General Effectiveness And Workplace Interaction
9. How would your co-workers at your current job describe your interaction with them and your general effectiveness in your work performance? How would your co-workers describe you?
What you want to know:You want to understand how the candidate thinks that their co-workers view their interactions. You also want to assess how co-workers like working with the candidate. These questions give you an idea about the candidate’s assessment of their effectiveness in their current job and in relationships with co-workers. Past practice can predict future results.
My co-workers in the past appreciated that I am a team player and a person of integrity. I believe that they’d tell you that they respect me and the contributions I made. I made efforts to share the glory when the team was successful and I never threw anyone under the bus. They’d also say that I was reliable and accountable.
10. How would your current boss describe your work and contribution?
What you want to know: You want to understand how the candidate perceives the support and opinion of their current employer. This question tells you about the candidate’s interaction with their current boss. It also informs you about how well they accept criticism and feedback. If the interaction with the applicant’s current employer is positive and uplifting, this can shape the job applicant’s expectations of their new work environment.
12. How do you go about continuing to develop your professional skills and knowledge?
What Attracted You To Apply For This Position
By asking this question you, as the interviewer, should be able to gauge if job seeker has an enthusiasm for the job opening or if they just applied blindly to the position.
You could also review the experience in their resume with the job opening and ask them how they would react to specific situations.
What Three Words Would You Use To Describe Your Ideal Work Environment
In a similar vein, its smart to ask what that candidate prefers in terms of atmosphere to ensure you find someone who can not only survivebut thrivein your existing culture.
Perhaps he states he likes a quieter environment with lots of heads-down work. If your office is extremely fast-paced and high-energy, that could cause some friction. Or, maybe he explains that he prefers a lot of structure and predictabilitywhich there isnt a lot of in your laid-back startup where everybody wears a lot of hats.
For better or for worse, this question will at least help you determine whether or not that applicant would feel comfortable in the work environment youve already fostered.
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C Offer And Provide Accommodation For The Interview Or Test
Employers must accommodate applicants needs related to Code grounds for any part of the interview or hiring process, including tests. The employer must provide appropriate accommodation subject to the test of undue hardship. See also Section IV-8 Meeting the accommodation needs of employees on the job for more information on the principles involved.
The Commission recommends that employers offer accommodation to all candidates who need it when inviting them for an interview or test. A person who needs accommodation to take part in an interview is responsible for advising of this need in enough detail, and co-operating in consultations to enable the employer to respond to the request before the interview or testing. There is no set formula for accommodation. Each person’s needs are unique and must be considered individually.
Why Are You Interested In This Position
Interviewers typically want to be sure that you applied for this job because youre genuinely interested in it. Avoid voicing concerns about your current position or companynegative comments about your employer are often interpreted as unprofessional. A good answer will positively frame your transition and communicate your desire to grow in the role youre interviewing for.
Research the role and company ahead of time to understand how it relates to your background. Ask yourself questions such as, How will this position help me advance in my career?, How does the position align with my future goals? and What makes me a good fit for this company or role?
Example answer:While I highly valued my time at my previous company, there are no longer opportunities for growth that align with my career goals. This position fits perfectly with my skill set and how Im looking to grow in my career. Im also looking for a position at a company like yours that supports underserved communities, which is a personal passion of mine.
Read more: Interview Question: “Why Are You Interested in This Position?”
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Top 10 Interview Questions And Best Answers
Review these most frequently asked interview questions and sample answers, and then prepare your responses based on your experience, skills, and interests. Remember that its less about providing the right answers and more about demonstrating that youre the best candidate for the job.
1. Tell Me About Yourself – Best Answers
This is one of the first questions you are likely to be asked. Be prepared to talk about yourself, and why you’re an ideal candidate for the position. The interviewer wants to know why you’re an excellent fit for the job.
Try to answer questions about yourself without giving too much, or too little, personal information. You can start by sharing some of your personal interests and experiences that don’t relate directly to work, such as a favorite hobby or a brief account of where you grew up, your education, and what motivates you.
