HowtoAnswer

The64Toughest
Int
erv
iew
Quest
ions
THISBOOKISDESIGNEDTOPROVI DEACCURATEINFORMATI
ONONTHESUBJECTS
COVERED.HOWEVER,ITISDONEWI THTHEUNDERSTANDINGTHATTHEPUBLI SHERI
S
NOTENGAGEDI NRENDERINGLEGAL,ACCOUNTINGORPROFESSIONALSERVI
CES.IF
LEGALADVICEOROTHERPROFESSI ONALASSSTANCEISREQUI
RED,THESERVICESOFA
COMPETENT,PROFESSIONALPERSONSHOUI DBESOUGHT.ANYNAMESUSEDI NTHE
TEXTAREFICTI
TIOUSANDFORI LLUSTRATI
VEPURPOSESONLY.ANYRESEMBLANCETO
ACTUALPERSONSORCOMPANI ESISPURELYCOINCI
DENTALANDUNINTENTIONAL.
 Dedi
cat
ion:
Thi
sreportisdedi
catedtocourageandknowledge,
thetwoqualit
iesmostneeded
t
osucceedi nanyhumanchal l
enge,
especi
all
yaj obsear
ch.
 Tabl
eofCont
ent
s

Gener
alGuidelinesi nAnswer ingI nt erv i
ewQuest ions 3
Q1 Tellmeabouty our sel f
. 5
Q2 Whatar ey ourgr eat estst rengt hs? 6
Q3 Whatar ey ourgr eat estweaknesses? 6
Q4 Tellmeaboutsomet hingy oudi d–orf ail
edt odo–t hatyounowf eelalit
tl
e
ashamedof . 7
Q5 Whyar ey oul eav ing( ordi dy oul eav e)t hispositi
on? 8
Q6 The“ SilentTr eat ment ” 9
Q7 Whyshoul dIhi rey ou? 9
Q8 Aren’ty ouov erqual ifiedf ort hi
sposi t
ion? 10
Q9 Wher edoy ouseey our selff ivey ear sf rom now? 11
Q10 Descr i
bey ouri deal company ,locat ionandj ob. 12
Q11 Whydoy ouwantt owor katourcompany ? 12
Q12 Whatar ey ourcar eeropt i
onsr i
ghtnow? 12
Q13 Whyhav ey oubeenoutofwor ksol ong? 13
Q14 Tellmehonest l
yaboutt hest r
ongpoi ntsandweakpoi ntsofyourboss
(company ,managementt eam, et c.)… 13
Q15 Whatgoodbookshav ey our eadl ately ? 14
Q16 Tellmeaboutasi tuat i
onwheny ourwor kwascr iti
cized. 14
Q17 Whatar ey ourout si dei nter est? 15
Q18 The“ Fat al Flaw”quest ion 15
Q19 Howdoy ouf eel aboutr epor ti
ngt oay oungerper son( minori
ty,
woman, et
c)?
16
Q20 Onconf ident i
al mat ters… 16
Q21 Woul dy oul iefort hecompany ? 17
Q22 Lookingback, whatwoul dy oudodi ff
er entlyinyourl i
fe? 17
Q23 Couldy ouhav edonebet teri ny ourl astj ob? 18
Q24 Cany ouwor kunderpr essur e? 18
Q25 Whatmakesy ouangr y? 18
Q26 Whyar en’ ty ouear ni ngmor emoneyatt hi
sst ageofy ourcareer? 19
Q27 Whohasi nspi redy oui ny ourl ifeandwhy ? 19
Q28 Whatwast het oughestdeci siony ouev erhadt omake? 20
Q29 Tellmeaboutt hemostbor ingj oby ou’v eeverhad. 20
Q30 Havey oubeenabsentf r
om wor kmor et hanaf ewday sinanypreviouspositi
on?
20
Q31 Whatchangeswoul dy oumakei fy oucameonboar d? 21
Q32 I’
m concer nedt haty oudon’ thav easmuchexper ienceaswe’ dli
kein… 21
Q33 Howdoy ouf eel aboutwor kingni ght sandweekends? 22
Q34 Arey ouwi llingt or el ocat eort rav el? 23
Q35 Doy ouhav et hest omacht of i
repeopl e?Hav eyouhadexper i
encef i
ri
ngmany
people? 23
Q36 Whyhav ey ouhadsomanyj obs? 24
Q37 Whatdoy ouseeast hepr operr ol e/mi ssionof ……agood( j
obti
tl
ey ou’r
e
seeking) ;…agoodmanager ;…anexecut i
vei nservingthecommuni ty;…a
l
eadingcompanyi nouri ndust ry; etc. 25

64ToughestQuest
ions Page1
Q38 Whatwoul dy ousayt oy ourbossi fhe’ scr azyaboutani dea, butyouthi
nki t
sti
nks? 25
Q39 Howcoul dy ouhav ei mpr ovedy ourcar eerpr ogr ess? 26
Q40 Whatwoul dy oudoi faf ellowexecut iveony ourowncor poratelev
elwasn’t
pull
inghi s/ herwei ght …andt hiswashur ti
ngy ourdepar tment ? 26
Q41 You’v ebeenwi thyourf i
rm al ongt ime.Won’ ti
tbehar dswi tchi
ngtoanew
company ? 27
Q42 MayIcont acty ourpr esentempl oyerf orar eference? 27
Q43 Givemeanexampl eofy ourcr eati
v it
y( anal yti
cal skill
…managi ngabil
i
ty,etc.
)
28
Q44 Wher ecoul dy ouusesomei mpr ovement ? 28
Q45 Whatdoy ouwor r
yabout ? 28
Q46 Howmanyhour saweekdoy ounor mal l
ywor k? 28
Q47 What ’st hemostdi f fi
cul tpar tofbei nga( jobt it
le) ? 29
Q48 The“ Hy pot heticalPr oblem” 29
Q49 Whatwast het oughestchal lengey ou’veev erfaced? 29
Q50 Hav ey ouconsi derst art
ingy ourownbusi ness? 30
Q51 Whatar ey ourgoal s? 31
Q52 Whatdoy ouf orwheny ouhi repeopl e? 31
Q53 Sellmet hisst apler…( thispenci l
…thi sclock…orsomeot herobj ecton
i
nter viewer ’
sdesk) . 31
Q54 “TheSal ar yQuest i
on”–Howmuchmoneydoy ouwant ? 33
Q55 TheI ll
egal Quest i
on 33
Q56 The“ Secr et”Ill
egal Quest i
on 34
Q57 Whatwast het oughestpar tofy ourl astj ob? 35
Q58 Howdoy oudef i
nesuccess…andhowdoy oumeasur eupt oy ourown
definition? . 35
Q59 “TheOpi nionQuest ion”–Whatdoy out hinkabout…Abor t
ion…The
President …TheDeat hPenal ty…(oranyot hercont roversialsubject)
? 36
Q60 Ifyouwon$10mi l
lionl ottery,woul dy oust ill
wor k? 36
Q61 Looki ngbackony ourl astposi ti
on, hav ey oudoney ourbestwor k? 37
Q62 Whyshoul dIhi rey ouf rom t heout sidewhenIcoul dpromot esomeonef rom
within? 37
Q63 Tellmesomet hingnegat ivey ou’vehear daboutourcompany … 38
Q64 Onascal eofonet ot en, ratemeasani nterviewer . 38

64ToughestQuest
ions Page2
 Gener
alGui
del
ines
i
nAnsweri
ngInt
erv
iewQuest
ions
Ev
eryonei
snervousoni
nter
views.Ifyousi
mplyal
lowyour
selft
ofeel
nervous,
you'
l
ldo
muchbett
er.Rememberal
sot hati
t'
sdif
fi
cul
tfort
heint
erv
ieweraswell
.

I
ngener
al,
beupbeatandposi
ti
ve.Nev
erbenegat
ive.

Rehear
sey
ouranswer
sandt
imet
hem.Nev
ert
alkf
ormor
ethan2mi
nut
esst
rai
ght
.

Don'ttryt
omemor izeanswer swor df
orword.Usetheanswer sshownhereasaguide
only
, anddon'
tbeaf r
aidt
oi ncludeyourownthoughtsandwor ds.Tohel
py ouremember
keyconcepts,j
otdownandr eviewafewkeywor dsforeachanswer.Rehearseyour
answer sf
requent
ly,andtheywi ll
cometoyounat ur
all
yinint
ervi
ews.

Asyouwillr
eadi
ntheaccompany i
ngrepor
t,thesi
ngl
emostimportantst
rategyin
i
nter
viewi
ng,asi
nallphasesofyourj
obsearch,i
swhatwecall
:"TheGreatestExecut
ive
JobFindi
ngSecr
et.
"Andt hati
s..
.

Fi
ndoutwhatpeopl
ewant
,thanshowt
hem howyoucanhel
pthem geti
t.

Fi
ndoutwhatanemployerwant
smosti
nhi
sorheri
deal
candi
dat
e,t
henshowhowy
ou
meett
hosequal
if
icat
ions.

Inotherwords,
youmustmat chyourabi
l
iti
es,wit
ht heneedsoftheemployer.Youmust
sel
lwhatthebuyerisbuyi
ng.Todothat,
beforeyouknowwhatt oemphasizeinyour
answers,y
oumustf i
ndoutwhatthebuyerisbuying..
.whatheislooki
ngfor.Andthe
bestwaytodot hati
stoaskafewquestionsyourself
.

Youwi l
lseehowt obringthi
soffskil
lfull
yasy oureadthefi
rsttwoquesti
onsofthi
s
report
.Butregardl
essofhowy ouaccompl ishit
,youmustremembert hi
sstr
ategyabove
all
:beforebl
urti
ngoutyourqualif
icat
ions, youmustgetsomei deaofwhattheemployer
wantsmost .Oncey ouknowwhathewant s,youcanthenpresenty
ourquali
fi
cati
onsas
theperfect“
key”thatfi
tsthe“l
ock”oft hatposit
ion.

 Otherimport
antint
ervi
ewst rategi
es:
 Turnweaknessesintostrengths(You'
l
lseehowtodot hi
sinaf
ewmoment
s.)
 Thinkbefor
ey ouanswer.Apauset ocoll
ecty
ourthought
sisahal
l
mar
kofa
thoughtf
ulper
son.

Asadai l
yexer cise,pr
acti
cebei ngmor eoptimist
ic.Forexampl e,
tryputti
ngapositi
ve
spi
nonev entsandsi t
uationsy ouwouldnor mall
yregardasnegat ive.Thi
sisnotmeant
toturnyouintoaPol l
yanna, butt
osharpeny oursell
ingskil
ls.Thebestsalespeopl
e,as
wellasthebestl ikedint
erviewcandidates,comeof fasbeingnat ur
allyopti
mist
ic,
"can
do"people.Youwi l
ldramaticall
yrai
sey ourlev
elofat t
ract
ivenessbydai l
ypract
ici
ngto
bemor eopt i
mi sti
c.

Behonest
..
.nev
erl
i
e.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page3
Keepanint
ervi
ewdi ary.Ri
ghtaft
ereachi
nter
viewnotewhaty oudi
dright,
whatcoul
d
havegonealit
tl
ebet t
er,andwhatstepsy
oushouldtakenextwitht
hiscontact
.Then
taket
hosesteps.Don'tbeli
kethe95%ofhumanitywhosayt heywil
lfol
lowupon
somethi
ng,butneverdo.

Aboutt
he64quest
ions.
..

Youmi ghtfeelthatt
heanswer st ot
hef oll
owingquest i
onsare“ canned” ,
andt hatthey
wil
l sel dom mat chupwi t
htheexactwayy ouar easkedthequest ionsi nact ual
i
nter views.Thequest ionsandanswer sar edesignedtobeasspeci ficandr ealist
icas
possi ble.Butnopr eparat
ioncanant i
cipatethousandsofpossi blev ari
at i
onsont hese
quest ions.What 'si
mpor t
anti
st hatyout horoughlyfamil
iar
izeyour selfwi t
ht hemai n
str
at egi esbehindeachanswer .Anditwi l
lbeinv al
uabletoyouify oucommi ttomemor y
afewkeywor dsthatletyoui
nstantl
ycal ltomindy ourbestanswert ot hevar i
ous
quest ions.Ifyoudot his,
andfollowthepr i
nciplesofsuccessful i
nterviewingpr esented
here, you'regoingtodov erywell.

Goodl
uck.
..
andgoodj
ob-
hunt
ing!

64ToughestQuest
ions Page4
Quest
ion1 Tel
lmeaboutyour
sel
f.
TRAPS:Bewar e,about80%ofallint
ervi
ewsbeginwi t
hthi
s“i
nnocent
”questi
on.Many
candi
dat
es,unpreparedforthequesti
on,skewerthemsel
vesbyrambl
ing,
recappi
ngthei
r
l
ifest
ory
,delv
ingi nt
oancientworkhist
oryorpersonalmat
ter
s.

BESTANSWER:St ar
twit
hthepresentandt el
lwhyyouarewell
quali
fi
edfortheposit
ion.
Rememberthatt
hekeytoal
lsuccessfulint
erv
iewi
ngistomatchyourqual
if
icati
onsto
whatt
heint
ervi
eweri
slooki
ngfor.I
not herwordsyoumustsel
lwhatthebuyerisbuyi
ng.
Thi
sist
hesi
ngl
emosti
mpor
tantst
rat
egyi
njobhunt
ing.

So,befor
eyouanswerthisoranyquest
ionit
'si
mperat
ivet
haty
out
ryt
ouncov
ery
our
i
ntervi
ewer'
sgr
eatestneed,want
,probl
em orgoal
.

Todoso,
makey
out
aket
heset
wost
eps:

1.Doal lthehomewor kyoucanbef or

et hei nterviewtouncov erthisperson'
swant s
andneeds( nott hegener al
izedneedsoft hei ndustryorcompany )
2.Asear lyasy oucani nthei
nter
view,askf oramor ecompl etedescr i
pti
onofwhat
theposi t
ionent ails.Youmi ghtsay :
“ Ihav eanumberofaccompl i
shment sI
'dl
ike
tot el
lyouabout , butIwantt omaket hebestuseofourt i
met oget herandtal
k
directl
ytoy ourneeds.Tohel pmedo, that,coul dyoutel
lmemor eaboutthe
mosti mpor tantpr iori
ti
esofthisposition?Al l IknowiswhatI( heardfrom t
he
recruit
er,readint hecl assi
fi
edad, etc.)”

Then,ALWAYSf ol
low-upwi t
hasecondandpossibly,
thi
rdquest
ion,t
odrawouthis
needsevenmor e.Surpri
singl
y ,
it'
susual
l
yt ssecondort
hi hi
rdquesti
onthatunear
ths
whattheint
erv
iewerismostl ookingf
or.

Youmightasksimply
,"Andinaddit
iontot
hat
?..
."or
,"I
sther
eany
thi
ngel
sey
ouseeas
essent
ial
tosuccessinthi
sposi
tion?:

Thisprocesswil
lnotfeeleasyornat ur
alatfi
rst
,becauseiti
seasiersi
mpl ytoanswer
questi
ons,butonlyi
fyouuncov ertheempl oy
er'
swant sandneedswi l
lyouranswers
maket hemostsense.Practiceaskingthesekeyquestionsbef
oregivi
ngy ouranswer
s,
theprocesswil
lfeel
mor enat ur
alandyouwi l
lbelightyear
saheadoft heotherj
ob
candi
datesyou'r
ecompet ingwith.

Afteruncover
ingwhattheempl oyerislooki
ngfor,
describewhytheneedsoft hisjob
bearstri
kingparal
l
elst
otasksy ou'vesucceededatbefore.Besuretoil
l
ust r
atewith
specif
icexamplesofyourresponsibil
it
iesandespecial
lyyourachi
evements,allofwhich
aregearedtopresenty
ourselfasaper fectmatchfortheneedshehasj ustdescri
bed.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page5
Quest
ion2 Whatar
eyourgr
eat
estst
rengt
hs?
TRAPS:Thi
squest
ionseemsl i
keasoft
bal
llob,
butbepr
epar
ed.Youdon'twantt
o
comeacr
ossasegoti
sti
calorarr
ogant
.Nei
theri
sthi
sati
metobehumbl e.

BESTANSWER:Youknowt hatyourkeyst
rat
egyistofi
rstuncov
eryourint
erv
iewer'
s
great
estwantsandneedsbef
oreyouanswerquesti
ons.Andfrom Quest
ion1,youknow
howtodot hi
s.

Pr
iortoanyinter
view,youshouldhaveali
stment al
lypr
epar
edofy
ourgr eat
est
st
rengths.Youshouldalsohave,aspeci
fi
cexampl eort
wo,whi
chil
lust
rateseach
st
rength,anexamplechosenfrom yourmostrecentandmosti
mpressi
veachievement
s.

