AtlasAdvancement

Ask Company Focused Questions

• How many persons are in the group as a total?
• Read web site to learn current events or news ask about that.
• How does this job relate to the overall structure and goals of the corporation/group/department?

Ask About the Job You Are Interviewing For

• What special projects are being worked on that I would be involved with?
• Craft me a typical day?
• Who would I be reporting to? What is his/her background?
• What sort of management style do they practice?
• How can I improve upon the performance of the last person?
• If you have to pick one or two special characteristics that the next employee in this position should possess, what would they be?
• What are the different people in the department like?
• What types/amounts of budgetary responsibility will this person have?
• What challenges have you faced in the past that you'd like to avoid in the future?
• Where do I have the opportunity to make the most significant contribution?
• What are the one or two biggest challenges I will face in the first 60 days?
• What are the major projects on the one-year horizon and how can I play a role?

Build A Relationship With the Interviewer

• How did you end up where you are now?
• What has made you successful and gotten you where you are?
• How did you select this as your place of employment?
• How can I show you I am the best person for the job?
• How can I make an immediate impact on the bottom line of the department/company?
• If you could change or take back any previous decisions, how would you change them?
• How do I compare to other candidates you have seen so far and where do I stand?
• What, if anything, about my background or experience would prevent us from moving forward in the process?

Don't ask Salary, benefits or career upward growth questions

Salary - Your recruiter will work directly with you on this and gets paid by the client, so the higher your salary the higher our fee.
Benefits - HR should provide the answers to this when the proper time arises.
Upward Career Growth - If you are a good and loyal employee, you will climb the corporate ladder.

References

Don't provide references unless asked, and only provide references that have given you permission to use them. When you work with a recruiter, the recruiter will complete the reference checks for the client. If the client asks for references, let them know that you have provided a list to your recruiter and that they will finalize and forward a detailed response from each reference about the candidate.

Application

If any, please fill it in completely and neatly - this is as much of an evaluation of your attention to detail as it is informative.

Clients hire people they can relate to and who they like, who like them, and who show an interest. Take the time to prepare for each and every interview.

Always send a thank you note.

Thank the client for their time. Highlight what you talked about and how you feel you can play a vital role in their organization. If this is your ideal job ask what are the next steps moving forward.

Questions to be prepared for

• Tell me about yourself?
• What are you looking for in your next position?
• Where do you see yourself in five/ten years?
• Why does this job interest you?
• What do you see as your strengths and how would you utilize them in this position?
• What would you consider an area that would offer you growth, or a weakness?
• What changes would you have made, if you could, in any previous jobs?
• What did you like best and least in your most recent job?
• Tell me about and assignment or goal from your last job which you failed to achieve and why.
• What did you like best and least in your recent supervisor?
• Tell me about an occasion in your career where you exceeded the expectations of the employer.
• Why do want to leave your current job?
• When can you start?
• Why should we pick you over the eight other people we interviewed?
• Describe the most challenging ethical decision you have encountered in the workplace and how you dealt with it.
• What do you have to offer us that someone else doesn't?
• What are your significant accomplishments in your career?
• What was the best work related decision you have ever made and why?
• How would your previous supervisors/peers describe you?
• Don't you think you're overqualified?
• What if you get a counter offer?
• Where did you tell your employer you are today?

This is a matching process - try to respond to questions with answers that relate to the job you are interviewing for! Tell them the things they are interested in hearing about. By asking a lot of questions, you'll know what they're looking for and be able to answer their questions appropriately and keep their interest .

The Other Fundamentals

Since interviewing also involves the exchange of tangible information, make sure to:

1. Present your background in a thorough and accurate manner;

2. Gather data concerning the company, the industry, the position, and the specific opportunity;

3. Link your abilities with the company needs in the mind of the employer; and

4. Build a strong case for why the company should hire you, based on the discoveries you make from building rapport and asking the right questions.

Both for your sake and the employer's never leave an interview without exchanging fundamental information. The more you know about each other, the more potential you'll have for establishing rapport, and making an informed decision.

