Common interview questions and answers

Common interview questions and answers by Michael Cheary ‘Why did you leave your last job?’ ‘What are your weaknesses?’ ‘If you were a type of fruit, what would you be, and why?’OK, so some interview questions are easier to answer than others. But  whilst you can’t predict exactly what you’ll be asked, any question has the potential to make you stumble unless, of course, youve prepared in advance.To help give you an idea of what could come up, here’s our list of common  interview questions, and how to answer them:Common interview questions and answersTell me about yourselfA common opening question, partly because your interviewers want to know more about you, but mostly because they want to put you on the spot and see how you react.They’ve given you complete control here, and you should take full advantage of it. They have not, however, asked for your life story.Keep your answer pertinent, and try not to go off topic too much. You’re here to interview for a particular position, and you shoul dn’t lose sight of this. Remember: the interviewer is not just making small talk.  Right answer: Should be about a two or three minutes long and briefly cover your education, your interest in the field, work history and experience.Wrong answer: ‘Well, where do I start? I was born in 1974. A precocious child’What are your weaknesses?The first part of this question is realising that you actually have some (no, being a perfectionist doesnt count).Everyone has weaknesses or things that they can improve about themselves. And being honest with yourself here  will  save you a lot of time in the long run.The best answers to this question take one of your weaknesses, and then give practical examples of how you’re trying to address it. A good example of this type of answer would be:‘I used to find it difficult to work on simultaneous projects, preferring to finish on one task before starting another. However, since taking a time management course recently, I’ve learnt how to mana ge my schedule more effectively, making it easier to multi-task when necessary’. Right answer: Weakness + how you’ve tried/are trying to address it = (eventually) strengthWrong answer: ‘Kryptonite’Why should you get this job?This is unashamedly aimed at provoking a personal sales pitch.As there will probably be a number of other candidates having interviews, this is your chance to demonstrate why you want the job, and why you would be a perfect fit for the company.Essentially, the company is hiring for a reason (a brief summary of which can usually be found in the job description). You need to position yourself as the person to do this.Right answer: ‘From what we’ve discussed so far, you’re looking to X (or, ‘having a problem with X’). In the past I have demonstrated X, Y and Z (experience and your main strengths), which have really helped my previous employer’Wrong answer:  â€˜I just really need the money’What are your salary expectations?When completing your preparations for the interview, always have this question in the back of your mind.Have a look at the average salary for someone in this industry, area, and who possesses similar skills to yourself, and you should get a basic idea.But remember: this is only the first interview. You haven’t been offered the job. There’s no need at this stage to be try and begin negotiations. Giving a broad salary range will usually be enough to move on, but be prepared to back it up if you need to.Just  don’t be tempted to sell yourself short. If you’re not sure where to start, take a look at our average salary checker.Right answer: A broad (but realistic) answer e.g. ‘I‘m looking for a starting salary somewhere between £25,000 and £30,000’Wrong answer: ‘Im not sure. How much are you on?’Should I ask about salary at my interview?Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?Ah, the perennial job interview favourite.What the  interviewer really wants is to see that you’ve thoug ht about your future, and gauge your ambition. They also want to verify that this isn’t just a stop gap position.Although all of your answers should be tailored to the organisation and position you’ve applied for, this is especially the case with this question. If you’re going for an entry level position, for example, explain how you’d like your career to progress (e.g. ‘I’d like to progress to a Senior Software Engineer’ or ‘I see myself being a team leader’).If you’re going for a more senior position, explain how you’d be looking to move the company forward. Have a look at their business strategy or corporate objectives before the interview, and explain how you can help in achieving them.Right answer: Be passionate about the industry. Fit your career goals around the organisation’s objectives, demonstrate ambition and exploit your strengthsWrong answer: ‘On the other side of this desk’Do you have any questions?Right answer: ‘Yes’. No exceptions. To give you an idea of what questions you could ask, have a look at our list of  Interview questions you should be asking.Wrong answer: ‘No’Other potential questions could includeWhy did you leave your previous position? Right answer: Avoid the temptation to criticise your employer. Stay positive, but try not to lie. Always avoid saying that you’re simply looking for a new challenge if you can’t back it up, because the recruiter will dig deeper. If all else fails, explaining that there were no opportunities for career progression sounds a lot better.Why is there a gap in your work history?Right answer: Wherever possible, be honest. If it was for personal reasons, then say that. Otherwise, something along the lines of ‘taking a break whilst looking for a new career direction’ should be enough to move the interview along.How to: Explain a gap in your CVWhy did you apply for this position?Right answer: Very similar answer to why you want the job, but focus more heavily on why the position and company excite you, rather than why you should excite them. Demonstrate what you know about the company (and use the job description to back  up  why you’re the right person to do the job).What’s your dream job?Right answer: You can be relatively honest here, but use your common sense. Because it’s unlikely anyone one grew up dreaming of the day they’d become a Transaction Banking Systems Migration Specialist.Five career goal questions  How to answer interview questions  Whatever your answers are, don’t be tempted to improvise or answer on the spur of the moment.  It’ll never come out as well as you’d hoped.It doesn’t need to be scripted, but knowing why you want the job and what your strengths and weaknesses are should be a standard part of your preparation process and just as important as your pre-interview research.Its also essential to consider that you’ll not just be judged on your CV. Getting across your personality is of equal importance. In other words, don’t just think about your answers, but think about what they say about you.Ultimately, you need to be likeable and display the parts of your personality that will make you attractive to prospective employers (engaging, dedicated, hard working etc). Entering a competitive interview, with  the right mindset can really set you apart.Finally, to avoid any awkward silences, never assume that the hiring manager has a sense of humour.Just in caseNeed more interview questions?Unfortunately, we cant help you predict exactly which interview questions will come up on the big day. However, we can help you prepare for every eventuality and avoid any  interview nightmares.Buy James Reeds new book: Why You? 101 Interview Questions Youll Never Fear Again to find out how.The worst thing you can do at an interview?  OK, so out of all the classic interview nightmares, which are the ones that really worry jobseekers the most?We spoke to a group of university students to find out and see if recruiters actually agree Read more interview help tips  Still searching for your perfect position?  View all of our current vacancies nowFind a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the terms and conditions applicable to our service and acknowledge that your personal data will be used in accordance with our privacy policy and you will receive emails and communications about jobs and career related topics. Interview Techniques Job interview tips Preparing for an interview