Youshould,hav
ethisl
istofyourgr
eatestst
rengt
hsandcorr
espondi
ngexamplesf
rom
yourachi
evementssowel l
commi t
tedtomemor ythaty
oucanreci
tet
hem col
daft
er
beingshakenawakeat2:30AM.

Then,onceyouuncov
eryourint
ervi
ewer'
sgreat
estwantsandneeds,
youcanchoose
thoseachi
evementsf
rom yourl
istt
hatbestmatchup.

Asageneral
guidel
i
ne,
the10mostdesi
rabl
etr
ait
sthatal
lempl
oyer
slov
etoseei
nthei
r
empl
oyeesare:

1. Apr
ovent
rackr
ecor
dasanachi
ever
..
.especi
all
yifyourachi
evement
smat
ch
upwi
tht
heempl
oyer
'sgr
eat
estwant
sandneeds.
2. Intelli
gence...management" savv y"
.
3. Honest y..
.i
ntegri
ty.
..
adecenthumanbei ng.
4. Goodf itwithcorporatecul t
ure...
someonet ofeel
comfort
ablewit
h..
.at
eam
play erwhomesheswel l wit
hi ntervi
ewer'
steam.
5. Likeabi l
ity.
..
posit
iveatti
tude. .
.senseofhumor .
6. Goodcommuni cati
onski ll
s.
7. Dedi cation..
.wil
l
ingnesst owal kt heext
rami l
etoachi
eveexcel
l
ence.
8. Def ini
tenessofpur pose. .
.cl
eargoal s.
9. Ent husiasm. .
.hi
ghlevel ofmot i
vati
on.
10. Conf i
dent..
.heal
thy..
.aleader .

Quest
ion3 Whatar
eyourgr
eat
estweaknesses?
TRAPS:Beware-t
hisi
saneliminat
orquesti
on,
desi
gnedt
oshort
enthecandi
dat
eli
st.
Anyadmissi
onofaweaknessorfaul
twil
learny
ouan“A”f
orhonest
y,butan“
F”f
orthe
i
nter
view.

PASSABLEANSWER:Di
sgui
seast
rengt
hasaweakness.

Exampl
e:“
Isomet
imespushmypeopl
etoohar
d.Il
i
ket
owor
kwi
thasenseofur
gency
andev
ery
onei
snotal
way
sont
hesamewav
elengt
h.”

Dr
awback:Thi
sst
rat
egyi
sbet
tert
hanadmi
tt
ingaf
law,
buti
t'
ssowi
del
yused,
iti
s

64ToughestQuest
ions Page6
 t
ranspar
entt
oanyexper
iencedi
nter
viewer
.

BESTANSWER:( andanotherreasoni
t'
ssoimpor tanttogetathoroughdescr i
ptionof
youri
nt er
viewer
'sneedsbeforeyouanswerquestions):Assuretheinter
viewerthatyou
canthinkofnothingthatwouldstandi
nthewayofy ourperfor
mi nginthi
spositionwit
h
excel
lence.Then,qui
cklyrevi
ewy oust
rongestqualif
icat
ions.

Exampl
e:“
Nobody
'sper
fect
,butbasedonwhaty
ou'
vet
oldmeaboutt
hisposi
ti
on,
I
beli
eveI
'dmakeanout st
andi
ngmat ch.Iknowt hatwhenIhir
epeople,
Ilookfortwo
thi
ngsmostofal l
.Dot heyhavet hequali
ficat
ionstodothejobwell
,andthemot i
vati
on
todoitwell
?Ev ery
thinginmybackgr oundshowsIhav eboththequali
fi
cati
onsanda
str
ongdesir
et oachi eveexcell
enceinwhat ev
erItakeon.SoIcansayinallhonestythat
Iseenothi
ngt hatwoul dcausey ouev enasmal lconcer
naboutmyabi l
it
yormyst rong
desir
etoperformt hisjobwithexcell
ence.”

Al
ter
nat
est
rat
egy(
ify
oudon'
tyetknowenoughaboutt
heposi
ti
ont
otal
kaboutsucha
perf
ectfit
):
Inst
eadofconfessi
ngaweakness,descr
ibewhatyouli
kemostandl ikeleast,
making
surethatwhatyoul
ikemostmatchesupwi t
hthemostimportantquali
fi
cationfor
successintheposi
ti
on,
andwhaty ouli
keleasti
snotessent
ial
.

Exampl
e:Let
'ssayy
ou'
reappl
yi
ngf
orat
eachi
ngposi
ti
on.“
Ifgi
venachoi
ce,
Ili
ket
o
spendasmucht i
measpossi bl
einfrontofmypr ospectssel
l
ing,asopposedto
shuff
li
ngpaperworkbackattheof
fice.Ofcourse,Ilongagolear
nedt heimpor
tanceof
fi
li
ngpaperworkpr
operly
,andIdoitconscient
iously
.ButwhatIreall
ylovetodoissel
l(i
f
youri
nter
viewerwereasalesmanager,thi
sshouldbemusi ctohisears.)

Quest
ion4 Tellmeaboutsomet
hingyoudi
d–orfai
l
edt
odo–
thatyounowfeelal
i
ttl
eashamedof
.
TRAPS:Ther earesomequesti
onsy ourint
erviewerhasnobusi
nessasking,andthi
sis
one.Butwhileyoumayfeell
ikeanswering,“noneofyourbusi
ness,
”natural
l
yy oucan’
t.
Somei nt
ervi
ewersaskt
hisquesti
onont hechancey ouadmittosomething,buti
fnot,
at
l
eastthey’
ll
seehowy outhi
nkony ourfeet.

Someunpr epar
edcandidat
es,fl
ust
eredbyt hi
squesti
on,unbur
denthemsel
vesofgui
lt
fr
om thei
rpersonal
li
feorcareer
,perhapsexpressi
ngregret
sregar
dingapar
ent
,spouse,
chi
ld,
etc.Allsuchanswerscanbedi sast
rous.

BESTANSWER:Aswi t
hfault neverconf
sandweaknesses, essar
egr
et.Butdon’
tseem
asify
ou’
rest
onewal
l
ingeit
her.

Bestst
rat
egy:Sayyouhar
bornor
egr
ets,
thenaddapr
inci
pleorhabi
tyoupr
act
ice
r
egul
arl
yforheal
thyhumanr
elat
ions.

Exampl
e:Pausef
orr
efl
ect
ion,
asi
fthequest
ionnev
eroccur
redt
oyou.Thensay
,“You
know,Ir
eal
lycan’
tthi
nkofanyt
hing.
”(Pauseagai
n,t
henadd)
:“Iwouldaddthatasa
gener
almanagementpri
nci
ple,
I’
vefoundthatt
hebestwayt
oav oi
dregret
sistoavoi
d

64ToughestQuest
ions Page7
 causingthem inthefi
rstplace.Ipr act
iceonehabitt
hathelpsmeagr eatdealinthi
s
regard.Attheendofeachday ,Imentall
yrevi
ewtheday ’
seventsandconversati
onsto
takeasecondl ookatthepeopl eanddev elopmentsI’
mi nvol
vedwit
handdoa
doublecheckofwhatt hey’
relikelytobefeeli
ng.Somet i
mesI ’
l
lseethi
ngsthatdoneed
mor efol
low-up,whetherapatont heback,ormaybeaf iveminut
echatinsomeone’s
offi
cetomakesur ewe’reclearont hi
ngs…whatever.
”

“Ial
soliketomakeeachper sonf eell
ikeamemberofanel i
teteam, li
ketheBoston
Celti
csorLALaker si ntheirprime.I’vefoundt hatifyouleteacht eam memberknow
youexpectexcellenceint heirperfor
mance…i fy ouwor khardtosetanexampl e
yoursel
f…andi fy
oul etpeopleknowy ouappr eciateandr especttheirfeel
i
ngs,y
ouwi nd
upwi t
hahi ghlymotivatedgr oup,ateam that’
shav i
ngf unatwor kbecausethey’
re
stri
vi
ngf orexcel
lencerathert hanbroodingov ersli
ght sorregret
s.”

Quest
ion5 Whyar
eyoul
eavi
ng(
ordi
dyoul
eave)t
hisposi
ti
on?
TRAPS:Neverbadmouthyourprevi
ousi
ndust
ry,
company,boar
d, boss,
staf
f,
employ
eesorcustomers.Thi
srulei
sinv
iol e:nev
abl erbenegat
ive.Anymudyouhur
l
wil
lonl
ysoi
lyoursui
t.

Especi
all
yav
oidwordsl
i
ke“personal
ityclash”
,“di
dn’
tgetal
ong”
,orot
her
swhi
chcasta
shadowonyourcompet
ence,i
ntegri
ty,ortemperament
.

BESTANSWER:

(
Ifyouhaveaj
obpr
esent
ly)
Ifyou’
renoty et100%commi tt
edt oleavingy ourpresentpost,
don’
tbeafrai
dt osayso.
Sincey ouhaveajob,youareinast rongerposi t
ionthansomeonewhodoesnot .But
don’tbecoyei t
her.Stat
ehonestlywhaty ou’dbehopi ngtofi
ndinanewspot .Ofcourse,
asstat edoft
enbefore,youanswerwi l
lallthestrongerifyouhaveal
readyuncovered
whatt hisposi
ti
onisallaboutandy oumat chyourdesi r
estoi
t.

(
Ifyoudonotpr
esent
lyhaveaj
ob.
)
Neverli
eabouthavingbeenfi
red.It’
sunet
hical
–andt ooeasi
lychecked.Butdotryt
o
def
lectthereasonfr
om youpersonal
ly.I
fyourfi
ri
ngwastheresultofatakeov
er,
merger,di
vi
sionwidelay
off,
etc.,
somucht hebett
er.

Buty oushouldalsodosomethingtotall
yunnatur
althatwil
ldemonstr
ateconsummat e
professi
onali
sm.Ev enifi
thurt
s, descri
beyourownf ir
ing–candidl
y,succi
nctl
yand
withoutatraceofbit
ter
ness–f rom thecompany ’
spoint-
of-
view,
indi
cati
ngthatyou
couldunderstandwhyithappenedandy oumi ghthavemadet hesamedecisionyour
sel
f.

Yourstatur
ewi l
lri
seimmensel yand,mostimportantofal
l,
youwillshowy ouarehealed
fr
om thewoundsi nfl
ict
edbyt hefir
ing.Youwil
lenhanceyourimageasf ir
st-
class
managementmat eri
alandstandheadandshoul dersabov
et hel
egionsoffir
ingv i
cti
ms
who,attheslight
estprovocati
on,zi
popent hei
rshirt
stoexposetheirbat
tl
escar sand
decr
yt heunfair
nessofitall
.

Foral
lpr
iorposi
ti
ons:

64ToughestQuest
ions Page8
 Makesureyou’v
epreparedabr
iefr
easonf
orl
eav
ing.Bestr
easons:mor
emoney
,
oppor
tuni
ty,
responsi
bil
i
tyorgr
owth.

Quest
ion6 The“
Sil
entTr
eat
ment
”
TRAPS:Bewar e–ifyouareunprepar
edfort
hisquest
ion,youwil
lprobablynothandl
eit
ri
ghtandpossibl
ybl
owt heint
ervi
ew.Thankgoodnessmosti nt
erv
iewersdon’temployi
t.
I
t’
snormallyusedbythosedeter
minedtoseehowy ourespondunderstress.Here’
s
howitworks:

Youanswerani
nter
viewer’squest
ionandt
hen,
inst
eadofaski
nganot
her
,hej
ustst
ares
atyoui
nadeafeni
ngsilence.

Youwait
,gr
owingabi
tuneasy,
andtherehesi
ts,
sil
entasMt.Rushmore,
asifhedoesn’
t
bel
iev
ewhatyou’
vej
ustsai
d,orper
hapsmakingyoufeelt
hatyou’
veunwit
ti
ngl
yvi
olated
somecardi
nal
rul
eofint
erv
ieweti
quett
e.

Wheny ougett
hissi
lenttr
eat
mentafteransweri
ngaparti
cular
lydi
ff
icul
tquesti
on,such
as“t
ellmeaboutyourweaknesses”
,it
sinti
midat
ingef
fectcanbemostdi squi
eti
ng,
even
topol
ishedj
obhunters.

Mostunpr eparedcandidatesrushint of i
l
lthev oi
dofsi l
ence,v
iewingpr olonged,
uncomf ort
ablesil
encesasani nv i
tat
iont oclearupt heprevi
ousanswerwhi chhas
obvi
ousl ycausedsomepr obl
em.Andt hat’
swhatt heydo–r ambl eon, sputteri
ngmor
e
andmor einformation,someti
mesi r
relevantandof t
endamagi ng,becauset heyare
suddenlyplayi
ngther oleofsomeonewho’ sgoofedandi snowt ryi
ngt orecoup.But
si
ncet hecandidatedoesn’tknowwher eorhowhegoof ed,hejustkeepst alking,
showinghowf l
usteredandconf usedhei sbyt heinterv
iewer’
sunmov ablesilence.

BESTANSWER:Li keapri
miti
vet
ribalmask,theSil
entTreatmentlosesalli
tpowerto
fri
ghtenyouonceyouref
usetobeinti
midated.Ifyourinter
viewerpull
sit
,keepquiet
yoursel
fforawhil
eandthenask,
wi t
hsincerepoli
tenessandnotat raceofsarcasm,“I
s
thereanyt
hingel
seIcanfi
lli
nonthatpoint
?”That ’
sallthereistoi
t.

Whateveryoudo,
don’
tlettheSil
entTreat
mentint
imi
datey
oui
ntot
alki
ngabl
uest
reak,
becauseyoucoul
deasi
lytalkyour
selfoutoft
heposi
ti
on.

Quest
ion7 Whyshoul
dIhi
reyou?
TRAPS:Bel
i
ev ei
tornot
,thi
sisaki
l
lerquesti
onbecausesomanycandi
dat
esar
e
unpr
epar
edforit
.Ify
oustammeroradli
by ou’
vebl
ownit.

BESTANSWER:Bynowy oucanseehowcr i
ticali
tist
oappl yt
heover
allst
rat
egyof
uncoveri
ngtheemployersneedsbef
’ oreyouanswerquest i
ons.Ify
ouknowt he
employer’
sgreat
estneedsanddesires,t
hisquesti
onwillgi
v ey
ouabiglegupoverot
her
candi
datesbecauseyouwi l
lgi
vehim bett
erreasonsforhir
ingyout
hananyoneelsei
s
l
ikel
yto…reasonsti
eddirect
lyt
ohisneeds.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page9
 Whetheryourinter
viewerasksy outhi
squestonexpl
i i
cit
lyornot,t
hisist
hemost
i
mpor t
antquestionofy ouri
ntervewbecausehemustanswert
i hisquest
ionfavorabl
yin
i
sownmi ndbeforey ouwill
behi ed.Sohel
r phim out
!Wal kthr
ougheachoft he
posi
ti
on’srequir
ement sasy ouunderst
andthem,andfoll
oweachwi t
hareasonwhyy ou
meetthatrequir
ementsowel l
.

Exampl
e:“
AsIunder
standy
ourneeds,
youar
efi
rstandf
oremostl
ooki
ngf
orsomeone
whocanmanaget hesalesandmar ket
ingofy ourbookpubli
shingdivi
sion.Asy ou’
ve
saidyouneedsomeonewi t
hast rongbackgr oundintr
adebooksal es.Thisiswher eI’
ve
spentalmostallofmycareer,
soI ’v
echal kedup18y earsofexperi
enceexactlyinthis
area.Ibel
ievethatIknowtherightcont act
s, met
hods,pri
ncipl
es,andsuccessful
managementt echniquesaswellasanyper soncaninourindustr
y.”

“Youalsoneedsomeonewhocanexpandy ourbookdist
ri
but
ionchannel
s.I
nmypr i
or
post,
myi nnovati
vepromot i
onal
ideasdoubled,
thentr
ipl
ed,t
henumberofoutl
etssel
li
ng
ourbooks.I’m conf
identIcandothesamef oryou.
”

“Youneedsomeonet ogiveanewshoti nt hearmt oy ourmai l

ordersales,someone
whoknowshowt oselli
nspaceanddi r
ectmai l
medi a.Her e,t
oo,Ibeli
ev eIhaveexact
ly
theexperiencey
ouneed.Inthelastfi
vey ears,I
’veincreasedourmai lorderbooksales
from $600,000t
o$2,800,
000,andnowwe’ r
et hecountry’ssecondleadingmar ket
erof
scienti
fi
candmedicalbooksbymai l
.”Etc.,etc.
,etc.,

Everyoneofthesesell
i
ng“couplets”(
hisneedmat chedbyyourqual
i
ficat
ions)i
sa
touchdownthatrunsupyourscore.ITisyourbestopport
unit
ytooutsell
your
compet i
ti
on.

