Successful Job Interview - San-shin
10 Steps to a Successful Interview
Arrive on time.
Introduce yourself in a courteous manner.
Read company materials while you wait.
Have a firm handshake.
Listen.
Use body language to show interest.
Smile, nod, give nonverbal feedback to the interviewer.
Ask about the next step in the process.
Thank the interviewer for his/her time.
Write a thank-you letter to anyone you have spoken to.
Interviewers' Favorite Questions...and Answers by Barbara Mulligan
“Tell me about yourself.” “Don’t tell me where you were born and raised,” says Jonathan Ferguson, assistant director of career services at George Washington University and a veteran of countless mock interviews with students. “Don’t tell me that you were a cheerleader. Focus on your academics and experience. Ask yourself, ‘what are the top five things I want this person to know about me?’”
Ferguson says that while many recruiters ask questions that are a bit more pointed than “tell me about yourself,” it’s still likely to come up in many interviews and it’s best for students to prepare for it.
1. What do you see yourself doing five years from now?
“I want to hear something related to retail,” says Haley Peoples, college relations manager for JC Penney Co. Inc. in Dallas, Texas. “I don’t want to hear ‘I want to be an astronaut’ or ‘I want to win the Academy Award.’”
Peoples says the question is designed to help the interviewer know if the job seeker will be happy in that position, or if he or she wants to work in it only as long as it takes to find something “better.”
2. How do you make yourself indispensable to a company?
“We are looking for both technical and interpersonal competence,” says Doris J. Smith-Brooks, recruiting and advertising manager for Boeing Co. in Seattle, Washington.
Smith-Brooks explains that students who have interned or completed cooperative education assignments generally answer the question best because they know what working for a company entails.
3. What’s your greatest strength?
“Don’t just talk about your strength—relate it to the position,” Ferguson says.
“Let them know you are a qualified candidate.”
4. What’s your greatest weakness?
“Say something along the lines of, ‘I have difficulty with this thing, and these are the strategies I use to get around it,” Ferguson says. “For example, you could say, ‘I’m not the most organized of individuals, so I always answer my e-mails and phone calls right away. I’m aware of the problem and I have strategies to deal with it.”
5. Tell me about a time when your course load was heavy. How did you complete all your work? “We generally are looking for an answer like, ‘Last semester I was taking 21 credits, so I made sure I had a day planner and mapped out all my assignments,’” says Felix J. Martinez, senior staff recruiter at Abbott Laboratories in Abbott Park, Illinois. “We’re looking for a plan-ahead kind of individual, not someone who just flies by the seat of his pants.” Martinez says recruiters at Abbott Laboratories use the STAR method of interviewing, which involves getting the interviewee to describe a situation that includes a task that needed to be accomplished, the action taken to accomplish the task, and the result of that action. “We actually tell the candidate, so they’re aware of what we’re looking for,” he says, adding that the approach can help candidates focus on their answers.
6. Tell me about a time when you had to accomplish a task with someone who was particularly difficult to get along with. “I want to hear something that shows the candidate has the ability to be sensitive to the needs of others but can still influence them,” Peoples says, adding that he’s heard plenty of wrong answers to that question. “Don’t say ‘I just avoided them’ or ‘They made me cry.’”
7. How do you accept direction and, at the same time, maintain a critical stance regarding your ideas and values? internship or co-op experience can give students the experience to answer that question, pointing out that students with good interpersonal skills honed on the job can understand how to walk that fine line.
8. What are some examples of activities and surroundings that motivate you?
“Most of our technical disciplines are teamwork professions and require getting along with and motivating other people,” Smith-Brooks says.
9. Tell me how you handled an ethical dilemma.
“Suppose you worked at a bank and a long-time customer wanted a check cashed right away but didn’t have the fund balance in his account to cover the check,” Martinez says, explaining that if the bank’s policy prohibited cashing checks in that manner, the teller would have a choice of violating bank policy or alienating a good customer.
Martinez says the best way to handle such a situation would be to go to a supervisor, explain the situation, and ask for advice. He adds that students who can’t offer a situation that they handled correctly the first time can explain how they learned from making mistakes. “Explain that the next time, this was how you handled it,” he says.
10. Tell me about a time when you had to resolve a problem with no rules or guidelines in place. “I’m looking for a sense of urgency in initiating action,” Peoples says, explaining that the question probes a student’s ability to overcome obstacles. For Peoples, students offering the best answers to the question describe a retail-related problem. “I’m looking for the right thing in terms of customer service,” he says.
Your Job Interview 'Manners' Matter!
by Jimmy Sweeney, President of CareerJimmy
Manners are not only important at the dinner, on the telephone (listen as well as speak), in a theater (refrain from talking during the performance), but also during a job interview. Yet many job seekers forget the importance of being polite. They jingle the change in their pocket, click their tongue, stare at the wall or at their lap, or cut in when the hiring manager is speaking.
Nerves can throw you off. Your heart races, your palms perspire, your mouth goes dry. You may even forget what you want to say. But none of these experiences are reasons to forget your manners. To give yourself the 'edge' when it comes to sitting across from a potential employer, review the following polite practices and then go over them with a spouse or friend before the in-person meeting.
Arrive ahead of time. It may be fashionable to come late to a cocktail party but it's bad manners to walk into an interview after the agreed-upon time. Always arrive at least ten minutes early so you can freshen up, catch your breath, sit quietly in the lobby reviewing your notes.
Maintain good eye contact. You probably know what it's like to speak with someone who is shifty-eyed. You might wonder what he has up his sleeve or what she is hiding. Looking a man or woman in the eye when speaking is not only polite, it's good business practice. It assures the other person of your sincerity and genuine interest. And it will remind him or her to return the eye contact.