You Cant Afford to Make a Poor Resume Place

You Can't Afford to Make a Poor Resume PlaceThe main thing to remember is that, a person's resume is not an invention of the HR department. It is a compilation of all the duties and skills the employee has acquired during the course of his or her employment. Moreover, this is also a reflection of the individual's professional experience.HR departments usually have a lot of time on their hands and it can sometimes be hard for them to make out what the real objective of the resume is. For this reason, some HR professionals and human resource managers are trying to design the resume themselves. However, these designed resumes often do not conform to the real objective of the business.The HR department may have to go out of its way to customize a resume. A few examples of customized resumes are; a 'start-up' resume, an alternate curriculum vitae (academic resume), and an executive resume. When the job applicant does not have a specific objective in mind, he or she should design a resume. He or she can go ahead and make the resume according to the direction and theme of the particular company.The HR department should not overplay the importance of the resume. Instead, they should use it to communicate the real purpose of the interview and the interviewee's intention to apply for the position.How do you make the resume place? Firstly, you should note down all the specific objectives that the interviewee wants to put across to the employer. You must then prepare a list of all the specific duties and skills that you possess and apply them to the job.You can create your resume around this list of objectives and duties and skills. If you want to create an executive resume, you can go through all the positions that you have held in the past and find out whether there is a job vacancy in the same organization. Makesure you have a list of each position and the details of the position from which you would like to apply.You should include the details of the experience that yo u gained in each position. You should also have a list of your professional licenses and qualifications if any. By doing this, you can rest assured that your resume will be customized to meet the needs of the HR department.If you want to create the resume place, you must not rush the process. The resume must be prepared in an organized manner so that it would get the attention of the hiring manager.

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese Does Your Boss Motivate You

