1.

Tel
lmeabouty
ourabi
l
ityt
owor
kunderpr
essur
e?

Answert
ips:

Here’
swheret
heabil
it
ytoperf
orm underf
ir
ecomesi
ntopl
ay.And,i
fpossi
ble,
giv
ean
examplet
hati
srel
atabl
etothety
peofpositi
ont
haty
ouareapply
ingfor
.

Theidealwaytorespondtothisquest
ionistoprov
ideexamplesandsituat
ionsofhowyou
havehandledst
ressinyourprevi
ousjobs.I
nthisway,thei
nter
v i
ewercanestabl
ishacl
ear
pi
ctureofhowwel ly
ouareli
kelytoreactwhenthegoinggetstough.

Prot i
p:makesureyouarenotreferenci
ngatimewheny ourl
ackofor
ganizati
onor
communi cati
onputyouina“selfinduced”st
ressful
scenari
o.Thi
sistosay,don’
tsharea
storyabouthowyourprocr
asti
ationcreatedasituat
ionwhereyouhadtofini
shaproject
quickly
.

Answersampl
es

I’
dli
ketothinkIreacttosit
uati
onsasopposedt ostr
ess.Thereali
tyis,
whenhandl
ed
corr
ectl
y,manypr obl
emsav oidbecomi ngunnecessari
l
ystressf
ul.Cometothi
nkofit
,I
beli
veIactual
lyworkbetterunderpressure.I
t’
shelpmepr oducesomeofmybestwor kand
tobehonestIlikebeingchall
enged.From astressmanagementpoi ntofv
iew,
Ili
ketobur
n
offthedaywithawor koutorbygoingf orarun.
2.Whatexper
iencedoy
ouhav
ewi
thr
espect
stot
hispar
ti
cul
arDOMI
CILI
ARYCARE
WORKERposition?

Answert
ips:

Speakaboutspecif
icsthatr
elat
etotheposit
ionyouareappl
yi
ngf or
.Ifyouknowy oudonot
havemuchexperienceinthejobyouareappl
y i
ngfor
,pl
anforthi
squestionaheadoftime
andensureyoucanpr ovi
desomer el
atabl
eexamplesbasedonwhaty ou hav
e done.

Almostall
int
ervi
ewerswi
l
lappr
eciateconfi
denceandpri
dei
ntheworkexperi
enceyouhave
earnedandyourpassi
oni
ntr
ansferi
ngthesevaluabl
eski
l
lst
oyourf
utur
er ol
eorposit
ion.

Answersampl
e

Eversincemyf i
rstpaperr out
eatage10I ’
vebeendoi ngsomethingtokeepmy sel
fbusyand
earnmoney .Backt hen,itwasobv iouslyaboutear ni
ngsomespendi ngmoney .WhatIdidn’
t
real
izewast hatIwasact uall
ystart
ingthejourneyofest abli
shi
ngwhatIl i
kedt odoandhow
Ifi
tint othegr andschemeoft hi
ngs.Ithenwor kedasaj uni
orcomputertechinmyl ast2
summer sofhi ghschool .Itwasher ethatIdi
scov eredwhatIwaspassi onateaboutandwhat
Iwant edtodo.Ienr ol
ledincollegetogetmydegr eeincomput ersci
ences, andIhavebeen
workingar oundt echnologyev ersi
nce.
3.Ourfi
eldi
salway
schanging.Assuch,whathaveyoudonewi
thr
egar
dst
opersonal
devel
opmentwhenitcomestoourpostedDOMI CI
LIARYCAREWORKERPOSI
TIONinthe
l
ast12mont hs?

Answert
ips:

Her
eisanoppor
tunit
yforyoutoshowcaseawi devar
iet
yoft
hingsyoumayhav edonebot
h
per
sonal
l
yandprofessi
onal
lyt
hatwil
lgetyourpotent
ial
empl
oy er
sint
erest
ed.Besuret
o
t
hinkaboutt
hisonei
nadv
ancei
ntheev
entt
hati
tcomesup.

Keepi
nmind,oneoft
hekeythi
ngst
hatempl
oyer
slookf
ori
sanappl
i
cantwhoi
ssel
f
moti
vat
edandgoalor
ient
ed.

Evenifyoudon’
thavesomethingthatisspecif
ictotherol
ey ouareappl
yingf
or,
don’
tbe
af
raidtoli
sthobbi
esorothernon-workrel
atedactivi
ti
eshere.Agai
n,thi
sshowsyour
employeryouaret
hego-gett
ertheyarelookingfor.

