Tell Me About A Time You Needed To Get Information From Someone Who Wasnt Very Responsive What Did You Do
Hiring managers want people who can take initiative and solve problems. Many workplace problems boil down to a communication breakdown, which is what this question is getting at. Try not to get too bogged down in the nitty-gritty details of the story and make sure finish with a clear lesson learned.
A good answer to this question might be:
Back when I was just starting out as an assistant to a more senior recruiter, I once needed to book interview rooms for several different candidates with a few sessions each, all on the same day. The online system the company used to schedule conference rooms was straightforward enough, but the problem was that it allowed more senior people to bump me out of my reservations. I had to scramble to get them back. When I didnt get responses to my emails, I literally ran around the office to find the people who took my rooms and explain why I needed them. It was stressful at the time, but it all worked out in the end. Most were happy to move to a different room or time to make sure the interviews went smoothly. I also met a bunch of people and earned early on that talking to someone in person can often move things along more quickly than an email can.
How Do You Deal With Personal Difficulties
These personal difficulties related questions are being asked because, if the candidate is going through some personal difficulties or have some personal baggage then they may affect their working or want to work overtime. The employer would like to know how well the candidate is handling his or her personal difficulty and if their personal problems going to interfere in the professional life.
Therefore, it is not necessary that the candidates need to share their personal information with their interviewer, but if the candidate is comfortable sharing their personal difficulty then its all good to go. No one can judge the candidate on the basis of a personal life so there is nothing to be worried about.
Tips For Giving The Best Response
Heres how to ensure you can answer personal interview questions with confidence.
Research the company. Before the interview, take the time to research the company. Doing so will allow you to predict which personal interview questions they are most likely to ask. Read the About Us section of the company website to get an idea of its corporate mission and/or company culture. If you know people who have worked for the company, seek their opinions of management, their peers, and the workplace climate. What personal attributes does the company value in its personnel?
Take a quiz. If youre the type of person who has never thought much about your personality traits, there are many fun and informative personality tests and career assessments that can help you to define which of your characteristics are desirable to employers .
Do a mock interview. Armed with the questions here, ask a friend or family member to roleplay the part of an interviewer. Rehearsing your answers to personal interview questions a few times will ensure that you dont become tongue-tied during the actual interview.
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How To Answer Personality Interview Questions
Alright, heres another quick detour before we dig into the personality questions. Before you look at the examples, its essential to learn a bit about how to answer these kinds of questions correctly.
Why? Because you never know what is going to come up.
Yes, we are giving you a list of personality questions. The thing is, the hiring manager may ask you some of these, or they may not. If you want to be ready for the unexpected, you want to get a great strategy in place. Thats why were taking a short wander down this path.
First, lets talk about how to describe your personality. In most cases, youll want to mention the standout traits that help you excel at work. Precisely which ones those will be depend on you.
Spend a little time reflecting on why youre good at what you do. What traits give you a leg up? How do they impact your motivation, drive, and mentality? How do you make them work for you? And in what way do they apply to the job you want to land?
Also, think about traits that hold you back. Theres a chance the hiring manager is going to ask you about them. Like the interview classic what is your greatest weakness, this can be tough. Admitting you have shortcomings can sting, but its an important part of the equation.
MIKE’S TIP:
Next, lets get into how to approach the questions themselves. With behavioral interview questions, your best bet is to combine the Tailoring Method and the STAR Method.
If You Could Change One Thing About Your Personality What Would It Be
Hiring managers ask this question to determine your level of self-awareness and how open you are to self-improvement. Consider choosing an element of your personality that could be improved and help you better perform this job. Be sure to describe how you’re working to improve this trait or finding ways to use it to your advantage.
Example:”My facial expressions can sometimes appear aloof, which some may misunderstand as me not being engaged in a conversation or task. However, this aloofness has proven useful in times of stress because of how calm I seem, a trait that has a positive influence on my coworkers. I can assure you that I’m very committed to my work and put a lot of care into it. But I am becoming more aware of how my facial expressions may be misunderstood and changing to ensure I convey my engagement.”