Quest
ion8 Ar
en’
tyouover
qual
i
fiedf
ort
hisposi
ti
on?
TRAPS:Theempl
oyermaybeconcer
nedt
haty
ou’
l
lgr
owdi
ssat
isf
iedandl
eav
e.

BESTANSWER:Aswi thanyobject
ion,
don’
tvi
ewthi
sasasi gnofimminentdefeat.I
t’
s
aninvi
tat
iontot
eachtheint
ervi
eweranewwayt ot
hinkaboutthi
ssit
uati
on,seeing
advant
agesinst
eadofdrawbacks.

Exampl
e:“
Irecogni
zet
hej
obmar
ketf
orwhati
tis–amar
ket
place.Li
keany
marketpl
ace,
it’
ssubj
ecttothel
awsofsuppl
yanddemand.So‘ov
erqual
ifi
ed’canbea
rel
ati
veter
m,dependi
ngonhowt ightt
hej
obmarketi
s.Andri
ghtnow,it
’sver
yt i
ght
.I
underst
andandacceptthat
.”

“
Ial
sobel
i
evet
hatt
her
ecoul
dbev
eryposi
ti
vebenef
it
sforbot
hofusi
nthi
smat
ch.
”

“Becauseofmyunusuall
ystrongexperi
encein___
___
____
___
___,Icoul
dst
artt
o
contri
but
erightaway,
perhapsmuchf ast
erthansomeonewho’
dhav et
obebrought
alongmoreslowly.
”

“Ther
e’salsothevalueofallt
hetrai
ningandyear
sofexper
iencet
hatothercompani
es
haveinvestedtensofthousandsofdoll
arstogi
veme.You’dbegett
ingallt
heval
ueof
thatwit
houthav i
ngtopayanext r
adimef ori
t.Wit
hsomeonewhohasy ett
oacqui
re

64ToughestQuest
ions Page10
 t
hatexper
ience,
he’
dhav
etogai
nitony
ourni
ckel
.”

“Icoul
dalsohelpyouinmanyt hingstheydon’ tt
eachattheHarvar
dBusinessSchool
.
Forexample…(howtohir
e,tr
ain, moti
vate,etc.)Whenitcomestoknowinghowt owork
wellwi
thpeopleandgett
ingthemostoutoft hem,ther
e’sj
ustnosubst
it
uteforwhatyou
l
earnovermanyy ear
soffront-
lineexperience.Youcompanywoul dgai
nal lt
his,
too.
”

“Fr
om mysi de,ther
earestrongbenefi
ts,
aswell.Rightnow,Iam unempl
oyed.Iwant
towork,verymuch, andtheposi
ti
ony ouhaveherei
sexactlywhatIl
ovetodoandam
bestat
.I ’
ll
behappydoi ngthisworkandthat
’swhatmat t
ersmosttome,alotmorethat
moneyort i
tle.
”

“Mostimpor t
ant,I
’mlooki ngtomakealongt er
m commi tmenti nmycar eernow.I’
ve
hadenoughofj ob-huntingandwantaper manentspotatt hispointinmycareer.Ialso
knowt hati
fIperformt hisjobwit
hexcel
lence,otheropportuni
tiescannothelpbutopen
upf ormerighthere.Int i
me, I
’
llf
indmanyotherway stohel pthiscompanyandi nso
doing,hel
pmy self
.Ir eall
yam looki
ngtomakeal ong-
term commi tment.”

NOTE:Themai nconcer
nbehindt
he“overqual
ifi
ed”questi
onisthatyouwil
lleaveyour
newemploy erassoonassomethi
ngbettercomesy ourway.Any t
hingyoucansayt o
demonstr
atet hesi
nceri
tyofy
ourcommitmentt otheemployerandreassur
ehi mthat
you’
rel
ookingt ost
ayforthel
ong-
ter
m willhel
py ouover
comet hi
sobjecti
on.

Quest
ion9 Wher
edoyouseeyour
sel
ffi
veyear
sfr
om now?
TRAPS:Onereasonint
ervi
ewersaskthi
squesti
onistoseeifyou’
reset
tl
ingf
orthi
s
posi
ti
on,
usingi
tmerelyasastopoverunt
ilsomet
hingbet
tercomesalong.Orthey
coul
dbetry
ingtogaugeyourl
evelofambit
ion.

I
fyou’
ret
oospecif
ic,i
.e.,
namingt
hepromotionsy ousomedayhopet
owi
n,y
ou’
l
lsound
pr
esumpt
uous.Ifyou’
r etoov
ague,y
ou’l
lseem rudderl
ess.

BESTANSWER:Reassur eyourintervi
ewerthatyou’r
el ooki
ngt omakeal ong-t
erm
commitment…thatthi
spositi
onent ail
sexactlywhatyou’ r
elookingtodoandwhaty ou
doext
remelywell.Asf oryourfut
ur e,
youbel i
evethatifyouperform eachjobathand
wit
hexcel
lence,fut
ureoppor t
unit
ieswi l
ltakecareofthemsel v
es.

Exampl
e:“
Iam def
ini
tel
yint
erest
edi
nmaki
ngal
ong-
ter
m commi
tmentt
omynext
posi
tion.Judgi ngbywhaty ou’
vetoldmeaboutt hi
spositi
on,i
t’
sexactl
ywhatI’m
l
ookingf orandwhatIam v erywellqual
i
fiedtodo.Inter
msofmyf utur
ecareerpat
h,I
’m
confi
dentt hatifIdomywor kwithexcel
lence,oppor
tuni
ti
eswilli
nevi
tabl
eopenupf or
me.I t’
salway sbeenthatwayinmycar eer,andI’
m conf
identI
’l
lhavesimi
lar
opportunit
iesher e.
”

64ToughestQuest
ions Page11
Quest
ion10 Descr
ibeyouri
dealcompany,
locat
ionandj
ob.
TRAPS:Thi sisoftenaskedbyanexper iencedi
nter
v i
ewerwhothi
nksyoumaybe
over
quali
fied,butknowsbet t
erthantoshowhi shandbyposinghi
sobjecti
ondirect
ly.
Sohe’l
luset hi
squestioninstead,
whichof t
engetsacandidat
etorev
ealthat,
indeed,he
orsheislookingforsomet hi
ngotherthantheposit
ionathand.

BESTANSWER:Theonlyrightansweristodescr
ibewhatthi
scompanyi
soff
eri
ng,
bei
ngsuret
omakeyouranswerbelievabl
ewithspeci
fi
creasons,
stat
edwi
thsi
ncer
it
y,
whyeachqual
i
tyr
epr
esentedbyt hi
sopportuni
tyi
sattr
acti
vetoyou.

Remembert hatifyou’
recomingfr
om acompanyt hat’
stheleaderinitsfiel
dorf r
om a
glamorousormuchadmi r
edcompany,i
ndustr
y,cityorposit
ion,yourint
erviewerandhi
s
companymaywel lhavean“Avi
s”complex.Thatis,t
heymayf eelabitdefensi
veabout
being“secondbest”tothepl
aceyou’
recomingfrom, worr
iedthaty oumayconsi der
them bushleague.

Thi
sanxiet
ycouldwellbet
hereeventhoughyou’v
edonenothingt oinspi
rei
t.Youmust
gooutofyourwaytoassuagesuchanxiet
y,evenifi
t’
snotexpressed,byput
tingthei
r
vi
rt
ueshighontheli
stofexact
lywhatyou’
relooki
ngfor,
provi
dingcredibl
ereasonfor
wanti
ngthesequal
i
ties.

I
fyoudonotexpr essgenuineenthusi
asm fort
hef i
rm,i
tscul
tur
e,location,i
ndust
ry,
etc.,
youmayf ai
ltoanswerthi
s“ Avi
s”compl exobj
ecti
onand,asaresult
,leav et
he
i
nter
viewersuspecti
ngthatahotshotlikeyou,comingf
rom aFortune500companyi n
NewYor k,j
ustwouldn’
tbehappyatanunknownmanuf actur
erbasedi nTopeka,Kansas.

Quest
ion11 Whydoyouwantt
owor
katourcompany?
TRAPS:Thisquest
iontest
swhetheryou’
vedoneanyhomewor
kaboutt
hef
ir
m.I
fyou
hav
en’t
,youlose.I
fyouhave,
youwi nbi
g.

BESTANSWER:Thi squest
ioni
sy ouropport
uni
tytohitthebal
loutoft
hepar
k,t
hanks
tot
hein-
dept
hresear
chyoushoulddobef or
eanyinter
view.

Bestsourcesforresear
chi
ngyourtargetcompany
:annualr
eport
s,t
hecorpor
ate
newslett
er,cont
actsyouknowatthecompanyori t
ssuppl
i
ers,
advert
isement
s,ar
ti
cles
aboutthecompanyi nthet
radepress.

Quest
ion12 Whatar
eyourcar
eeropt
ionsr
ightnow?
TRAPS:Thei
nter
vieweri
str
yingt
ofi
ndout
,“Howdesper
atear
eyou?”

BESTANSWER:Pr epareforthisquesti
onbythi
nkingofhowy oucanposi ti
onyoursel
f
asadesi r
edcommodi t
y.Ifyouar esti
ll
worki
ng,describethepossi
bil
it
iesatyour
presentfi
rm andwhy ,
thoughy ou’r
egreatl
yappreci
atedthere,
you’r
elookingfor
somet hi
ngmor e(chal
lenge,money ,r
esponsi
bil
i
ty,etc.
).Alsomentionthatyou’
re
seri
ouslyexplor
ingopportuni
tieswithoneortwoot herfi
rms.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page12
 Ifyou’
renotworking,youcant
alkaboutotheremploy
mentpossibi
li
ti
esy
ou’
react
ual
l
y
explor
ing.Butdot hi
swithali
ghtt
ouch,speakingonl
yingener
alter
ms.Youdon’
twant
toseem manipulati
veorcoy.

Quest
ion13 Whyhaveyoubeenoutofwor
ksol
ong?
TRAPS:Atoughquest
ioni
fyou’
vebeenont
hebeachal
ongt
ime.Youdon’
twantt
o
seem l
i
kedamagedgoods.

BESTANSWER:Youwantt
oemphasi
zef
act
orswhi
chhav
epr
olongedy
ourj
obsear
ch
byyourownchoi
ce.

Exampl
e:“
Aft
ermyj
obwast
ermi
nat
ed,
Imadeaconsci
ousdeci
sionnott
ojumpont
he
fi
rstopport
uniti
estocomealong.I nmylif
e,I’v
ef oundoutt
hatyoucanal wayst
urna
negativei
ntoapositi
veIFyoutr
yhar denough.Thi si
swhatIdeterminedtodo.I
decidedtotakewhatevert
imeIneededt othinkthroughwhatIdobest ,
whatImostwant
todo, wher
eI’dli
ketodoit
…andt henident
ifythosecompaniesthatcouldoff
ersuchan
opportuni
ty.
”

“
Also,
inallhonesty,youhav
et ofact
orintherecessi
on(consoli
dati
on,st
abil
izat
ion,
etc.
)
i
nthe(banking,
financial
ser
vices,manufact
uri
ng,adver
ti
sing,et
c.)i
ndustr
y.”

“Sobetweenmybei ngsel
ecti
veandt hecompaniesinourindust
rydownsi
zing,the
processhastakenti
me.Butint heend, I
’
m convi
ncedthatwhenIdofindtherightmatch,
allt
hatcaref
uleval
uati
onfrom bothsidesofthedeskwil
lhavebeenwellworthwhil
efor
boththecompanythathir
esmeandmy self
.

Quest
ion14 Tellmehonestlyaboutt
hestrongpoint
sandweak
pointsofyourboss(company,managementt
eam,
etc.)
…
TRAPS:Ski
ll
ful
lint
erv
iewerssometi
mesmakei tal
mosti
rr
esi
sti
blet
oopenupandai
ra
l
it
tl
edir
tyl
aundryfr
om yourprev
iousposi
ti
on.DON’T

BESTANSWER:Remembertherul
e:Nev
erbenegat
ive.St
ressonl
ythegoodpoi
nts,
no
matt
erhowchar
mingl
yyou’
rei
nvi
tedt
obecri
ti
cal
.

Youri
nter
viewerdoesn’tcareawhi
taboutyourprevi
ousboss.Hewant stofi
ndouthow
l
oyalandposit
iveyouar e,
andwhethery
ou’l
lcri
ti
cizehim behi
ndhisbackifpressedt
o
dosobysomeonei nthi
sowncompany .Thisquestioni
sy ouroppor
tunit
yto
demonstr
ateyourloyalt
ytothosey
ouwor kwit
h.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page13
Quest
ion15 Whatgoodbookshaveyour
eadl
atel
y?
TRAPS:Asinal
lmatt
ersofy
ouri
nter
view,
neverf
akefami
li
ari
tyy
oudon’
thave.Yety
ou
don’
twantt
oseem l
i
keadull
ardwhohasn’
tr nceTom Sawy
eadabooksi er.

BESTANSWER:Unl essyou’
reupf oraposit
ioninacademiaorasbookcr i
ti
cforThe
NewYorkTimes,y
ou’renotexpectedtobeal i
ter
aryl
ion.Butitwouldn’
thurtt
ohave
readahandf
uloft
hemostr ecentandinf
luenti
albooksinyourprof
essionandon
management.

Consideritpartoftheworkofyourjobsearchtoreaduponaf ewoft heseleadi ng

books.Butmakesur et equal
heyar i
tybooksthatref
lectfavor
ablyupony ou, nothi
ng
thatcoul
dev enr emotel
ybeconsideredsuperf
ici
al.Final
l
y ,
addar ecentl
ypubl ished
bestsel
li
ngwor koff i
cti
onbyawor l
d-classaut
horandy ou’l
lpassthi
squest ionwi th
fl
yingcolors.

Quest
ion16 Tel
lmeaboutasi
tuat
ionwhenyourwor
kwas
cr
it
ici
zed.
TRAPS:Thi si
sat oughquesti
onbecausei t
’samorecl
everandsubt
lewaytogety outo
admittoaweakness.Youcan’ tdodgeitbypret
endi
ngyou’v
eneverbeencri
ti
cized.
Every
bodyhasbeen.Yeti tcanbequitedamagingtost
artadmit
ti
ngpotent
ialf
aultsand
fai
lur
esthatyou’
djustassoonl eav
eburied.

Thi
squest
ioni
sal
soi
ntendedt
opr
obehowwel
lyouacceptcr
it
ici
sm anddi
rect
ion.

BESTANSWERS:Beginbyemphasizi
ngtheext
remelyposi
ti
vefeedbacky
ou’
vegot
ten
thr
oughouty
ourcar
eerand(
ifi
t’
str
ue)thaty
ourper
formancerevi
ewshavebeen
uni
for
mlyexcel
l
ent.

Ofcourse,noonei sperfectandy oualwayswelcomesuggestionsonhowt oimprove

yourperf
ormance.Then, giv
eanexampl eofanot-t
oo-damaginglearni
ngexper
ience
fom ear
r l
yiny ourcareerandr el
atetheway st
hislessonhassincehelpedyou.This
demonstratesthatyoulearnedfrom theexperi
enceandt hel
essoni snowoneoft he
str
ongestbreastpl
atesiny oursuitofarmor.

I
fy ouarepressedforacr i
ti
cism fom ar
r ecentposi
ti
on,
choosesomethingfai
rl
ytri
vial
thati
nnowayi sessenti
altoy oursuccessfulper
for
mance.Addthatyou’v
elearned
from t
his,
too,andov ert
hepastsev er
alyears/mont
hs,i
t’
snolongeranareaofconcern
becauseyounowmakei taregularpracti
ceto…etc.

Anotherwayt oanswert hi
squesti
onwouldbet odescr
ibey ouri
ntent
iont
obr oadenyour
mast erofanareaofgr owi
ngimportancei
nyourfiel
d.Forexampl e,t
hismightbea
comput erprogr
am y ou’
vebeenmeaningtositdownandlear n…anewmanagement
techniqueyou’v
er eadabout…orper
hapsatt
endingasemi naronsomecut t
ing-edge
branchofy ourprofessi
on.

Agai
n,t
hekeyi
stof
ocusonsomet
hingnotessent
ialt
oyourbr
il
li
antper
for
mancebut

64ToughestQuest
ions Page14
 whi
chaddsy
etanot
herdi
mensi
ont
oyoural
readyi
mpr
essi
veknowl
edgebase.

