What’s the most difficult situation you ever faced on the job?

Remember, you’re talking to a prospective employer, not your best friend. Don’t dredge up a catastrophe that resulted in a personal or corporate failure. Be ready for this question by thinking of a story that has a happy ending – happy for you and your company. Never digress into personal or family difficulties, and don’t talk about problems you’ve had with supervisors or peers. You might discuss a difficult situation with a subordinate, provided that the issues were resolved inventively and to everyone’s satisfaction.

 

Describe some situations in which you have worked under pressure or met deadlines?

Refer to accomplishments. Everyone has had a few of these pressure situations in a career. Behavior-related questions aim at assessing a candidate’s character, attitude, and personality traits by asking for an account of how the candidate handled certain challenging situations. Plan for such questions by making a list of the desirable traits relevant to the needs of the industry or prospective employer and by preparing some job-related stories about your experience that demonstrate a range of those traits and habits of conduct. Before answering the questions, listen carefully and ask any clarifying questions you think necessary. Tell your story and conclude by explaining what you intended your story to illustrate. Finally, ask for feedback: “Does this tell you what you need to know?”

 

How do you handle rejection?

Rejection is part of business. People don’t always buy what you sell. The tick here is to separate rejection of your product from rejection of yourself: “I see rejection as an opportunity. I learn from it. When a customer takes a pass, I ask him what we could do to the product, price or service to make it possible for him to say yes. Don’t get me wrong: You’ve got to makes sales. But rejection is valuable, too. It’s a good teacher.”

 

In your present position, what problems have you identified that had previously been overlooked?

Refer to accomplishments

 

Give an example of your creativity.

Refer to accomplishments.

 

Give examples of your leadership abilities.

Draw examples from accomplishments.

 

What are your career goals?

Talk first about doing the job for which you are applying. Your career goals should mesh with the hiring company goals.

 

What position do you expect to have in two years?

Just say you wish to exceed objectives so well that you will be on a promotable track.

 

What are your objectives?

(How does the person handle stress? What is their confidence level?)

Refer back to question #48 on goals.

 

Why should we hire you?

This may sound suspicious, negative, or just plain harsh. Actually, it’s a call for help. The employer wants you to help him/her hire you. Keep your response brief. Recap any job requirements the interviewer may have mentioned earlier in the interview, then, point by point, match your skills, abilities and qualifications to those items. Relate a past experience which represents success in achieving objectives which may be similar to those of the prospective employer.

 

You may be over-qualified or too experienced for the position we have to offer.

“A strong company needs a strong person.” An employer will get faster return on investment because you have more experience than required.

 

Why haven’t you found a new position before now?

“Finding the right job takes time. I’m not looking for just any job.”