The

Top Five Interview Questions

You Need to Know










Does This Sound familiar?

No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No,
No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No,
No, No, No, No, No, No, No…

”Hi John, this is Joyce from ABC Company

and we would like to schedule you for a
job interview for the position of....”

Congratulations! After all those No’s, you

now have an interview.

But soon the excitement wears out and

your heart begins to race.

Those voices inside begin to take over.

“What if they think I’m too old?” “What if

they don’t like me?“ “What if….?”
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the
average tenure is now 4.6 years with a
company. If you’re over 45, the number is
closer to seven years.

Here in Silicon Valley and elsewhere

around the country, I believe the number is
closer to two years.

But regardless whether the number is 7, 4

or 2, the bottom line is we don’t interview
very often.

It’s natural to feel nervous.

But you can reduce your anxiety, and one

of the best ways to do this is through
preparation.
Here’s a little secret I want to share
with you.

When it comes down to it, there are

really only five questions any hiring
manager really wants to know about you.

It’s just that these questions can be asked

so many different ways.

In the following pages, I share with you

the five most commonly asked questions
and how best to answer them.

Remember, the future has yet to be

written, and you hold the pen, so let’s
begin.
1.) Why are you sitting in front of me?

This question can be posed several

different ways, but it boils down to what
happened with your previous job, or why
you are looking for a new job, if you’re
currently working.

If you’ve had a long gap since your last

job, that question may be raised as well.

You need to answer this question with

what I refer to as an Exit Statement.

An Exit Statement consists of two parts.

In the first part, you explain in 1-2

sentences what happened in your previous
job. In the second part, you provide the
opportunity the situation has allowed.
Here are two examples of the first part -

“Microsoft had a restructuring of their

workforce resulting in the elimination of
400 positions. Mine was one of those.”

“I’ve been with my current company for

three years and have worked with some
amazing people. I’m now looking for some
new challenges.”

The key to the first part of the exit

statement is to stay brief, to the point and
leave any emotional tones out of the
statement. No using words like
“unfortunately” or “thank goodness.
In the second part of the Exit Statement,
you need to explain the opportunity the
situation has provided you.

For Example….

“Microsoft had a restructuring of their

workforce resulting in the elimination of
400 positions. Mine was one of those.
However, the layoff actually provided me
the opportunity to seek out companies
such as yours I have been following for
some time now. I’m very excited about the
technologies in place here.”

“I’ve been with my current company for

three years and have worked with some
amazing people. I am now looking for some
new challenges and your company really
appeals to me because of the innovative
products you offer.
2.) Tell me a little about yourself?

Many of the clients I first talk with

struggle with this question.

They either ramble on, or they don’t provide

the relevant information the hiring manager
is looking for.

This is your elevator speech and your goal is

to sell yourself within two minutes or less.

To begin with, no need to talk about being

born in the state of Nebraska during the
storm of the century, or that your hobby
is fishing.

Rather, you are going to use what’s

referred to as your positioning statement.
Think of the positioning statement as four
elements, and each element will be one to
two sentences long.

• Let them know who you are in the

present sense that includes a title
and possibly a value-added
statement.

• Explain the industries and

environments you’ve worked with.

• Tell them what your strengths are.

• Tell them what makes you unique.

 Positioning Statement Example

Future Hiring Manager:

“So Bill, I have your resume in front of me,
but in your own words, please tell me a
little about yourself.”

Soon To Be Hired Employee

“Well, I am a recent graduate from San Jose
State University, where I carried a 3.75 GPA.
During my four years in college, I worked
several high volume customer service
positions alongside many culturally diverse
team members. My strengths include a
strong attention to detail, excellent customer
service skills, and dependability. And last
year, I was recognized four times for
employee of the month.”

Do you recognize the four elements in this

statement?
3.) How much are you going to cost me?



Update: As of October 2017, it is now
illegal in California and several other
states for a potential employer to ask
about your previous salary.

In addition, a California employer must
state the salary range of the position, if
asked.

There are several other states
considering adopting similar laws so
make sure to review your city and local
laws.




The Dreaded Salary Question….

This is usually one of the first questions
asked during the initial interview process.

It is also the one question that is in

your best interest to defer until the
final interview stages.

In fact, whoever addresses this question

first usually loses the salary negotiation in
the end.

It’s not a difficult question to deflect – it just

takes a little practice.

On the following page are several examples

for deflecting the dreaded question.
Future Hiring Manager,
“So Bill, what salary are you looking for?”

Soon To Be Hired Employee,

“I’m really looking for the same thing you are
– fair and equitable pay based upon
my experience and skills.”
Bonus Aikido Move: “Are you able to share the salary range for this position?