I
ntheend,
youwanttoensurethatyouar
eleav
ingyouri
ntervi
ewerwit
hthei
mpr
essi
ont
hat
y
ouaremotiv
ated,
sel
fsuff
ici
ent,andmanageyourti
meef f
ecti
vel
y.

Answersampl
es

Thatisareal
lygreatquestion.Whil
eIhaven’
thadtheoppor
t uni
tytodev el
opwi t
hinthis
part
icul
arrol
eperse, Ihaveactuall
ybecomeveryinvol
vedi
nmyl ocalfoodbankthisyear.
Thi
shast aughtmeagr eatdealaboutcommunit
y,teamwork,andtakinginit
iat
ive.
Itookituponmy selftoenrol
linasummerbusi nessadmi ncourseatthelocalcommuni t
y
coll
ege.Throught hi
s,Ipi
ckedupsomer eal
lygreatknowledgeoncommuni cationand
teamwor k,
aswel lasfurt
herdevelopoveral
lmanager i
alskil
l
s.Thoughitmaynotbedi rectl
y
appli
cabletothi
spar ti
cul
arjob,Ibel
iev
et heoveral
lexperi
enceIgainedcouldbear ealasset
here.
4.Tel
lmeabouty
our
sel
f

I
npolli
nghundr edsofdif
fer
entcompanies&HRdepar tments,
thi
sisbyfaroneoft
hemost
f
requentl
yaskedquestionsinanyjobi
nterv
iew.Yourint
erv
iewerwil
lusethi
sasan
i
cebreaker
,ideall
ytoputyouateaseandgety ouspeaki
ngopenlyandhonestl
y.

Whileyoudefi
nit
elywanttobepr eparedforthi
squesti
on,y
oucer t
ainl
ydon’
twanttomake
youranswersoundmemor i
zed.Keepi nmind,whi
lethi
squesti
onmaysoundl i
kean
i
nvit
ati
ontosharey ourl
ifest
ory,youcanbeassuredy ouri
nter
viewerhasver
yli
tt
leint
erest
i
nhear i
ngabouteveryt
hingyou’v
eev erdone.

Thepersongivi
ngtheintervi
ewhasaj obt
odoaswel l–respectthei
rtime.Unl
essyouar
e
askedaboutsomethi
ngspeci fi
c,f
ocusonyoureducat
ion,yourworkhistor
y,r
elat
abl
e
hobbi
esandout si
deinterest
s,aswell
asyourcurr
entsit
uation.

Besur
etost
artchr
onol
ogi
call
yandt
ell
ali
nearst
ory
.St
artwher
eyouf
eel
issensi
cal
,then
worky
ourwayuptothepr
esent.

5.Il
i
kewhatI
’
m hear
ingbutwe’
vegotat
onofgr
eatcandi
dat
es.Whyshoul
dwehi
rey
ou?

Aneasyquest i
ontoanswerwel l
wi t
honecav eat–don’tsl
am y ourfel
l
owi nterviewee’s.On
theonehand, y
ouhav eanopportunit
ytoreal
lystandoutfrom thepack.Alternativ
ely,You
shouldn’tassumet heskil
lsofot
herappli
cants.Focusony ourownst r
engths, andifthe
i
nterviewerhasn’tgiv
eny ouanopportuni
tytoment i
onthatone“ sl
am dunk”qual it
yabout
yourself
,nowwoul dbet hetime.

I
sther
eawr
ongwayt
oanswert
hisquest
ion?Consi
dert
her
esponsesbel
ow:

 “
Ireal
l
yneedaj
obr
ightnow”

 “
Ineedt
hemoney
”
  “
Yourof
fi
cei
sreal
l
ycl
oset
omyhouse”

 “
I’
veal
way
sbeeni
nter
est
edi
nwhaty
ouguy
sdo”

Noticeanycommonal it
yher
e?Alloft
heseanswer
s demonst
rat
eabenef
ittoy ou.Whi
le
everyemployerassumesthatt
hesesort
softhi
ngsplayi
nonsomelevel
,these ar
enotthe
reasons 
theyaregoingtohi
reyou.

I
nsummati
on,cl
earl
yil
lust
ratewhati
nspecif
ichasmadey
ouagoodempl
oyee,
andhow
y
ouenv
isi
onyoursel
fcontr
ibuti
ngt benef
oand  i
ti
ngt
hecompany
.

6.I
’m cur
ious–howdi
dyoucomet
ofi
ndoutaboutourcompanyandwhatdoy
ouknow
aboutus?

