What Have You Done Professionally That Is Not An Experience You’d Want To Repeat
A candidate’s answer to this question will give you an idea of how they viewed work they weren’t very happy with, which is bound to happen to everyone in every job at one point or another.
A good answer to this question:
HubSpot’s VP of Customer Service and Support Michael Redbord says candidates’ answers generally fall into a few categories:
Even the category of what they consider an experience they wouldn’t want to repeat is interesting, says Redbord. When you talk about extreme experiences that get people emotional, it can be very revealing. Keep in mind, however, that good answers don’t have to fall into any one category — what’s most important is if they extracted value from the experience despite their lack of interest in doing it again.
Are You A Risk
This ones pretty tricky, as the answer here depends on your profession and field.
Ask yourself is risk-taking a valuable skill for the job?
If youre a pilot, for example, the answer should be a strict No!
If, on the other hand, youre a day trader, then risk is an essential part of your job.
So, depending on how valuable risk is for your job, answer accordingly.
You could also give a more strategic answer. Lets say, for example, you work in investment banking. You need to be a risk taker to an extent, but being too risk-friendly might make the entire company go bankrupt.
The strategy in such a case would be to show that youre all about calculated risk. Youre willing to take chances, but only when the odds are in your favor.
As with most interview questions, you should give examples of situations where you had to take risks, and what the end-results were.
Possible answers:
- Sample Answer 1:
Yes, Im a risk-taker. I believe that to achieve real results, you always need to be willing to take a certain level of risk.
Pretty much any marketing initiative you launch is tied to risk. You can plan everything from beginning till the end, but no matter how well you plan it out, things might just not work out.
Its just part of the job in order to succeed, you need to take launch risky campaigns on a regular basis, and hopefully, one in every 5 is going to bring you massive results.
- Sample Answer 2:
How Did You Hear About The Role
While seemingly innocuous, this question serves an important purpose. Your company is probably spending significant budget every year on employer branding, advertising and candidate attraction. It’s important to understand what is working!
You need to know whether the messaging your company is investing in is resonating with the right candidates. Make a note of the answers to see whether specific trends emerge. For example, maybe high quality candidates all come across your brand on Twitter, therefore you should invest more in that medium.
It’s true that you can rely on analytics, providing you have them in place, to tell you where traffic is coming from and that many applications have a ‘how did you hear about us’ section, but sometimes, hearing it directly from the horse’s mouth give you more context.
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What Has Surprised You About This Interview Process So Far
This is a question no candidate can really prepare for, and it’ll give you some indication of how candidates are feeling about the whole thing. Plus, you can see how they think on their feet.
A good answer to this question:
You’re looking for specifics here — something about the office space the personality of the team an assignment they were given to complete.
Honest answers are good answers, and answers that are directed at you are even better, as they show the candidate is confident speaking their mind in front of decision-makers. For instance, maybe the candidate was surprised you asked them about something on their resume that they don’t personally pay much attention to.
Ask These Questions To Learn About The Job
These questions are most relevant when you are meeting an interviewer for the first time. You should be introduced to each person interviewing you before an interview begins. Make note of the persons name, and ask for their job title if it isnt provided.
Ideally, you should exchange business cards with each of the interviewers so you have all relevant information, including their job title and contact information.
Questions to Ask the Employer:
First, learn as much as you can about this job, which will help you understand more about the organization and this job:
- How long has this job been open?
- Is this a new job?
- Why is this job open?
- Where would I be working?
- What is your onboarding process here?
During the Coronavirus pandemic, also ask questions related to how the employer is managing the situation, keeping employees safe while continuing to operate successfully.
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Tell Me About A Time You Screwed Up
An oldie but goodie. This is a tried-and-true test for self-awareness. Someone who takes ownership of their mess-up and learns something from it is usually humble and mindful. Candidates who blame others or give a “fake” screw-up are red flags.
A good answer to this question:
A good answer to this question will do two things well:
- Admit to a genuine mistake. Often candidates will dress up a mistake with a self-compliment or excuse to avoid looking weak. For example, “I was so committed to X that I overlooked Y.” On the contrary, good answers will just show that they miscalculated, plain and simple.
