | Reply Cynthia Greatest Weakness I was always told to respond with a weakness that can be u sed as an advantage by your supervisor. So I used a real weakness I get bored ea sily and expanded on it by saying I like to keep learning. If you re working in IT (as I do) its a good weakness to have. Employers usually want people who keep l earning. So always think if it in those terms as well. on August 25, 2006 at 9:50 am | Reply Anon What is your greatest weakness? My inability to show my true potential in job interview like this one. on August 25, 2006 at 7:48 pm | Reply Sean Figz: Jaguar. Just sounds cool. Extending 28 + 29: Treat any question about a negative (weakness, thing you didn t like about your old job, problem with a supervisor) as an opportunity to be honest because interviewers know when you are not and to demonstrate your drive to improve and/or problem solve. Pattern: [describe weakness, problem, dislike] , so I [describe action taken to cure the weakness, solve the problem, address t he dislike] Number one question to ask at the end of an interview, whether prompted or n ot: Do you have any concerns that would prevent you from recommending/selecting me for this job? It s brutally hard to get in the habit of asking, but it always pays off. It g ives you an opportunity to directly address any concerns that the interviewer ha s. One concrete example. I did my own thing for a few years. When I went to inte rview at an enormous company, there was some concern that I would be a cowboy wh o wouldn t work in a formal structure. I was able to refer the interviewers (a pai r) to earlier experience working at a large law firm where there was a lot of st ructure, oversight, organizational hierarchy. Totally took the issue off the tab le. Beyond that, I think What do you like about working at the company? is a great one. If the interviewer has stuck you with a lot of negative-type questions, tu rn it back on him, What would you change about the company if you could?

Another good one, especially if you are interviewing with someone who has or likely had your position: What positions did you have before this one? Since most people don t work in lockstep through an organization, this can remind the interv iewer that good candidates don t necessarily have all the exact specs on the job d escription. on February 17, 2011 at 6:46 am | Reply diva Sean, Your tips are quite informative and relative. I will use this on my next and hopefully last interview. Thank you. on August 26, 2006 at 1:26 am | Reply K When you are asked about salaries,I suggest that you ask what he or she woul d say in your position. That always works for me. on August 26, 2006 at 9:56 am | Reply maria great great post ..

on August 27, 2006 at 12:54 am | Reply Marco This article is great, and comments are even better. I totally stumbled into my current job after not really looking around much. My position now includes hiring and I want to add a few points for considera tion that I think have significance in this discussion. 1. What kind of work environment are you looking for? Try to be aware of whe n some of the questions asked speak negatively of the atmosphere of the company. 2. There has been debate about correct responses to questions. This is also co lored by the type of company you re interviewing with. If they are big, corporate, structured, the suggestions in the original article seem valid. If they are sma ller, more open-minded, looking for creativity and innovation, you can be more f ree and honest with your answers. The interviewer should take you at face value and be impressed with your confidence and honesty. 3. Remember that you are interviewing with a person, not the company. That p erson s personal style may or may not reflect the company at large. It pays to try to get a read on the interviewer and tailor your responses accordingly. on August 27, 2006 at 5:43 am | Reply David Grant, Vancouver, BC 50 Most Common Interview Questions Here is a massive list of the 50 most common inverview questions. I have bee n doing a lot of interviews at work lately and I think these would have been rea lly helpful. It will also be helpful for when I eventually have to look for anot her job. on August 27, 2006 at 6:44 pm | Reply Lee This article has been most helpful for me in preparing for my interview. I m h oping that it will get me the job, if nothing else, I will be prepared when the questions are asked.

on August 27, 2006 at 10:42 pm | Reply fatima yes itis the most helpful thing for any interview. thank you on August 28, 2006 at 12:18 am | Reply cindy I can t belive I Stumbled on this list the day before I have an interview. I ve be en out of work for several months now and this list will help me prepare for tom orrow. thank you so much on August 28, 2006 at 5:14 am | Reply R.John how do you answer the question why were you terminated from your last job ?