Quest
ion17 Whatar
eyourout
sidei
nter
est
s?
TRAPS:Youwanttobeawell-
rounded,
notadrone.Buty
ourpotenti
alempl
oyerwould
beevenmoret
urnedof
fifhesuspectst
hatyourheav
yext
racur
ri
cularl
oadwil
lint
erf
ere
wit
hyourcommit
menttoyourworkduti
es.

BESTANSWERS:Tr ytogaugehowthi
scompany ’
scul
tur
ewoul
dlookupony
our
fav
ori
teout
sideact
ivi
ti
esandbegui
dedaccor
dingly
.

Youcanal sousethisquest
iontoshatt
eranyster
eotypest
hatcoul
dli
mi ty
ourchances.
Ify
ou’reover50,f
orexample,descri
beyouracti
vi
ti
esthatdemonst
rat
ephy si
calst
amina.
Ify
ou’reyoung,mentionanacti
vi
tythatconnot
eswisdom andi
nsti
tut
ionalt
rust
,suchas
servi
ngont heboardofapopularchari
ty.

Butaboveal
l
,rememberthaty
ouremploy
eri
shiri
ngy
ourf oucandof
orwhaty orhi
m,
notyourf
amil
y,your
sel
forout
sideor
gani
zat
ions,
nomatt
erhowadmir
abl
ethose
act
ivi
ti
esmaybe.

Quest
ion18 The“
Fat
alFl
aw”quest
ion
TRAPS:Ifaninter
v i
ewerhasreadyourresumecar eful
l
y,hemayt r
yt ozeroi
nona“ f
atal
fl
aw”ofyourcandidacy
,perhapsthaty
oudon’ thaveacollegedegree…you’
vebeenout
ofthej
obmar ketf
orsomet ime…younev erearnedyourCPA,etc.

Afatal
flawquest
ioncanbedeadl
y,butusual
l
yonl
yify
our
espondbybei
ngov
erl
y
def
ensive.

BESTANSWERS:Asev erymastersal
espersonknows,youwil
lencounterobjecti
ons
(whet
herst
atedormerelythought
)inever
ysale.They’
repartandparcelofthebuy er
’s
anxi
ety
.Thekeyisnottoexacerbatet
hebuy er
’sanxi
etybutdi
minishit
.Her e’show…

Whenev
ery
oucomeupagai
nstaf
atal
flawquest
ion:

1. Becompl etel
yhonest ,openandst r ai
ght forwardaboutadmi t
ti
ngt he
short
comi ng.(Showi ngy ouhav enot hingt ohidediminishesthebuy er’
s
anxi
ety.
)
2. Donotapol ogi
zeort rytoexplainitaway .Youknowt hatthi
ssupposedf l
aw
i
snothingt obeconcer nedabout ,andt hisistheatti
tudey ouwanty our
i
nterv
iewert oadoptaswel l.
3. Addthatasdesi rableassuchaqual i
ficationmi ghtbe,i
tslackhasmadey ou
workallthehardert hroughouty ourcar eerandhasnotpr eventedy ouf r
om
compili
nganout st
andi ngtackr ecor dofachi evement s.Youmi ghtev engive
examplesofhow, throughar elentlesscommi tmenttoexcel l
ence,y ouhav e
consi
stentlyoutperformedt hosewhodohav et hi
squalifi
cati
on.

Ofcour
se,
theul
ti
mat
ewayt
ohandl
e“f
atal
flaw”quest
ionsi
stopr
eventt
hem f
rom

64ToughestQuest
ions Page15
 ari
singinthefi
rstpl
ace.Youwil
ldothatbyfoll
owingthemast
erstr
ategydescr
ibedin
Question1,i
.e.
,uncover
ingt
heemployersneedsandthem mat
chingyourqual
if
icat
ions
tothoseneeds.

Oncey ou’
v egott
entheempl oyert
ostarttal
kingabouthismostur gentl
y-
feltwantsand
goalsforthepositi
on,andthenhelphim seeinstep-
by-st
epfashionhowper f
ectl
yyour
backgroundandachi evementsmatchupwi ththoseneeds,you’r
egoingt ohaveonev er
y
enthusi
asticint
ervi
ewerony ourhands,onewhoi snolongerlooki
ngf or“f
atalfl
aws”.

Quest
ion19 Howdoyoufeelaboutrepor
ti
ngt
oayoungerper
son
(
minor
it
y,woman,etc)
?
TRAPS:I t
’sashamet hatsomei nter
viewersfeel
theneedt
oaskthisquesti
on,butmany
underst
andthereal
it
yt hatpr
ejudicessti
llexi
stamongsomejobcandidat
es,andit
’s
bett
ertotryt
oflushthem outbeforehand.

Thetrapher
eisthatintoday’
spol i
ti
call
ysensiti
zedenvi
ronment,
evenawel l
-i
ntent
ioned
answercanresul
tinplant
ingyourfootneatl
yi nyourmouth.Avoidanyt
hingwhich
smacksofapat r
onizi
ngorani nsensit
iveat
tit
ude,suchas“It
hinktheymaketerri
fi
c
bosses”or“
Hey ,
someofmybestf r
iendsare…”

Ofcourse,si
ncealmostanyonewithanIQaboveroom temperatur
ewill
atleasttr
yto
st
eadfastl
yaffi
rmtherightanswerher
e,youri
nter
viewerwi
llbejudgi
ngyoursinceri
ty
mostofall.“Doyoureall
yfeelt
hatway?”iswhatheorshewi l
lbewonderi
ng.

Soyoumustmakey ouranswerbel
i
evableandnotj
ustaut
omat i
c.I
fthefir
miswise
enoughtohavepr
omotedpeopledonthebasi
sofabil
it
yalone,t
hey
’rel
ikel
yqui
teproud
ofit
,andpref
ert
ohireother
swhowi l
lwhol
ehear
tedl
yshar
et hei
rst
rongsenseoffai
r
pl
ay.

BESTANSWER:Yougr eatl
yadmi r
eacompanythathir
esandpromotesonmer i
talone
andyoucoul
dn’tagreemorewiththatphi
l
osophy.Theage(gender
,race,
etc.
)ofthe
per
sonyoureporttowouldcer
tainl
ymakenodi f
fer
encetoyou.

Whoev erhasthatpositi
onhasobv i
ouslyear
neditandknowstheirjobwell
.Boththe
personandt hepositi
onarefull
ydeservi
ngofrespect.Youbel
iev
et hatal
lpeoplei
na
company ,f
rom therecepti
onistt
otheChairman,workbestwhentheirabi
li
ti
es,eff
ort
s
andf eel
i
ngsar erespect
edandr ewardedfai
rl
y,andthati
ncl
udesy ou.That
’sthebest
ty
peofwor kenvi
ronmenty oucanhopet ofi
nd.

Quest
ion20 Onconf
ident
ialmat
ter
s…
TRAPS:Whenani nter
viewerpressesyoutorevealconfi
dent
iali
nformati
onabouta
presentorformerempl oyer
,youmayf eelit
’sano-winsit
uati
on.Ifyoucooperat
e,you
couldbejudgedunt r
ustworthy.Ifyoudon’t
,youmayi rr
it
atethei
ntervi
ewerandseem
obstinat
e,uncooperati
veorov er
lysuspi
cious.

BESTANSWER:Youri
nter
viewermaypr
essy
ouf
ort
hisi
nfor
mat
ionf
ort
wor
easons.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page16
 Fi
rst,
manycompaniesuseint
ervi
ewstoresearchthecompetit
ion.It
’saper fectset
-up.
Hereint
heirownl
air
,isani
nsiderf
rom t
heenemycampwhocanr ev
eal pr
ized
i
nformat
iononthecompeti
ti
on’spl
ans,r
esearch,f
inanci
alcondit
ion,et
c.

Second,thecompanymaybetest
ingy
ouri
ntegr
it
ytoseei
fyoucanbecaj
oledorbul
l
ied
i
ntoreveali
ngconf
ident
ial
dat
a.

Whatt odo?Theanswerher eiseasy.Neverreveal

anythi
ngt r
ulyconfi
denti
alabouta
presentorformerempl oyer
.Byal l
means,explai
nyourret
icencediplomati
call
y.For
exampl e,“
Icertai
nlywanttobeasopenasIcanaboutt hat.ButIalsowisht orespect
therightsofthosewhohav etr
ustedmewi t
ht hei
rmostsensiti
veinformati
on,justas
youwoul dhopet obeabletotrustanyofy
ourkeypeoplewhent al
ki
ngwi t
ha
compet it
or…”

Andcer
tai
nlyy
oucanall
udetoyourf
inestachi
evement
sinspeci
fi
cway
sthatdon’
t
rev
ealt
hecombinat
iont
othecompanysafe.

Butbeguidedbythegol
denrule.Ifyouweret
heownerofy
ourpresentcompany,woul
d
youfeeli
tethi
cal
l
ywrongfortheinformat
iont
obegiv
entoyourcompetit
ors?Ifso,
steadf
ast
lyref
usetorev
eali
t.

Rememberthatthi
squest i
onpi t
syourdesiretobecooperati
veagainsty ourintegr
ity
.
Facedwit
hanysuchchoi ce,alwayschoosei nt
egr
it
y.Iti
saf armorev aluable
commoditythanwhateverinformati
ont hecompanymaypr yfrom you.Mor eov er,
once
yousur
renderthei
nformation,yourstockgoesdown.Theywi llsur
elyloser espectfor
you.

OnePresidentweknowal way
spr essescandi datesunmer cif
ull
yforconfi
dent
ial
i
nformati
on.Ifhedoesn’
tgetit
,hegr owsvisiblyannoy ed,rel
entl
essl
yinqui
sit
ive,I
t’
sal
l
anact.Hecoul dn’
tcar
elessabouttheinformat ion.Thisishiswayoftesti
ngthe
candi
date’smoralfi
ber
.Onlythosewhohol df astarehired.

Quest
ion21 Woul
dyoul
i
efort
hecompany?
TRAPS:Thisanotherquest
iont
hatpi
tst
wov
aluesagai
nstoneanot
her
,int
hiscase
l
oyal
tyagai
nstint
egrit
y.

BESTANSWER:Tr ytoavoi
dchoosi
ngbet
weent
wov
alues,
giv
ingaposi
ti
vest
atement
whichcov
ersal
lbasesi
nstead.

Exampl
e:“
Iwoul
dnev
erdoany
thi
ngt
ohur
tthecompany
..
”

I
faggressiv
elypressedt
ochoosebetweent
wocompeti
ngv
al al
ues, wayschoose
per
sonalintegr
it
y.Itist
hemostpri
zedofal
lval
ues.

Quest
ion22 Looki
ngback,
whatwoul
dyoudodi
ff
erent
lyi
nyourl
i
fe?
TRAPS:Thi
squest
ioni
susual
l
yaskedt
ouncov
eranyl
i
fe-
inf
luenci
ngmi
stakes,
regr
ets,

64ToughestQuest
ions Page17
 di
sappoi
ntment
sorpr
obl
emst
hatmaycont
inuet
oaf
fecty
ourper
sonal
i
tyand
per
for
mance.

Youdonotwanttogiv
etheinter
vieweranyt
hingnegati
vetorememberyouby,suchas
somegreatper
sonal
orcareerdi
sappointment,
evenlongago,thaty
ouwishcouldhav
e
beenav
oided.

Nordoyouwisht
ogiveanyanswerwhi
chmayhi
ntt
haty
ourwhol
ehear
tandsoul
wil
l
notbei
nyourwork.

BESTANSWER:Indi
catethaty
ouareahappy
,ful
fi
ll
ed,
opt
imi
sti
cper
sonandt
hat
,in
gener
al,
youwoul
dn’
tchangeathi
ng.

Exampl
e:“
It
’sbeenagoodl
i
fe,
richi
nlear
ningandex
per
ience,
andt
hebesti
tyett
o
come.Ev
eryexper
iencei
nli
fei
sal
essoni
tit
sownway
.Iwoul
dn’
tchangeat
hing.
”

Quest
ion23 Coul
dyouhavedonebet
teri
nyourl
astj
ob?
TRAPS:Thi
sisnot
imef
ort
rueconf
essi
onsofmaj
ororev
enmi
norpr
obl
ems.

nnev
BESTANSWER:Agai erbenegat
ive.

Exampl
e:“
Isupposewi
tht
hebenef
itofhi
ndsi
ghty
oucanal
way
sfi
ndt
hingst
odobet
ter
,
ofcour
se,
butof
fthet
opofmyhead,
Ican’
tthi
nkofany
thi
ngofmaj
orconsequence.
”

(
Ifmor
eexpl
anat
ionseemsnecessar
y)
Descri
berasit
uat
ionthatdi
dn’
tsuf
ferbecauseofy
oubutf
rom ext
ernal
condi
ti
ons
beyondyourcont
rol
.

Forexample,describethedisappoi
ntmenty oufeltwithat estcampaign,newproduct
l
aunch,merger,etc.,whichl
ookedpr omisi
ngatf ir
st,butledtounder whelmi
ngresult
s.“I
wishwecoul dhaveknownatt hestartwhatwel aterfoundout( abouttheeconomy
tur
ning,
themar ketplacechanging,
etc.)
,butsincewecoul dn’
t,wejusthadtogof ori
t.
Andwedi dlearnfrom it
…”

Quest
ion24 Canyouwor
kunderpr
essur
e?
TRAPS:Aneasyquest
ion,
buty
ouwantt ouranswerbel
omakey i
evabl
e.

BESTANSWER:Absolutel
y…(thenproveitwit
hav
ivi
dexampl
eort
woofagoal
or
pr
ojectaccompl
i
shedunderseverepressur
e.)

Quest
ion25 Whatmakesyouangr
y?
TRAPS:Youdon’
twantt
ocomeacr
ossei
therasahot
headorawi
mp.

BESTANSWER: Gi veananswert
hat
’ssui
tedt
obot
hy ourper
sonal
i
tyandt
he
managementst
yleofthef
ir
m.Here,t
hehomeworkyou’
vedoneaboutt
hecompanyand

64ToughestQuest
ions Page18
 i
tsst
ylecanhel
piny
ourchoi
ceofwor
ds.

Examples:Ifyouar
ear
eser
vedper
sonand/
ort
hecor
por
atecul
tur
eiscool
l
y
prof
essional
:

“I
’m aneven-
temperedandposi
tiv
epersonbynat ure,
andIbeli
evethishelpsmeagr eat
dealinkeepi
ngmydepar t
mentrunni
ngsmoot hly
,harmoniousl
yandwi t
hagenui ne
espri
tdecorps.Ibeli
evei
ncommuni cat
ingclearl
ywhat’
sexpected,gett
ingpeople’
s
commi tmenttot
hosegoals,
andthenfol
lowingupcont i
nuousl
ytocheckpr ogr
ess.”

“I
fanyoneoranythi
ngisgoingof ftrack,Iwanttoknowabouti tearly
.If,af
terthatki
nd
ofopencommuni cati
onandf oll
owup, someoneisn’tget t
ingthejobdone,I’
llwantto
knowwhy .Ift
here’
snogoodr eason, t
henI ’
ll
getimpatientandangr y…andtake
appropri
atest
epsfrom ther
e.Buti fyouhi regoodpeopl e,motivat
ethem tostri
vefor
excell
enceandthenfoll
owupconst antly
,ital
mostnev erget stothatst
ate.
”

I
fyouar
efei
stybynat
ureand/
ort
heposi
ti
oncal
l
sforat
oughst
rawboss.

“Youknowwhatmakesmeangr y?Peoplewho(thefi
l
lint
hebl
ankswit
hthemost
object
ionabl
etrai
tsfort
hist
ypeofposi
ti
on)…peopl
ewhodon’
tpul
lthei
rownwei
ght,
whoar enegati
ve,peopl
ewholi
e…etc.
”

Quest
ion26 Whyar en’
tyouear
ningmor
emoneyatt
hisst
ageof
yourcareer
?
TRAPS:Youdon’
twantt
ogivetheimpr
essi
onthatmoneyi
snotimport
anttoyou,
yet
youwantt
oexpl
ainwhyyoursal
arymaybeali
tt
lebel
owindust
ryst
andards.

BESTANSWER:Youl
i
ket
omakemoney
,butot
herf
act
orsar
eev
enmor
eimpor
tant
.

Exampl
e:“
Maki
ngmoneyi
sver
yimpor
tantt
ome,
andoner
easonI
’
m her
eisbecause
I
’ml
ooki
ngtomakemore.Throughoutmycareer
,what
’sbeenevenmoreimpor
tantt
o
mei
sdoingwor
kIreal
l
yli
ketodoatt heki
ndofcompanyIli
keandrespect
.

(
Thenbepr
eparedt
obespecif
icaboutwhaty
ourideal
posit
ionandcompanywoul
dbe
l
i
ke,mat
chi
ngthem ascl
osel
yaspossibl
etotheoppor
tuni
tyathand.

