[Jobs] 5 Tough Job-Interview Questions (And How to Answer Them)

[Peter Altschul]

5 Tough Job-Interview Questions (And How to Answer Them)

 

By Mark Lowery

 

 

 

© DiversityInc 2007 ® All rights reserved.

 

 

So you've just landed an interview for that dream job. Congratulate
yourself, but don't relax. There's still work to be done. Your to-the-point
cover letter and sharply written résumé may have gotten you in the door, but
it's your handling of the in-person job interview that's likely to make or
break the deal.

 

 

And you can expect some tough questions. Here's some of the toughest and how
you should answer them:

 

1. How do you define success? What the interviewer is trying to determine is
whether you place the company's interests before your own. The interviewer
also may be trying to determine whether you'll fit within the organization's
culture and work environment. Andres Tapia, chief diversity officer for
Hewitt Associates, suggests distinguishing between professional success and
personal success and focusing on the former. He says your answer should
include "setting clear, definable, ambitious, profitable goals relevant to
the company and achieving them."

 

2. Why do you want to work for us?

 

This is the employer's way of seeing if you did your homework—or just mass
mailed out your résumé. Candace Davies is an author, career coach and
founder of the web-based A+ Resumes For Teachers. When answering this
question, she suggests selecting reasons unique to the particular company.
"[You need] something better than it is close to home. Maybe it is because
they have had sales increases by 20 percent last year," Davies says. "Or
that they have an innovative training program or that they are very
team-orientated and instill professional-development courses to further
advance their employees."

 

3. What's your greatest weakness? This question can be a landmine. What you
don't want to do is catalogue a list of personal flaws. And you definitely
want to stay clear of stating weaknesses that would be critical to success
in the position for which you're applying. Tapia suggests something such as
"my greatest weakness is X and the way I address it is Y." Davies agrees:
"You need to turn something around to a positive. And the fact you are a
perfectionist has been used way too many times," she says. "You also must
state how you have been working on the weakness to improve it."

 

4. What salary are you looking for?

 

Invariably, this question creeps into most interviews. If you give a figure
that's too low, you're not likely to be taken seriously. A figure that's too
high may kill your chances.

 

 

Davies suggests trying to avoid answering this question for as long as
possible. "The person who talks money first will lose in the negotiation,"
she says. "If forced, you could release a large range ... or you could ask
them, what range does your company pay for this type of position?" Tapia
adds: "Whatever you do, get them to give you the range they have in mind
first."

 

5. Where are you from? There are certain questions that interviewers are not
legally allowed to ask. These include questions about age, disability,
marital status, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, personal
finances, family situation, political affiliation and orientation. The
question becomes how you handle such an out-of-bounds inquiry. One way,
Tapia says, is to politely let the interviewer know they've crossed the
line. "The candidate can say something to the effect that the question may
have crossed an inappropriate boundary," he says. Or you can get around the
questions without offending the interviewer by asking, "Why do you ask?" Or
"Does my marital status have anything to do with my ability to carry out my
job responsibilities?"

 


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5 Tough Job-Interview Questions (And How to Answer Them)
 
By Mark Lowery
 
 
 
© DiversityInc 2007 ® All rights reserved.
 
 
So you've just landed an interview for that dream job. Congratulate yourself, but don't relax. There's still work to be done. Your to-the-point cover letter and sharply written résumé may have gotten you in the door, but it's your handling of the in-person job interview that's likely to make or break the deal.
 
 
And you can expect some tough questions. Here's some of the toughest and how you should answer them:
 
1. How do you define success? What the interviewer is trying to determine is whether you place the company's interests before your own. The interviewer also may be trying to determine whether you'll fit within the organization's culture and work environment. Andres Tapia, chief diversity officer for Hewitt Associates, suggests distinguishing between professional success and personal success and focusing on the former. He says your answer should include "setting clear, definable, ambitious, profitable goals relevant to the company and achieving them."
 
2. Why do you want to work for us?
 
This is the employer's way of seeing if you did your homework&#8212;or just mass mailed out your résumé. Candace Davies is an author, career coach and founder of the web-based A+ Resumes For Teachers. When answering this question, she suggests selecting reasons unique to the particular company. "[You need] something better than it is close to home. Maybe it is because they have had sales increases by 20 percent last year," Davies says. "Or that they have an innovative training program or that they are very team-orientated and instill professional-development courses to further advance their employees."
 
3. What's your greatest weakness? This question can be a landmine. What you don't want to do is catalogue a list of personal flaws. And you definitely want to stay clear of stating weaknesses that would be critical to success in the position for which you're applying. Tapia suggests something such as "my greatest weakness is X and the way I address it is Y." Davies agrees: "You need to turn something around to a positive. And the fact you are a perfectionist has been used way too many times," she says. "You also must state how you have been working on the weakness to improve it."
 
4. What salary are you looking for?
 
Invariably, this question creeps into most interviews. If you give a figure that's too low, you're not likely to be taken seriously. A figure that's too high may kill your chances.
 
 
Davies suggests trying to avoid answering this question for as long as possible. "The person who talks money first will lose in the negotiation," she says. "If forced, you could release a large range ... or you could ask them, what range does your company pay for this type of position?" Tapia adds: "Whatever you do, get them to give you the range they have in mind first."
 
5. Where are you from? There are certain questions that interviewers are not legally allowed to ask. These include questions about age, disability, marital status, race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, personal finances, family situation, political affiliation and orientation. The question becomes how you handle such an out-of-bounds inquiry. One way, Tapia says, is to politely let the interviewer know they've crossed the line. "The candidate can say something to the effect that the question may have crossed an inappropriate boundary," he says. Or you can get around the questions without offending the interviewer by asking, "Why do you ask?" Or "Does my marital status have anything to do with my ability to carry out my job responsibilities?"
 
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.463 / Virus Database: 269.6.1/776 - Release Date: 4/25/2007 12:19 PM