Twenty Commonly Asked Interview Questions

“Are you prepared with the Answers?”

1. "Tell me about yourself."

On a personal note, start anywhere, e.g. high school, college, major interests, or a first position.
They are looking for strong communication skills, linear thinking, and the ability to “think on your
feet”. Also try to score a point or two (describe a major personal attribute.)

Be logical and speak about your background chronologically from most recent to oldest and
focusing mostly on the last couple years. Highlight important skills relevant to the position if
older that a few years but stay focused on the position requirements. Remember, the client
doesn’t know your old employers, their business, their environments, your role, challenges,
solutions, technology applied to the problems, and the outcomes. Keep the answer to 2-3
minutes.

2. "Why are you leaving your current position?"

This is a very critical question. Be logical and keep it short and sweet. Don't "bad mouth" a
previous employer. Don't sound "too opportunistic." Best when major problems, or buy-out, or
shut-down. Tell the truth. Most often it is the best answer. Most people are looking to make a
change to improve their overall situation – better commute, better hours, better work, better
coworkers, better technology, better manager, better financial situation, or a better environment.
Also it is good to state that after long personal consideration, your chance to make meaningful
contributions is very low due to company changes.

3. "What do you consider your most significant accomplishment?"

Prepare extensively. Tell a 2 minute story, with details, and discuss personal involvement. Make
the accomplishments worth achieving. Discuss hard work, long hours, pressure, and important
company issues at stake. Again, remember the interviewer doesn’t know the environment,
politics in play, project deliverables, issues, solutions, your role on the project, and the outcome.
Explain all these factors in detail and why this project was significant for you.

4. "Why do you believe you are qualified for this position?"

This can win you the job!! Remember the “laundry list” of requirements for this position.
Address all of them, one by one, and describe how you fit each of them. Be detailed like, “I have
5 years of XX experience including 2 years of XY, 1 year of XW, 3 years of XY, etc”. Discuss for
two minutes, with specific details. Select a skill, a specific management skill (organizing, staffing,
planning), and a personal success attribute to mention.

5. "Have you ever accomplished something you didn't think you could?"
Interviewer is trying to determine your goal orientation, work ethic, personal commit, and
integrity. Provide a good example where and when you overcame numerous difficulties to
succeed. Prove you're not a quitter and that you'll keep going when the going gets tough."

6. "What do you like or dislike most about your current position?"

Be careful! This is a loaded question. In an effort to be honest, you may end up bashing your
company and appear negative. The rule – always say something positive first and then keep the
answer short and sweet. Interviewer is trying to determine compatibility with open position.
State your dislike as a situational problem not a direct attack of a coworker, boss, etc. Example,
“Well, my last manager was a great person. He worked hard and always made himself
available. The only challenge was that he couldn’t help us with technical issues because he
wasn’t technical. We still figured out the solution but it took a little longer.” Be positive.

7. "How do you handle pressure? Do you like or dislike these situations?"

High achievers tend to perform well in high pressure situations. Conversely, the question would
imply the position is pressure packed and out of control. There is nothing wrong with this as
long as you know what you're going into. If you do perform well under stress, provide a good
example with details giving an overview of the stress situation. Let the interviewer "feel" the
stress by your description of it. If you don’t like pressure, that is natural. But you must convince
the interviewer that you can handle it well without it affecting your performance.
8. "The sign of a good employee is the ability to take initiative. Can you describe situations like
this about yourself?"
A proactive results-oriented person doesn't have to be told what to do. This is one of the major
attributes. To convince the interviewer you possess this trait you must give a series of short
examples describing your self-motivation. Try to describe at least one example in depth. The
extra effort, strong work ethic and creative side of you must be demonstrated. Talk about how
you saved man power, time or money and be quantitative i.e., my efforts saved $200,000 per
year.

9. "What's the worst or most embarrassing aspect of your business career? How would you
have done things differently now with 20/20 hindsight?"
This is a general question to learn how introspective you are and to see how well you know
yourself. Also, to see if you can/have learn from your mistakes. If you can, it indicates an open,
more flexible personality. Don't be afraid to talk about your failures and what you've learned
from them. This is a critical aspect of high potential individuals.

10. "How have you grown or changed over the past few years?
This requires thought. Maturation, in technical skills, or increased self-confidence are important
aspects of human development. To discuss this effectively is indicative of a well-balanced
intelligent individual. Overcoming personal obstacles or recognizing manageable weaknesses
can brand you as an approachable and able employee. You can refer to education you have
taken, significant life changes like marriage or traumatic experience and what you learned,
personal growth education you have attended, significant work experiences, etc.