You can even and showcase your personality to make the interview a little more interesting.
2. Why Are You the Best Person for the Job? –Best Answers
Are you the best candidate for the job? The hiring manager wants to know whether you have all the required qualifications. Be prepared to explain why you’re the applicant who should be hired.
3. Why Do You Want This Job? – Best Answers
Be specific about what makes you a good fit for this role, and mention aspects of the company and position that appeal to you most.
4. How Has Your Experience Prepared You for This Role? – Best Answers
How To Select Candidates For The Job Interview
Your starting point, before scheduling a job interview with a candidate, is to review each candidate’s cover letter and resume.
When faced with 100 to 200 candidates, it’s important to use tools that separate the great candidates from the many. These will help you select the best candidates for the job interview. They will also help you prepare your list of questions to use to telephone screen candidates and then ask during your onsite or online job interviews.
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Create A Position Description
A position description is also sometimes called a job description. It gives you a clear understanding of the type of person youre looking for, as well as their roles and responsibilities.
If youre replacing an employee, review the previous position description. Based on your analysis of the staff structure, you may need to update the position description to reflect the new role.
A good position description includes:
- the job title
- who the new employee reports to
- who reports to the new employee
- which section or department the position sits in
- a summary of the job
- a summary of the business
- the employment type
- the key responsibilities of the role
- essential and desirable selection criteria the applicant needs to respond to
- any skills, knowledge, experience or education required for the role
- desirable personal attributes to fit the businesss culture
You should create your position descriptions from scratch. Other businesses may have roles with the same title, but the person they want may be completely different from your requirements.
Find handy recruitment templates including a job description and job advertising template.
To Date What Professional Achievement Are You Most Proud Of
Candidates show up to interviews with a goal of impressing you. So, chances are, that applicant is armed and ready with a few major accomplishments up her sleeve.
Whether its an award, a certification, or a big project that went exceptionally well, asking the interviewee what in her professional history shes proudest of will give you a better sense of where her strengths really lie.
Plus, this question offers the chance for her to expand on something she feels good aboutwhich can ease her nerves and help to boost her confidence going into the rest of the interview.
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How To Prepare For An Interview
Use these questions and example answers to prepare for your interview by making them your own and tailoring them to fit your experience, the job and the company youre interviewing for. Its important to get comfortable with what you could be asked and understand what a good response might be.
Much like preparing for a test in school, the best way to succeed in your interview is to study and practice. Research the company and the job, and practice your talking points until you feel confident about your answers. The more you prepare, the more likely you are to leave a lasting impression and outperform fellow candidates. Come equipped with examples of work from previous jobs, as well as ideas for the new job. Try and make the interview as conversational as possible by showing genuine interest in the job, company and your interviewer.
Avoid The Standard Job Interview
Use these basic principles to avoid the common pitfalls of the interview.
A typical job interview is little more than a social call with some predictable choreography. A conference-room meeting, a pristine résumé and the standard questions: Where do you want to be in five years? What do you consider your biggest failure? What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Add in some small talk maybe the candidate and the interviewer have something in common, like an alma mater or an acquaintance from an earlier job and thats largely it. The candidate seems good, and the references check out. So an offer is made, and fingers are crossed that everything works out.
Then, a month later, the new hire misses an important deadline or starts complaining about the work. Cue that sinking feeling: You start wondering if hiring this person was a mistake.
Of course theres a better way. Here are three principles that can help you hire the right person:
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Free Interview Templates And Scorecards
Smartsheet Contributor Becky Simon on May 31, 2018
Job interviews provide an opportunity for both employers and applicants to get a sense of whether the position, work environment, organizational culture, and objectives would be a good match.
Weve rounded up the top interview templates for employers, including schedule and question templates, an exit interview template, and scorecards for final evaluations. Templates are available for free download in Excel, Word, PDF, and Google formats.
Excel | Word | PDF | Smartsheet
This agenda serves as an interview itinerary template: It breaks down each portion of the interview process into clear steps, identifies who is responsible for each step, and provides a timeline to follow. For group interviews or lengthy agendas, it can be helpful to create an organized outline so that everyone involved in the process is aware of the interview format. Modify the template to create an agenda that suits your organization and the role you are filling.