Quest
ion27 Whohasi
nspi
redyoui
nyourl
i
feandwhy?
TRAPS:Thet wot r
apshereareunpr
epar
ednessandirr
elevance.Ifyougr
opeforan
answer,i
tseemsy ou’
veneverbeeni
nspi
red.Ify
ourambl eaboutyourhi
ghschool
basket
ballcoach,
you’
vewastedanopportuni
tyt
opresentqualit
iesofgr
eatv
aluetothe
company.

BESTANSWER:Hav eafewheroesinmind,
from yourment
al“
Boar
dofDirector
s”–
Leader
siny
ouri
ndustr
y,f
rom hi
stor
yoranyoneelsewhohasbeenyourmentor.

Bepr
epar
edt
ogi
veexampl
esofhowt
hei
rwor
ds,
act
ionsort
eachi
ngshav
ehel
ped

64ToughestQuest
ions Page19
 i
nspi
rey
ourachi
evements.Asal
ways,pr
epar
eananswerwhi
chhi
ghl
i
ght
squal
i
tiest
hat
woul
dbehi
ghlyval
uabl
eintheposi
ti
onyouar
eseeki
ng.

Quest
ion28 Whatwast
het
oughestdeci
si
onyoueverhadt
omake?
TRAPS:Gi
vi
nganunpr
epar
edori
rr
elev
antanswer
.

BESTANSWER:Bepr eparedwithagoodexample,expl
aini
ngwhyt hedeci
sionwas
dif
fi
cult
…theprocessyoufollowedinr
eachi
ngit
…t hecourageousoreff
ecti
vewayyou
carr
ieditout
…andt hebenefi
cialr
esul
ts.

Quest
ion29 Tel
lmeaboutt
hemostbor
ingj
obyou’
veeverhad.
TRAPS:Yougiveaver
ymemor abl
edescr
ipt
ionofaverybor
ingj
ob.Resul
t?You
becomeassoci
atedwi
tht
hisbori
ngjobi
ntheint
erv
iewer’
smind.

BESTANSWER:Youhaveneveral
l
owedyour
sel
ftogrowbor
edwi
thaj
obandy
oucan’
t
under
standi
twhenot
her
slett
hemsel
vesf
all
int
othatrut
.

Exampl
e:“
Per
hapsI
’
vebeenf
ort
unat
e,butt
hatI
’
venev
erf
oundmy
sel
fbor
edwi
thany
j
obIhav eeverheld.I’
vealwaysenjoyedhardwork.Aswithact
orswhof eelt
hereareno
small part
s,Ial
sobelievethatinever
ycompanyordepartmentther
eareexciti
ng
chall
engesandi ntri
guingproblemscryi
ngoutforener
geti
candenthusi
asticsol
uti
ons.
Ifyou’rebored,
it’
sprobablybecauseyou’r
enotchall
engi
ngyoursel
ftot
acklethose
problemsr i
ghtundery ournose.”

Quest
ion30 Haveyoubeenabsentfr
om wor
kmor
ethanaf
ewdays
i
nanyprevi
ousposit
ion?
TRAPS:Ify
ou’
vehadapr obl
em,youcan’tli
e.Youcoul
deasi
l
ybef
oundout
.Yet
admit
ti
nganat
tendanceprobl
em coul
draisemanyfl
ags.

BESTANSWER:I fy
ouhav ehadnoproblem,emphasi
zey
ourexcel
l
entandconsi
stent
at
tendancer
ecor
dthroughouty
ourcareer.

Alsodescri
behowimportantyoubeli
evesuchconsi
stentattendancei
sf orakey
execut
ive…whyit
’suptoyoutosetanexampleofdedication…andwhyt here’
sjustno
substi
tut
eforbei
ngtherewithyourpeopl
etokeeptheoper ati
onrunni
ngsmoot hl
y,
answerquesti
onsandhandleproblemsandcri
sesast heyarise.

I
fyoudohaveapastattendanceprobl
em, y
ouwanttominimi
zeit
,makingi
tcl
eart
hati
t
wasanexcept
ional
cir
cumst anceandthati
t’
scausehasbeencor
rect
ed.

Todothis,gi
vet hesameanswerasabov ebutpr ef
aceitwithsomethi
nglike,“
Otherthat
bei
ngoutlastyear(orwhenever
)becauseof( yourreason,
whichisnowi nthepast),
I
hav
enev erhadapr obl
em andhaveenjoyedanexcel l
entatt
endancerecordthr
oughout
mycareer.Furthermore,
Ibel
iev
e,consist
entattendanceisimport
antbecause…”( Pi
ck
uptherestoftheanswerasoutli
nedabov e.
).

64ToughestQuest
ions Page20
Quest
ion31 Whatchangeswoul
dyoumakei
fyoucameonboar
d?
TRAPS:Watchout!Thisquest
ioncander
aily
ourcandi
dacyf
ast
ert
hanabombont
he
tacks–andj
r ustasyouareaboutt
obehired.

Reason:Nomat
terhowbr
ighty
ouar
e,y
oucannotknowt
her
ightact
ionst
otakei
na
posi
ti
onbeforeyousett
lei
nandgettoknowt heoper
ati
on’sstr
engths,weaknesseskey
peopl
e,f
inanci
alcondi
ti
on,methodsofoper
ati
on,et
c.Ifyoulungeatthistempti
ngly
bai
tedquesti
on,youwi
llpr
obablybeseenassomeonewhoshoot sfrom thehip.

Mor eover,nomatt
erhowcomf ort
ableyoumayfeelwit
hyourint
erv
iewer
,youaresti
l
lan
outsider.Noone,i
ncludi
ngyourint
ervi
ewer
,li
kestothi
nkthataknow-i
t-
all
outsi
deri
s
goingt ocomein,t
urnthepl
aceupsidedownandwi t
hsweeping,gr
andgestur
es,
prompt lydemonst
rat
ewhatjerksevery
body’
sbeenforyear
s.

BESTANSWER:You,ofcour
se,
will
wanttotakeagoodhar
dlookatev
ery
thi
ngt
he
companyi
sdoi
ngbef
oremakinganyrecommendat
ions.

Exampl
e:“
Wel
l
,Iwoul
dn’
tbeav
erygooddoct
ori
fIgav
emydi sbef
agnosi oret
he
examinat
ion.Shoul dy
ouhireme,asIhopey ouwil
l
,I’
dwanttotakeagoodhardlookat
ever
ythi
ngy ou’r
edoingandunderst
andwhyi t’
sbei
ngdonethatway.I’
dli
ketohavein-
dept
hmeet ingswithyouandtheotherkeypeoplet
ogetadeepergraspofwhatyoufeel
you’
redoingrightandwhatcoul
dbei mproved.

“From whaty
ou’vetoldmesof ar
, t
heareasofgreat
estconcer
nt oy
ouar e…”(name
them.Thendot wot hi
ngs.Fir
st,aski
ftheseareinfacthi
smajorconcerns.Ifsothen
reaff
ir
m howy ourexper
iencei
nmeet i
ngsimil
arneedselsewheremightprovevery
helpf
ul).

Quest
ion32 I’
m concernedthatyoudon’
thaveasmuchexper
ience
aswe’dlikein…
TRAPS:Thiscoul
dbeamake-or-
breakquest
ion.Thei
nter
viewermost
lyli
keswhathe
sees,
buthasdoubt
soveronekeyarea.I
fyoucanassur
ehim onthi
spoint,
thej
obmay
beyours.

BESTANSWER:Thi squestioni
srelatedto“TheFatalFl
aw”( Quest
ion18)
,buther
ethe
concer
nisnott
hatyouaret otal
l
ymi ssingsomequalif
icat
ions,suchasCPAcerti
fi
cat
ion,
butrat
hert
hatyourexper
ienceisli
ghtinonear ea.

Beforegoingint
oanyi nt
ervi
ew,t
ryt
oident
ifyt
heweakestaspect
sofyourcandidacy
fr
om thiscompany ’spoi
ntofvi
ew.Thenprepar
ethebestansweryoupossi
blecanto
shoreupy ourdefenses.

Togetpastt hi
squesti
onwi t
hf l
yi
ngcolor
s,youar
egoingtor
elyonyourmasterstr
ategy
ofuncover
ingtheempl oyer
’sgreat
estwantsandneedsandt
henmat chi
ngthem wit
h
yourst
rengths.Si
ncey oualreadyknowhowt odothi
sfr
om Quest
ion1,youareina
muchstrongerposit
ion.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page21
 Mor
especi
fi
cal
l
y,whent
hei
nter
viewerposesasobj
ect
ionl
i
ket
his,
youshoul
d…

1. Agreeonthei mport
anceofthisquali
fi
cati
on.
2. Explai
nthatyourstr
engthmaybei ndeedbegr eaterthanyourr
esume
i
ndicatesbecause…
3. Whent hi
sstrengthi
saddedt oyourotherstr
engt hs,
it’
sreal
lyy
our
combinati
onofqualif
icat
ionsthat
’smostimpor tant.

Thenrev
iewt
heareasofyourgreat
estst
rengt
hsthatmat
chupmostf
avor
abl
ywi
tht
he
company’
smosturgent
ly-
fel
twantsandneeds.

Thisi
spower f
ul waytohandlethi
squesti
onfort
wor easons.Fir
st,you’
regiv
ingy our
i
ntervi
ewermor eammuni ti
oninthear
eaofhisconcern.Butmor eimportant
ly,
you’re
shi
fti
nghisfocusawayf rom t
hisone,
isol
atedar
eaandput ti
ngitontheunique
combinat
ionofst r
engthsyouoffer
,st
rengt
hswhichtieinperf
ectl
ywi t
hhisgreatest
wants.

Quest
ion33 Howdoyouf
eelaboutwor
kingni
ght
sandweekends?
TRAPS:Bl
urtout“noway,Jose”andyoucankissthejoboff
ergoodbye.Butwhati
fyou
hav
eafamil
yandwantt owor kareasonabl
ynormalschedul
e?Isther
eawayt oget
bot
hthej
obandt heschedul
ey ouwant?

BESTANSWER:Fi r
st,i
fyou’reaconfi
rmedwor kaholi
c,t
hisquest
ionisasof
tbal
ll
ob.
Whackitoutoftheparkont hefi
rstswi
ngbysay ingthi
skindofschedul
eisj
ustyour
sty
le.Addthatyourfamil
yunder st
andsit
.Indeed,they’
rehappyf
oryou,ast
heyknow
yougetyourgreat
estsati
sfacti
onfrom y
ourwor k.

I
fhowever
,youpr
eferamorebalancedl
if
est
yle,
answert
hisquest
ionwi
thanot
her
:
What
“ ’
sthenormforyourbestpeopl
eher
e?”

Ifthehourssti
l
lsoundunreal
ist
icforyou,ask,“
Doy ouhaveanytoppeopl
ewhoper f
orm
excepti
onall
yforyou,
butwhoal sohavefami l
i
esandl i
ketogethomeinti
met osee
them atni
ght?”Chancesarethiscompanydoes, andthisassoci
atesy
ouwit
ht hi
sother
“top-
perf
ormers-who-
leav
e-not-
lat
er-
than-
six”group.

Dependi
ngontheanswer,
behonestabouthowy ouwoul
dfiti
ntot
hepict
ure.Ifal
lthose
ext
rahoursmakeyouuncomf
ortabl
e,sayso,butphr
aseyourr
esponseposi
ti
vely.

Exampl
e:“
Ilov
emywor
kanddoi
texcept
ional
l
ywel
l
.It
hinkt
her
esul
tsspeakf
or
themselves,especi
all
yin…(mentiony ourtwoort hr
eequali
fi
cat
ionsofgreat
erint
erest
totheempl oyer.Remember ,
thi
si swhathewant smost,notaworkahol
i
cwi hweak
t
credent
ials)
.Notonl ywouldIbri
ngt hesequali
ties,butI
’
vebuil
tmywholecareeron
workingnotjusthard,butsmart
.It hinkyou’
ll
findmeoneoft hemostproducti
vepeople
here.

Idohaveafamil
ywholikest
oseemeaf t
erworkandonweekends.Theyaddbalance
andri
chnesstomyl
if
e, whi
chint
urnhel
psmebehappyandpr oduct
iveatwor
k.IfI
coul
dhandlesomeoftheextr
aworkathomeintheeveni
ngsoronweekends,
that

64ToughestQuest
ions Page22
 wouldbeideal
.You’
dbeget ti
ngapersonofexcept
ional
product
ivi
tywhomeetsyour
needswit
hst r
ongcr
edenti
als.AndI
’dbeabletohandlesomeoftheheavyworkl
oadat
homewher eIcanbeunderthesameroofasmyf amil
y.Every
bodywouldwin.
”

Quest
ion34 Ar
eyouwi
l
li
ngt
orel
ocat
eort
ravel
?
TRAPS:Answerwit
haflat“
no”andyoumaysl
am thedoorshutont
hisopport
uni
ty.But
whati
fyou’
dreal
l
ypref
ernottorel
ocat
eort
rav
el,
yetwouldn’
twantt
ol oset
hejoboff
er
overi
t?

BESTANSWER:Firstf
indoutwher
ey oumayhav
etor
elocat
eandhowmucht
rav
elmay
beinv
olv
ed.Thenr
espondtothequesti
on.

I
fther
e’snopr
obl
em,
saysoent
husi
ast
ical
l
y.

I
fyoudohav
ear
eser
vat
ion,
ther
ear
etwoschool
soft
houghtonhowt
ohandl
eit
.

Oneadvi
sesyoutokeepy ouropt
ionsopenandyourreser
vationstoy
oursel
fintheearl
y
goi
ng,bysay
ing,
“noproblem”.Youstrat
egyher
eistogett hebestof
feryoucan,then
makeajudgmentwhetherit’
sworthi
ttoyoutor
elocateortravel
.

Also,bytheti
metheof f
ercomesthr
ough,youmayhav eotheroff
ersandcanmakea
mor einf
ormeddeci
sion.Whykill
ofthisoppor
tuni
tybefor
eithaschancet obl
ossom
i
ntosomet hi
ngreal
lyspeci
al?Andifyou’
reali
ttl
emoredesper at
ethreemonthsfrom
now, youmightwi
shy ouhadn’
tsl
ammedt hedooronrelocati
ngortravel
i
ng.

Thesecondwaytohandl
ethisquest
ioni
stovoiceareser
vat
ion,
butasser
tthaty
ou’
dbe
opentorel
ocat
ing(
ortr
avel
ing)f
ortheri
ghtopport
uni
ty.

Theanswer
ingst
rat
egyyouchoosedependsonhoweagery
ouar
efort
hej
ob.I
fyou
wanttot
akenochances,
choosethef
irstappr
oach.

Ify
ouwanttoplayal
it
tl
ehar
der
-t
o-geti
nhopesofgener
ati
ngamor
eent
ici
ngof
fer
,
chooset
hesecond.

Quest
ion35 Doyouhavethestomachtof
irepeopl
e?Haveyouhad
exper
iencef
ir
ingmanypeopl
e?
TRAPS:Thi s“
innocent”quest
ioncoul
dbeatrapdoorwhichsendsyoudownachut e
andlandsyouinaheapofdustout si
dethef
rontdoor.Why?Becauseitsr
eali
ntentis
notjustt
oseeifyou’vegotthestomachtof
ir
e,butal
sotouncoverpoorj
udgmentin
hi
ringwhichhascausedy outofi
resomany.Also,i
fyoufi
resooften,
youcoul
dbea
ty
rant.

Sodon’trisetot
hebaitbyboasti
nghowmanyy ou’v
ef i
red,unlessyou’
vepreparedto
explai
nwhyi twasbeyondyourcont
rol
,andnottheresultofyourpoorhir
ingprocedur
es
orfoultemperament
.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page23
 BESTANSWER: Descri
bet
her
ati
onal
andsensi
blemanagementpr
ocessy
ouf
oll
owi
n
bot
hhir
ingandf
ir
ing.

Exampl
e:“
Mywhol
emanagementappr
oachi
stohi
ret
hebestpeopl
eIcanf
ind,
trai
n
t
hem t
horoughlyandwell
,gett
hem exci
tedandpr
oudtobepartofourt
eam,andthen
wor
kwiththem toachi
eveourgoal
stogether
.Ify
oudoal l
oft
hatri
ght,
especi
all
yhi
ri
ng
t
heri
ghtpeople,I
’v
efoundyoudon’
thavet of
ir
everyof
ten.

“Sowithme, f
iringi
sal astresort
.Butwheni t’
sgott obedone, it
’sgottobedone, and
thefast
erandcl eaner,
thebet t
er.Apoorempl oy eecanwr eakterr
ibl
edamagei n
undermini
ngt hemor al
eofanent ireteam ofgoodpeopl e.Whent here’
snoot herway,
I
’vefoundit’
sbet t
erforallconcernedtoactdecisivel
yingetti
ngridofoffenderswho
won’tchanget hei
rways.”

