Don’t Get Ambushed in an Interview

 

 The most popular interviewing trend used by employers today is the behavioral interview.  This form of interview questions tends to focus upon your past experiences as well as your integrity, leadership abilities, initiative, communication skills, ability to problem solve, interpersonal skills, adaptability, knowledge, and past performance to determine if you will be a good fit for the employer. The behavioral questions are designed to lead the interviewee into more in-depth and trait revealing answers to specifically designed questions.   A complete answer to behavior-based interview questions must explain the task or problem for which you were responsible, the specific action you took to complete the task or solve the problem, and the results of the action you took.  

There are three forms of behavioral questions:

Open-ended questions – This type of question requires more than just a “yes” or “no” answer.  This type of question often begins with “Describe...”, “Tell me about...”, “When...”

Close-ended questions- This type of questions is usually used to verify or confirm information you have previously given the employer such as “You graduated from college, is that correct?”

Why questions – This type of question is used to reveal your rationale for decisions you have made in the past or to determine your motivational level such as “Why did you decide to go into the service when you had a scholarship at UNT?”

Here are some sample behavioral questions and possible ways to answer them:

Q. Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Approximately 80% of all interviews begin with this question. Many candidates, unprepared for the question, start with a prolonged recap/narrative of their life story.

HOW TO REPLY: Commence with your latest related experience or training and communicate why you meet the criteria by matching your qualifications to what the interviewer is looking for.  To answer, you must try to uncover your interviewer's greatest need, want, problem, or goal in filling the position and tailor your answer.  Recall recent work experiences which demonstrate your favorable behaviors or actions, especially your teamwork, leadership, and customer service abilities.  

Q.  Why are you leaving (or did you leave) your most recent position?

HOW TO REPLY:  If you left an employer on bad terms, you still must follow the inviolable rule: never badmouth your previous industry, company, board, boss, staff, employees or customers. Never be negative!  Any negativity brought into your reply will cast a shadow on your abilities, candor, and disposition.   This is not the time to discuss an increase in pay, even if that is part of the motivation.  If you have been previously terminated from a position – don’t lie about being fired.  It’s unethical, and can easily be checked.  The best way to answer is to attempt to redirect the reason from you personally.   Make sure you've prepared a brief, positive reason for leaving your last position.

Q. What are your greatest strengths?

HOW TO REPLY: You should match your abilities to the interviewer's greatest wants and needs. You should also have an example or two demonstrating strengths from your most recent work experience. You should, have this list of your greatest strengths (experience, initiative, customer relations) and corresponding examples from your achievements committed to memory.
Q. What are your greatest weaknesses?

This is often called an “eliminator” question because it is designed to shorten the candidate list. An admission of a weakness or fault will earn you an "A" for honesty, but an "F" for the interview.
HOW TO REPLY: Assure the interviewer that you can think of nothing that would stand in the way of your performing in this position with excellence. Then, quickly review you strongest qualifications.   
Q. Aren't you overqualified for this position?

HOW TO REPLY: The employer’s main concern behind the "overqualified" question is that you will leave your new position as soon as something better comes your way. Anything you can say to demonstrate the sincerity of your commitment to the employer and reassure him that you're looking to stay for the long-term will help you overcome this objection.  Also, assuring the employer that you love to learn and take on new responsibilities will help to soothe their wariness.

Q. Where do you see yourself five years from now?

HOW TO REPLY:  Employers want to know that you plan to stay with them.  Assure the interviewer that you are making a long-term commitment and that this position is exactly what you want to do and what you feel you do very well. Looking to the future, you know that if you perform with excellence, future opportunities will take care of themselves.

Q. Tell me about your ideal company, location, and job.

HOW TO REPLY: The correct answer is to describe the company (by reviewing ahead of time), what the company is offering that you like, how you feel you would be a good fit. Make your answer believable with specific reasons, stated with sincerity, why each quality represented by this company and opportunity is attractive to you.
Q.  Why do you want to work for our company?

HOW TO REPLY:  By doing an in-depth research of the company, you should make this your home run. Sources for research include: annual reports, the corporate newsletter, contacts you know at the company or its suppliers, advertisements, articles about the company in the trade press.

Q. Tell me about a situation when your work was criticized.

HOW TO REPLY:  Begin by emphasizing any positive feedback you may have received throughout your career. No one is always perfect, emphasize that you always welcome suggestions on how to improve your performance.
Q.  What are your outside interests?