(Often times the interviewer will release this information without realizing
they did, and now you have the upper hand when the offer comes at a later
interview.)

Future Hiring Manager,

“So Bill, what was your salary at
XYZ Company?”

Soon To Be Hired Employee,

“I am sure the responsibilities with XYZ
were very different than what you are
expecting from me. Are you able to further
discuss the responsibilities for this position?
4.) If I hire you, what do I have to worry
about?

This is the weakness question and it will be

asked in many different ways.

Most commonly,

“So, what do you think is your

biggest weakness?”

Two rules to follow when asked

this question.

First, do not share a weakness if it’s part of

the job requirement. (Quite frankly, why
apply for the position in the first place? You’ll
likely be miserable.)

Secondly, when sharing a weakness –

explain what you are doing to address it.
Future Hiring Manager,
“So Bill, what do you think is your biggest
weakness?”

Soon to Be Hired Employee,

“Probably that I have no programming
skills.”

“As a career coach, I work with many clients

from different backgrounds and the one
difference with technical clients is that they
sometimes have to face a technical interview
where they are asked to write code on a
whiteboard. They often think since I’m not a
programmer, I cannot understand what
they face. But I do. And I know it’s not
always about getting the answer correct,
but rather how you answer the question. So
over time I have gathered material on how
to approach the technical interview and I
provide this to my technical clients when
they have a technical interview scheduled.”
5.) What’s in it for me, if I hire you?

These are the behavioral questions and

are often asked as:

“What was the last project you headed

up and what was the outcome?”

“What do you think was the most important

idea you contributed in your last job?”

“Why should I hire you?”

“Give me an example of a difficult decision

you recently made and how did you come to
your conclusion?”

The answers to all behavioral type

questions comes down to one word:
 SOAR

S – ituation
O – bstacle
A - ction
R - esults
SOAR stories are your best friend!

We all have SOAR stories, but the key is to

put them in writing, study them, and have
them ready in your mind for the interview.

Set a goal of writing down between 25-

30 stories. For mine, I used an Excel
Spreadsheet.

One of the best ways I have found for

developing SOAR stories is to research
common interview questions and then to
prepare your SOAR stories around them.

As a bonus to this download, I am attaching

a list of common interview questions to help
you create your SOAR stories.
 SOAR EXAMPLE

Future Hiring Manager,

“Bill, tell me a time when your team was not
working together effectively. How did you
handle it?”

Soon To Be Hired Employee,

“When I first took over as manager of my
department, we had a lot of customer
complaints about having to leave messages for
computer problems. All the technicians would
be on the phones with other users and no one
was available to answer the calls. Well, I went
to my manager with the request for a staffing
increase, so I could hire a non-technical
coordinator who would answer the calls and
assign the workload to the technicians. I
needed a “live” person my users could speak
with. This was approved, and not only did I
increase customer satisfaction significantly, I
trained the coordinator to help with quick fixes
so customers did not have to wait for call back.”
Do you see the SOAR in this story?
 In Conclusion

Preparation is key to reducing the anxiety

of interviewing.

Fully understand the position you are

applying for and do your research of
the company.

Be prepared to ask questions that

demonstrate your research of the
company or position.

And have your SOAR stories ready.

When you are interviewing, keep

the following thought in mind:

“What is it I can do for the company?”

 Top 5 Interview Questions asked 25
different ways
1. Tell me about yourself?
2. Why should we hire you?
3. How would you describe your work style?
4. What do you consider the single most important idea you contributed in
your most recent position?
5. Give me an example of a difficult decision you recently made and how did
you come to that conclusion?
6. What was the last project you headed up and what was the outcome?
7. What is your idea job?
8. Where do you want your career to be in 5 years?
9. How did you set your career goals in your last job?
10. Describe a work goal you did not meet?
11. What has been your most significant career achievement?
12. If I were a former colleague, and was to recommend additional training for
you, what would it be?
13. Tell me about a time when you used your education or training to solve
a problem?
14. Give me an example of something that was difficult for you to learn, and
how did you handle it?
15. What are your strengths?
16. What was your salary in your last job?
17. What was your greatest failure and what did you learn from it?
18. You are over-qualified for this position. Why would you be interested in it?
19. What was the most enjoyable course you took or book you read in the
past year? Why?
20. Describe a time when you had a dispute with a supervisor or colleague
and how was it resolved?
21. How do you stay on top of trends and developments for your field?
22. Give me a time when you had to establish your credibility quickly with a
new team?
23. Tell me a time when your work was criticized?
24. What do you know about us?
25. Do you have any questions for me?