How To Handle Inappropriate Questions
Under regulations from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission , employers are barred from asking certain questions that can be considered discriminatory. These questions involve ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, family arrangements or other personal identity factors. This Business News Daily article outlines other illegal job interview questions that employers shouldn’t ask.
If you feel uncomfortable with a question or believe it’s discriminatory, you have several options for how to respond:
- Politely ask the interviewer what relevance the question has to the position or why the question is being asked.
- Redirect the conversation toward a discussion of your skills and abilities as they relate to the position.
- Answer the question.
- Refuse to answer the question.
- End the interview.
- If an employer asks something truly offensive or discriminatory, you can file a complaint with the EEOC.
Read And Review The Job Description
Youve received a call for that dream job, so how do you prepare for the interview? The first step in the preparation process should be to go back and review the job description. Most job descriptions follow a similar pattern and are usually categorised by the following points:
- Job title/Department
- Duties and tasks
- Skills required
The job title and department will give you an understanding of the major purpose of the position and where the role fits into the organisation, allowing you to discover who your potential line manager could be.
Read and review the job description very thoroughly and be sure to align your competencies with the skills required for the job. You will consequently ready yourself for questions around your previous experiences, performing similar duties in other organisations.
Preparing Your Own Questions
You should also prepare a few questions of your own to ask during the interview. Not only does it give you the opportunity to gain deeper insights into the company, role, and culture, but it shows the hiring manager that you’re truly interested in the organization.
“During the interview, you should take the time to assess whether the employer is the right fit for you, not just try to prove to the employer that you’re right for the job,” Zahka said.
While the standard “What’s a typical day like here?” and “How would you describe your company culture?” are fine to ask, you can stand out from other job seekers by asking unique, insightful questions that ultimately reinforce why you’re an ideal fit for the role.
Travis Furlow, vice president of enterprise accounts at TrueBlue Inc., shared seven questions to ask during your next interview.
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How To Follow Up An Interview
Congratulations! You made it through the initial interview process, hopefully picking up some great job interview tips we provided in the preceding sections.
Don’t stop there. The next part of the process is just as important, if not more so. In today’s competitive job market it’s imperative you follow up your initial job interview with a thank-you email to reiterate your interest in the role, and brush up on your second interview skills.
Read below for tips on what to do after the interview to make it into the next round of interviews – and successfully achieve your dream job.
Remember Good Manners And Body Language
Non-verbal communication can be just as important as anything you say in the interview.
Use confident, accessible body language. Smile frequently. Make eye contact when youre speaking. Sit or stand tall with your shoulders back. Before the interview, take a deep breath and exhale slowly. This will help you manage any feelings of anxiety and will encourage greater self-confidence.
Treat every single person you encounter with respect. This includes people on the road and in the parking lot, security personnel and front desk staff. Treat everyone you dont know as though theyre the hiring manager. Even if they arent, your potential employer might ask for their feedback.
Nail the handshake. During a job interview, the hiring manager should extend their hand first to initiate the handshake. Stand, look the person in the eye and smile. A good handshake should be firm but not crush the other persons fingers.
Send personalised thank you notes to each interviewer. You may want to ask for the business card of each person you speak with during the interview process so that you can follow up individually with a separate thank you emailif they dont have a business card, you could ask for their email address and make a note of it. If you interviewed in the morning, send your follow-up emails the same day. If you are interviewed in the afternoon, the next morning is fine. Make certain that each email is distinct from the others, using the notes you took during the conversations.
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What Single Project Or Task Would You Consider Your Most Significant Career Accomplishment To Date
Lou Adler, author of The Essential Guide for Hiring & Getting Hired and Hire With Your Head, spent 10 years searching for the single best interview question that will reveal whether to hire or not hire a candidate — and this was the one.
A good answer to this question:
Candidates’ answers will tell you about their prior success and sense of ownership. A great answer will show they are confident in their work and professional choices while being humble enough to show they care about the company’s success. For example, if a candidate built a sales or marketing campaign they’re particularly proud of, listen for them to explain how the business benefited from it. Did it help the company sign a major client?
Creating A Good What Makes You Unique Answer
- Either short or somewhat long. But should not be an ultra-short answer with no explanation and should also not be extremely long-winded or over-explained.
