Job Interview Questions

[PowerPlayoffs06]

So I have a big job interview coming up. One of those scary ones where it's three or four of the managers and people from HR on one side of the table in their big leather thrones, and me on the other side on the little stool they've provided that squeaks anytime you adjust just to make it that much more obvious that you're uncomfortable.

So to prep for it, I want to ask what kind of questions you folks remember being asked on your big interviews.

Im expecting the usual "So what are you most proud of?" "Tell us about a time you had to deal with a bad situation that arose." "What are your long term carreer goals? / Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"

I think the hardest one I've had to answer was at my first ever job interview for bagging groceries: "Using one word, describe three positive and three negative things about yourself."

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by PowerPlayoffs06

So I have a big job interview coming up. One of those scary ones where it's three or four of the managers and people from HR on one side of the table in their big leather thrones, and me on the other side on the little stool they've provided that squeaks anytime you adjust just to make it that much more obvious that you're uncomfortable.

So to prep for it, I want to ask what kind of questions you folks remember being asked on your big interviews.

Im expecting the usual "So what are you most proud of?" "Tell us about a time you had to deal with a bad situation that arose." "What are your long term carreer goals? / Where do you see yourself in 5 years?"

I think the hardest one I've had to answer was at my first ever job interview for bagging groceries: "Using one word, describe three positive and three negative things about yourself."

You would think the only question these days an employer in Calgary would ask is "Do you have a pulse? Yes? Hired!"

[Maritime Q-Scout]

a few tips:

make a list of you strenghts, and weaknesses - don't turn your weaknesses into strengths, they didn't ask for 6 strenghts. Say how you work to fix your weaknesses, and that you're aware of them. Apparently there's a med school in Canada (I forget which one my friend was talkign about) that actually put on the application when asking for weaknesses "don't put you're a work-a-holic, or prefectionist, if you turn your weakness into a strength we won't like that"



Best advice I can give it to be open and honest. Watch your body language, and watch theirs. Your body langauge will tell how comfortable/uncomfortable you are. If you really want to look into this, look up dating sites, and read some dating books. The theory is EXACTLY the same.


Think of goals you'd want to accomplish with the company, and make sure you know about the company you're being interviewed with. Don't be afraid to casually drop facts and information about the job/company in your answers.


Relax, is the best advice I can give you.

[Eastern Girl]

When I worked at Walmart, I remember getting quite annoyed with a lot of the questions they asked. They were very interested in what you do in your free time. I remember having quite the debate with the interviewer after some of the questions. There were things like, "If you do drugs/drink in your free time and it does not affect your job, do we have the right to fire you?" and "If you show up to work drunk, but are able to competently do your job without any complaints, should we fire you?" They were very curious about drugs and alcohol at Walmart. Most of the questions had to do with one of the two.

Is it a behavior descriptive interview? aka STAR interview (Situation, Task, Action, Response)?

[Table 5]

man, thank god i'm not in the corporate sector of work, and have to put up with any of this type of ****. Situation, Task, Action-whatnow?

In my line of work, your portfolio does virtually all the talking. You show up, you have a friendly chat as you look over the work, and thats that. You are either good at what you do, or are not. It's very results-oriented. No unerving battle of both sides trying to fake each other out.

I once hired a guy all the way from Norway on the basis of a few short email exchanges and by looking at his website. No corporate group sessions thats for sure....in fact the guy turned out so well, I recommended him for my own position when i left.

I would like to hear more about this STAR though.

[Fobby]

Behaviour Interview, they will give you a Situation, and then you are suppose to provide an answer based on your experienced, and they judge you by how you handled the situation.

Scariest interview I had was a 15 min presentation...

Weirdest question I have heard was, "If you were dime size, and you are stuck in a blender while your friend is about to make some salsa, how would you escape?"

[Barnes]

A good answer for a question about your difficulties in a job would be being invovled in the firing process. This doesn't make yourself look negative (a fault that you have).

I have been to alot of interviews. I had one where there was memory and spelling questions and I had to write an essay and prepare a powerpoint presentation and present it to the presedent of the company in half an hour. After that, I stopped preparing for them. Have answers that can apply to multiple questions. Never make yourself look bad even if you think you are answering honestly and they may appreciate your honesty. Some questions are designed to stress you out. Turn these questions back on the interviewer by ending with "don't tou agree?".

Remember that you don't always have to use examples from your working life.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by Fobby

Weirdest question I have heard was, "If you were dime size, and you are stuck in a blender while your friend is about to make some salsa, how would you escape?"

I would defecate in the blender, forcing him to throw out the contents and start over....do you think that answer would go over well, or poorly?

-Scott

[FlamesAddiction]

Just some general advice:

Don't be nervous about being nervous. It's OK to be nervous at a job interview, and the person interviewing you is human and understands that, but don't let it compound itself.

Also, don't be afraid to take a pause before answering questions. Some people feel like they need to answer right away and the first few seconds are "ums and awes". Take 5 seconds or so to formulate an answer.

[PowerPlayoffs06]

If you were the size of a dime... What the Hell kinda question is that?

It's just for a supervisory position, not as a manager or anything, so Im not expecting that level of scrutiny. I've been to a couple interviews already, and I haven't really found myself being nervous, mostly because I know there's lots of jobs out there and Im not in a position where I need the job right away.

I think the tip about not turning your weaknesses into strengths is good, but what if your weaknesses can be construed as strengths? The work-a-holic and perfecitonist thing is done to death, Im sure, but Im having a hard time coming up with viable weaknesses as they relate to the job.

I'm just coming up with things like, 'Im too forgiving and sometimes tend to give people too many chances to improve or rectify a flaw in their work habits.' 'I can put too much stress on improvement or performance and can feel that worthwhile accomplisments aren't noteworthy because they didn't meet the expectations I had for myself.' These are true, but come off as turning your weaknesses into strengths.

Am I supposed to just say "Sometimes I show up late" or "I get a little disorganized sometimes?"

[JiriHrdina]

Re. the strengths/weaknesses thing. Just be honest but pick something that isn't critical to the job.

For instance when I was interviewed for a management position I admited to having problems delegating at times...that I was the type that would sometimes do tasks myself that should be delegated. Its an admitted weakness but not one that would take me out of the running and in fact I was offered the job.

Employer's are savvy now and aren't going to be fooled by a lame weakness into strength answer.

I also throw in a "oh and I can't swim" kinda thing just to get a chuckle. Always works.

[Barnes]

Originally Posted by PowerPlayoffs06

Am I supposed to just say "Sometimes I show up late" or "I get a little disorganized sometimes?"

I wouldn't try that.

[LockedOut]

HR people sure like to be creative or have too much time on their hands.

[V]

My strangest question ever was "If you're in a rowboat over the deepest part of the ocean, and you dropped a bowling ball over the side of the boat, how long would it take for the bowling ball to hit the floor of the ocean?"

There are three responses to this question.

"I don't know" - Wrong

"Um, 4 hours?" - Wrong

Making a few assumptions, and using those assumptions to come up with an answer, however wrong that answer might be. - Right

My answer was, "Can I have a piece of paper, calculator and a pen? Now, assuming the deepest portion of the ocean is as deep as the tallest mountain is tall (about 8700m?), and the ball drops at a constant acceleration of half of gravity (since bouyancy would slow the acceleration down), I would assume the ball would hit the ocean floor in ... 1 minute. Wow, that doesn't seem right at all."

I got the job.