Thiscanbeagreatwaytostandoutf
rom otherappl
icant
sanddemonst rateini
ti
ati
ve.
Almostever
ycompanywi l
lhaveawebsi
te,Facebookpage,Inst
agram account,
orsomesor
t
ofdigi
tal
foot
pri
nt.Spendabitoft
imedoingsomeonl i
neresearch:

 I
ftheyhav
eawebsi
te,
checkoutt
hei
r“Aboutus”or“
Cul
tur
e/Mi
ssi
on/
Visi
on”pages.

 Whoar
esomeoft
hepr
inci
pal
peopl
ewhowor
kther
e?Whoar
ethef
ounder
s?

 Whatsor
tsoft
hingsdoest
hiscompanycar
eabout
?Dot
heydonat
etoapar
ti
cul
ar
causeorchar
it
y?Whi
chone(
s)?

 Whatar
ethei
rcor
eval
ues?Whi
choft
hei
rcor
eval
uesr
esonat
ewi
thy
ou?

 Hast
hecompanybeeni
nthenewsr
ecent
lyorhav
etheywonanyawar
ds(
Soci
al
Medi
acanbeagr
eatpl
acet
ofi
ndt
hisi
nfor
mat
ion)
.

Whi
ley
ouri
nter
viewerwon’
texpecty
out
ohav
ein-
dept
hcompanyhi
stor
y,al
i
ttl
eher
ecango
al
ongway.

7.Idon’
texpecty
out
ogoi
ntot
oomuchdet
ail
–butwhyar
eyoul
eav
ingy
ourl
astj
ob?

Aninnocentquesti
on.Butaquest i
ont hatifansweredi
mproper
ly,
canbeadeal breaker.
Whilemanyindivi
dualswil
lbelookingt oanewj obasameansofi ncr
easingt
heirsal
ary,
“notbei
ngpaidwellenoughaty ourlastjob”i not
s   
somethi
ngyouwanttoment i
ontoy our
i
ntervi
ewer.Af
terall
,areyounotlikel
yt oleavethi
spart
icul
arj
obifyoufoundyoucould
makemor edownt hestreet
?

Ify
ou’recur
rent
lyemployedandl
eavingofy
ourownaccord,
craf
tyourresponsear
ound
enhancingy
ourcareerdevel
opmentandaseeki
ngoutofnewchall
enges.

Ifyourcur
rentempl oy
erisdownsi zi
ng,behonestabouti t
, r
emainpositi
ve,butkeepitbri
ef.
Ifyouremployerfi
redy ouorletyougof orcause,bepreparedtogiv
eabr i
ef–buthonest–
reply.Nomatterhowt emptingitmaybe, orhow“ unf
airi
twast hattheyletyougo”steer
clearawayfrom anyandal l
dr amaandnegat i
vit
y.Anyexper i
encedempl oyerunder
stands
thatsometimesthingshappen.St ay
ingpositi
veiskeyher e.

8.Whatar
eyourst
rengt
hs?
Whil
ethi
squesti
onisani nvi
tat
iont
odosomechestpoundi ng,
remembert oil
lust
rat
e
st
rengt
hsthatwi
ll
 benef
ittheemployer
  e 
andar r
elat
ivet
otheposit
ion.Forexample:

 bei
ngapr
obl
em sol
ver

 bei
ngamot
ivat
or

 bei
nganat
ural
leader

 t
heabi
l
ityt
oper
for
m underpr
essur
e

 aposi
ti
veat
ti
tude

 l
oyal
ty

Aretypi
cal
lyal
lsoli
dst r
engths,butagai
n,consi
dert
heposit
ion.Forexample,ment
ioni
ng
youareanexcell
ent“team play
er”inajobwhereyoular
gel
ywor kalonesuddenl
ybecomes
i
rrel
evantt
otheempl oyeranddemonst rat
esagenuinel
ackofselfawareness.

Bey
ondt
his,
presenty
ourst
rengt
hswi
thconf
idence–t
hisi
snott
het
imet
obemodest
.

9.Whatar
eyourweaknesses?

Anothertr
ickyone.Thepur
poseoft
hisquest
ioni
stoseehowy
ouv
iewandev
aluat
e
your
self.

Onet
heonehand, i
fyousuggestyoudon’
thav any
e   
weaknesses,
youri
nter
viewerwi
l
l
al
mostcer
tai
nlyseeyouasalair,
egoti
sti
cal
,orbot
h.

Don’
tfal
li
ntothet
rapoft
ryi
ngtopresentaposit
iveskil
li
ndisgui
seasaweakness,
li
ke“I
workt
oohard”or“
Iam aperf
ect
ioni
st”.Anyexper
iencedint
ervi
ewerwi
l
lseethr
oughthi
sin
ahear
tbeat
.