on July 13, 2009 at 5:13 am | Reply Grand Marquis Well, I suppose that depends, R, on why you actually were terminated. It s only a difficult question if you were fired. Summer jobs, temp work, freelance, layoffs, company bankruptcy are all totally valid reasons that don t speak ill of you in any way whatsoever. But if it s a touchy situation, remember: all the interviewer has is your side of the story now. Don t be harsh or accusative toward your former employer, b ut make sure to paint yourself in a positive light. No matter what happened, you left on amicable terms, agreeing to disagree. You consider it to your benefit t hat you left and you hold no ill will toward your former employer, even if it wa s Satan himself. That s your best bet. on May 18, 2010 at 7:03 pm christina I was laid off due to failure of science portion of national board e xam. I am Graduate of 2006 with Associate in Applied Science (major in Funeral S ervice), however I am struggling to pass science portion of board. It is rather costly and to be honest I have limited resources at the moment so can t put that t op on priorities. Re-entering workforce is a MUST. I have NOTHING negative to speak of former employer!! What shall my response be when asked why was I terminated from previous place of employment? I commend each of you for your responses as they are extremely helpf ul to many folks. Thank YOU! on August 28, 2006 at 6:14 am | Reply Being Prepared for Interviews - Quicki e Sheets [...] Bhuvana collected the most common interview questions and listed recom mended answers for each. I honestly haven t heard some of them asked in my own int erviews so I m not sure how common they all are. Be sure to read the comments beca use there are some really good additions from several HR people and other experi enced interviewers there. [...] on August 28, 2006 at 9:11 pm | Reply Zeroization Blog Archive 50 Interview Questions [...] Strategies for answering 50 common interview questions. [...] on August 28, 2006 at 10:15 pm | Reply M. Richardson I actually interviewed for a job today (3rd time around) with the V.P. Some of the above questions came up, the one that sticks out the most is the What area s of improvement would your current supervisor say you need to work on? I played

it safe and thought about it for a few moments then claimed amnesia: Nothing in par ticular was emphasized or otherwise brought to my attention during my last perfo rmance review. This, of course, is a lie. Everyone has an area where they can improve, eith er a little or a lot. I didn t feel comfortable stating, Well, I m trying hard to not be as big of an asshole as I used to be, but I also didn t like playing amnesia. H owever, the answers, for the super-majority of the interview, were very neutral and helpful. I tend to agree with some of the comments here regarding never having a conf lict with a supervisor, or the ones about what irritates you about coworkers. Wh en it comes to a supervisor, I would mention a conflict I once had about how to best approach a client issue. We disagreed on what was the best solution but we collaborated, listened to each other s input and in the end we agreed to try both approaches. We agreed we d try mine first and then we d try his if that failed. In t he end, it was obvious that both solutions would have worked out so I learned ho w to work out a difference without being confrontational. About co-workers, things that irritate me: When they re stealing from the comp any (lie about timesheets, services, stealing items), racial/sexual harassment/d iscrimination remarks or anything else that is against the law. I ve used this bef ore and I was given high points for such. Not every answer fits every interview nor does every interviewer want to hea r the same thing. However, the 50 questions in this blog entry do reflect the sa fest approach in MOST situations, not EVERY situation. So, yes, while John Q. In terviewer wants you to be neutral about certain items, the guy from Google might want you to tell him all about something in great detail. on August 29, 2006 at 12:14 am | Reply John Gould How about this question, Tell me about a time when you were asked to compromi se your integrity in behalf of the corporate objectives. The CEO to the CFO, The future success of this company depends upon YOU findi ng an accounting miracle. on August 29, 2006 at 1:52 am | Reply Bhuvana Sundaramoorthy s Blog 50 COMMON INTERVIEW Q&A at bennybox [...] Bhuvana Sundaramoorthy s Blog 50 COMMON INTERVIEW Q&A 37. Are you willin g to put the interests of the organization ahead ofyour own? This is a straight loyalty and dedication question. Do not worry about the deep ethical and philoso phical implications. Just say yes. [...] on May 3, 2009 at 11:06 am | Reply belg111 i had a strange job interview experience. I believe that i have done wha t is necessary but during the interview, they did not ask me any question but ex plaining the things to be done at work.I have treid to asked questions to stimul ate them but still no effect. I came 20 minutes before the scheduled time and the interview lasted les s than 10 minutes. I didn t get the job and i do not understand why? on June 10, 2009 at 6:27 pm Bosco I would bet that they had already chosen someone else maybe an inter nal candidate, maybe another interviewee and they were just going through the mot

ions with you so that they could pretend that they had conducted wide-ranging int erviews to find the best candidate. The problem wasn t you. It was them on September 1, 2009 at 1:07 am Deane Jessep I have a fairly different take on this. If you turned up 20 minutes early it may very well have ended your chances then and there. If you are early to any kind of meeting, especially a job interview then you put the interviewer in a situation where there are only two possible op tions: 1) Keep you waiting and be conscious of it. 2) Break from their current task to meet with you early.. Either way you start the interview off on the wrong foot and by the sounds of things it was the latter that happened to you and the interviewer may simply have felt put out and wanted to get rid of you. Lesson: Punctuality is not about being early, it is about being on t ime. on August 29, 2006 at 6:21 am | Reply Aaron s Soapbox links for 2006-08-29 [...] 50 COMMON INTERVIEW Q&A Bhuvana Sundaramoorthy s Blog (tags: interview c areer jobs questions) [...] on August 29, 2006 at 7:41 am | Reply summu Well I was asked in one interview Give me 3 reasons why we shudnt hire you on May 22, 2009 at 9:50 pm | Reply AIMI Can u write me those 3 reasons plzz ..? on June 10, 2009 at 6:31 pm | Reply Bosco How about this: ou? I told them [brief pause] Because I m the best? ve them a summary of my best points. I got the job, too. on August 29, 2006 at 7:42 am | Reply summu And I got that job :D on August 29, 2006 at 9:17 pm | Reply softweyr What is your biggest flaw as an employee? I ask that at interviews every time, and I don t particularly care what the an swer is, because the interviewee will either be too startled to answer effective ly, or is going to lie to me. What I m looking for is what the person does in resp And then went right on to gi We re interviewing a number of people. Why should we hire y