Basic Interviewing Strategy

There are two ways to answer interview questions: the short version and the long version. When a question is open-ended, we suggest to candidates that they say, "Let me give you the short version. If we need to explore some aspect of the answer more fully, I'd be happy to go into greater depth, and give you the long version."

The reason you should respond this way is that it's often difficult to know what type of answer each question will need. A question like, "What was your most difficult assignment?" might take anywhere from thirty seconds to thirty minutes to answer, depending on the detail you choose to give. Therefore, you must always remember that the interviewer is the one who asked the question. So you should tailor your answer to what he or she needs to know, without a lot of extraneous rambling or superfluous explanation. Why waste time and create a negative impression by giving a sermon when a short prayer would do just fine?

Let's suppose you were interviewing for an IT management position, and the interviewer asked you, "What sort of systems experience have you had in the past?" Well, that's exactly the sort of question that can get you into trouble if you don't use the short version/long version method. Most people would just start rattling off everything in their memory that relates to their experience. Though the information might be useful to the interviewer, your answer could get pretty complicated and long-winded unless it's neatly packaged.

You might simply say, "Let me give you the short version first, and you can tell me where you want to go into more depth. I've had nine years experience in Midrange Systems with three different companies, and held the titles of IT manager, IT Director and VP/IT. What aspect of my background would you like to concentrate on?"

By using this method, you telegraph to the interviewer that your thoughts are well organized, and that you want to understand the intent of the question before you travel too far in a direction neither of you wants to go. After you get the green light, you can spend your interviewing time discussing in detail the things that are important, not whatever happens to pop into your mind.

Don't Talk Yourself Out of a Job

Nothing turns off an employer faster than a windbag candidate. By using the short version/long version method to answer questions, you'll never talk yourself out of a job.

The Prudent Use of Questions

Beware: An interview will quickly disintegrate into an interrogation or monologue unless you ask some high quality questions of your own. Candidate questions are the lifeblood of any successful interview, because they:

1. Create dialogue, which will not only enable the two of you to learn more about each other, but will help you visualize what it'll be like working together once you've been hired;

2. Clarify your understanding of the company and the position responsibilities;

3. Indicate your grasp of the fundamental issues discussed so far;

4. Reveal your ability to probe beyond the superficial; and

5. Challenge the employer to reveal his or her own depth of knowledge, or commitment to the job.

Your questions should always be slanted in such a way as to show empathy, interest, or understanding of the employer's needs. After all, the reason you're interviewing is that the employer's company has some piece of work that needs to be completed, or a problem that needs correcting. Here are some questions that have proven to be very effective:

1. What's the most important issue facing your department?

2. How can I help you accomplish this objective?

3. How long has it been since you first identified this need?

4. How long have you been trying to correct it?

5. Have you tried using your present staff to get the job done? What was the result?

6. What other means have you used? For example, have you brought in independent contractors, or temporary help, or employees borrowed from other departments? On the other hand, have you recently hired people who haven't worked out?

7. Is there any particular skill or attitude you feel is critical to getting the job done?

8. Is there a unique aspect of my background that you'd like to exploit in order to help accomplish your objectives?

Questions like these will not only give you a sense of the company's goals and priorities, they'll indicate to the interviewer your concern for satisfying the company's objectives.

Give It Some Thought

Here are seven of the most commonly asked interviewing questions. Do yourself and the prospective employer a favor, and give them some thought before the interview occurs.

1. Why do you want this job?

2. Why do you want to leave your present company?

3. Where do you see yourself in five years?

4. What are your personal goals?

5. What are your strengths and/or weaknesses?

6. What do you like most about your current company?

7. What do you like least about your current company?

The last question is probably the hardest to answer: What do you like least about your present company?

We find that rather than pointing out the faults of other people ("I can't stand the office politics") or ("I don't get along with my boss"), it's best to place the burden on yourself ("I feel I'm ready to exercise a new set of professional muscles") or ("The type of technology I'm interested in isn't available to me now"). By answering in this manner, you'll avoid pointing the finger at someone else or coming across as a whiner or complainer. It does no good to speak negatively about others. I suggest you think through the answers to the above questions for two reasons.

