*Sample Interview Questions: How will you answer

*Sample Interview Questions: How will you answer?    *

*         *Your career may depend on it...

   - *Tell me about yourself... *(Your answer should contain much more about

   your job skills than your personal life.) Talk about the growth of your

   career, what you learned from previous employment or even things like how

   your volunteer worked help you develop your organizational, time management

   and leadership skills.

   - *What are your strengths? * (If you really enjoy new challenges and

   tackle them in an organized manner, this would be a useful strength in

   almost any situation.)  You can talk about your ability to find unique

   solutions to problems.  Be prepared with some concrete examples, since that

   may be the follow-up question.

   - *What are your weaknesses?* (A "good" weakness might be that you have

   trouble leaving the office behind when you go home in the evenings.)  This

   is a very difficult question that is not asked often, but it's one you

   should prepare for anyway.  If you talk about your temper, your tendency to

   gossip or the fact that you're lazy, you may as well pack up and go home

   right then.  If you mention a weakness such as your lack of patience with

   people who don't do their share of the work, you should also mention that

   you keep this impatience to yourself and try very hard not to express it

   toward others.

   - *Do you have any questions about our company?* (If you have paid

   attention during the interview and if you have done your homework, this

   would be a good time to ask for more details about some aspect of the

   company's organizational structure or products.  It would not be a good time

   to ask about your first raise. You could also ask questions about the

   community, their training program or details about the work environment.)

   - *Where do you expect your career to be in 10 years? * (Be careful

   here.  You do not want to give the impression that you're simply using this

   company as a stepping stone to another career.  Think of a related

   managerial position within the company that would interest you.) There is a

   story about a young accountant who was asked this question by a CPA firm

   during an interview.  The young accountant replied that he saw himself as

   the comptroller of a large corporation.  In other words, "I'm just using

   your firm to teach me and then after you spend your resources training me, I

   will leave to go work for someone else."  Needless to say, he was not

   offered a position with the CPA firm.  They know that 75% of the people they

   hire will leave within 10 years, but they do not want to hire someone who

   comes in with that plan.

   - *What skills do you have that would benefit our company?* (If your

   skills are not exactly those that the company may have requested, you can

   point out the skills you have that would be valuable to any company.

   Examples of these skills are: your ability to plan and execute long-term

   projects, your ability to organize information into usable data, your

   ability to research complicated issues, or your ability to work well with a

   team.) If your skills are not perfect for this particular company, you can

   mention how quickly you were able to adapt and learn in other situations.

   Again, be prepared with specific examples in case you are asked to

   elaborate.

   - *Why did you leave your last job?* (This is not an opening to speak

   badly of your former employer.  There is almost always a way of wording the

   explanation so that you do not sound like a "problem employee" and  your

   former employer does not sound like an undesirable company.)  As unfair as

   it may seem, there is almost no time when you should say something bad about

   your former employer.  You can talk about the lack of potential for upward

   mobility, the fact that your job responsibilities changed to the point that

   it no longer fit into your career plan, your need to move to be closer to

   your aging parents, the need to reduce travel time, your need for a more

   challenging job, or anything else that does not get into personalities or

   other conflicts. If you were fired for cause, you may want to be up front

   about it, explain the circumstances and accept responsibility for your

   actions.  Practice your answers to this question with someone who has

   interview experience. However, don't lie.  If you can't say anything

   positive about your former employer, don't say anything.  It could come back

   to haunt you.