HOW TO REPLY:  Try to shatter any stereotypes that could limit your chances. If you're over 50, for example, describe activities that demonstrate your intergenerational teamwork abilities, technology, as well as your physical and mental stamina. If you’re relatively young, mention an activity that demonstrates your wisdom. Keep in mind that employers hire employees for what they can do for them.

Q.  Looking back, what would you do differently in your life?

HOW TO REPLY: Indicate that you are a happy, fulfilled, optimistic person and that, in general, you wouldn't change a thing.

Q.  How well do you work under pressure?

HOW TO REPLY: Convey that you work well under pressure (and then give a recent example).

Q. What was the toughest decision you ever had to make?

HOW TO REPLY: Pre-prepare a good example, with an explanation as to why the decision was difficult.  Talk about what process, or processes, you used to make the decision.  Then relate how you carried it out.  If you are looking to leave the military, you might want to describe how difficult it has been to reach the decision to not continue with the military as a career.

Q. May I contact your present employer for a reference?

HOW TO REPLY:  If you are employed and haven’t told your employer that you are looking for a new position, then convey to the interviewer that you'd like to keep your job search private but that you are extremely proud of your record with your current employer.

Q.  What are your future goals?

HOW TO ANSWER:  Be prepared to discuss your goals for your career and personal development and learning which include the employer you are interviewing with.  Express your desire to stay with a company.  Avoid family, physical (health), community service, and any spiritual goals.

Q. How do you define success…and how do you measure up to your own definition?

HOW TO ANSWER: Give a definition of success by incorporating you, your strengths and abilities, a position within the interviewer’s company, and how that the combination would mean the ultimate success to you personally.
© Copyright Vet2Work/Naturallysilver 2011-13. No re-publication of this article is permitted without express permission. This is an excerpt from "Successful Career Moves" by C.A. Stapleton. About the author:  C.A. Stapleton, A.S., B.S., M.B.A., is an experienced, published professional career consultant, mentor, and résumé/ biographical writer.  

Tips on Getting Employed Using Social Media

Twitter – create a free Twitter account using your personal name.  Put your 30-second elevator  speech* in the information about you section and include an email.  You might want to create a personal email just for employment.   Once you have created a twitter account, add your twitter link to your resume.  Attach a recent picture and follow only employment-related twitter sites such as job boards and employment services.    

Facebook- if you don’t have a Facebook profile, then you should proceed to create free one.  When creating your profile, provide only information that an employer would need to see.  You might want to include your 30 second elevator speech in your profile section.  In your interests section, include words such as “networking” “team building” “employment opportunities”. Insert a professional recent picture and then look for employers and employment related sites in your field of interest and “like” them.  If you already have a Facebook profile, then review your existing page as the employer would see it.  Are all posts relevant?  Are all pictures appropriate?  Is every post made by you spelled correctly, and are you using proper grammar?  Is there profanity on your feed?  If you have a Facebook page and you answered “yes” to any of these questions and you really want to go to work, then you have two options – go in and re-create your existing page to a more professional one or create a new account and professional page and once it is created add it to your resume.

Linked In- Creating a LinkedIn profile is time consuming but is definitely worth the work you put into it.  Linkedin is a professional networking site.  Like Facebook and Twitter, it is free to join.  However, the site is designed for the business professional world.  Once again, when you create your linked in profile be careful of spelling and grammar.  Post a recent professional picture.  Look for professional persons you may know and also join groups which are correlated to the field you aspire to enter.  

© Copyright Vet2Work/Naturallysilver 2011. No re-publication of this article is permitted without express permission. This is an excerpt from "Successful Career Moves" by C.A. Stapleton. About the author:  C.A. Stapleton, A.S., B.S., M.B.A., is an experienced, published professional career consultant, mentor, and résumé/ biographical writer.  

6-Step Blueprint for Creating an On-Line Presence

Hiring managers continually use the internet to find out about you.  Upon receipt of your on-line application or résumé, it’s just a matter of simply typing in your name in the search box.  Through this one effortless action, an employer can attain personal knowledge on how you lead others, how you think, and what type of contribution(s) you provide to civilization in general.

Yes, all of this can be found just by paying a visit to your on-line presence as seen on Facebook, twitter, Linkedin, My Space, your blog, your YouTube additions, any online discussion boards you are on, groups you follow, community events you are involved in, and anything else that can be readily revealed about you.  This can also be accomplished just by searching your name on Google, or other search engines.   When you search your name, what do you find?  If future employers and others and find this same information, what will they think?  With this in mind, it may be time for you to create, delete, or re-create your on-line image - especially if you are a current or soon-to-be job seeker. 