- Its difficult to make an honest answer seem like you arent bragging . So, be sure to look at a particularly glowing answer and see how you can bring it down just a notch for modestys sake. For example, Im the friendliest person I know is a good answer. But following up with a humorous statement. Like, It may seem like Im bragging but trust me, this personality trait has its pros and cons. This helps make you seem relatable rather than conceited.
- Tell a story. Bring up examples of past events that are interesting, relevant, and memorable.
- Include skills and personality traits that are relevant to the position. It is also wise to think of very transferable skills. Or skills that could change and improve through the time youre in a particular position.
- If youre trying to switch industries, be sure to think of skills that are shared between the industry. Skills you have experience with and the industry youre trying to break into.
Consider these aspects when answering, “What makes you unique?” Answering in this structure shows you’re the best candidate for the job. Unfortunately, there is some faux pas to avoid when answering this question.
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Ask Pointed Questions And Light
Try to mix up the tone of your questions. I try to ask a few pointed questions that contrarians might ask, says Jeff. Its always good to poke a little, as long as you dont go too far. And throw in the occasional light-hearted question for fun, he says.
This is a good way to tailor your interview to your audience.
Be Intentional About Your Virtual Background
With an increasing number of interviews happening over Zoom or other videoconferencing apps, your background can be one more way to share key information during an interview, according to Devon Fata, CEO of the web design firm Pixoul.
Whatever you do, dont use an obviously fake background, Fata said. Instead, choose your location and what you show behind you carefully. You could show off your workspace, your qualifications, or your beautiful porch. You could choose to either showor hide all evidence ofkids or pets.
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What Is Something You’d Be Happy Doing Every Single Day For The Rest Of Your Career
While it’s important to hire for skill, it’s also important to hire someone who’s likely to be happy in the job for which you’re hiring. A question like this one will help uncover what makes each candidate happy at work — which is a great way to gauge whether they’d enjoy their role and stay at the company for a long time.
A good answer to this question:
There’s no right answer to this question — it’s more of a learning opportunity for you to see what your employees most enjoy in the industry. Nonetheless, a candidate’s answer to this question should align with the core responsibilities of the job for which they’re applying.
A sales candidate who says they could lead client kickoff meetings every day, for example, is a much better fit than a sales candidate who prefers to create lead-generating campaigns .
Do Be Neutral But Be Encouraging
Most conversations are not neutral. In a conversation, one person reacts to the other with their body language, voice and words. They communicate agreement, disagreement, judgment and emotion.
You should try to strip away these things to remove bias, while being careful not to unsettle the participant.
As researchers, we try to react in an encouraging but neutral way, to make the session feel like a normal social interaction. Positive body language can help sitting the same way as the participant, nodding in response to answers.
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Prepare For The Type Of Interview
Interviews can be conducted in different formats and settings. Knowing what kind of interview to expect can help you enter the meeting feeling more prepared and confident. Some interview formats that differ from the traditional one-on-one meeting include:
Out-of-office interviews
Arrive a few minutes before your interviewer for a lunch or dinner interview. Browse through the restaurant menu online before arriving, and learn about what type of restaurant you’ll be visiting to determine how you should dress.
Phone and video interviews
Find a quiet room where you won’t be interrupted to do the interview. Make sure the technology you will be using works efficiently, and practice using it before the interview.
Group interviews
A group interview is when a panel of people interviews you. It could also be an interview with a group of candidates. Besides practicing your answers to common questions, it will also help to practice your listening skills before going into this type of interview.
Related:How to Succeed at a Group Interview
Tips For A Good Interview Preparation
Keep these things in mind:
Preparation before an interview: Tips for a successful interviewOne of the first steps is to practice the questions and its answers before you attend the interview. You can either practice it with your mirror or your friends, but you must have experience of wording out the answers to the questions that may be asked before you attend the actual interview.
Practicing the answers also makes you relaxed and gives you a sense of confidence, which is very necessary in case you are asked something out of the blue, that you are not ready for.Refer to Job interview questions & answers.
Research about the company:During an interview, some common questions are questions that are aimed at finding out whether you know anything about the company. If you research the company and are able to answer their questions regarding the company, it puts you in a positive light in the view of the interviewer, as someone who has taken an informed decision about their profession and the company where they see themselves working.Read What Do You Know about this Company?
The world of business thrives on people who think smart and out of the box. Anyone who is tied up with concepts and certain principles may not fit the company goals.
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Great Tips To Make A Good Impression At Your Interview
Some of you may be graduating soon and you might be busy applying for your first biotech or life sciences job. Or if youre a PhD student, maybe youre thinking about a postdoc position. How well do you think youll perform at interview?