Addit
ional
l
y,rev
eal
i
ngthat“
I’
m notr
eall
yamor ni
ngper
sonandhav
ebeenknownt
ocomei
n
l
ate”rai
sesimmedi
ateandobvi
ousredfl
ags.

Thetr
ickher
eistorespondreal
i
sti
cal
l
ybymenti
oni
ngasmal
l
,wor
krel
atedweakness
whaty
and  ouaredoingorhavedonet
oover
comeit
.
10.Whatdoy
ouseey
our
sel
fdoi
ngi
nfi
vey
ear
s?

Thi
sonei
sal
laboutj
obcommi
tment
.

Somepeoplemakej obhoppi
ngacareeri
nofit
sel
f,andy
ouranswerher
ecanbet
ell
i
ng.
Her
e,y
ourinter
viewerisdet
ermi
ningi
fyouare:

 someonewhoset
sgoal
s

 someonewhohasav
isi
on

 someonewhoi
srel
i
abl
e

 someonewhodemonst
rat
escommi
tment

 someonewhoi
sloy
al

Whil
enointer
viewerexpect
ssomeonetostayatacompanyforev
er,
tryandcr
aftyour
r
esponseinsuchawayt hatshowspr
ogressi
oninyourcar
eer
,andal
ignmentwit
ht he
Company
’sneedsandf
uture.Agai
n,sel
fawarenessi
skey–youremployerdoesn’
twantt
o
sendy
oudownanunwant edpath,
resul
ti
nginwastedti
meandenergyforever
yone.

11.Whatar
eyoursal
aryexpect
ati
ons?

Manyconsi derthisquest i
ont obeal oadedgun–danger ousinthehandsofthe
i
nexper i
enced.Of tent i
mes, aninterv
ieweewi l
lst
artt
alki
ngsalarybef
orethey’
vehadan
opportunit
ytoi l
lustratetheirskil
lsetandvaluemakinganysortoflever
agevalueless.Here,
knowledgei spower , assalaryoftencomesdownt onegoti
ati
on.Dosomer esearchintoy our
i
ndustrytoest abli
shbaser atesofpaybasedonseni orit
yanddemandbutkeepi nmi nd–
yourempl oyerishi r
ingy oufor whattheybel
ieveyouarewor t
h, howmuchbenef
and  itthey
feely
ouwi l
lprovide.
Onerelat
ivelysaf
eapproachissimpl yaski
ngthei
nter
vieweraboutthesal
aryr
ange.I
fyou
wishtoavoidthequest
ionentir
ely,
r espondbysay
ingthat“moneyisn’
takeyfact
or”and
yourpri
mar ygoali
stoadvanceiny ourcareer
.

12.Doy
ouhav
eanyquest
ions?

Thi
soney
oucanal
mostbeassur
edwi
l
lbeasked,
andy
oubet
terhav
esomer
eady
.

Byaski ngquesti
onsyou demonstrat
eini
ti
ati
v e,
 
andshowt hatyoucar eenoughaboutthe
j
obt ohav edonesomer esearch.Askquest
ionsthatfocusonar easwher eyoucanbean
asset.Beyondthis,
otherquesti
onsmaybemor edirectincludi
ngpr oducti
vi
ty,
expect
ati
ons,
trai
ning,andotherl
ogist
ics.All
thi
sbeingsaid,t
ryandl i
mi tthequestionstonomorethan
threeorfour.

Last
lyyou’
ll
wantt
oaskaboutt
henextst
epi
nthepr
ocessandwhent
oexpectt
ohearabout
theposi
ti
on.

1.Backgr
oundResear
ch

Asi ndi
catedabov
e, r
esearchonthecompanyy ou’
reapplyi
ngf ori
scri
tical
lyimpor t
ant.Arm
yoursel
fwi t
hknowledgeont hepr
oduct s,servi
ces,andtypesofcustomer sthiscompany
dealswith.Youmayev enwanttoletthem knowwhoy oufeelthei
rcompet i
ti
oni s!Beyond
tr
yingtomakey oursel
flookgood,researchingthecult
ureoft hecompanycanpr ovidegreat
i
nsightsintowhet
herornoty ouandy ourpot enti
alemployerareali
gned.

2.Pr
act
icemakesper
fect

Tobecer t
ain,i
nter
viewsdonotalwaysfol
lowthesamef ormatandeachi nter
viewerwil
l
havehisorherownst yl
e.Thatsai
d,t
herearecer
tainquestionsyoucanexpectt obeasked
i
nal mostanyinter
viewforanyposi
ti
on.Byunderst
andingandpr acti
cingr
esponsesfor
these“ol
diesbutgoodies”
,youcanshowupt oeachinter
viewt hatmuchmor econfi
dent.