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Question #4 What Motivates You
Motivation and determination to do something remarkable are one among the various ingredients in the recipe for success. Motivation can be derived from anything. The candidate could be motivated by an appreciation from a senior or reading inspiring stories. Know their motivation so that you can motivate them in future if need be.
Describe A Time When It Was Especially Important To Make A Good Impression On A Client How Did You Go About Doing So
A perfect answer to this question has an outstanding outcome and illustrates the process of getting to that result. But even if you only have a decent outcome to point to instead of a stellar one, spelling out the steps you took will get you a strong answer.
For instance:
One of the most important times to make a good impression on a client is before theyre officially a client. When the sales team pulls me into meetings with potential clients, I know were close to sealing the deal and I do my best to help that along. Thats probably why I was chosen to represent the research team when we did a final presentation for what would become our biggest client win of the year. I spoke with everyone on the sales team who had met with them previously to learn as much as possible about what they might care about. The thing I do that sets me apart is that I dont try to treat all the clients the same. I try to address their specific questions and concerns so that they know I did my homework and that I care enough to not just give the cookie-cutter answers. In this case, having the data pulled and ready for every question they had made all the difference in building their confidence in our company.
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What Have I Not Asked You That I Should Have
This question surprises almost everyone, says Liza Hausman, VP of Industry Marketing at Houzz.
I like it because it tells me what they think is important about their skills or experience. It also lets me know if they have an interview strategy of their own, which can be useful if theyre going to be building out a team.
Got a favorite interview question of your own? Tell us on Twitter or. Well compile the best submissions and share them withFirst Round Review newsletter subscribers.
Describe A Situation Where You Had To Confront Your Boss With A Problematic Issue
A candidates ability to be candid and open is evaluated by observing their willingness to speak openly and honestly when its easier to remain silent.
Its common for most people to avoid conflict with their boss. However, as previously covered, everyone makes mistakes, even those in higher positions.
This question tests the ability to create dialogue, hold others accountable, and shows great future leadership qualities.
If you dont have a story to relate to, dont stress, you likely wont be penalized for not having an answer for this one not everyone has experience raising tense issues with those in higher management.
However, if you do have a story to tell for this question, it could help you stand out from the crowd. Candidates who are bold enough to ask those tough questions are invaluable to any company or organization.
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Questions About Professional Development Career Paths And Future Opportunities
Markman says its critical to understand what growth and career development will look like in the job. You want to be sure that you can see yourself not just in the role youre currently applying for but that there is a career path at the organization that youre excited about.
What’s One Part Of Your Previous Company’s Culture That You Hope To Bring To Your Next One What One Part Do You Hope To Not Find
Ben Kamens, the founder and CEO of Spring Discovery finds this question to be an effective way to probe candidates thoughtfulness when it comes to working with others, uncovering their understanding of how team dynamics and culture intersect.
Do they immaturely rant about the failings of past teammates? Do they thoughtfully consider why certain problems existed, maturely discussing the tradeoffs their previous company had to make? he says. Can they reason through why one company or industry’s problems or culture might not apply to another’s?
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Facebook Behavioral Interview Questions
A large part of the world uses Facebookevery month, there are over 2.8 billion users. And with incredible employee benefits, high salaries, and an outstanding reputation, Facebook has no shortage of willing employee candidates. Here are the behavioral interview questions you might ask or have to answer at Facebook.
Favorite Interview Questions From Some Of The Sharpest Folks We Know
Here at First Round, were always searching for advice that gets overlooked or goes unshared, hoping to find the stones that company builders dont even know to turn over.
Whether its through in-person events, online discussions on First Round Network , or the articles and interviews we share here on the Review, were driven by an ambition to create the space founders and startup leaders need to exchange that trapped knowledge.
And in those spaces, weve seen time and time again how the conversation inevitably drifts back to a single topic. Whether its a Fast Track mentorship pairing, an intimate Co-Founder Forum dinner or a CTO unconference, hiring always seems to be top of mind.
Theres no shortage of challenges that could benefit from a dose of outside perspective, from finding hiring practices that scale to bringing on a new exec to nabbing a great in-house recruiter. And then there’s the interview.
