interview questions

[TexasRN]

I always get jobs once I interview as well. It's just a fact that Dawn and I are both that cool. And yes, that's arrogance even though it's true.


~Amy

[Bonnie]

Originally Posted by TexasRN

Great answers from Boomer and Rockdawg. Thanks guys. Really. The rest of ya'll yahoos just made me laugh. I did go around my office asking people the bathtub question. One girl even said 'teacup'...for real.

The first time I did interviews I tended to just have a friendly type conversation and that didn't work out so well. Now I am being groomed for management and there is a position soon that I'll be doing interviews for and I want to truly get a good handle on the people I'll be choosing from. I don't want to be a hard-a$$ but I can't have an idiot working for me.

And Mike, why is a tennis ball fuzzy? I'm bamboozled.


~Amy

You're right Amy, they're a bunch of yahoos. The only important question is:

"Do you know who Matt Hughes is?"

[TexasRN]

Originally Posted by Bonnie

You're right Amy, they're a bunch of yahoos. The only important question is:

"Do you know who Matt Hughes is?"

Ooooh, I do need to ask that!!! I have a picture of him in my office I can use as a reference too.


~Amy

Originally Posted by rockdawg21

Alright, looks like you're not getting any help from these jokesters so here you go Amy!

Always start with "Tell me about yourself." Check their posture, speed of words, eye contact, etc. You're a woman, you're a natural at reading body language and how to interpret it as to who they really are. If they didn't prepare to answer this question first, they haven't done their homework on how to properly interview. Interpret this as a lack of interest in finding a career. If they didn't put forth the effort to give an A+ interview, they will not put forth the effort to give an A+ job performance.

Some others and why:

• You want to be sure they have long-term goals - "Where do you see yourself 5 years from now? 10 years from now? etc."
• You want to be sure they have researched your company; this shows true interest in a career rather than someone who is only seeking a job. Plus, you want to know how your company could benefit them, the best interviewers will be prepared to answer that if they've truly done their homework - "What do you know about our company? Why do you think we would be a good fit for you?"
• You want to know if they value themselves, and to what degree (lack of confidence, just right, overconfidence, arrogance, etc.) - "Why should we hire you for this position?"
• Do they think they're perfect, or are they mature enough to openly share their downfalls? - "What would you say are your weaknesses?" or "What would you say is your greatest weakness?" - If they say "chocolate" or "overeating", they failed
• This is an easy one. Read them for true confidence versus arrogance - "What would you say are your strengths?"
• You want to know if they're a team player - "Do you prefer to work in a group or alone? Why?"
• You want to know why they're leaving their previous job, this could be many reasons, so interpret it from their answers - What did you like and dislike about your previous job? Why did you leave?" (sometimes the last question is already answered from the first question)

tHESE ARE EXCELLENT EXAMPLES. In my years of management I have used these exact style of questions because they reveal a lot. This is great advice rockdawg

[Bonnie]

Originally Posted by Boomer

1) Ability to communicate

- Can the person take thoughts and form cohesive verbal instruction?
- Can the person professionally communicate in writing?
- Do they understand the people they are speaking too and use proper levels of formality and professionalism? Not so much since joining this forum.

2) Emotionally stable

- Why did they leave their last job? Was it someone else’s fault? Of course it was someone else's fault!
- When they talk about their family and relationships is it mostly negative or positive? I'm definitely positive my family has a negative effect on me.
- How are they handling themselves in the interview?

3) Techniques on handling stress

- How are they in the interview?

- When they describe a stressful situation and how they managed it, is the level of stress they are communicating on par with the stress of the job they are applying for?

4) Relational Abilities

- Self, Social or Task centered … all can be good or bad dependant on the job

5) Long term goals

- Reason for wanting this job .. will be indicative of their level of motivation to perform. Uhmmm, because I don't have a job.

Pertknit answers in red.

[TexasRN]

Originally Posted by Bonnie

Pertknit answers in red.

My boss and I decided that we needed access to all candidate's facebook profiles prior to hiring. The last girl we hired would NOT have gotten an interview even if we'd see it first. Too bad we can't really do that.