3.Hav
esomeexampl
esr
eady

Whi l
emanycandi dat estel
lthei
rint
ervi
ewert hattheypossescer tai ndesirablequali
ti
es,t
he
proofast heysay ,
isi nthepudding.Spendsomet imei nadvanceofy ourinter
viewcoming
upwi thconcreteexampl esofpri
orwor kachievement sandhowt heydemonst rat
eadesired
abili
ty.Bepreparedf ortherecrui
ter’
squesti
onsandt oant i
cipat
et hem basedonj obposi
tion
requirements.Insteadofsi mplysayi
ng “Iam wellorganized”,t
ryingat tachinganexampl eor
strat
egy .
 “
Iam awel lorgani
zedperson-her eisanexampl eofapr ojectIspear-headed
wher eorganizati
onwascl utch”
.Lookingforthesl am dunk?Finishy ourresponsewi t
h“Did
t
hathel
panswery
ourquest
ion?
”.

4.Dr
essi
ngf
orSuccess

Firstimpr essionscanmakeorbr eaksomanyt hingsinsociety,andy ourintervi

ewer’s
i
mpr essionofy oui snoexcept i
on.Whet herany oneiswill
i
ngt oadmi ttoitornot ,
thereal
it
y
i
sy ouwi llbej udgedf r
om themomenty ouar ri
v eatthedoor .Thisiswher esomeoft he
afor ement ionedr esearchcomesi nt
oplay .Whati sthecultureoft hecompanyl ike?Arethey
ahi ghlyf ormal suit-
and-t
ieaffair
,oracasual sili
conv al
l
ey“ hipster
”or ganizati
on?Ifyou
under -dress, youcanappeart obet oorelaxed, andsomeonewhodoesnotappeart obe
takingt hisposi ti
onser i
ously
.Howev er
,ov erdressingcanbeper ceivedasov er
compensat ion.Wheni ndoubt ,dressshar p,i
ncl assi
cbusi nesscasual .

5.Pl
ayi
tcool

Assumi ngyouhav edonesomepr acti

ce,y ouarer eadyt opl ayitcool -aswel ly
oushould.
Makesur eyou’ veplannedouty ourroutewel l
inadv ance, andpr ovidedampl eextrati
mef or
unexpectedt r
afficandpar ki
ngi ssues.Youshoul dsmi l
ewhengr eeted,andkeepi nmind
thatyourint
erv i
ewermaybej ustasner vousasy ou.Dur ingt heintervi
ew, speakclear
lyand
deli
beratel
y.Yourbodyl anguagei salsoimpor tant;don’ tslouchbacki nyourchairorappear
“hunchedov er”inadef ensivepositi
on.Si ttal
l
,proud, andconf ident.

6.Behonest

Somecandi datesthinkusi ngel

aborat
etechni questo“ tal
karound”difficultquestionskeeps
them int hepowerposi ti
on.Amuchbet t
erappr oachi shonesty.Ify
ouar easkedaquest i
on
andsi mpl ydon’ tbeli
evey ouhavewelldevelopedski ll
sinthatarea,don’ tbeaf r
aidtoletthe
i
nterviewerknow, r
athert hanansweri
ngwithunr elatedandt angenti
alexampl es.Trytaki
ng
control i
nt hesesi t
uationsbysay i
ngsomet hingli “
ke Whi l
eIdon’thaveexper i
ence
i
n that particul
arar ea,Ifeelmyexperi
encein this ar
eamaybebenef i
cial”.

7.Don’
tbeaf
rai
dtocl
oset
hedeal

Oncet heinterv
iewisover,t
hel i
kel
ihoodisbothy ouandtheint
erv
iewerhaveagoodi deaof
whereoneanot herst
and.Asy oustandupposti nterv
iewandengageinaf i
nal
handshake,
beupfront.Conf i
denceherecangoal ongway.Ifyoubeli
eveyounail
edtheint
ervi
ew, be
bold:
 “
I’m goingtobestrai
ghtwi t
hy ou-Ithi
nkthatwentreall
ywellandIthi
nkI’
dbeagr eat
assethere.Wher edoIstandasofnow? ”
.Al
ter
nat i
vel
y,i
fyoudon’
tthinki
twentwell…you
probablyhav eyouransweralr
eady .

8.Besur
etoaskquest
ions

Tryandprepare2or3reall
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