When youre scaling quickly, moving at warp speed, and sitting on several hiring panels, interviewing can seem like a task you just need to get through. But its worth pausing to remember that the decision to hire someone is an expensive and far-reaching one. And since youre forced to make it after spending a few hours together, maximizing what you can learn about candidates in those precious few minutes becomes all the more crucial.
Of course, weve shared a fair amount of interview best practices in the past here on the Review. .
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How Do You Handle Unexpected Issues In The Workplace
There are lots of unexpected issues happen in ones life and people use a different approach to tackling these work issues, but what matters the most is the approach they use to tackle such issues. Different approaches are used to tackle unexpected issues give the sneak peek into their personality and give the chance to understand a little more of a person and how they actually are.
When an interviewer presents such a question where the candidates are required to share some of their actual work-life situations, they intended to know the interviewee little more and understand how they actually deal with the situation. Candidates need to answer them with complete honesty and proof of their work so that they can show how worthy they are for the job. In this question, the interviewer is expected from the candidate that he should take a positive approach towards any type of situation which comes in front of the employees unexpectedly. They should maintain a positive attitude at work.
Career Goal Questions To Ask Job Candidates:
- Why do you want this job?
- Where would you like to be in your career five years from now?
- Why should we hire you?
- Why are you leaving your present job?
- What salary are you seeking?
- Whats your salary history?
- If I were to give you the salary you requested, but let you write your job description for the next year, what would it say?
- What are you looking for in terms of career development?
- How do you want to improve yourself in the next year?
- What kind of goals would you have in mind if you got this job?
Which questions do you think are most helpful when it comes to hiring new employees? Have you had better luck focusing on personality or work experience? Id love to hear your thoughts in the comments, or on Twitter @Bplans!
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Personal Interview Questions With Sample Answers
Before your interview, it’s common to prepare for professional questions that inquire about your qualifications and skills in a specific field. Employers will also likely ask some personal questions that are more generic in nature. These are geared toward your personality, your work style, how you handle stress and other questions about your character. These questions are just as important as those about your skills because they help reveal your personality, as well as how well you’ll assimilate into a company culture.
Here are 10 examples of these types of personal questions, as well as some tips on how to effectively answer them:
Hard Questions For S Styles
If you are to try an S style for a job position, you likely already know they are good team players and fabulous listeners. Unfortunately, one of the biggest challenges associated with S types is oversensitivity. They might struggle to answer questions related to this facet of their personality and those tangentially related, including, Is there a type of person you dont get along with? and, Tell me about a time when you put feedback or criticism to use.
Have in mind that S types have a tendency to dislike change. If an interviewer picks up on this, they may find difficult answering questions like, Describe a time in which you embraced a new routine at the office.
S personalities tend to listen rather than speak, and this can be a problem if they are applying for a job in a fast-paced, communication-heavy environment. They may be puzzled to answer, How did you handle a conflict at the workplace?
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What Are 10 Ways To Speed Up Dominos Pizza Delivery
When hiring early-career PMs at Coinbase, Max Branzburg likes to throw this unexpected, pizza-chain related inquiry out there.
There’s no one right answer, but what I like about this question is that nearly everyone has the same context beforehand, he says. Good responses demonstrate an ability to ask clarifying questions, structure thoughts, be both creative and analytical, and consider technological and operational solutions. Plus, its undeniably fun.
Tell Me About Your Best And Worst Days At Work
This interview question from Chris ONeill, CEO of Evernote, is a great way to gauge someones outlook and perspective. Heres his insider interview tip:
The answers are very revealing. Best day answers demonstrate what makes that person tick, what motivates them. Worst day answers tell whether a person is a team playerif their response focuses on what went wrong, without taking any ownership, there is a good chance they wont thrive in a collaborative environment.Chris ONeill
I would recommend taking this a step further and thinking about what your ideal answer to this question is as an interviewer. If you were to ask your top performers this behavioral interview question, how would they answer? What examples would they give?
If you find a candidate who has similar answers to your top performersthey are a winner!
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