~Amy

[Bonnie]

Originally Posted by TexasRN

My boss and I decided that we needed access to all candidate's facebook profiles prior to hiring. The last girl we hired would NOT have gotten an interview even if we'd see it first. Too bad we can't really do that.


~Amy

OMGosh, that would be a good tool to use. You could totally screw with their heads and gear some of your ?s on stuff you saw on their facebook.

[rockdawg21]

Originally Posted by Bonnie

Arrrrgggghhhhh! Those were always the two questions I hated the most.

When you ask, "Tell me about yourself?", are you asking for personal, professional, both? How much should you tell about yourself?

And then, "Where do you see yourself in five years?" Quite frankly I think the way the world is now, that one should definitely be "X'd".

Not being good at being interviewed doesn't necessarily mean a person wouldn't be good in the actual job.

The whole idea with "tell me about yourself" is simply to get an idea of a persons' goals and values and to test to see if they really have dug deep to truly "know" themselves. You'd be surprised what one might learn if they sit down with a piece of paper and write down their strengths and weaknesses, then work to correct everything. Few people do this, but the ones who are willing to admit they're not perfect by listening to self-help guides are the ones who really tend to excel, as they are constantly striving to improve themselves.

As for "where do you see yourself in five years?" is another question to see if a person has really sat down and said, "In five years, I will be here. The next five years, I will be here." Everytime a person interviews if they TRULY believe in what they are saying, the interviewer will also believe in that person, and that's why they will be the one hired. If an interviewee tells me, "I'm going to be one of the top 10 sellers in the company within 5 years, then I'm going to be in a management position within 10 (if one is available at the time)" and they truly believe it (reading their posture, word expression, etc.), I'm going to hire them even if they don't have the experience.

Had the interviewee used any words such as, "Well", "I plan to", "I'm hoping for", then that's fine and all, but the person who says without equivocation, "I will" is the one who gets noticed. Those are the people who don't allow others to control their destiny, rather, they make their own destiny.

[Bonnie]

Originally Posted by rockdawg21

The whole idea with "tell me about yourself" is simply to get an idea of a persons' goals and values and to test to see if they really have dug deep to truly "know" themselves. You'd be surprised what one might learn if they sit down with a piece of paper and write down their strengths and weaknesses, then work to correct everything. Few people do this, but the ones who are willing to admit they're not perfect by listening to self-help guides are the ones who really tend to excel, as they are constantly striving to improve themselves.

As for "where do you see yourself in five years?" is another question to see if a person has really sat down and said, "In five years, I will be here. The next five years, I will be here." Everytime a person interviews if they TRULY believe in what they are saying, the interviewer will also believe in that person, and that's why they will be the one hired. If an interviewee tells me, "I'm going to be one of the top 10 sellers in the company within 5 years, then I'm going to be in a management position within 10 (if one is available at the time)" and they truly believe it (reading their posture, word expression, etc.), I'm going to hire them even if they don't have the experience.

Had the interviewee used any words such as, "Well", "I plan to", "I'm hoping for", then that's fine and all, but the person who says without equivocation, "I will" is the one who gets noticed. Those are the people who don't allow others to control their destiny, rather, they make their own destiny.

I totally get what you're saying and why to ask those things. But when you are young and not necessarily coming right from college or training and don't have much work or life experience yet, you might not know "how" to answer those questions. You know what I mean?

[rockdawg21]

Originally Posted by Bonnie

I totally get what you're saying and why to ask those things. But when you are young and not necessarily coming right from college or training and don't have much work or life experience yet, you might not know "how" to answer those questions. You know what I mean?

Not really, I'd only done 1 interview prior to getting a job at Gates Rubber Company back when I was 23. With only 90 hours of college, I was able to get a lab position there with zero experience over candidates who had already been working there in other positions, have degrees, and some of which already had prior experience working in lab positions (15 candidates including myself).

There wasn't much to it. I told them and showed them why I was the person for the job, and made them believe it as well. The interview and effort put forth to excel in the interview far outweighs experience IMO.

Sorry, now I sound arrogant, just making a point really, lol