Quest
ion36 Whyhaveyouhadsomanyj
obs?
TRAPS:Youri
ntervi
ewerf
ear
syoumayleavethi
sposit
ionqui
ckl
y,asyouhaveot
hers.
He’
sconcer
nedy oumaybeunst
abl
e,ora“pr
oblem per
son”whocan’
tgetal
ongwith
ot
hers.

BESTANSWER:Fi rst
,beforey ouevengettotheintervi
ewstage,youshoul
dtryt
o
minimizeyourimageasjobhopper .Ift
herearesev eralent
ri
esony ourr
esumeofless
thanoneyear,consi
derel
imi nati
ngthelessi
mpor tantones.Perhapsyoucanspecif
y
theti
mey ouspentatpreviousposit
ionsinroundedyear snoti
nmont hsandyear
s.

Exampl
e:I
nst
eadofshowi
ngt
hreeposi
ti
onst
hisway
:

6/
1982–3/1983,Posi
ti
onA;
4/
1983–12/1983,Posi
ti
onB;
1/
1984–8/1987,Posi
ti
onC;

…i
twoul
dbebet
tert
oshowsi
mpl
y:

1982–1983,
Posi
tionA;
1984–1987Posi
ti
onC.

I
notherwords,
y ouwoul
ddropPosi
ti
onBalt
oget
her
.Not
icewhatadi
ff
erencet
his
makesinr
educingyouri
mageasajobhopper
.

Onceinfrontofthei
nter
viewerandthi
squesti
oncomesup,
youmusttr
ytoreassur
e
hi
m.Descr ibeeachposi
ti
onaspar tofanover
all
pat
ter
nofgrowt
handcar
eer
dest
inat
ion.

Becareful
nottoblameotherpeopl
eforyourf
requentchanges.Buty
oucanandshoul
d
at
tri
butecert
ainchangest
oconditi
onsbeyondyourcontr
ol.

Exampl
e:Thankst
oanupcomi
ngmer
ger
,youwant
edt
oav
oidanensui
ngbl
oodbat
h,so
y
oumadeagood,
upwar
dcar
eermov
ebef
orey
ourdepar
tmentcameundert
heaxeof

64ToughestQuest
ions Page24
 t
henewowner
s.

Ifpossibl
e,al
soshowt hatyourjobchangesweremor efrequenti
ny ouryoungerdays,
whileyouwereest abl
i
shingyourself
,roundi
ngoutyourskil
lsandlookingfortheri
ght
careerpath.Atthisst
ageiny ourcareer,
you’
recer
tai
nlymuchmor einter
estedinthe
bestlong-t
erm opport
unit
y.

Youmi ghtal
soci
tet
hej
ob(s)wher
eyoust
ayedt
hel
ongestanddescr
ibet
hatt
hist
ype
ofsi
tuati
oniswhaty
ou’
rel
ookingf
ornow.

Quest
ion37 Whatdoyouseeast heproperr ol
e/missionof
…
…agood(jobti
tl
eyou’reseeking);
…agoodmanager ;
…anexecuti
vei
nservingthecommuni ty;
…aleadi
ngcompanyinouri ndustry;
etc.
TRAPS:Theseandot her“pr
operrol
e”questi
onsaredesi
gnedtotestyour
under
standi
ngofy ourpl
aceinthebi
ggerpict
ureofyourdepar
tment,company
,
communityandprofessi
on….aswell
astheproperrol
eeachoftheseenti
ti
esshoul
dpl
ay
ni
i tsbi
ggerpict
ure.

Thequest ioni
smostf r
equentlyaskedbythemostthoughtf
uli
ndivi
dualsand
compani es…orbythoseconcernedthatyou’
recomingfr
om aplacewitharadi
cal
l
y
di
fferentcorpor
atecult
ure(suchasf r
om abiggovernmentbur
eaucracytoan
aggressivesmallcompany).

Themostfrequentmistakeexecutiv
esmakei nansweringissi
mplynotbei
ngprepar
ed
(seemi
ngasifthey’
venev ergiv
inganyofthisathough.)…ori
nphrasi
ngananswerbest
suit
edtot
heirpri
ororganizat
ion’scult
urei
nsteadofthehiri
ngcompany’
s.

BESTANSWER: Thi
nkofthemostessent
iali
ngr
edient
sofsuccessf
oreachcat
egor
y
abov
e–yourj
obti
tl
e,yourr
oleasmanager
,yourf
ir
m’ sr
ole,
etc.

Ident
if
yatl
eastt
hreebutnomor
ethansixqual
it
iesyouf
eel
aremosti
mpor
tantt
o
successi
neachrol
e.Thencommityourr
esponsetomemory.

Here,agai
n,t
hemor ei
nformationyou’v
ealr
eadydr
awnoutaboutthegr
eatestwant
sand
needsoftheint
erv
iewer,andthemor ehomeworky
ou’
vedonetoident
if
ythecult
ureof
thefi
rm,themoreon-t
argetyouranswerwil
lbe.

Quest
ion38 Whatwouldyousaytoyourbossi
fhe’
scr
azyaboutan
i
dea,butyout
hinki
tsti
nks?
TRAPS:Thisisanotherquest
iont
hatpi
tst
wov
alues,
int
hiscasel
oyal
tyandhonest
y,
agai
nstoneanother
.

BESTANSWER: Remembert
her
ulest
atedear
li
er:I
nanyconf
li
ctbet
weenv
alues,

64ToughestQuest
ions Page25
 al
wayschoosei
ntegr
it
y.

Exampl
e:Ibel
i
evet
hatwhenev
aluat
ingany
thi
ng,
it’
simpor
tantt
oemphasi
zet
he
posi
ti
ve.WhatdoIl
i
keaboutt
hisi
dea?
”

“Then,i
fyouhav
ereser
vat
ions,
Icert
ainl
ywantt
opoi
ntt
hem out
,asspeci
fi
cal
l
y,
object
ivel
yandf
act
uall
yasIcan.”

“
Aft
erall
,themostimport
antt
hi shonest
ngIowemybossi y.I
fhecan’
tcountonmef
or
t
hat
,thenever
ythi
ngelseImaydoorsaycoul
dbequest
ionabl
einhi
seyes.
”

“ButIal
sowanttoexpr
essmythought
sinaconstr
ucti
veway.Somygoal inthi
scase
wouldbetoseeifmybossandIcoul
dmakehisideaevenstr
ongerandmoreappeali
ng,
sothati
teff
ect
ivel
yover
comesanyini
ti
alr
eser
vati
onIorothersmayhaveaboutit
.”

“Ofcourse,
ifheoverrul
esmeandsay
s,‘
no,l
et’
sdoitmyway
,’t
henIowehi
m myf
ull
andenthusiast
icsupportt
omakei
tworkasbesti
tcan.
”

Quest
ion39 Howcoul
dyouhavei
mpr
ovedyourcar
eerpr
ogr
ess?
TRAPS:Thisisanot
hervari
ati
ononthequesti
on,“
Ify
oucould,howwouldyouli
veyour
l
if
eover?”Remember ,
you’r
enotgoi
ngtofall
foranysuchi
nvit
ationst
orewri
teper
son
hi
stor
y.Youcan’
twinifyoudo.

BESTANSWER:You’regeneral
lyqui
tehappywit
hyourcareerprogress.Maybe,
ify
ou
hadknownsomethi
ngearli
eri
nlif
e(i
mpossiblet
oknowatt hetime,suchasthe
boominggr
owthi
nabr anchinyouri
ndustr
y…ort
hecorporatedownsizingt
hatwoul
d
phaseouty
ourl
astj
ob),youmighthavemov edi
nacertai
ndirecti
onsooner.

Butall
thi
ngsconsi
der
ed, y
outakeresponsi
bil
i
tyforwher
eyouar
e,howy
ou’
vegot
ten
ther
e,wher
eyouaregoing…andyouharbornoregret
s.

Quest
ion40 Whatwouldyoudoi fafel
lowexecut
iveonyourown
cor
porat
elevelwasn’tpul
l
inghis/
herweight
…andthi
s
washurt
ingyourdepartment?
TRAPS:Thi
squesti
onandot
herhypothet
ical
onest
esty
oursenseofhumanr
elat
ions
andhowyoumighthandl
eof
fi
cepoli
ti
cs.

BESTANSWER:Tr ytogauget hepol

iti
cal
sty
leofthefi
rm andbeguidedaccor
dingl
y.In
gener
al,
fal
lbackonuni
versalpri
nci
plesofef
fect
ivehumanr el
ati
ons–whichintheend,
embodythewayyouwouldliketobetreat
edinasimil
arci
rcumstance.

Exampl
e:“
Goodhumanr
elat
ionswoul
dcal
lformet
ogodi
rect
lyt
otheper
sonand
expl
ainthesi
tuation,
t otr
ytoenl
isthishel
pinaconstr
uct
ive,posi
ti
vesol
uti
on.IfI
sensedresi
stance,Iwouldbeasper suasi
veasIknowhowt oexpl
aint
hebenefi
tswe
canallgai
nfrom workingtoget
her,andtheprobl
emswe,thecompanyandour
customerswill
experienceifwedon’t.
”

64ToughestQuest
ions Page26
 POSSIBLEFOLLOW-
UPQUESTI
ON:Andwhatwoul
dyoudoi
fhest
il
ldi
dnotchangehi
s
ways?

ANSWER:“ OnethingIwouldn’tdoislettheproblem sli

de,becausei twoul
donlyget
worseandov er
lookingitwouldsetabadpr ecedent.Iwouldtryagainandagai nand
again,i
nwhateverwayIcoul d,tosolv
et heproblem, i
nvol
vi
ngwi derandwidercir
clesof
people,bot
habov eandbelowt heoffendingexecut i
veandincludingmyownbossi f
necessary,
sothatev er
yoneinvolvedcanseet her ewardsf
ort eamwor kandthe
drawbacksofnon-cooperati
on.”

“Imightaddt
hatI’
venev
eryetcomeacrossasit
uati
onthatcoul
dn’
tber
esol
vedby
harnessi
ngot
hersinadeter
mined,
constr
uct
iveeff
ort
.”

Quest
ion41 You’
vebeenwit
hyourf
ir
m al
ongt
ime.Won’
titbe
har
dswitchi
ngt
oanewcompany?
TRAPS:Youri
nter
vieweri
swor
ri
edt
hatt
hisol
ddogwi
l
lfi
ndi
thar
dtol
ear
nnewt
ri
cks.

BESTANSWER:Toov er
comet hi
sobjection,youmustpointtot
hemanyway syouhave
gr
ownandadapt edtochangingcondit
ionsaty ourpr
esentfir
m.Ithasnotbeenastat
ic
si
tuat
ion.Hi
ghl
ightthedif
fer
entresponsibil
it
iesyou’
vehel
d, t
hewidear
rayofnew
si
tuat
ionsyou’
vefacedandconquered.

Asaresult
,you’
vel
earnedt
oadaptqui
ckl
ytowhat
everi
sthr
ownaty
ou,
andy
out
hri
ve
ont
hest i
mulati
onofnewchal
l
enges.

Tofurt
herassur
etheint
erv
iewer
,descr
ibethesi
mil
ari
ti
esbetweent
henewpositi
onand
yourpr
iorone.Expl
aint
hatyoushoul
dbequitecomfor
tabl
eworki
ngther
e,si
ncethei
r
needsandyourskil
l
smakeaper f
ectmatch.

Quest
ion42 MayIcont
actyourpr
esentempl
oyerf
orar
efer
ence?
TRAPS:Ify
ou’
retry
ingtokeepyourj
obsearchpr
ivate,
thi
sisthelastt
hingy
ouwant
.
Buti
fyoudon’
tcooper
ate,won’
tyouseem asi
fyou’r
etryi
ngtohidesomethi
ng?

BESTANSWER:Expr
essyourconcer
nthaty
ou’
dli
ket
okeepy
ourj
obsear
chpr
ivat
e,but
thati
nti
me,
itwi
l
lbeper
fect
lyokay.

Exampl
e:“
Mypr
esentempl
oyeri
snotawar
eofmyj
obsear
chand,
forobv
iousr
easons;
I’
dprefert
okeepi tt
hatway.I’
dbemostappr
eci
ati
veifwekeptourdi
scussi
on
conf
identi
alr
ightnow.Ofcourse,
whenwebothagreetheti
meisri
ght,
thenbyal
l
meansy oushouldcontactt
hem.I’
mverypr
oudofmyr ecor
dther
e.

Quest
ion43 Givemeanexampl
eofyourcr
eat
ivi
ty(
anal
yti
cal
skil
l
…managi
ngabi
l
ity,
etc.
)
TRAPS:Thewor
stof
fenseher
eissi
mpl
ybei
ngunpr
epar
ed.Yourhesi
tat
ionmayseem

64ToughestQuest
ions Page27
 asify
ou’
rehav
ingahar
dti
mer
emember
ingt
hel
astt
imey
ouwer
ecr
eat
ive,
anal
yti
cal
,
et
c.

BESTANSWER:Rememberf rom Quest

ion2thatyoushoul
dcommitt
omemor yal
istof
yourgr
eat
estandmostr
ecentachiev
ements,
ev err
eadyonthet
ipofy
ourt
ongue.

I
fyouhavesuchal ist
,it
’seasyt
opresentanyofy
ourachi
evementsi
nli
ghtofthequali
ty
t
heinter
viewerisaski
ngabout.Forexample,t
hesmashi
ngsuccessyouorchest
rat
edat
l
astyear
’stradeshowcouldbeusedasanexampl eofcr
eati
vi
ty,
oranal
yti
calabi
li
ty,
or
y
ourabil
itytomanage.

Quest
ion44 Wher
ecoul
dyouusesomei
mpr
ovement
?
TRAPS:Anot
hert
ri
ckywayt
ogety
out
oadmi
tweaknesses.Don’
tfal
lfori
t.

BESTANSWER:Keept hisanswer,l
ikeal
lyouranswer
s,posit
ive.Agoodwayt oanswer
thi
squesti
onistoi
denti
fyacutting-
edgebranchofyourprof
ession(onethat
’snot
essent
ial
toyouremployer’
sneeds)asanar eayou’
rever
yexcitedaboutandwantto
expl
oremoreful
lyoverthenextsixmonths.

Quest
ion45 Whatdoyouwor
ryabout
?
TRAPS:Admi tt
owor ry
ingandy
oucoul
dsoundl
i
keal
oser
.Say
ingy
ounev
erwor
ry
doesn’
tsoundcredi
ble.

BESTANSWER:Redef
inet
hewor
d‘wor
ry’
sot
hati
tdoesnotr
efl
ectnegat
ivel
yony
ou.

Exampl
e:“
Iwoul
dn’
tcal
li
twor
ry,
butIam ast
rongl
ygoal
-or
ient
edper
son.SoIkeep
tur
ningov
erinmymi ndanythi
ngthatseemstobekeepingmef rom achi
evi
ngt
hose
goals,
unt
ilIf
indasolut
ion.That
’spartofmytenaci
ty,
Isuppose.”

Quest
ion46 Howmanyhour
saweekdoyounor
mal
l
ywor
k?
TRAPS:Youdon’
twanttogi
veaspeci
fi
cnumber.Makeittolow,andy
oumaynot
measur
eup.Toohigh,
andyou’
l
lfor
everfeel
gui
l
tyaboutsneaki
ngoutthedoorat5:
15.

BESTANSWER:I fyouarei
nfactaworkaholi
candyousenset
hiscompanywouldli
ke
that
:Sayyouar
eaconf i
rmedworkahol
ic,t
hatyouoft
enworkni
ghtsandweekends.
Yourfami
l
yacceptsthi
sbecausei
tmakesy ouful
fi
ll
ed.

I
fyouar
enotawor
kahol
i
c:Sayyouhaveal
way
swor
kedhar
dandputi
nlonghour
s.I
t
goeswit
ht heter
ri
tory.Itonesense,it
’shar
dt okeeptr
ackoft hehour
sbecauseyour
worki
sal aboroflov
e, y
ouenj oynothi
ngmor ethansol
vingproblems.Soyou’
real
most
al
waysthinki
ngabouty ourwor k,
incl
udingt
imeswheny ou’r
ehome, whil
eshavi
nginthe
morni
ng,whilecommut ing,et
c.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page28
Quest
ion47 What
’st
hemostdi
ff
icul
tpar
tofbei
nga(
jobt
it
le)
?
TRAPS:Unlessyouphr
aseyouranswerpr
operl
y,youri
nter
viewermayconcl
udet
hat
what
every
oui dent
if
yas“di
ff
icul
t”i
swhereyouareweak.