Listen well. Focus your mind and take in what the interviewer is saying. If you miss a detail or don't understand what is said, ask politely for it to be repeated. It may help to have a small notepad and pen in your hand. Jot down items that are of importance to you. You might even tell the interviewer ahead of time that you'll be taking notes because you don't want to miss anything. That too, is a sign of good manners. You're letting the other person know that you're serious about the job in question.
Say thank you. At the close of the interview, be sure to shake hands and express in warm words how much you appreciate the time and the information you received. Remember, everyone likes to be acknowledged and thanked. Those who express gratitude will not be forgotten because it is so rare for people today to share genuine thanks. Then follow up with a thank you note in your handwriting. That will seal the deal and give you a good chance of winning a second interview -- or even the job itself.
How to Handle Tough Interview Questions
by Tag Goulet, co-founder of , publisher of career guides offering step-by-step advice for breaking into a variety of careers.
Prepare to Discuss Specific Behaviors
Imagine you are being interviewed for a new job. Everything seems to be going well until the interviewer says: "Tell me about a time you had a conflict on the job." What should you do?
(A) Dish the dirt about a jerk you had trouble with on your last job. After all, honesty is the best policy.
(B) Tell the interviewer you get along with everybody, so you haven't had any conflicts at work.
(C) Say "if I had a conflict with someone, I would sit down with that person to discuss how we could resolve it."
(D) None of the above.
In most interview situations, the answer is D.
If you badmouth anyone during an interview (answer A), the employer may think you're a difficult person who will create conflict in their workplace. Answer B makes it sound like you are either answering dishonestly or don't have much experience working with people.?
Answer C may sound like a good way to respond. However, most employers don't want to hear what you would do in a hypothetical situation -- they want to hear how you have actually handled a real situation in the past.
The Interest in Conflict
The purpose in asking about a past conflict is not to see if you have ever had a conflict (the interviewer assumes you have). The goal is to see how well you resolve difficult situations and, if something did not work out in the past, what you learned from it.
Asking applicants about past experiences is known as behavioral interviewing. Behavioral interviewing involves asking about specific past behaviors in an attempt to determine how you would likely behave if you got the job.
Of course, people's behaviors can change over time and in different situations. However, past behavior is a much better measure of how someone is likely to behave in a similar situation in the future as opposed to what that person says they "would" do. In an ideal world, we would all handle conflict effectively. In the real world, some of us are better suited to jobs with minimal conflict.
Expect Behavioral Questions
To ensure you're a good fit for the job, many interviewers will ask behavioral questions relating to the particular position. So you may hear questions such as "Describe your most successful project so far. What did you do to make it a success?" or "Describe a project where something went wrong. How did you solve the problem?"
To prepare for behavioral questions, spend time before the interview thinking about your past experiences so you can answer questions by: (1) describing the situation, (2) explaining what you did and what the outcome was, then (3) finishing with the experience you acquired or what you learned if the situation didn't turn out the way you had planned.
Evaluate Your Answers
If you have the chance, do some role-playing with a friend to practice responding to tough interview questions. Ask your friend for feedback about how you answer. Do you get to the point or give too much information? Do you sound natural or do some of your responses sound rehearsed??
Most importantly, could any of your answers raise a red flag with the employer? For example, if you are asked to describe a conflict you experienced and respond with examples of three conflicts you were involved with, the interviewer may think you don't get along with anyone!?
Your purpose during the interview is to show that you will be an asset to the company. Being prepared can help you show that you are the ideal person for the job.
The Big Question: 'Why Should I Hire You?'
by Joe Turner, for Yahoo! HotJobs
This is the classic question most of us hear during an interview. It's often preceded by the phrase, "I've already interviewed another person for this position who looks perfect."
Then comes the killer question, "Why should I hire YOU?"
Be careful to avoid clever retorts or comedic one-liners here. Your interview is serious business and a wrong answer will send you packing.
This is, in fact, the one question that interviewers like to ask because the answer can so easily separate the contenders from the also-rans. Give a wrong answer and the large "Game Over" sign flashes above your head.
The 'Story' Approach
What they really want to know is, "How are you different than all the other candidates who have applied for this position?" With this in mind, a good way to approach your answer here is to launch into your best "story" that answers this question, "Will you go the extra mile?"
Why is the employer asking why they should hire you?
Because there are only five areas of interest that they have about you as a candidate:
Your skills
Your knowledge about the company
Your manageability
Your affordability
Whether you can go above and beyond your job description
In this day of "lean and mean" operations philosophy, employers are looking for employees who can think bigger and perform duties above and beyond their jobs.
Demonstrate Your Accomplishments
Realize that there will always be competing candidates with a higher skill level, more experience, more education/training, or even a smoother interviewing style. The one equalizer though, is the ability to demonstrate how you have risen above and gone that extra mile to accomplish an important task, complete the job or realize an important goal.
Here, you recant that story of exactly how you worked 60-hour weeks, acquired new skills, or whatever it took to distinguish yourself and meet the challenge head on to successfully make the sale, save the project or rescue a client. If you can monetize (put a dollar value on) the end result, your story will only be that much more dramatic.
Tell It Often
Knowing this ahead of time, it's wise to put in the time beforehand to work on your answer to this question. Pick your best example of how you went above and beyond in your job. Work on your story to perfect it.
Set the scene, describe the challenge and describe your role and the successful conclusion. Use this as an example of how you use your particular set of skills in an extraordinary time to "give it your all" and produce a clear benefit to your employer.
Since no other candidate can duplicate your own personal story here, you'll make a memorable impression. Not only that, but quite possibly you'll pull yourself ahead of that hypothetical "perfect" candidate who preceded you.
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