- Explain what they learned from it. It’s one thing to screw up, but it’s another thing to take that screw-up as an opportunity to improve. Great companies learn more from failure than they do from success — candidates who do too are exactly what you need to grow.
Try To Prepare In Advance
Come up with a list of some general questions that youll want to ask in any job or internship interview. Some examples:
- What qualities would help me succeed in this position?
- What would an average day look like in this role?
- How would you describe the team dynamics at ?
- In what ways do you measure success for this particular role?
- How is feedback typically given on this team?
- What sort of growth opportunities can I expect at ? Are there resources for mentorship, management training, or further professional education?
- What are the next steps that I should expect in this process?
Do your best to compile some more specific questions about recent updates to the organization or about your interviewers personal experience as well. Bring these with you to the interview to have in your back pocket, but know that some of your prepared questions might be answered over the course of your chat dont ask anything redundant!
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If I Were To Poll Everyone You’ve Worked With What Percentage Would Not Be A Fan Of Yours
At work, you can’t please everyone all the time. The answer to this question will help you find out if your candidate has enough drive and conviction in their own work to have ever conflicted with one or more of their colleagues.
Obviously you don’t want the candidate to be an unlikable person, though, so consider asking follow-up questions to find out why they might have alienated these coworkers: “If I were to interview these people, what words would they most frequently use to describe you?”
A good answer to this question:
The follow-up question about word choice is more important than the percentage they give in the initial question. In their answers, you should be encouraged by words like “passionate” and concerned by words like “lazy.”
Of course, not all negative words are red flags — while words that indicate a lack of work ethic might be a bad sign, words like “stubborn” could show a candidate’s self-awareness — and commitment to things their coworkers would rather move on from.
Why Is The Interviewer Interested In If You Have Any Questions
Its important to realize that an interview should be a two-way street. The interviewer wants to get to know you and to see if youre a good match for the position. They want to learn more about your personality, skills, experience, and abilities.
However, a job interview is also an opportunity for you to see how well the company and position fit you. Make sure you ask the interviewer clarifying questions about the job, team, and company if you have any.
If you do not ask the interviewer questions back, he or she can think that youre not well-prepared or not really interested. When you ask the right questions, the interviewer is more likely to think that you did your homework and are genuinely interested. In other words, when you get the opportunity, ask questions back.
The strength in asking the right questions back during a job interview is an overlooked key to show your suitability. Think about it, if you dont show genuine interest, why would an employer be interested in hiring you?
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Who Is The Smartest Person You Know Personally Why
These questions test what the candidate values and aspires to by forcing them to think of a real person they know, and then articulate what makes that person smart.
A good answer to this question:
Ideal answers vary, but could include specific examples of the person they’ve chosen’s ability to think ahead several steps and execute. They could also touch on the person’s decision-making skills, ability to connect, desire for learning, or application of the things they learned.
Tips For Answering Do You Have Any Questions For Us
This question is commonly asked during the interview. This means you need to prepare it. Its just as important as other frequently asked job interview questions.
The questions that you ask the interviewer should be formulated well and need to be related to the job. Preferably, ask open-ended questions. This allows you to create a conversation with the interviewer and the ability to ask follow-up questions. Furthermore, you create an opportunity to further highlight your skills, work experience, and show that youre the right person for the job. Make sure you take advantage of this opportunity.
There are several ways you can go about answering. To impress the interviewer, you make a personal statement in the form of a question. Focus on:
Your goal is to ask questions that make the interviewer take notice of your suitability for the position. Asking the right questions shows that you did your research on the job, that you can take on the daily tasks, and that you understand what is required for the position.
Usually, the interviewer will ask if you have any questions at the end of your interviewer. Ensure that you have two or three good questions prepared that demonstrate one or more statements mentioned above.
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Do You Have Any Interests Outside Of Work
If the interviewer asks you this question, take it as a good sign!
It means that they liked your professional background, and now theyre just trying to get to know you and see if youre a good fit for the company culture.