BESTANSWER:Fi rst
,redef
ine“di
ff
icult
”t obe“chall
enging”whichismoreposit
ive.
Then,i
denti
fyanareaev er
yoneinyourpr ofessi
onconsiderschall
engi
ngandinwhi ch
youexcel
.Describetheprocessyouf ol
lowt hatenabl
esy outogetsplendi
dresul
ts…and
bespecif
icaboutthoseresult
s.

Exampl
e:“
Ithi
nkev
erysal
esmanagerf
indsi
tchal
l
engi
ngt
omot
ivat
ethet
roopsi
na
recession.Butt
hat
’sprobabl
ythest
rongestt
estofat
opsal
esmanager
.If
eel
thi
sis
onear eawhereIexcel
.
”

“WhenIseethefi
rstsi
gnthatsalesmaysl
iporthatsal
esfor
cemotivat
ionisfl
aggi
ng
becauseofadownturnint
heeconomy ,
here’
stheplanIputi
ntoact
ionimmediatel
y…”
(f
oll
owedbyadescr i
pti
onofeachstepint
heprocess…andmostimportant
ly,t
he
excepti
onal
resul
tsyou’
veachiev
ed.)
.

Quest
ion48 The“
Hypot
het
icalPr
obl
em”
TRAPS:Somet imesaninterv
iewerwill
descr
ibeadiff
icul
tsit
uat
ionandask,“Howwould
youhandl et
his?”Sinceiti
svirt
uall
yimpossi
bletohaveallt
hefact
sinf r
ontofyoufr
om
suchashor tpresent
ati
on,don’tfal
li
ntothet
rapoftry
ingtosolv
ethisprobl
em and
givi
ngy ourver
dictonthespot.Itwil
lmakeyourdeci
sion-
makingprocessseem woef
ull
y
inadequate.

BESTANSWER:Instead,descr
ibetherati
onal
,methodi
cal pr
ocessyouwoul
df ol
l
owin
anal
yzi
ngt
hispr
oblem, whoyouwoul dconsul
twit
h,generati
ngpossibl
esol
uti
ons,
choosi
ngt
hebestcourseofaction,
andmoni t
ori
ngtheresult
s.

Remember
,inal
l “
such,Whatwoul
dyoudo?”quest
ions,
alway
sdescr
i ourpr
bey ocessor
worki
ngmet
hods,andyou’
l
lnev
ergowrong.

Quest
ion49 Whatwast
het
oughestchal
l
engeyou’
veeverf
aced?
TRAPS:Bei
ngunpr
epar
edorci
tinganexamplefrom soear
lyi
nyourl
i
fet
hati
tdoesn’
t
scor
emanypoi
ntsf
oryouatt
hisstageofyourcareer
.

BESTANSWER:Thi si
saneasyquest
ioni
fyou’
repr
epar
ed.Hav
ear
ecentexampl
e
readyt
hatdemonst
rat
esei
ther
:

1.Aquali
tymostimportantt
othejobathand;or
2.Aquali
tyt sal
hati waysindemand,suchasleadershi
p,i
nit
iat
ive,
manager
ial
ski
l
l,
per
suasiv
eness,cour
age,per
sist
ence,i
ntel
l
igence,et
c.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page29
Quest
ion50 Haveyouconsi
derst
art
ingyourownbusi
ness?
TRAPS:Ifyousay“yes”andelaborat
eenthusi
asti
call
y,y
oucoul
dbeper cei
vedasa
l
oosecannoninalargercompany ,
tooent
repreneur
ialt
omakeagoodt eam pl
ayer
…or
someonewhohadt osettl
eforthecorpor
ateli
febecauseyoucoul
dn’
tmakeagoofy our
ownbusi
ness.

Alsotoomuchenthusi
asm inansweri
ng“y
es”coul
drouset
heparanoi
aofasmall
companyindi
cat
ingthatyoumayplantogooutonyourownsoon,per
hapst
aki
ngsome
keyaccount
sortradesecret
swithyou.

Ontheot
herhand,
ifyouanswer“
no,nev
er”y
oucoul
dbeper
cei
vedasasecur
it
y-mi
nded
dr
onewhoneverdreamedabigdream.

BESTANSWER:Agai
nit
’sbestt
o:

1.Gaugethi
scompany ’
scorporat
ecult
urebefor
eanswer i
ngand…
2.Behonest(whi
chdoesn’tmeany ouhavet
ov i
vidl
yshareyourf
ant
asyoft
he
fr
anchi
seorbed-and-
breakf
astyousomedayplant oopen)
.

I
ngener al
,i
fthecor poratecultur
eisthatofalar
ge,f
ormal
,mili
tary
-st
ylest
ructure,
mini
mizeanyi ndicationthatyou’
dlovetohaveyourownbusiness.Youmi ghtsay,“
Oh,
I
mayhav egiv
eni tat houghtonceortwice,butmywholecar
eerhasbeeni nlarger
or
ganizati
ons.That ’swher eIhaveexcell
edandwhereIwanttobe.”

Ifthecorpor
atecult
ureisclosertothef ree-
wheeli
ng,ever
ybody’
s-a-
deal
-makervari
ety
,
thenemphasizethatinaf i
rmlikethis,
y oucanvirt
uall
ygetthebestofal
lworlds,t
he
excitementofseei
ngy ourowni deasandpl anstakeshape…combinedwitht
he
resourcesandstabi
li
tyofawel l-
establ
ishedorganizat
ion.Soundsliket
heper f
ect
env i
ronmenttoyou.

Inanycase,nomatterwhatt
hecor
porat
ecultur
e,besur
etoindicat
ethatanydesi
res
aboutr
unningyourownshowarepartofyourpast
,noty
ourpresentorfut
ure.

Thelastt
hingyouwantt
oprojecti
sanimageofeit
heradreamerwhofail
edandisnow
set
tl
ingforthecor
por
atecocoon…ort
herest
lessmaver
ickwhowillf
lyoutt
hedoorwith
keyaccounts,
cont
act
sandt r
adesecr
etsunderhi
sarmsjustassoonashisbankr
oll
has
gott
enrebuil
t.

Alwaysr
emember:Matchwhaty
ouwantwit
hwhattheposi
ti
onoffer
s.Themore
i
nformat
iony
ou’
veuncover
edaboutt
heposi
ti
on,
themorebeli
evabl
eyoucanmakey
our
case.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page30
Quest
ion51 Whatar
eyourgoal
s?
TRAPS:Nothav
ingany
…orhav
ingonl
yvaguegener
ali
ti nothi
es, ghl
yspeci
fi
cgoal
s.

BESTANSWER:Manyexecuti
vesi
napositiont
ohi
reyouar
estr
ongbel
i
eversi
ngoal
-
set
ti
ng.(
It
’soneoft
her
easonthey
’veachi
evedsomuch)
.Theyl
iket
ohir
einki
nd.

I
fyou’
revagueaboutyourcar
eerandper
sonalgoal
s,i
tcoul
dbeabi
gtur
nof
ftomay
peopl
eyouwill
encounteri
nyourj
obsearch.

Ber eadytodiscussy ourgoalsforeachmaj orar

eaofy ourl
i
fe:career,personal
developmentandl earning,fami
ly,physi
cal (
heal
th)
,communityser
v i
ceand( i
fyour
i
nterviewerisclearl
yar el
igi
ousper son)youcouldbri
efl
yandgenerall
yalludet oyour
spir
itualgoal
s( showingy ouareawel l
-roundedi
ndivi
dualwi
thyourvaluesi ntheri
ght
order).

Beprepar
edt odescr
ibeeachgoal i
nt ermsofspeci f
icmil
estonesy ouwi shto
accompli
shalongtheway ,
timeperiodsy ou’real
lot
ti
ngforaccompl ishment,whythe
goali
simportantt
oy ou,
andt hespecificst epsyou’
retaki
ngtobringi tabout.Butdo
thi
sconci
sely,asyouneverwanttot alkmor ethantwominutesstraightbeforel
ett
ing
youri
nter
viewerbackint
otheconv ersation.

Quest
ion52 Whatdoyouf
orwhenyouhi
repeopl
e?
TRAPS:Bei
ngunpr
epar
edf
ort
hequest
ion.

BESTANSWER:Speakyourownt houghtsher
e,butfort
hebestanswerweav
ethem
ar
oundthet
hreemosti
mportantquali
fi
cati
onsforanyposi
ti
on.

1.Cantheper
sondot hework(qual
i
ficat
ions)?
2.Wil
ltheper
sondothewor k(moti
vati
on)?
3.Wil
ltheper
sonfi
tin(“ourki
ndofteam play
er”)
?

Quest
ion53 Sellmethi
sstapler…(t
hispenci
l
…thi
scl
ock…orsome
otherobj
ectonintervi
ewer’
sdesk)
.
TRAPS:Somei nt
erv
iewers,especi
all
ybusinessownersandhard-
changi
ngexecut
ivesi
n
market
ing-
dri
vencompanies,feelt
hatgoodsalesmanshi
pisessenti
alf
oranykey
posi
ti
onandaskforaninstantdemonstrat
ionofyourski
ll
.Beready.

BESTANSWER:Ofcour
se,
youalreadyknowthemosti
mportantsecr
etofal
lgr
eat
sal
esmanshi f
p–“i
ndoutwhatpeoplewant,
thenshowt
hem howt ogeti
t.
”

I
fyouri
nter
viewerpi
cksuphisstapl
erandasks,“sel
lthi
stome,
”youar
egoi
ngt
o
demonst
rat
et hi
sprovenmasterpri
nci
ple.Her
e’show:

“
Wel
l
,agoodsal
esmanmustknowbot
hhi
spr
oductandhi
spr
ospectbef
orehesel
l
s

64ToughestQuest
ions Page31
 anyt
hing.IfIwer
esell
ingt
his,
I’
dfi
rstgett
oknowev
ery
thi
ngIcoul
dabouti
t,al
li
ts
feat
uresandbenefi
ts.
”

“
Then,ifmygoalweretosel
lty
i ou,
Iwoul
ddosomer esear
chonhowy oumightusea
f
inest
aplerl
i
kethis.Thebestwayt
odothati
sbyaskingsomequest
ions.MayIask
y
ouaf ewquesti
ons?”

Thenaskaf ewquest
ionssuchas,
“Justoutofcuri
osi
ty,
ify
oudidn’
tal
readyhavea
st
aplerl
ikethi
s,whywouldyouwantone?Andi naddi
ti
ontothat
?Anyot herr
eason?
Anyt
hingelse?
”

“
Andwouldyouwantsuchast
aplert
ober el
iabl
e?.
..
Holdagoodsuppl
yofst
apl
es?
”
(
Askmorequest
ionst
hatpoi
nttothefeat
uresthi
sstapl
erhas.
)

Onceyou’
veaskedthesequest
ions,makeyourpr
esent
ati
oncit
ingallt
hefeat
uresand
benef
it
softhi
sstaplerandwhyit
’sexact
lywhatt
heint
erv
iewerjustt
oldy
ouhe’slooki
ng
for
.

Thenclosewi th,“Justoutofcuri
osity
,whatwoul
dyouconsi
derareasonablepri
cefora
quali
tystaplerli
ket hi
s…astapl
eryoucouldhaveri
ghtnowandwould(thenrepeatal
lthe
probl
emst hest aplerwouldsolv
ef orhim)
?Whateverhesay
s,(
unl
essi t’
szero),
say,
“Okay,we’vegotadeal .”

NOTE:I fyourinter
viewert estsyoubyf i
ghti
ngever ystepoftheway ,denyingt hathe
evenwant ssuchani tem, don’tfi
ghthim.Taket hepr oductawayf rom him bysay i
ng,
“Mr.Pr ospect,I’
m deli
ghtedy ou’vetol
dmer ightupf r
ontthatther e’
snowayy ou’dev er
wantt hisstapler.Asy ouwel lknow, t
hefir
struleofthemostpr oductivesalespeoplein
anyfieldistomeett heneedsofpeopl ewhor ealyneedandwantourpr
l oduct s,andit
j
ustwast eseveryone’sti
mei fwet r
ytoforceitont hosewhodon’ t
.AndIcer tainl
y
wouldn’ twanttowast eyourt ime.Butwesel l manyi t
ems.I st hereanypr oductont hi
s
desky ouwoul dv erymuchl i
ketoown…j ustoneitem? ”Whenhepoi ntssomet hingout,
repeatt heprocessabov e.I fheknowsany thingaboutselli
ng, hemaygi v
ey oua
standingov ati
on.

Quest
ion54 “
TheSal
aryQuest
ion”–Howmuchmoneydoyouwant
?
TRAPS:Mayal
sobephr “
asesas,Whatsalar
yareyouwor th?”
…or,“
Howmuchareyou
maki
ngnow?”Thi
sisyourmostimpor
tantnegot
iat
ion.Handleitwrongandy
oucan
bl
owthej
oboff
erorgotoworkatfarl
essthanyoumi ghthavegott
en.

BESTANSWER:Formaxi
mum sal
arynegot
iat
ingpower
,remembert
hesef
ivegui
del
i
nes:

1.Nev erbringupsal ary.Lettheintervi

ewerdoi tfi
rst
.Goodsal espeoplesell t
heir
productst horoughlybeforetal
kingpr ce.Soshoul
i dyou.Maket heinter
viewer
wanty ouf ir
st ,
andy ourbargai
ningposi t
ionwillbemuchst r
onger .
2.Ifyourinterviewerraisesthesalaryquestiontooearly,
befor
ey ou’vehada
chancet ocr eatedesireforyourqualif
icati
ons,postponethequestion,saying
somet hinglike,“Moneyi simportanttome, butisnotmymai nconcer n.
Oppor t
uni t
yandgr owt harefarmor eimpor t
ant.WhatI ’
dratherdo,ifyoudon’ t

64ToughestQuest
ions Page32
 mind, i
sexpl oreifI’mrightfortheposi ti
on, andt hent al
kaboutmoney .Woul d
thatbeokay ?”
3.The#1r uleofanynegot iat
ionis:thesi dewi thmor einformationwi ns.Af ter
you’vedoneat horoughjobofsel l
i
ngt heinterviewerandi t
’sti
met ot alksalar y
,
thesecreti stogett heempl oyertalki
ngaboutwhathe’ swi l
li
ngt opaybef oreyou
revealwhaty ou’ r
ewi l
li
ngt oaccept.So, whenaskedaboutsal ary,respondby
asking,“I’
m sur ethecompanyhasal readyest ablishedasal aryr angef ort his
positi
on.Coul dy outellmewhatt hati s?”Or ,“Iwantani ncomecommensur at
e
withmyabi l
ityandqual if
icati
ons.It r
usty ou’l
lbef airwithme.Whatdoest he
positi
onpay ?”Or ,moresimply,“Whatdoest hi
sposi tionpay ?”
4.Knowbef orehandwhaty ou’daccept .Toknowwhat ’
sreasonabl e, r
esear cht he
j
obmar ketandt hisposit
ionforanyr elevantsal aryinformat i
on.Remembert hat
mostexecut i
v eslookfora20- 25%$payboostwhent heyswi t
chj obs.I fyou’re
grosslyunder paid,youmaywantmor e.
5.Nev erli
eaboutwhaty oucur r
entl
ymake, butf eel fr
eet oincludet heest imat ed
costofal lyourf ri
nges,whichcouldwel ltackon25- 50%mor et oy ourpr esent
“cash-only”sal ar
y.

Quest
ion55 TheI
ll
egalQuest
ion
TRAPS:I ll
egalquestionsincl
udeanyr egardi
ngy ourage…numberandagesofy our
chi
ldrenorotherdependent s…mar it
alstatus…mai denname…r eli
gion…pol
iti
cal
aff
il
iati
on…ancestry…nationalori
gin…birt
hplace…nat ural
izat
ionofyourparents,
spouse
orchil
dren…diseases…disabil
iti
es…clubs…orspouse’ soccupaton…unl
i essanyofthe
abovearedi r
ectl
yrelatedtoyourper formanceoft hejob.Youcan’ tev
enbeaskedabout
arr
ests,thoughyoucanbeaskedaboutconv ict
ions.

BESTANSWER:Undert heever-
presentt
hreatofl
awsui t
s,mosti
nter
viewersarewell
awareofthesetaboos.Yetyoumayencount er
,usuall
yonasecondort hi
rdint
erv
iew,a
seni
orexecuti
vewhodoesn’tint
ervi
ewmuchandf orget
shecan’tasksuchquesti
ons.

Youcanhandleani
ll
egal
questi
oninsever
always.Fi
rst,
y oucanasser
tyourl
egalr
ight
nottoanswer
.Butt
hiswi
llf
ri
ghtenorembarr
assyourintervi
eweranddest
royany
rappor
tyouhad.

