Luisa Sabidong

A.10 common Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself.

2. Why should I hire you?
3. What is your long-range objective?
4. How has your education prepared you for your career?
5. Are you a team player?
6. Have you ever had a conflict with a boss or professor? How was it resolved?
7. What is your greatest weakness?
8. If I were to ask your professors to describe you, what would they say?
9. What qualities do you feel a successful manager should have?
10. If you had to live your life over again, what one thing would you change?

B. What are the DO’s and DONT’s during and interview

Do:

1. Remember that 7% of your impact comes from the words you say; 38% from how you say it (your tonal
quality); and 55% from what your body is doing while you’re speaking. (UCLA study)
2. Know that “you” is the most persuasive word in the English language, so the more you can say, “As I’m sure
you know,” or “As I’m sure you’ve heard,” (Yale Univ. Study) the more easily others will respond to you.
3. Sound happy when you say, “I’m happy to meet you.” (Not to mention, look your interviewer in the eye and
shake their hand firmly.)
4. Keep your hands where we can see them—out of pockets when standing, on the table when sitting. We trust
you when we can see your hands, we don’t trust you when we can’t.
5. Research the company/interviewer exhaustively. What’s their bestselling product/mission statement/biggest
competitor? Why specifically do you want to work for them? How exactly are you going to contribute to their
success?
6. Have the answers to ‘softball questions/inquiries’ (questions so big you don’t know what to swing at) such
as, “What was your favorite thing about your last job?” or “Tell me about yourself.” These should be
grounded in a story such as, “My favorite thing about my last job was the opportunities I had to work with my
team. For example, we once had 24 hours to put together a presentation….”
7. Have the answer to, “What’s your greatest strength/weakness?” (FYI: Your greatest weakness is just a
strength taken to an extreme, “I’m so interested in my subject, I tend to inundate people with detail about it.
But I’m learning to pick and choose what information will be most effective,” etc. )
8. Record a professional voice mail greeting, as this is the first contact many potential employers will have with
you. Stand while you record it, smile, inhale, hit record, speak on an exhalation.
9. Clean up your Facebook/MySpace/Twitter page. Any posts or photos that don’t say, “I can be trusted with
$100,000” have to go.
10. Get a thank you note in the mail—either email, snail mail, or both—within 24 hours. In addition to
acknowledging the time they gave you, this should reference a story you, or they, told. Give yourself bonus
points if you can include a link to an article you mentioned, or hard copy of the same.
Don’t:

1. Use useless modifiers. (Great, amazing, incredible, etc.) Something is only one of these things if you tell me
why.
2. Sit with a “too cool for school” attitude (leaning back, one leg crossed over the other, one arm thrown over
the back of the chair.) Sit up and forward in your chair. Lean toward your interviewer. Smile.
3. Use ‘hope’ as a strategy—as in, “I hope nobody asks me that.” Prepare answers to the worst three
questions you anticipate getting. Practice them out loud.
4. Forget you are interviewing from the time you arrive at the building—many employers can see you from the
parking lot, or are in the elevator with you. This is not the time to brush your hair, remove your gum, finish
your phone call about your date last night.
5. Arrive wearing MP3 headphones in your ears/sunglasses on your head/ carrying a bag that’s bulging with
papers or old sandwiches, etc.
6. Leave your PDA on, or check your PDA during the meeting, at the elevator, or on your way from the
restaurant table to the door. Nothing is more important than this interview.
7. Bad mouth your former employers. If you didn’t enjoy the experience, simply say you’re looking forward to
still more challenges. Employers prize loyalty.
8. Think they won’t be examining your table manners as closely as your resume should you be asked to lunch.
Be on time. Follow their lead with regard to ordering (Don’t get the whole, de-boned fish if they’re having
salads.) Short of visible shards of glass or the possibility of anaphylactic shock, eat what you’re given.
9. Assume they will be helping you negotiate. Have a salary range in mind. While you should not bring up a
number, if they ask, “What are you looking for?” you don’t want to choke.
10. Ask, “How did I do?” at the end of the meeting. Instead, you can inquire, “So, what’s my next step?”

C. Common Interview mistakes

 Incorrect attire:

Dress appropriately for the type of job interview. Always dress in more conservatively than you would
normally. Make sure that you are not wearing outlandish colors, showing too much skin, or wearing too
much jewelry (man or woman).

 Unprepared answers:

You know the typical job questions, so have them prepared. Know ahead of time your answers to questions
such as, "What are you strengths and weaknesses? Where do you see yourself in ten years? What can you
bring to the company that nobody else can? What brought you to this part of your career?" These
generalized questions will more than likely be asked of you on the big day.

 Unprepared questions:
 Just as much as must prepare the answers to give to your interviewer, you must also come prepared with
questions to ask of the interviewer about the position and the company. Employers want to see people who
think on their toes and are interested in the position as much as possible. Scribble down a few quick
questions that you can ask at the appropriate time of the interview so that you are not trying to think on the
spot of what to ask.

 Forgetting to do your research:

If you are going on a job interview and know nothing about the company, than you are mistaken. You must
learn as much as possible about the position and company prior to your interview. Therefore, you will be
able to hold an intelligent and well-informed discussion about the company. You will also be able to ask
questions more comprehensively.

 Slips of the tongue:

Although this mistake is difficult to control, people often make them. People accidentally say the wrong thing,
infer the wrong idea, or blurt out an insult or profanity. Any of these slips of the tongue can throw you out of
the interview race. Concentrate on what you say, so that it comes out intelligibly and not incoherently.

 Ringing of cell phones:

Make sure your phone is off prior to the interview. Nothing is ruder or more disrespectful to an interviewer
than listening to another ring.

 Checking the time:

Be careful not to glance at your watch or the wall clock in the middle of your interview. Perhaps you should
take off your watch prior to the interview so that you have no chance of accidentally looking at your wrist.

 Asking about salary too early:

While it probably one of the determining factors in your decision to work at a company, do not jump the gun
in the interview to ask about salary. The interviewer will inevitably tell you what salary and benefits come
with the job. There are so many people looking for jobs, so if the company sees you as someone who just
wants the money and does not necessarily care about the job, it will work against you in the long run.

 Giving your demands:

You are on the job interview and you are unemployed (or are looking to chance jobs). You are no diva.
Therefore, you should never make demands at an interview. Even if you have reached a professional status
that enables you to make certain demands in the workplace, the interview is never the place for it. They will
laugh at you and more than likely never call you again. People want to work with compromising and
congenial co-workers; not demanding prima donnas.
 Telling about other job offers:

While you may think it appears desirable to speak about other companies offering you a position, it may
come across as ridiculous in a job interview. It is important to keep matters separate. They may see you as
someone who already has a job. Why would they want to give you their position if you've already got one
somewhere else.

 Dropping too many names:

Again, this "do not" is a double-edged sword. While contacts are vital in the job market, they can often be
used for the wrong purposes. You do not want to be seen as someone who gets by only on his or her
connections.

 Tardiness:

Do not be late to your job interview. Rather, arrive around 10-15 minutes early so you can settle in, fill out
paperwork, and allow your interviewer to get ready.

 Fidgeting:

While you will probably be nervous prior to and during your job interview, try not to fidget. It is distracting and
reads nervousness and anxiety. No employer wants a fidgety co-worker in the building.

 Lying:

While it is common to exaggerate on resumes, it is downright wrong to lie on them and in your job interview.
Honesty is the most venerable quality in a worker and an employer and interviewer will respect your truth
and honesty. Do not claim to have worked somewhere if you have not, and so on and so forth.