Interview Questions

If you do a Google search on "common interview questions," you'll pull up a lot of great article with tips on how to answer these questions. The YahooHot Jobs and Monster websites are great starting points.

I've interviewed a ton of people over the years and one of the most important thing I look for in an interview is honesty. I save all of the interview paperwork and at the end of the year I look over the questions they answered to see how things have really worked out. I hate canned answers like I want to have enough money to pay the bills and a nice husband with 2 kids and a cute dog. Bull! Everybody wants that. Tell me the truth. I hire salespeople. The answer I want is that they want to be good at what they do. They want to be recognized for doing a good job. When I ask them to tell me about themselves I'm listening for clues that tell me whether I'm going to work well with this person. Make your list of things about your self simple. I'd say I'm married with one little boy. My family likes to take the dog to the dog park and travel in our RV. Don't give a list of 20 different hobbies. I hate when people say I like to golf, play basketball, fish, hike, camp, scrapbook, and bake. Just tell me the kinds of things that I could catch you doing on any given night. The question is designed to make you talk so your interviewer can decide if you're quick on your feet and if you're confident talking to others. Why should they hire you? Because you take your job seriously, come to work on time every day, and take instruction well. That's really the holy grail of hiring people. Finding people who will work hard and be reliable is harder than you think. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? It's a silly question. I don't know a lot of people who are where they thought they'd be 5 years ago. This question is designed to give your interviewer an idea of your goals and work ethic. We also listen for things that help us understand whether you're a long term or short term. If you say you want to go back to college to get your masters in elementary education and I'm trying to hire you as a salesperson that can be a red flag. I'm going to spend 6 months or so training you to be an awesome salesperson. I don't want you to leave after a year because then I'm going to have to do it all over again with a new employee. People's biggest mistake with this question is to make up for the holes in their resume. Anybody who didn't finish college says they want to go back to finish. I know you're probably not going back especially if this job works out. In 5 years you want to be able to pay your own bills, be self sufficient, and like the job you do. Your potential employer doesn't really care if you want a 2 story house with 3 kids and a dog. It just isn't the kind of information that helps them form an opinion on your ability to do the job.
Either way don't be nervous. It makes the person doing the interview as nervous as you are. Relax and try to connect with the person you're talking to. I always make a little small talk at the beginning of an interview to make it a little more relaxed. One way you can do it is to ask a question then give a compliment. "How long have you worked here? Wow it seems like a great place to work." or do a little research on the company and use that to form a good question. Find out about awards or milestones the company has reached. Bottom line...canned answers suck. They leave you as much a mystery after the interview as before. You don't want to be a mystery and you don't want to present yourself as something you aren't. If you get the job you'll have to live up to what you said you'd be! There are a lot of people who are looking for jobs right now so set yourself apart. The easiest way to do that is to be sincere.

I do hiring for our business, I'm not a human resources expert but here's my 2 cents
Relax, and be natural, answer honestly rather than what you think the interviewer wants to hear.
I know, totally not what you wanted to hear, but its my best advice.
Try prepping for your interviews how? make a list of your weaknesses and strengths name at least 5 of each, that will help you answer questions 1 and 2
and 3, I'm sure you have hopes and dreams. Share them!!!.
Good Luck!!
Ps. dont forget to research about the company and their industry. ( You'd be surprised the amount of people who show up to the interview knowing nothing about the company or what it does.)

Suzhi gave you great advice. I do lots of interviewing and I look for honest answers. I don't have a mold for the perfect answers or candidate.

If I were to ask you to tell me about yourself, I would mean professionally. If you start to talk about your personal life, I might worry that you'll bring it to work. Talk about your work and education history. If they want you to elaborate or share personal things, they will ask.

If they ask why they should hire you, then talk about past positive experiences and bring up specifics examples. I usually don't ask this question, but I do ask why you want to work for my company. This is where researching the company really comes in handy for your answer.

Be honest about your future. If there is another position within the company that you are hoping to get - say it. If you have no idea where you want to be, just say that you hope to know the job thoroughly and learn about xyz (again researching the company and the positions is really helpful here).