Second,youcoul
dswall
owyourconcer
nsoverpri
vacyandanswert hequesti
onst r
aight
for
wardlyify
oufeel
theanswercoul
dhelpy
ou.Forexampl e,youri
nter
viewer
, adevout
Bapti
st,r
ecogni
zesyoufr
om chur
chandmentionsit
.Here,
y oucoul
dgainbyt alki
ng
aboutyourchur
ch.

Thir
d,i
fyoudon’
twantyourpr
ivacyi
nvaded,
youcandipl
omat
ical
l heconcer
yanswert n
behi
ndthequest
ionwi
thoutansweri
ngthequest
ioni
tsel
f.

Exampl
e:I
fyouar
eov
er50andar
easked,
“Howol
dar
eyou?”youcananswerwi
tha
fr
iendly,smil
i
ngquest i
onofyourownonwhetherthere’
saconcer nthatyouragemy
affectyourperf
ormance.Foll
owt hi
supbyreassuri
ngtheinter
viewerthatther
e’s
nothinginthi
sjoby oucan’
tdoand,inf
act,
yourageandexper i
encear ethemost
i
mpor antadv
t antagesyouoff
ertheemploy
erforthefol
lowingreasons…

64ToughestQuest
ions Page33
 Anot
herexampl
e:I “
fasked,Doyoupl
ant
ohavechi
l
dren?”youcoul
danswer
,“Iam
wholeheart
edlydedi
catedtomycar
eer “
,perhapsadding,“
Ihavenoplansregar
ding
chi
ldren.
”(Youneedn’tfeary
ou’
vepledgedet er
nalchi
ldl
essness.Youhaveeveryri
ght
tochangey ourpl
anslater
.Gett
hejobf i
rstandthenenjoyall
youropti
ons.
)

Mosti
mpor tant
ly,
remembert hati
l
legalquest
ionsari
sefrom fearthatyouwon’tper
for
m
wel
l.Thebestanswerofal li
stogetthejobandperform br
il
li
antly
.Allconcer
nsand
f
earswil
lthenvarnish,
repl
acedbyrespectandappreciat
ionforyourwor k.

Quest
ion56 The“
Secr
et”I
ll
egalQuest
ion
TRAPS:Muchmor efrequentthantheIl
l
egalqueston(
i seeQuesti
on55)i hesecr
st et
i
ll
egalquest
ion.It’
ssecretbecauseit
’saskedonlyi
ntheint
ervi
ewer’
smind.Sincei
t’
s
notev
enexpr essedtoyou,youhavenowayt orespondtoit
,anditcant
herebemost
damaging.

Exampl
e:You’
rephy
sical
l
ychal
l
enged,
orasi
ngl
emot
herr
etur
ningt
oyourpr
ofessi
onal
car
eer,
orover50,
oramemberofanet
hni
cminori
ty,orf
itanyofadozenother
cat
egori
est
hatdonotst
ri
ctl
yconf
ormtot
hemajori
tyinagivencompany.

Yourint
erviewerwonders,
“Isthi
spersonreal
lyabl
etohandlethejob?
”…”I
sheorshea
‘
goodf i
t’ataplaceli
keours?”…”
Will
thechemistr
yeverberightwit
hsomeoneli
kethi
s?”
Buttheinterv
iewerneverr
aisessuchquesti
onsbecausethey’
reil
l
egal.Sowhatcanyou
do?

BESTANSWER:Remembert hatj
ustbecauset
heinter
viewerdoesn’
taskanil
l
egal
quest
iondoesn’
tmeanhedoesn’thav
eit.Morethanli
kely,
heisgoingtocomeupwit
h
hi
sownanswer .Soyoumightaswellhel
phim out
.

How?Well,youobviousl
ycan’tr
espondtoani
llegalquesti
onifhehasn’
tevenasked.
Thismaywellof
fendhim.Andt her
e’sal
waysthechancehewasn’ tevenconcer
ned
aboutt
heissueunti
lyoubroughti
tup,andonl
yt henbeginstowonder.

Soy oucan’taddr
ess“secr
et”il
l
egalquestonshead-
i on.Butwhatyoucandoi
smake
surether
e’senoughcounterbal
anci
nginfor
mationtomor et
hanreassur
ehimt
hat
ther
e’snopr obl
em i
ntheareahemaybedoubt fulabout.

Forexample,let’
ssayy ou’
reasalesr
epwhohadpol ioasachildandy ouneedacaneto
walk.Youknowy ourconditi
onhasneverimpededyourperf
ormance,y ety
ou’r
e
concernedthatyourinter
viewermaysecret
lybewonderingaboutyourstaminaorabi
l
ity
totrav
el.Well,makesur ethatyouhi
ttheseabi
li
ti
esveryhard,l
eavi
ngnodoubtabout
yourcapaci
tyt ohandlethem well
.

So,too,i
fyou’
reinanydiffer
entfr
om whatpassesf or“normal
”.Makesure,wit
houti
n
anywayseemi ngdefensiveaboutyour
selfthatyoument i
onstr
engths,
accomplishment
s,prefer
encesandaf f
il
iat
ionsthatstr
onglycount
erbal
anceany
unspokenconcernyourinter
viewermayhav e.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page34
Quest
ion57 Whatwast
het
oughestpar
tofyourl
astj
ob?
TRAPS:Thi
si ssl
ightl
ydif
fer
entf r
om thequesti
onrai
sedearli
er“
,What’sthemost
di
ff
icul
tpartofbeinga(j
obtit
le…)”becausethi
saskswhaty oupersonall
yhavefound
mostdif
fi
culti
ny ourl
astposi
tion.Thisquesti
onismorediffi
cul
ttoredefi
neint
o
somethi
ngpositi
ve.Yourint
erviewerwil
lassumethatwhateveryoufoundtoughestmay
gi
veyouapr obl
em inyournewposi t
ion.

BESTANSWER:St atethatther
ewasnot hinginy ourpri
orposit
ionthaty
oufoundov er
ly
dif
fi
cult,
andl
etyouranswergoatt hat.I
fpressedt oexpandyouranswer,y
oucoul d
descri
betheaspectsofthepositi
ony ouenjoyedmor ethanothers,
makingsurethatyou
expressmaxi
mum enj oymentforthosetasksmosti mpor t
anttotheopenposi
tion,and
youenjoyedl
eastthosetasksthatareunimpor t
anttothepositi
onathand.

Quest
ion58 Howdoyoudef
inesuccess…andhowdoyoumeasur
e
upt
oyourowndefi
nit
ion?
TRAPS:Seemsli
keanobv
iousenoughquest
ion.Yetmanyexecut
ives,
unpr
epar
edf
ori
t,
fumbl
ethebal
l
.

BESTANSWER:Gi v
eawel l
-accepteddef
ini
ti
onofsuccesst
hatl
eadsr
ighti
ntoy
ourown
st
ell
arcol
l
ect
ionofachi
evement s.

Exampl
e:“
Thebestdef
ini
ti
onI
’
vecomeacr
ossi
sthatsuccessi
sthepr
ogr
essi
ve
r
eal
i
zat
ionofawor
thygoal
.”

“AstohowIwoul dmeasureuptothatdef
init
ion,Iwoul
dconsidermy sel
fboth
successf
ulandfort
unate…”
(Thensummarizey ourcar
eergoal
sandhowy our
achi
evementshaveindeedrepr
esent
edapr ogressi
vepathtowardreali
zat
ionofy
our
goals.
)

Quest
ion59 “TheOpinionQuest i
on”–Whatdoyout hi
nkabout
…Abor t
ion…ThePr esident…TheDeat
hPenal
ty…(
orany
othercontrover
sialsubject
)?
TRAPS:Obv i
ously,t
heseandot her“opi
nion”questionsshouldneverbeasked.
Sometimestheycomeupov eracombi nati
ondinner /
interv
iewwhentheintervi
ewerhas
hadadr i
nkortwo,isfeel
ingrel
axed,andisspoutingof faboutsomethi
ngt hatbugged
hi
mi ntoday’
snews.I fyougiveyouropini
onandi t’stheopposit
eofhis,youwon’t
changehisopi
nions,butyoucouldeasilyl
osethej obof fer
.

BESTANSWER:I nal
loftheseinst
ances,justrememberthetal
eaboutstudentandthe
wiseoldr
abbi.Thesceneisasemi nary,
wher eanoverl
yseri
ousstudentispr
essingthe
rabbi
toanswertheul
timatequesti
onsofsuf feri
ng,
li
feanddeath.Butnomat terhow
hardhepresses,
thewiseoldrabbiwil
lonlyanswereachdif
fi
cultquest
ionwitha
quest
ionofhisown.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page35
 I
nexasperat
ion,
theseminar
yst “
udentdemands,Why,rabbi
,doyoual
waysanswera
quest
ionwit
hanotherquest
ion?”Towhi chther
abbir
esponds,“
Andwhynot?”

Ifyouareev eruncomfor
tablewihanyquest
t i
on,aski
ngaquesti
oninretur
ni sthe
greatestescapehatcheverinv
ented.Itthr
owst heonusbackontheotherperson,
sidetr
acksthediscussi
onf r
om goingint
oanar eaofriskt
oyou,
andgivesy outimeto
thinkofyouransweror,evenbett
er,yournextquesti
on!

Inresponsetoanyofthe“opini
on”questi
onscit
edabove,merel
yresponding,“
Whydo
youask?”willusual
l
ybeenought odissi
pateanypr
essuretogiv
ey ouropi
nion.Buti
f
yourint
ervi
eweragainpressesyouforanopini
on,y
oucanaskanot herquesti
on.

Oryoucouldassertagener ali
tyt
hatalmostev er
yonewouldagreewith.Forexampl
e,i
f
youri
nter
vieweriscompl ai
ningaboutpoli
tici
ansthensuddenlytur
nstoyouandasksif
you’
reaRepublicanorDemocr at
,youcouldrespondbysaying,“
Actual
ly,
I’
mf i
ndi
ngit
hardtofi
ndanypol i
ti
ciansIliketheseday
s. ”

(Ofcourse,y
ourbestquest
ionofal
lmaybewhet
hery
ouwantt
owor
kforsomeone
opini
onated.
)

Quest
ion60 I
fyouwon$10mi
l
li
onl
ott
ery,
woul
dyoust
il
lwor
k?
TRAPS:Yourt otal
lyhonestr esponsemi ghtbe,“Hell,no,ar
eyouser i
ous?”Thatmight
beso,butanyanswerwhi chshowsy ouasf l
eeingwor kifgiventhechancecouldmake
youseem l
azy .Ont heotherhand, i
fy ouanswer “
,Oh, I’
dwantt okeepdoingexact
ly
whatIam doing,onlydoi
ngi tforyourf i
rm,”youcoul deasil
yinspir
eyourint
ervi
ewerto
sil
ent
lymuttertohimself
, “Yeah,sure.Gimmeabr eak.”

BESTANSWER:Thist
y peofquest
ioni
saimedatgetti
ngatyourbedrockat
ti
tudeabout
workandhowy
oufeelaboutwhatyoudo.Yourbestanswerwil
lfocusonyourposi
ti
ve
feel
i
ngs.

Exampl
e:“
Aft
erIf
loat
eddownf
rom cl
oudni
ne,
Ithi
nkIwoul
dst
il
lhol
dmybasi
cbel
i
ef
t
hatachi
evementandpurposef
ulworkar
eessent
ial
toahappy
,pr
oduct
iveli
fe.Aft
eral
l,
i
fmoneyaloneboughthappi
ness,
thenal
lri
chpeopl
ewoul
dbeall
happy,andthat
’snot
t
rue.

“
Ilov
et hewor kIdo,andIthinkI’
dalwayswanttobeinvol
vedi
nmycareeri
nsome
f
ashion.Wi nningthel
ott
erywoul dmakeitmorefunbecausei
twoul
dmeanhaving
moreflexi
bil
ity
, moreopt
ions..
.whoknows?”

“Ofcourse,si
nceIcan’
tcountonwinning,I’
djustassooncr eatemyowndest i
nyby
sti
ckingwithwhat’
sworkedf orme,meaninggoodol drel
iablehardworkandadesir
eto
achieve.Ithi
nkthosequal
i
tieshavebuil
tmanymor efort
unest hatal
lthel
ott
eri
esput
together
.”

64ToughestQuest
ions Page36
Quest
ion61 Looki
ngbackonyourl
astposi
ti
on,
haveyoudoneyour
bestwor
k?
TRAPS:Tri
ckyquest
ion.Answer“
absol
utel
y”andi
tcanseem l
i
keyourbestworki
s
behi
ndyou.Answer“
,no,mybestworki
saheadofme,”andi
tcanseem asify
oudidn’
t
gi
veity
ourall
.

BESTANSWER:Tocov erbot
hpossibl
epathsthisquesti
oncant ake,y
ouranswer
shoul
dstat
ethaty
oualwayst
rytodoyourbest,andthebestofyourcar eeri
sr i
ghtnow.
Li
keanathl
eteatt
hetopofhi
sgame, youarej
usthitt
ingyourcareerstr
idethanksto
sever
alf
actor
s.Then,
recapt
hosefact
ors,hi
ghli
ghti
ngy ourst
rongestqualif
icat
ions.

Quest
ion62 Whyshoul
dIhi
reyoufr
om t
heout
sidewhenIcoul
d
pr
omotesomeonefr
om wi
thi
n?
TRAPS:Thisquesti
onisn’
tasaggressi
veasitsounds.Itrepr
esent
sthei
nter
viewer’
s
owndil
emmaov erthi
scommonpr obl
em.He’sprobablyleani
ngtowardy
oualreadyand
forr
eassur
ance,wantstohearwhatyouhavetosayont hematter
.

BESTANSWER:Hel
phi
m seet
hequal
i
ficat
i hatonl
onst yyoucanof
fer
.

Exampl
e:“
Ingener
al,
Ithi
nki
t’
sagoodpol
i
cyt
ohi
ref
rom wi
thi
n–t
olookout
side
pr
obabl
ymeansy
ou’
renotcompl
etel
ycomf
ort
abl
echoosi
ngsomeonef
rom i
nsi
de.

“Natur
all
y,youwantthi
sdepar
tmenttobeasstrongasitpossi
blycanbe,soyouwant
thestr
ongestcandi
date.If
eelt
hatIcanfi
llt
hatbil
lbecause…(
thenrecapyourst
rongest
qual
ifi
cati
onsthatmatchupwit
hhisgreat
estneeds).
”

64ToughestQuest
ions Page37
Quest
ion63 Tel
lmesomet
hingnegat
iveyou’
vehear
daboutour
company…
TRAPS:Thi si
sacommonf i
shi
ngexpediti
ontoseewhattheindustr
ygrapevi
nemaybe
sayi
ngaboutthecompany .Butit’sal
soatrapbecauseasanoutsider
,youneverwantt
o
bethebearerofunfl
att
eri
ngnewsorgossi paboutthefi
rm.Itcanonlyhurty
our
chancesandsidet
racktheinter
viewerfr
om get
ti
ngsoldonyou.

BESTANSWER:Justr
emembert
her
ule–nev
erbenegat
ive–andy
ou’
l
lhandl
ethi
sone
j
ustfi
ne.

Quest
ion64 Onascal
eofonet
oten,
rat
emeasani
nter
viewer
.
TRAPS:Gi veaperfect“
10,
”andyou’
l
lseem t
ooeasytopl
ease.Giveanyt
hingl
esst
han
aperf
ect10, andhecouldpr
essy
ouast owherey
ou’r
ebei
ngcrit
ical
,andthatr
oadl
eads
downhil
lforyou.

BESTANSWER:Onceagai
n,neverbenegat
ive.Thei
nterv
iewerwi
l
lonl
yresentcr
it
ici
sm
comi
ngfr
om y
ou.Thisi
stheti
met oshowyourposit
ivi
sm.

However
,don’
tgi
veanumer
ical
rat
ing.Si
mpl
ypr
aisewhat
everi
nter
viewst
ylehe’
sbeen
usi
ng.

I
fhe’sbeentough,say“
Youhavebeent
hor
oughandt
ough-
minded,
thev
eryqual
i
ties
neededtoconductagoodint
erv
iew.
”

I
fhe’
sbeenmethodi
cal
,say,“
Youhav ebeenver
ymethodi
cal
andanal
yti
cal
,andI
’
m sur
e
t
hatappr
oachr
esult
sinexcel
lenthi
resfory
ourfi
rm.
”

I
notherwor
ds,payhim asincer mentt
ecompl
i hathecanbel
i
evebecausei
t’
sanchor
ed
i
nthebehav
ioryou’
vejustseen.

Goodl
ucki
nyourj
obsear
ch!

TheEdi
tor
s

64ToughestQuest
ions Page38