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese Does Your Boss Motivate You Heidi Grant Halvorson is associate director of the Motivation Science Center at the Columbia University Business School and a popular blogger on motivational science. She co-authored The Psychology of Goals and is author of 9 Things Successful People Do Differently and Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals. Anita Bruzzese recently interviewed her on how motivation plays a role in the workplace.AB: What do you think is the biggest mistake mangers make when trying to engage their workers and motivate them?HGH: Many managers have a hard time giving motivating feedback. When things go wrong, we need to be willing to give honest criticism because improvement is impossible without it while fighting employee self-doubt. She needs to believe that success is within her reach, regardless of the mistakes she has made in the past. To do this, you need to be specific. What needs improvement, and what exactly can be done to improve? When you are a manager, helping your employee figure out how to do it right is just as important as letting them know what they are doing wrong.You also need to emphasize actions that she has the power to change. Talk about aspects of her performance that are under her control, like the time and effort she put into a project, or thor the strategic approach she used.AB: Do you think that motivation for workers has changed since the economic downturn? Why or why not?HGH: Americans have a well-earned reputation for risk-taking, but these days we are something of a timid lot. When making decisions, lately many of us have been focused much more on what we have to lose than on what we might gain. Whenever we see our goals whether they are organizational or personal in terms of what we have to lose, we have whats called a prevention focus. Prevention motivation is about obtaining security, avoiding mistakes, and fulfilling responsibilities. Its about trying to hang on to...(read the rest on Intuit's Quickbase blog here.)

College Student Clash How to Find Balance When Building a Professional Yet Realistic Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

College Student Clash How to Find Balance When Building a Professional Yet Realistic Brand - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Todays guest post is by Rebecca Corliss, who is a young professional from Boston. She is a recent graduate of Boston University, beginning a new career in technology PR. She’s dabbled in violin, clarinet, guitar and pianoâ€" and even began her college career majoring in music before her switch to PR. Her new blog, Music is Social, covers a fusion of music and social media. ____________________ Todays college students are in a very unique position. They use social media tools every day, Facebook-friending has become a natural part of the college socialization process and for many, AIM or Gchat is a main form of communication. Youd assume that this inherent sense for online communication and networking would give students a strong advantage when developing their personal brand. However, studentswho presumably would love to have a job somedayare struggling between social media as a means to communicate with friends and a tool to create a persona that could help them get a job in the future. This, for any student, can be quite the challenge. How can you show off to your classmates and potential employers at the same time? The answer? Balance. Here Are Some Tips 1) Dont get nervous and make your Facebook profile private, invisible or sans-photo. This is creepy. Blocking information is a lost opportunity to show off, and it leaves your potential employer to assume the worst. 2) Dont freak out when they do see your bar photos. As long as youre 21 (and not doing keg stands), its okay. Being social and out with friends is normal in college. Just make sure beer-in-hand photos arent the only ones you have. Part of your personal brand can be a fun, social college student. If thats who you are, then why not? 3) Include impressive stuff in your Facebook profile too. Name the clubs youre in and include a URL to their web sites. List all your jobs. Put a link to your blog. Make sure you emphasize that theres a lot more to your college life than the typical Saturday night stuff. 4) Be involved in career-relevant Facebook groups and other online communities. Give potential employers the chance to see your mind at work, whether its through answering other peoples questions, asking smart questions or providing cool information and links. It shows youre thinking, and its a chance to make new friends at the same time. 5) Use other social networking sites too. Many students dont recognize the power of LinkedIn. It may not be as fun as Facebook, but using multiple resources to balance your professional information with the details on your social life will create a more well-rounded image of you. Moral of the story Creating a personal brand should not require hiding who you really are. It should be a platform that highlights your personality, your talents and what you eventually will offer your industry. This way youre giving people the right impression without sacrificing what makes Facebook and social networking fun.

Writing a Job Description on a Resume

Writing a Job Description on a ResumeWriting a job description on a resume for a specific position can be quite challenging. First, you have to identify the job in question. Next, you have to present a fairly detailed picture of the job in order to draw the eyes of the reader to your resume.The key is to deliver important information in a clear and concise manner. There are a few things you should know when writing a job description on a resume. If you don't know them, then you need to find out how to learn about them before you start.One: Don't include irrelevant information on a resume. It's been said that the devil is in the details. And it would be pretty silly to include a whole bunch of details about a job that you are not really qualified for. Instead, focus on describing what specific skills you have that the company may be in need of at that time.Two: Don't oversimplify. One thing you should always remember when writing a job description on a resume is that people's minds ar e very visual. If you start talking about the responsibilities of a job that requires 'writing' and then end up giving a vague description about what it takes to be a writer, you'll just frustrate the reader instead of grabbing their attention.Three: Do not place your job description on a resume right on the first page. Most job seekers go right to the next line and start filling in their resume. That's because they are most comfortable doing that. For a more professional look, keep your information on a page somewhere between your contact information and your work history.Four: Make sure that your job description does not end up being an email address. Letyour prospective employer know when he or she will receive an email from you. A job description that is viewed as an email address could make your work experience seem impersonal and boring.Five: Do not list more than one job description on a resume. When a recruiter or hiring manager sees more than one job description on a resume , the decision will likely be made by them based on the description and the position. And this is something you don't want to happen.Writing a job description on a resume should not be something you do on a whim. You should make it a priority. If you do not plan it carefully, you're going to be wasting a lot of valuable space on your resume.