11. "What do you consider your most significant strengths?"

Be prepared. Know your four or five strengths. Focus on ones that are most relevant to the
position even if they aren’t your best ones. Be able to discuss each with a specific example.
Select those attributes that are most compatible with the job opening. Most people say "being a
quick learner" or being a “team player” or “hard worker” – these are cliché and everyone has
heard them. Find ones that are creative and interesting and be prepared to discuss them in
detail! Don't discuss management unless it is a management position!! This is a deal breaker.
Even then be able to describe the specific characteristics of management (planning, organizing,
results, staffing, etc.) or how your relationship skills have proven critical to your success.

12. "What do you consider your most significant weaknesses?"

Don't reveal deep character flaws. Rather discuss tolerable faults that have and discuss how
you are working towards improving. Give real examples of improvement. Show by specific
example how this has changed over time. Better still; show how the weakness can be turned
into a strength. For example, how concentration on details results in higher quality work even
though it requires much overtime.

13. Deadlines, frustrations, difficult people, and silly rules can make a job difficult How do you
handle these types of situations?"
Most companies, unfortunately, face these types of problems daily. If you can’t deal with petty
frustrations you'll be seen as a problem and definitely not a team player. You certainly can voice
your opinion in these matters but how you deal with them is very important. Diplomacy,
perseverance, and common-sense often prevail even in difficult circumstances. This is part of
working in corporate America and you must be able to deal with it in a professional manner
regardless.

14. "One of our biggest problems is_______? What has been your experience with this? How
would you deal with this?"
This is another “think-on-your-feet” question. First, ask questions to get details about this
challenge so you fully understand it. Break it into sub-parts. It is likely you have some
experience with the sub-sections if not the problem as a whole. Provide answers to these and
summarize how you would deal with the problem as a whole if you can't answer directly. Be
specific. Show your organizational and analytical skills.
15. "What kind of salary (or rate) are you looking for?"
Ah, the money question. If the interview asks, merely tell them you were making $XX in your
last/current position and that you are open to a fair and reasonable market offer reflective of the
responsibilities of the position. In some cases, it is not advantageous to tell your current salary.
You’ll need to discuss this with your recruiter.

If it is a contract, you know the drill. The rate is predetermined prior to the interview and is not
renegotiable. If the interviewer asks about your rate, defer this question to your agency
representative

16. "How has your technical ability been important in accomplishing results?"
(This question is for technically oriented positions only.) Clearly the interviewer believes he
needs a strong level of technical competence. Most strong managers have good technical
backgrounds, even if they have gone away from detail. Describe specific examples of your
technical acumen but don't be afraid to say you're not current. Also, you could give an example
of how you resolved a technical issue through "accelerated research".

17. "How would you handle a situation with tight deadlines, low employee morale, and
inadequate resources?"
If you pull this off effectively, it indicates you have strong management skills. You need to be
creative. An example would be great. Relate your toughest management task even if it doesn't
meet all the criteria. Organizational skills, interpersonal skills, clear communication, and
handling pressure are key elements of effective management. Most managers have been in this
situation time and time again. It is key to explain what the challenges were and how you dealt
with each issue as well as the outcome.

18. “How you do deal with difficult or irate customers? Have you ever ignored or belittled a
customer before?"
The key is diplomacy. Your ability to keep customers happy even when they are being jerks is
imperative. Explain how you always let the customer “blow off steam” and them reassure him
that you understand the problem and will personally make sure that it is taken care of. This is
the key. The customer wants to be heard, understood and to know that you will not drop the ball
on his problem. Never interrupt a customer who is upset – let him talk and blow off the steam.
He’ll be easier to deal with afterwards.

19. "What are your career goals? Where do you see yourself five years from now? Ten years?"
Most importantly, be realistic! “Pie-in-the-sky” goals brands you as immature. If you are looking
to get out of management in the future, do not discuss this unless it is a management position
that you are applying for. This will definitely not get you the job! Think in terms of the natural
progression of the position for which you are applying and reflect on this. Stay away from the
word “management” if you are not in a management position already. Instead talk in terms of
“increasing responsibility”. Example, “I see myself working here at Acme company in a position
of increasing responsibility where I am making a more direct and meaningful contribution to the
company and helping other to realize their potential”. For a ten year goal, if you aspire to get
into management, it is okay to say it.

20. "Why should we hire you for this position? What kind of contribution would you make?"
Good chance to summarize. By now you know their key problems. Restate them and show
how you would address them. Relate to specific attributes and specific accomplishments.
Qualify responses with the need to gather information. Make sure you left your ego at the door.
Demonstrate a thoughtful, organized, and strong kind of attitude.