Its pretty hard to go wrong here, unless youre going to answer something like:
I have literally no hobbies.
or…
Can You Describe How You Handle Tight Deadlines
Does your team frequently face challenging time constraints? Do you need someone who can work quickly and accurately while under pressure? Ask this interview question of a potential employee and youll at least get their opinion as to how they handle stress and whether they can keep up with the pace of work at your organization. You could also follow up by asking if theyve ever missed a deadline and, if so, how they handled the situation.
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How Do You Feel About Working Weekends Or Late Hours
Youre gonna get asked this question in one of the following 2 cases:
1) Youre applying for a job that requires working odd hours.
In this case, your answer is pretty straightforward – since youre applying for such a job, you probably dont have any problems working odd hours.
Sample answer:
Sure! Im OK with working late hours or weekends, as long as you let me know about it at least a few days in advance.
2) Youre applying for just about any other type of job.
Now, you should look at this as a red flag. Is the employer just checking your dedication, or are they looking for someone thats going to work 24/7 with no overtime pay?
In this case, ask them to clarify what they mean.
Sample answer:
Given enough warning, sure. Is that something Ill be required to do often? Do you offer overtime pay for this kind of situation?
What Are Your Key Professional Strengths
It’s important to know the things that the candidate does well so you can understand how they might fit into your team. Arrogance is never attractive, but candidates that are confident in their abilities and how they might be able to impact your organisation are exactly the kind of people that you want to hire.
The best answers focus on one or two skills and provide direct examples of occasions where they demonstrated these skills and how it affected the outcome.
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Questions To Learn About The Job
Ask questions that will help you determine if you would actually like the job, and be able to do it well.
- Why is this position open? Is it a new position? Or is it a replacement for someone?
- How long does someone typically stay in this job?
- How many hours a week does someone in this job typically work? Is overtime accepted or expected?
- Do most employees check email over the weekends and stay in touch while on vacation? Is that required for this job?
- Do employees sometimes work from home or telecommute in this job? How many people telecommute? How many hours a week?
- Who does the person in this job report to? What is the bosss job title, and where are they located?
- What is the salary grade for this job? Where does this job salary grade rank in your salary grades?
- What can you tell me about this job that isnt in the description?
- What are your future plans for this job?
- What are the prospects for growth for the person in this job?
- How long do people stay in this job?
- How often is this job open?
- Who does the person in this job report to?
- How often are performance reviews provided? Do employees receive feedback from their managers?
- Is travel to meet with clients or suppliers or to represent this organization required for this job? If so, where, how long, how far, and how often?
- Where is this job located?
Ask about anything else in your preparation that raised questions for you. Read for leveraging Google before the interview.
Questions To Ask So You Know What Happens Next
Now, ask the 5 essential MUST-ASK next step in the interview process questions so that you will understand how their process works, when you can expect to hear from them, what happens next, and who will be your contact. If you dont ask these questions, you will have no idea when you will hear from them next or where they are in their process which will be very stressful for you.
If you dont ask those questions, you also risk being in contact with the wrong person at the wrong time, looking either desperate or annoying.
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What Single Project Or Task Would You Consider Your Most Significant Career Accomplishment To Date Walk Me Through The Plan How You Managed It How You Measured Success And What The Biggest Mistakes You Made Were
Lou Adler, one of the world’s foremost recruiting thinkers, has made no secret of his 10 year search for the perfect interview question. After all his research, this is the question that he landed upon. He believes it’s the best indicator of whether you should, or shouldn’t hire someone.
Interview questions like this are the whole package. Candidates have an opportunity to give you a behind the scenes tour of the professional accomplishment that they’re most proud of. You’ll get insights into how they plan and run projects, as well as how the bar they set for success.
Top candidates will also use the “biggest mistakes” part of the question to display a sense of ownership for any weak points in the project.
How Many Questions Should You Prepare
Because the hiring manager will cover a lot of information in the interviewand may unknowingly answer the questions you plan to askconsider preparing up to 10 questions. You may want to write your questions down in a notebook or portfolio that you bring to the interview. Refer to this list when the interviewer asks, Do you have any questions? and select two or three questions that werent covered earlier in the interview. Choose questions that demonstrate you were engaged and listening, and ones that can help you learn more about the job.
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