The Happiness Hat will hurt you until you smile - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

The Happiness Hat will hurt you until you smile - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Smile, dammit: This is not meant to be taken seriously this is art. Or social commentary. Or both. The Happiness Hat was created by Lauren MacCarthy, who calls it: A wearable conditioning device that detects if youre smiling and provides pain feedback if youre not. Frowning creates intense pain but a full smile leaves you pain free! The first in a series of Tools for Improved Social Inter-Acting. To me, this is a great commentary to the pressure to be happy that exists in society today. There seems to be a sense that if youre not happy, theres something wrong with you. Ironically, this makes people less happy. Barbara Ehrenreich talks about the same phenomenon in her new book Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America. Here she is on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart: The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon Thurs 11p / 10c Barbara Ehrenreich www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis What we need to remember is, that unhappiness is a part of life including work life. No workplace is perfect. No job is without problems. And no one is happy every moment of every work day. And thats as it should be. If we expect to be happy all the time at work we are bound to be disappointed. If we consistently marginalize and criticize people who are unhappy at work, we lose some very valuable voices of reason and realism in the workplace. When your circumstances are bad, there is nothing wrong with being unhappy; it is only natural. And trying to force people to be happy only makes them less happy. So lets give unhappiness its central place in the workplace as a perfectly natural, even helpful, state of mind. And that, ironically, will lead to more happiness at work! Your take Have you ever felt pressured to be happy at work when you werent? What did that do to you? What constructive role do you see unhappiness play at work? Please write a comment, Id love to hear your take. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Entering The Freelancing World Turning Your Skills Into Cash - CareerAlley

Entering The Freelancing World Turning Your Skills Into Cash - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Not everyone can focus on a job thats regimented, with 9-5 office hours and a focus on office etiquette. Introverts, for example, can have a hard time submitting to this work life. This isnt to negate the positive effects of this however, many people who work in a 9-5 salaried career have awesome and satisfying work lives. But its not for everyone. Some people might fancy taking a risk, using their skills as a personal selling point. Not having a boss can be great, working with clients can be difficult. As with anything, there are benefits and drawbacks, but knowing what youre in for is always something to get a hold of. Thorough research is your friend here. Whether you plan to be a freelance writer, videographer, artist or advisor, its up to you to promote yourself and provide a professional service. Whatever you do, dont take a job for granted. Make sure that you follow this handy three-point guide to turn your freelance interactions into fruitful endeavours that will bag you five-star testimonials. Setting Yourself Up This is your first step. Setting yourself up as a reliable, informed head of the service you wish to sell is your first step. Understand that you need to keep your mind sharp. Understand that you need to take care of your taxes yourself. You might need to register as a self-employed service. This is something to consider, because itll be easier to look you up in telephone directories, and will also smooth out your tax interactions. If this is just something you do part time, this may not be necessary, but hosting a website or blog could be a good way of bringing you exposure. Furthermore, make sure youre kitted out for the job. This isnt just limited to the equipment needed to maintain a professional service, but if you work on the move might include travel passes or good clothes like work boots. Check out the best work boot reviews for men and women here. Being Professional Clients are notoriously tricky (dependent on your field,) and when you only have yourself to represent, it might be difficult to feel professional in every situation. Its still essential that you do. Word travels fast, and with social media fast means lightning-speed. Make sure that youre able to draw positive testimonials that will bag you future work. In order to have a publicly accessible place to benefit from this, consider making a social media page or website dedicated to your craft. Work For Organizations Who Desire Subcontractors Sometimes the best bet in freelancing is working for a subcontractor. If youre a writer, finding an SEO agency can be a good bet. If youre a videographer, offering your services to indie film productions can be a great advantage. Keeping positive relationships with those who are established in the field youre trying to achieve a standing in can only be good news for the future. Having the backing of a legitimate company is something future prospective clients will look fondly on. Overall, be sure to keep a professional and dependable reputation from the moment you start. Freelancing can be the most freeing of career paths if youre willing to be a self-starter and are motivated to get the tasks done correctly. We are always eager to hear from our readers. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions regarding CareerAlley content. Good luck in your search,Joey Google+