Tell employers who you are!  Here are six steps for creating a professional on-line presence:

Step One. Determine precisely what you want your on-line presence to demonstrate to readers.  Like a really good autobiography, everything in your on-line profile should be honest, but also appealing to an employer. 

Step Two. Start out with a clean drawing board by either creating a new profile or re-vamping your older one.  When creating a profile on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, or any other board, choose a professional name (or use your own) and upload a current professional picture of you (preferably in an office or professional setting).   Don’t shock an employer at an interview!  Using an older photograph could be easily seen by an employer as a deceptive move on your part.

Step Three.  Provide employment and training details that accurately represent you.  Use professional language and highlight both your abilities and professionalism.  Proofread every entry for accuracy in both concept and spelling.

Step Four.  If participating in discussion boards, thoroughly read and check all entries by others. Then, when making your response entry, use only the correct language, spelling, and punctuation.  You might even want to type your response in Word format on your computer and then use the computer’s spelling and grammar check, thesaurus, and correct any punctuation errors before copying and pasting your answer(s) onto the discussion board.

Step Five.  Clean out your followers list and also who you are following.  Keep family and personal talk to a minimum or zero.

Step Six. When displaying your likes and dislikes on your pages or blogs, avoid putting up items that would be considered as unprofessional by an employer including religious or political groups. 

© Copyright Vet2Work/Naturallysilver 2011-12. No re-publication of this article is permitted without express permission. This is an excerpt from "Successful Career Moves" by C.A. Stapleton. About the author:  C.A. Stapleton, A.S., B.S., M.B.A., is an experienced, published professional career consultant, mentor, and résumé/ biographical writer.  

Interviewing by Phone? Not a Problem

       Properly planning and preparing for a phone interview can increase your employment chances dramatically.   Characteristically, the initial phone call from an employer will be to arrange an in-person interview or to schedule a more formal in-depth phone conversation. This is often the result of the company wanting to make a “quick hire “and deciding to conduct an in-depth phone interview discussion with some potential candidates to determine if any applicant  is appropriate for the position they are filling.  Upon the phone interview screening, the company will then schedule a face to face interview.  For that reason, job seekers should always be ready for the both types of phone interviews: the predictable (which has been scheduled just like an in-person interview) and the surprising (which occurs with the first contact call.) 

            Good preparation  for an interview by phone should having your most accurate current résumé within your reach (perhaps in a drawer by the phone), having well prepared notes (by taking information from your résumé and preparing to answer difficult questions, as well as knowing and using proper phone protocol. 

 Proper Phone Interview protocol includes:

             Change your phone answering tone while you are in the job search process. Although you may have a preference in a certain type of music, it is best to go without during a job search.

             Be professional and business like when speaking during the interview.  Don’t get too friendly with the interviewer.. 

            Write down important information for further review after the call. 

            Let the interviewer speak and don’t interject comments unless asked to do so. 

            Answer all questions truthfully and avoid elaborating. 

            Follow your résumé as you talk about your history or schooling. 

© Copyright Vet2Work/Naturallysilver 2011-12. No re-publication of this article is permitted without express permission. This is an excerpt from "Successful Career Moves" by C.A. Stapleton. About the author:  C.A. Stapleton, A.S., B.S., M.B.A., is an experienced, published professional career consultant, mentor, and résumé/ biographical writer.  

   

Can Employers Really Trust You?

Put your resume, cover letter, training, experience, looks, and ability to interview out of your mind.   The big question is: can an employer really trust you?  That is the sole most-salient item they are endeavoring to bring to light during an interview. 

Throughout the interview process, here are some of the questions churning in virtually every employer’s mind with regard to your trustworthiness:

Can I trust that the information this candidate has given me (résumé, cover letter, other information) is accurate and truly characterizes this person and their abilities?

Can I trust that the information this candidate is giving me during the interview is candid and straightforward?  Or, is it extremely well rehearsed interview rhetoric?

Can I trust that this person really aspires to work for me and my organization?  Or, is this just an interview for the sake of practice?

Can I trust that this person is coachable, trainable, and open-minded?

Can I trust that this person will show up to work regularly?

Can I trust that this person will fully perform the available position to the best of their abilities?

Can I trust that this person will be loyal, both to me, and to the organization?

Can I trust that this person will remain with the organization for at least several years?

Can I really trust this person?

By proving to the employer, during an interview, that you are truly trustworthy, you are strengthening your chances of obtaining any position.   

