The Graduate's Guide to Navigating Tricky Interview Questions
By Peter K. Studner, author of Super Job Search IV: The Complete Manual for Job
Seekers & Career Changers (Jamenair Ltd., 2015, ISBN: 978-0-938667-06-3,
$26.95, www.SuperJobSearch.com)
If you're like many college graduates, the part of finding a job that most ties your stomach in knots is the interview. You know that getting hired—or not—often rides on how you present yourself, and you've heard horror stories about just how horribly wrong interviews can go. The last thing you want is for all of your studying to go to waste because you botched the answer to an important question!
Take a deep breath and don't panic. While there are no perfect answers, putting some prior thought into how you might address tricky interview subjects can help you avoid disaster. Here is a sampling of the 79 interview questions reviewed in Super Job Search IV:
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What Salary Are You Looking For? Whenever possible, avoid providing a specific answer to this question until the negotiations phase, after a position has already been offered. To defer the discussion, try returning the focus back to the interviewer: "It's hard to discuss salary without knowing more about the job or responsibilities."
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Can You Work Under Pressure? Indicate that you can and ask the interviewer how much pressure is involved in the position. Learn what the interviewer means by pressure. The definition can vary significantly from person to person and company to company. Describe a few things you accomplished under pressure while you were in college.
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What Is Your Greatest Strength? Before interviewing, reflect on your personal strengths and make a list of them (e.g., "natural number sense," "able to multitask," "good with people," "able to teach others," etc.). Then, if possible, tie each of them to something you accomplished at school or during a prior job.
When asked this question in an interview, answer with the strength you feel best fits the position being discussed and be sure to offer the anecdote that goes with it. Conclude your response by asking the interviewer if this is the kind of quality that would help his or her company.
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What Is Your Greatest Weakness? As with your strengths, prepare a list of weaknesses beforehand. This time, tie each weakness back to what could also be considered a strength. For example, "I like to get things done. Sometimes I get impatient, but I'm getting a handle on it." Or maybe you have actually come up with a way to mitigate your weakness: "I'm a stickler for details, but I do not want to be a micromanager. So during group projects that I led, I learned to ask each of my fellow students to devise their own checklist of weekly tasks. It gave them some autonomy and satisfied my desire for quality control."
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What Motivates You? Resist the temptation to joke, "A steady paycheck so I can pay off my student loans!" Try to tie your motivation to the work being done at this specific company. In addition you could mention things like the opportunity to learn and grow, to work with smart people who are passionate about their jobs, to innovate, and to contribute to the success of an organization.
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What Do You Not Like to Do? This is a loaded question. A positive reply might be, "I'm the kind of person who does whatever is necessary to get the job done. When I do run into something disagreeable, I try to do it first and get it behind me. I have no particular dislikes."
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How Would Your Professors, Fellow Students, and (If Applicable) Supervisors Describe You? Be ready to give some examples of the kind of team player you are. And remember that the interviewer may ask your references the same question. If at all possible, meet with your references before the interview stage in order to talk through your career goals and how the reference can best support them.
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Why Do You Want to Work for Our Company? Your reply could be based on their reputation for products, management, international scope, technology, or as a nice place to work and grow. The most important thing is to avoid generic answers. Know their products, policies, and potential for you.
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Why Should We Hire You? If you know the job requirements and can match them with some accomplishments, briefly share those anecdotes. Then say, "If there are opportunities to do that and more here, then this is a great fit. What do you think?"
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What Has Been Your Biggest Failure? Discuss this question with friends, mentors, and possibly your references before the interview. If at all possible, think of something you were later able to correct. Then the story isn't just about a failure, but also about a learning experience.
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Do You Like to Compete? Competition is great as long as it does not sacrifice the rest of the team. If you are competitive, relate that quality to the total company effort and not to your personal ambitions.
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How Long Do You Think It Would Be Before You Could Make a Contribution to Our Company? Don't be in a hurry when providing an answer to this question. There normally is a period of transition before a new hire learns the ropes. You might say, "If the transition goes according to plan, I would guess relatively soon. What would you expect?"
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What Was the Last Book You Read? Interviewers do ask this question—so if nothing else, let your upcoming interviews motivate you not to rely on CliffsNotes when studying for your final exams! Saying that you're not really a reader in this setting is a misstep. And be careful not to fib. Your interviewer may have read the same book!
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How Do You Take Criticism? Most people have problems taking criticism. If the criticism is part of a formal evaluation program where you can learn and improve, that is fine. "I would welcome the opportunity to learn how to do my job better. Do you have a formal program for employee evaluation?"
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How Do You Spend Your Free Time? Be reasonable. This is not the time to mention that you like jumping out of planes, even if it is true.
You may not be asked these specific questions in your interview, but knowing how you want to answer them will ensure that you're prepared to discuss a wide variety of topics that might come up. You don't want to have to formulate a complicated answer in the midst of an already nerve-wracking situation!