Get Ready Ahead Of Time
Don’t wait until the last minute to pick out an interview outfit, print extra copies of your resume, or find a notepad and pen. Have one good interview outfit ready, so you can interview on short notice without having to worry about what to wear.
When you have an interview lined up, get everything ready the night before.
Not only will planning out everything buy you time in the morning, it can help reduce job search anxiety, and it will also save you from having to make decisions, which means you can use that brainpower for your interview.
Make sure your interview attire is neat, tidy, and appropriate for the type of firm you are interviewing with. Bring a nice portfolio with extra copies of your resume. Include a pen and paper for note-taking.
If you’re interviewing virtually, have all the technology set and ready in advance. Do a trial run to be sure everything is working properly, and you’re comfortable with it.
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Where Do You See Yourself In The Next 5 Years
An ambitious professional with a clear set of goals for the short, medium, and long term, is an invaluable asset to the company. This is true especially if they parallel their career growth with the company they are interviewing at.
As they grow professionally and financially, the company grows and expands too.
During the interview, confident job seekers will discuss that they seek a company with upward mobility as they help the company prosper.
What Are Your Greatest Strengths To A Company
The ability of a candidate to talk about their strengths and still maintain their humility is a strong indicator of a winning personality.
This also gives the interviewee a chance to explain and align their strengths with the position they are interviewing for demonstrating attributes that will contribute to the companys goals.
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Questions And Information You Need
To make sure you are consistent and that information you need isnt left out, write down all your questions for each job in advance. Then youll be ready if someone just rings up looking for work too.
Make sure you ask open-ended questions, not just yes or no questions. That way the applicants will be able to show you what they know and youll get more detailed information about them.
You will need to ask questions about the specific experience, skills and training you need for the job. Asking additional general questions will give you a more complete picture about the applicants suitability. Some examples include:
What Excites You Most About This Position
Skills can be taught, but theres one thing that cant be: enthusiasm. When an interviewee is truly excited about an opportunity, that typically translates into excellent work and greater longevity with your company.
Ask that potential employee about what initially attracted him to the position. What makes him most excited about the prospect of working there?
Doing so will not only once again confirm his grasp of the duties of the role, but also give you a chance to figure out what aspects of the job interest him most.
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What Would Make This Company An Amazing Place To Work
Maybe you cant provide free lunches or paid hours of free time at work like bigger companies. But answers to this question can reveal a lot about what employees think is crucial to well-being.
In a study of nearly 17,000 employees, it was noted that an increase in stress level is directly correlated to workplace injury. While this interview wont eradicate organizational constraints or stressors, feedback from candidates and employees on what makes a company a great place to work is the perfect place to start.
There Are Some Things You Can Do To Make The Transition Easier:
- Group the questions according to topic. For example, if you want to ask about writing skills, list all these questions together. Then, if a candidate answering one question touches on another question in your list, you can easily say Actually, I was planning to ask you about that. Tell me more about. This applies to similar skills as well for example, list organizational interview questions and leadership interview questions one after the other.
- Ask prompting questions. Candidates will use their experiences, knowledge and thoughts to back up their answers. Most of the time, youll have something to ask about those thats relevant to the role. For instance, you can say something like You mentioned that you did this project with a team of designers. We actually have a great team here that youll be working closely with should you be hired. How would you feel about this?
- React like you would in a social situation. If somebody told you at a party that theyre currently working on a cutting-edge face recognition program, how would you react? You might say something like That sounds fascinating. Tell me more or Whats the program like? Its OK to respond this way during an interview, as long as you make sure the conversation doesnt stray from the job youre hiring for.
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Do You Work Best Alone Or On A Team
What kind of work will the candidate be performing if theyre selected for the position? This question helps determine if theyre suited to the types of assignments theyll receive. Someone who enjoys solitary work and long stretches of uninterrupted time may not thrive in a position that requires collaboration or multitasking.
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