© Copyright Vet2Work/Naturallysilver 2011-12. No re-publication of this article is permitted without express permission. This is an excerpt from "Successful Career Moves" by C.A. Stapleton. About the author:  C.A. Stapleton, A.S., B.S., M.B.A., is an experienced, published professional career consultant, mentor, and résumé/ biographical writer.  

How To Answer Standard Interview Questions

Preparing to answer any interview question presented to you is arduous, to say the least.  Often, it seems that there just isn’t a way to ease your anxiety.  Time has proven, however, spending extra time preparing prior to an interview results in more improved your answers and that you will be more confident in giving them.  Here are a few standard interview questions:

1.       Why do you want to work for us? 

Your answer should come from thoroughly researching the company including what they do and what the job they are advertising entails.  If, through your research, you determine that the position deals with job aspects which you are uncomfortable with, then you would and should decline an interview.   However, if the company offers a job or jobs which you find interesting and would like to be involved with, then you should stress your interest during the interview.  As an example – if the company does a lot of cold calling of customers and you have a similar background, you can answer this question by stating that upon researching the company you found that they have a great deal of interaction with clients both old and new and that you have previous experience in a call center environment or in sales and really are enthusiastic about this type of work.  Or, if the company is a financial organization and you just love working with numbers, you can discuss your aspiration to work with figures and statistics and stress your meticulous consideration to detail.

2.       Why should we hire you?

If you have thoroughly researched the company, you should have an idea as to why you want to work for them (see #1).  As an example, if the company is a research and development organization, then you might want to emphasize the fact that you like to create new things and possess an out-of-the-box thinking style and state that you appreciate that the company supports this type of ingenuity in its workers.

3.       Tell me about yourself.

Your answer to this question (which is often the first question asked) should be no more than a minute or two in length and should include education, work history, and recent employment history.  The interviewer is going to be more interested in the latter so this is part you should emphasize.  Be sure to incorporate transferrable skills and duties from your past employment to highlight what you can do in the new position.  Emphasize customer service abilities, dealing with deadlines, meeting quotas – to name a few.

4.       What do you find most attractive about the position?  What do you find least attractive?

You should let the employer know at least 3-4 factors about the job you find interesting (from reading the job description) and then add one minor, unattractive or uninteresting item (if you find one).

5.       Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Your response should not contain goals you may have for returning to school or moving to another company (the employer doesn’t want to hear this) but rather should clearly state that you are interested in obtaining a long standing and progressive career within the organization.  In this answer, you also want to demonstrate that you desire to be an integral part of the organization and hope to augment your talents and abilities towards the company’s successes in the future.

6.       What are you looking for in a position?

Your answer should be oriented to the opportunities which are offered by the company you are interviewing with.  You should stress your desire to perform the job duties well and a desire to obtain recognition for great job performance.  Your answer should be from the perspective of opportunity and not your personal well being.

© Copyright Vet2Work/Naturallysilver 2011. No re-publication of this article is permitted without express permission. This is an excerpt from "Successful Career Moves" by C.A. Stapleton. About the author:  C.A. Stapleton, A.S., B.S., M.B.A., is an experienced, published professional career consultant, mentor, and résumé/ biographical writer.  

Ways to Appropriately Answer the Dreaded Salary Question

When you are asked about your salary expectations you should not give the employer an actual figure.

Why?  Because if you give a number that is higher than the actual salary range for the position you have applied (typically the interviewer will inform you that you are too high in your salary expectation) it sets a very negative tone for the remainder of the interview.  Conversely, if you give a number that is too low, the interviewer will probably not say anything in an effort to hire you at the lower salary rate.  

Here are some variations of salary expectation questions you may be asked and some possible responses.
 

What is your current or your most current previous salary rate? “Since this position is very different from the last position I held, can we discuss what my job responsibilities would be and then determine a fair salary for the position?  Generally, an employer would have a hard time arguing when you have used the words "responsibilities" and "fair" in when responding.
 

What salary range are you looking for? “I don't have a range in mind at this time.  I would like to hear about the job requirements and your expectations first, in order to get a sense of what you need for the position.”  

Additionally, some recent research has shown that if you mirror the behavior of the interviewer you are more likely to get the job.  So, be sure to pay attention and watch your tone of voice, enthusiasm, and body language.

© Copyright Vet2Work/Naturallysilver 2011. No re-publication of this article is permitted without express permission. This is an excerpt from "Successful Career Moves" by C.A. Stapleton. About the author:  C.A. Stapleton, A.S., B.S., M.B.A., is an experienced, published professional career consultant, mentor, and résumé/ biographical writer.