Good luck and try to relax! :)

Good luck in your interview. For question one, avoid talking too much about your family, especially your children. As much as employers are not technically allowed to discriminate against a candidate for having kids, they may still lean toward the unattached candidate rather than the mom with two or three little kids who are bound to get sick, have soccer practice, etc. So stick to your hobbies & interests, as well as your prior work and life experiences that will directly make you qualified for the job.

2. talk about your past successes in the workplace, why you like THIS company, what you hope to learn from them, how you can help them be more successful at what they do

3. what's the next step up from what you're doing now? If you're not currently a supervisor, maybe you would like to be in 5 years. If you are at an assistant level, would you like to manage your own projects? Just think about what the next logical step is - what the next one or two promotions would be - and answer that way.

K.
http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/karenchao

I am no interview expert, but I have come up with a quick win that has worked for me - It's the idea to sell your case- Contributions, Accomplishments, Skills and Experience. For ex: I am a mother of 5, have worked in law for the past 10yrs, successfully won 2 critical cases, I have a 10yr degree and in 5 years I hope to have accomplished XYZ. Find one or two things about yourself that is uniquely you and advertise that. Hope that helps.

can you think of this as an essay and practice answering the questions now? I think a polite, coherent and truthful response gets you most of the way there. Also, imagine if you were doing the hiring and what type of employees you would want to have on staff.

good luck!

Don't overthink... just talk freely, and it is perfectly okay to ask them what types of things they want to know... like...

Would you like to know about my family life, or did you have something more specific in mind?

You can always tell them about what you have always aspired for in life, and let them know where you stand on your life goals and it never hurts to tell them that you are just lookig for a career that you can really dig your heels in and put some roots down in a great company.

1. Don't go on and on but tell them a bit about you...example: I am hard working organized person, a loving mother, and I enjoy life. You can also share any special info that may make you stand out (for instance a guy who had earned Eagle Scout may work that into his answer).
2. You should hire me because...make it about them, what they will gain by hiring you (experience, knowledge, organization, dedication etc.).
3. Depends on your goals...you looking to find a job for today or for your career? Are you looking to expand your family (may want to leave that out for now unless you are already expecting)? Do you plan on advancing, continuing your education, etc.

Good luck.

You have some good responses, but to those who have referred to sharing personal stuff - DO NOT. "Tell me about yourself" should always be answered professionally. No one can ask about whether or not you're married, have kids, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, any of that. So don't offer that information and give them any non-work related reason not to hire you. The best advice I give people is to think about what you would say to the standard interview questions ahead of time so when they ask them, you can speak articulately and include all the points you want to cover. Good luck!

The best thing you can do is relax and try to be yourself. Maybe think of some one or two liners to "sell yourself" and practice them. I just came across this article on the MSN homepage, some things not to say! LOL

http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-2373-Interviewin...

I am so glad you asked this question. I need to look for some part time work because I own a business that is really a summer business and need work for the "off-season". The other people who have answered have been very helpful for me.
I am with the other moms who said for question #2, make sure you emphasize you are always on time and work hard. I have had employees in the past, and even supervised volunteer work as well. One of the worst things that can really mess up a work day is when an employee is late or unreliable.
Good luck finding a job :)

A good way to get good at answering the questions is to get a friend to ask them, over and over, so you can sound conversational and relaxed with your responses.

1) Use this as an opportunity to go over your qualifications for the job. Talk about past work you've done or education you've received that explains why you're qualified. [it REALLY helps to have done some homework about the job requirements and/or the company itself.]

2) because I can provide results [again, helps to know what those results would be]

3) knowing the job you're applying for is important here. Say you'd like to be a productive member of the team, perhaps a position senior to the one you're applying for.

Here's something important: have questions of your own to ask! It helps you look like you're interested in the job. Here's a good question to ask:

"Six months from now, how will you know that I'm doing a good job?"

The nice thing about this is it gives you the goals you'll be following. (It also impresses the interviewer.)

So much good luck to you.

I remember seeing some great answers to these questions on one of those job search sites either Monster or Careerbuilders. Good luck to you.