onse to the question. Yes, I can tell if you re giving me a well-planned response, because you won t be startled by the question and will answer too soon, and too a ssuredly. I can also tell if you re going to lie to me, just by watching your eyes . What I can t tell is if you actually become introspective, think about somethi ng important, and then lie to me. So if you re going to lie in response to this qu estion, that s what you need to do. Think about some pleasant experience for a few moments, then give your canned response, slowly, as if recalling the experience . Any time I have a candidate who answers all of my questions without pausing to think or recall, I begin to wonder how much he has been interviewing and why nobody else has hired him. on August 30, 2006 at 6:44 am | Reply m4nd4li4 Great! This is absolutely wonderful. Looking for another position at the mom ent and I have a face-to-face interview at Sophos, UK. Has anyone in the UK bein g to a interview at Sophos or works at Sophos? I d love to read what they have to say about their interview with them. on August 31, 2006 at 7:29 pm | Reply Alex Givant Q: What is your greatest weakness? A: Answering to question about my greatest weakness! :-) on September 1, 2006 at 1:32 am | Reply EV Got called back for my second interview next week for a job. I m assuming that s a good thing, but is it OK to ask the interviewer (will be same person as first rou nd) how many other final candidates I m up against? Is that appropriate? Is it OK to ask the person where I stand in the rankings, and how I can improve my chances? Or does that seem too desperate, even for a finalist? on September 1, 2009 at 5:08 pm | Reply KG

how many other final candidates I m up against? I would say OK but where I stan in the rankings, and how I can improve my chances? as you say a little desperate on April 26, 2010 at 8:06 pm | Reply attitudeiseverything! I disagree! I don t think you should ask how many candidates you are up ag ainst. You should display full confidence that the number of candidates you are competing with do not even exist to you because you know that YOU are the one fo r this position! Same answer for your other concerns; and if they were interested enough in you to do a second interview than that alone should be confidence building en ough. I was told that the employer has basically hired you based upon your app lication/resume, the interview is the place were you have the ability to fire yo urself. on September 1, 2006 at 10:55 pm | Reply Rose What do you recommend saying if an interviewer asks a question about your fi eld that you do not know the answer to? on September 2, 2006 at 8:55 am | Reply Grateful One

I have my job interview tomorrow and I must say that I was a little worried and nervous at first but this site has really helped me. I feel much more confid ent now. Thanks! on September 2, 2006 at 10:55 am | Reply Jeroen #37 Are you willing to put the interests of the organization ahead ofyour own? This is a straight loyalty and dedication question. Do not worry about the deep ethical and philosophical implications. Just say yes.

If you say yes, they will immediately recognise that you are trying to trick t hem with your answers, and you ll instantly loose credibility you built up with pr evious answers You are applying for the job for your own interest not theirs. It s not like yo u are applying for your favourite pass-time. Arguably you are forced to put their interest above your own all the time, w hen your total hours amount to twice what you are being payed for. You work to live not the other way around. Be honest about that and explain t hat you have no problem of putting in the extra effort when the need arises. Exp lain as well, that if it becomes a habbit, you d like it to be reflected in your s allary. on September 3, 2006 at 6:01 am | Reply kalyank.net Blog Archive 50 COMMON I NTERVIEW Q&A [...] Nice tips from Bhuvana Sundaramoorthy s site. [...] on September 3, 2006 at 7:18 am | Reply Participant I happen to visit your site. Congrats! It s a wonderful site. But may I ask if you can give me a clue or two about how to set up additional navigational bars, in addition to home, and about ie, Java Tutorial and Technical? Thank you in adv ance. Yeo Zhenry Email: firsttellfastsell@yahoo.com on September 3, 2006 at 5:08 pm | Reply riversaredamp Great post! on September 4, 2006 at 12:22 am | Reply M. Richardson In resposne to #61: What do you recommend saying if an interviewer asks a question about your fie ld that you do not know the answer to? Be honest. Don t lie. Don t try to make things up. You can approach this two way s: #1 That s an area where I do not have experience.

