Interview Skills

Professionalism

100

What kind of non verbal communication do you give to an interviewer before you begin to speak?

You make a lasting impression based on how you dress and handle yourself non verbally.

200

How early should you arrive to an interview?

10-15 minutes.

300

What type of attire should you wear to an interview?

Something that fits in, avoid flamboyant attire. If your attire is all anyone talks about after you leave, you probably have lost the opportunity for a job. Dress to your potential.

400

Before an interview you should...

Practice interview questions, find out how long it takes to get to the interview, and pick out your attire.

500

What follow up action should you take after the interview?

Write a thank you letter to the interviewers.

Tough Interview Questions

100

What should you include when an interviewer asks you to "Tell us about yourself..."

BRIEF autobiography. About 60 seconds. Provide info about where you grew up, where you went to school, your initial work experience and additional education and/or training.

200

What is an appropriate response to "Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?"

EXAMPLE: In five years I hope to see myself working with an employer in an increasingly responsible position, one that enables me to fully utilize my talents and work closely with my colleagues in solving important problems, and one that is very enjoyable.

300

How should you answer, "Can you give me a recent example of a successful teamwork experience?"

Focus on your major accomplishments, especially those that demonstrate major skills and patterns of behavior. Be prepared to give lots of examples of how you made decisions, why you did what you did, and what you might do differently.

400

"What did you like the most and the least about your previous jobs?"

Be careful not to bad mouth previous employers. Focus on your strengths and weaknesses in relationship to the job fit.

500

Imagine we just hired you. What's the most important thing on your to-do list on the first day of work?

Be early, get involved, be prepared to learn and listen.

Behavioral Based Interview Questions

100

What is the best way to answer, “When working in a team, what role do you usually take and why?”

It is okay to say that you typically take the role of the worker managing smaller tasks and not the overall lead. Describe your leadership style here. Are you someone who likes to take charge and give orders or lead by example and handle their own tasks with excellence? Both could be valuable depending on the position. An entry level sales or customer service position does not necessarily require someone who prefers to dole out tasks and manage groups. Be honest as you answer this and then describe why you fell into the role that you did and how that was the best use of your skills.

200

What is the best way to answer, "Tell us about a time when you had to deal with conflict."

The key is to fairly describe the situation without being overly critical of your superiors. Avoid picking something as an example which permanently ended the relationship as there is no real successful outcome there. Even when you feel you were not at fault, try to propose ways in which you could have handled things differently to provide a better outcome. The best story is one you can follow up with a brief second example where you actually put those new skills into practice.

300

What is the best way to answer, "Tell us about a time when you had to overcome obstacles."

Pick an example relevant to the position, identify the problem, present your approach and then describe the successful outcome. If you know the new job will involve heavy teamwork, discuss a group project that wasn't going well or a group task at work. If it is an individual position, then talk about something where you had to complete a task that was difficult. Examples could be research projects where people did not respond to surveys or requests for information causing delays, group projects where some members were not completing their assigned tasks affecting everyone, or a customer or client complaint about services or products that you addressed and solved.

400

“Think of a day when you had many things to do and describe how you scheduled your time.”

This is an example of a question that is looking for specific skills and abilities. The interviewer is trying to discover your time management and multitasking skills. Make sure you really answer the question, providing details.

500

“Give an example of a time you’ve had to handle an upset or difficult customer and tell me how you handled it.”

Prepare a short but complete story with a beginning, middle and end that demonstrates the behavior that is being evaluated. Attempt to be as specific as you can in responding to a question.