1. It won't help your chances any to hem and haw over fundamental issues such as these. (The answers you give to these types of questions should be no-brainers.)

2. The questions will help you evaluate your career choices before spending time and energy on an interview. If you don't feel comfortable with the answers you come up with maybe, the new job isn't right for you.

Money, Money, Money

There's a good chance you'll be asked about your current and expected level of compensation. Here's the way to handle the following questions:

1. What are you currently earning? Answer: "My compensation, including bonus, is in the high-forties. I'm expecting my annual review next month, and that should put me in the low-fifties."

2. What sort of money would you need in order to come to work for our company? Answer: "I feel that the opportunity is the most important issue, not salary. If we decide to work together, I'm sure you'll make me a fair offer."

Notice the way a range was given as the answer to question [1], not a specific dollar figure. However, if the interviewer presses for an exact answer, then by all means, be precise, in terms of salary, bonus, benefits, expected increase, and so forth.

In answer to question [2], if the interviewer tries to zero in on your expected compensation, you should also suggest a range, as in, "I would need something in the low- to mid- fifties." Getting locked in to an exact figure may work against you later, in one of two ways: either the number you give is lower than you really want to accept; or the number appears too high or too low to the employer, and an offer never comes. By using a range, you can keep your options open.

Some Questions You Can Count On

Four types of questions that interviewers like to ask.

1. There are the resume questions. These relate to your past experience, skills, job responsibilities, education, upbringing, personal interests, and so forth. Resume questions require accurate, objective answers, since your resume consists of facts that tend to be quantifiable (and verifiable). Try to avoid answers, which exaggerate your achievements, or appear to be opinionated, vague, or egocentric.

2. Interviewers will usually want you to comment on your abilities, or assess your past performance. They'll ask self-appraisal questions like,"What do you think is your greatest asset?" or, "Can you tell me something you've done that was very creative?"

3. Interviewers like to know how you respond to different stimuli. Situation questions ask you to explain certain actions you took in the past, or require that you explore hypothetical scenarios that may occur in the future. "How would you stay profitable during a recession?" or, "How would you go about laying off 1300 employees?" or, "How would you handle customer complaints if the company drastically raised its prices?" are typical situation questions.

4. Some employers like to test your mettle with stress questions such as, "After you die, what would you like your epitaph to read?" or, "If you were to compare yourself to any U.S. president, who would it be?" or, "It's obvious your background makes you totally unqualified for this position. Why should we even waste our time talking?"

Stress questions are designed to evaluate your emotional reflexes, creativity, or attitudes while you're under pressure. Since off-the-wall or confrontational questions tend to jolt your equilibrium or put you in a defensive posture, the best way to handle them is to stay calm and give carefully considered answers. Of course, your sense of humor will come in handy during the entire interviewing process, just so long as you don't go over the edge. Even if it were possible to anticipate every interview question, memorizing dozens of stock answers would be impractical, to say the least. The best policy is to review your background, your priorities, and your reasons for considering a new position; and to handle the interview as honestly as you can. If you don't know the answer to a question, just say so, or ask for a moment to think about your response.

Wrapping It Up

At the conclusion of your interview, you can wrap up any unfinished business you failed to cover so far and begin to explore the future of your candidacy.

During wrap-up, make the interviewer aware of other opportunities you're exploring, as long as they're genuine. Their timing has some bearing on your own decision-making. The fact that you're actively exploring other opportunities may affect the speed with which the company makes its hiring decision. It may even positively influence the eventual outcome, since the company may want to act quickly so as not to lose you. However, your other activity should be presented in the spirit of assistance to the interviewer, not as a thinly veiled threat or negotiating tactic. Play it straight with the interviewer.

In addition, remember to maintain a positive attitude, focus, be passionate about yourself and the opportunity, and communicate your intellect and your "emotional intelligence". "Look the part" -- these are your winning hand. In today's job market, you'd be surprised how often victory is snatched from the jaws of defeat.

The better your interviewing skills, the greater your chances of getting the job.