Interviews are difficult at any level, so here well guide you through some of the likely interview questions and situations you might find yourself having to deal with in a life sciences interview.
As a veteran interviewee of more years than I care to mention, here are my 10 top tips for how to make a great impression at your life sciences interview.
Getting Ready To Interview
Wear appropriate interview attire. It can be awkward if you show up at a job interview overdressedor underdressed. Always dress appropriately for an interview, so you make the best first impression.
Go light on the perfume or cologne. Some people have sensitivities or allergies to fragrances. Others have strong reactions to scentsand not always positive ones. Make sure the interviewer can focus on your qualifications, not your perfume selection.
Avoid sweaty palms. Nobody wants to touch a slimy, wet hand. If you can visit the restroom on the way to the interview, wash and thoroughly dry your hands. When thats not possible, use a tissue to make sure your hands are dry.
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What Makes A Job Interview Good
Reading time: 3Minutes
Potential employees may be the ones answering the questions, but recruiters play a huge part in an interviews success
Its not just down to the candidate. The way recruiters manage the interview process can make all the difference.
Be it as interviewer or interviewee, most of us have experienced that moment when the spark of potential fizzles out, and both parties know the outcome is negative. Sometimes its a case of being turned off a candidate when meeting them face to face. According to CV Library, four in five employers admit to being annoyed by a candidates attitude and behaviour during an interview, something its only possibly to get an informed sense of by meeting them in person.
But sometimes, its not down to the fact youve experienced a candidates flaws firsthand. If they were the wrong fit for the role from the start, or the interview process itself just didnt go well, it might be worth considering what could have been done to avoid this happening next time. And there are several interview tips recruiters can use to up their chances of job interviews resulting in a successful hire rather than a disappointing outcome and that slightly awkward handshake.
Optimise your interview and book a room with Regus
Ask About The Persons Actions
It depends on the person, but usually I ask them about their specific habits and practices, says Jeff Goins. Im less interested in what they would write in a book and more interested in how they try to apply the ideals they write or speak about.
Jeff is trying to get under a persons rhetoric to see the routines theyve cultivated to be successful. If you can get people to describe their actions rather than their beliefs about themselves, youll see a clearer picture of them, one unmarred by slogans.
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What Makes This A Tricky Question
This apparently straightforward questionwhy do you think youll be successful in this job?asks you to consider three separate things, each of which may be more complex than you expect.
First, why do you think you will be successful in this job? What are the special talents, experiences, passions, or attributes that mark you as an outstanding candidate?
Second, what does successful mean in the context of the job for which youre applying? Would it mean hitting sales targets, generating breakthrough research papers, solving technical problems, or something else?
Finally, why are you particularly well-suited to this job as opposed to similar positions at other companies, or a different profession entirely?
Tips For A Great Job Interview
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There are several aspects that one should keep in mind while interviewing for a job. If you are about to face an interview, you would certainly be requiring some tips for knowing what can make you a good job interview.
Recommended Reading: Mailscoop Io
Research The Company And Show What You Know
Do your homework and research the employer and the industry, so you are ready for the interview question, “What do you know about this company?” If this question is not asked, you should try to demonstrate what you know about the company on your own.
You can do this by tying what youve learned about the company into your responses. For example, you might say:
I noticed that when you implemented a new software system last year, your customer satisfaction ratings improved dramatically. I am well-versed in the latest technologies from my experience with developing software at ABC, and appreciate a company who strives to be a leader in its industry.
You should be able to find out a lot of information about the companys history, mission and values, staff, culture, and recent successes on its website. If the company has a blog and a social media presence, they can be useful places to look, too.
Figuring Out What Makes You Unique
- Look at the job description and highlight different skill requests and requirements that you possess. Figure out how to shimmy those skills into your answer.
- Think of tangible examples or events from your past that demonstrate your unique trait. Try to keep these examples professional, but if you can think of a non-professional answer relevant to the skill, try it out. Tell a story, albeit a pretty brief one. If the story is humorous or profound, it will absolutely stick with your hiring manager and increase your chances of landing the job.
- Dont use generic phrases like Im a good worker or Im a people person. Expand on those answers to come up with something actually unique. We can tell you right now that every other candidate has probably brought up that they are a hard worker. Stand out from them with an answer that is truly unique and memorable.
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