0 10 Typical Interview Questions

Here are 10 job interview questions that are most commonly asked by interviewers:

1. Tell me a little about yourself – This is one question you most likely will be asked, so prepare carefully for it. Talk about your career goals, what you want to accomplish career-wise, and discuss how you enjoy contributing to the success of an organization.

2. Why did you leave your last job? – This is another of the job interview questions that most likely will be asked. Before you interview, take each job and word an answer that will put you in the best light. A work of caution: never speak bad about former employers. This will come off negatively to an interviewer and cast you in a bad light.

3. What job related experience do you have? – Here is a good opportunity to talk about how your past job experiences have prepared you for the position you are interviewing for. If you are applying for a customer service position, talk about any jobs you have had where you have dealt with the public.

4. Explain how you could contribute to this company. – This is an example of one of the job interview questions that will give you an opportunity to talk about how your experience, motivation, or ideas would help the company. Relate your strengths to the job you are interviewing.

5. What would your previous co-workers say about you? – This is an opportunity to talk about your positive traits, such as loyal, hard-working, team player, and so on. Think about how you interact with others on the job, and use that to come up with 3 or 4 adjectives to describe yourself.

6. What do you know about this organization? – This is where proper pre-interview research comes in. Go to the website of the company, look up the history, facts and figures, and the key players in the company. Read the company mission statement, and try to relate what you can bring to the company that forwards the mission.

7. What are your greatest strengths? – This is one of the more common job interview questions, so prepare for this one. You want to highlight your abilities and how they would be valuable to the job position. If you have experience in that job, lean hard on it. If you don’t, talk about how your experiences in other jobs have helped you to develop as a person.

8. Tell me about a time when you resolved a conflict between others. – You will need to have a specific instance in mind here. Describe the incident, what it was about, who was involved, and how you were able to resolve it.

9. Why do you want to work for us? – The best answer here is to talk about career-related goals. Talk about what you want to accomplish in your career, and how the position will enable you to do that.

10. What salary would you expect? – This is an example of one of the job interview questions you do not want to answer directly. Do some online research into what similar positions are paying. give a wide ranging answer, such as “I know that similar positions in the industry pay between $XXXX and $XXXX per year, but I don’t know what your company is offering.”

Use these job interview questions as a guide to help you prepare for that all important face to face job interview.

0 Types of Questions in Interviews

Going through a job interview is a process, and understanding the types of questions in interviews can help you become a better candidate.  Here are some different types of questions in interviews to know.
Types of questions in interviews can be broken down into two basic types: telephone interview questions and face-to-face interview questions.  The telephone interview questions are meant to prescreen a large base of candidates down to the most qualified in an attempt to be more efficient.  Look at it this way,  a typical human resources person may have hundreds of resumes to go through for one position, so using the telephone is the best way to do that.  Here are some questions you might hear in the typical telephone interview:

1.    In your career, what have you done that you are the most proud of?
2.    What specific skill sets can you would bring to this position to help the company?
3.    What do you need from an organization in order for you to perform your best?
5.    If you could change one thing in your last job, what would it be?
6.    If I were to ask your co-workers about you, what would they say?
7.    Why should I consider you for this position?

Put the answers to these questions down on paper to have in front of you when doing the telephone interview.  Rehearse your answers so they sound natural.  Remember, your goal here is to stand out and be invited to continue the process.

The second of the types of questions in interviews is what you may be asked in the face-to-face interview.  At this point the company is interested in you, so work hard here to impress them.  Be prepared to discuss your work history and what you can bring to the table.  The human resources person is making a judgement about whether you would be best for the company, and the types of questions here will reflect that.  Some typical questions are:

1.    How did you first became interested in ___________ (whatever field of work you are appling for).
2.    Tell me about some goals you’ve had and how you have worked to achieve them.
3.    What is one of the toughest groups with which you’ve had to work.  What made the group tough?  How did you handle it?
4.    What are the biggest responsibilities you’ve had in the past year on the job?
5.    Give me an example of a time you disagreed with a supervisor and how you handled it.
6.    Tell me about a time in which your work was criticized.  How did you handle it?
7.    What has been your greatest frustration or disappointment in your present job?  Why?
8.    How do you handle people who have very different personalities or work styles than your own?

Being comfortable with the types of questions in interviews can help you be more comfortable in pressure situations.  Use these tips and techniques to help be your best.

0 Interview tips - weakness

One of the more common questions you will be asked is “What are your
greatest strengths and weaknesses?”  This interview tip will discuss
weakness as an interview point.

When a interviewer asks about your greatest weakness, what they are
looking for is whether or not you evaluate your own performance
periodically, and how you make corrections to your perceived
deficiencies.  Everyone has areas of weakness, but the mark of a good
employee is to recognize those areas and work towards making them
stronger.

In answering this question, it is important not to identify a real
weakness you may have, but to emphasize an area that could be
regarded as a weakness but has since been corrected.  Some examples
are:

“In the past, I have noticed that I have the tendency to want to do
things perfectly, which has caused me to have to work extra hard to
complete a task.  I have since realized that although perfection is a
worthy goal, it is more important to do the work right and go to the
next task in order to get more things done.”

“I used to be someone who tried to do everything in order to make
sure the work was completed correctly.  I have learned the value of
delegation, and how people can get more work done quicker by
enlisting help and working with a team approach.”

Another way this question could be answered is to give a minor flaw,
such as “I have a hard time keeping my desk organized,” or “I
sometimes get so busy I forget to eat lunch.”  This answers the
question without giving away a huge problem.

The best answer to give is one that doesn’t sound rehearsed, but
actually is.  This is where a good role play with a spouse or friend
can come in handy.

The face to face interview can be a daunting task.  These interview
tips for answering the question about weakness can help you win that
position you are seeking. 

0 Telephone Interview Questions - How To Handle A Telephone Job Interview

Okay, so you've sent out hundreds of resumes, you've networked with friends and colleagues, and you've scoured every newspaper in the area trying to get in front of an employer looking to fill a needed position, and it finally happened: you got a request for a phone interview.  What happens now, and how do you prepare? 

First, why a phone interview?  Companies conduct telephonic interviews for several reasons: first, it serves as an efficient means for pre-screening prospective candidates.  An employer may receive hundreds of resumes when advertising for a position to fill, and it simply takes too much time to arrange face-to-face interviews with everyone.  The telephonic interview can be done quickly, and when done right, can separate qualified candidates from the unqualified.

Secondly, when filling some positions, sales in particular, it is important that an employee comes across well to customers, and the telephonic interview will show if this is the case.

Lastly, the phone interview gives the candidate a quick chance to make his or her case to the interviewer without the distractions of office interruptions, allowing the employer a better opportunity to evaluate the candidate.  So with all this in mind, how do you put your best foot forward?

Start by conducting the interview over a land line in the quietest part of the home.  This prevents dropped calls and noisy children from spoiling your interview.  Most interviewers will ask for 30 minutes of time, but allow for an hour if all goes well.

Speak in a calm but assertive voice.  Most people tend to speak faster when they are nervous, so calm down and sound confident.  This will come across to the interviewer as someone who can handle pressure as well as be a good voice for the company.

Write down the interviewers name when given.  People like to hear the sound of their name, so write it down so that you don't forget it, and try to use it in conversation naturally.

Rehearse typical questions you might hear, such as "What is your greatest strengths and weaknesses?"  Write down some good answers and be prepared to use them naturally in the telephonic interview.  Good luck!