#2 I have not professionally trained in that area, but I have been trained/ha ve extensive experience in area x which is very similar. I used to B.S. when asked this if I had no experience, and I know I was tran sparent. Now I m brutally honest with #1 being my preferred answer. Just look them straight in the eye and say, I do not have experience in that area, but I am ver y motivated and a quick learner. Give em the let down first with the BUT I AM WILL ING TO LEARN part second so they remember that. on October 22, 2009 at 7:59 am | Reply Blesson Thomas Great Post Sir wat r the basic points we need to remember when interviewer is askin tell me about yourself question.. on September 5, 2006 at 6:07 pm | Reply shuchetana that ent. and, opinions ugh, s funny i seem to remember commenting on this post, but i cant see my comm

i wrote a post on my blog (lifepbs.wordpress.com) about some differing i had about some of these answers but i can t see my trackback anywhere i wonder when i ll stop being a new blogger!

on September 6, 2006 at 4:58 am | Reply Jason Ruyle | 50 questions at an Int erview [...] 50 COMMON INTERVIEW Q&A Bhuvana Sundaramoorthy s Blog [...] on September 8, 2006 at 4:20 am | Reply Mike People who say they have no weaknesses have no real sense of themselves. I a sk this question, and as long as they pick an answer and have addressed it (I wi ll ask how they overcome it if they do not tell me), I will move on. I have had at least a dozen people tell me they had no weaknesses. (Thanks. Don t call me, I ll call you.) I have had a few tell me about serious flaws (rather than weaknesses ), and several had not addressed their weaknesses in any way. These are weak can didates. One trackback said the question is a sign of a weak interviewer, but I disag ree. Not every question is looking for a philosophical answer or performance. I ask some questions because I know that some people who are not prepared or who h ave serious personality flaws will eliminate themselves. (Every workplace killer came in the door and applied for a job.) I also use silence in interviews. Some people cannot stand silence. They wil l get nervous and add to canned answers, and the follow up words will give a bet ter insight into their true personalities. One interviewee, after a silence, tol d me that sometimes you have to tell callers how it is a sign that he would be bru sque with people when he ran out of patience. The position was for an emergency dispatcher who would have been dealing with distraught people people who need so meone who has infinite patience. He went to work for someone else as a 9-1-1 ope rator and was fired this year for inappropriate behavior. I am a retired highway patrol commander and have asked a lot of questions to people trying to hide the truth and their true intent. In HR I am not looking t o interrogate a criminal (at least not on purpose), but the interview questions listed here all have their purpose and they can all in their way contribute to f inding the best employees if used skillfully. on June 10, 2009 at 6:45 pm | Reply Bosco

Oh, good thought: if I m ever in a position to hire an interviewer, I shou ld look for a retired highway patrolman! (just don t ask me to be interviewed by o ne did you take off your mirrored sunglasses?) on February 17, 2011 at 7:14 am diva Silence, really? This is the type of interviewer who has his own age nda and not that of the organization. One with residual superiorority complex is not who you want to work for. on September 11, 2006 at 10:20 am | Reply afrofeminista Interesting list! Just what i need for my interview later today. . . on September 11, 2006 at 10:23 pm | Reply sarah D Great site for interview tips thankyou!

Could i ask if anyone has had been for an assessment day with HSBC? Any advi ce on what happens on the assesment days please? on September 11, 2006 at 10:37 pm | Reply sarah D Hi, On the HSBC online application form, could some one give me some example answers for the personal quality section please? Sarah on September 12, 2006 at 5:02 pm | Reply Chris Dempsey :: 50 COMMON INTERVIE W Q&A Bhuvana Sundaramoorthy s Blog :: September :: 2006 [...] 50 COMMON INTERVIEW Q&A Bhuvana Sundaramoorthy s Blog [...] on September 13, 2006 at 1:09 am | Reply Erich What is your major weakness? Try this I like to keep busy and productive at work. I always feel really bad during slow times because I feel that I am not contributing. So, when those times do co me up, and that does happen on occasion, I have learned to ask other collegues i f they need assistance or to ask my supervisor if there is anything that they wo uld like me to help them with. This shows initiative and teamwork, something all employers want. :) on September 13, 2006 at 9:29 am | Reply kothu Oh this is a good post.Thank alot. on September 13, 2006 at 1:01 pm | Reply Neal Hi there, I need help I applied for a certain job and they have sent me an email with these questi ons to support my application: 1. Give an example when you have worked in a team 2. What do you like and dislike about team working?

3. Give an example of when you have had to follow technical procedures or te chnical instructions I d appreciate any answers! thank You on September 13, 2006 at 5:57 pm |