Question #: Is There Anything About My Background Or Resume That Makes You Question Whether I Am A Good Fit For This Role
This question displays that youre highly invested in the job and committed to understanding your prospects as a candidate. Plus, it will also allow you an opportunity to respond to any potential concerns. Lastly, this question is best to ask at the end of the interview to gauge where you might stand within the job process.
Question: What Is Your Greatest Accomplishment
Consider this question an invitation to do some bragging about what you have achieved in your career that can benefit this new employer. By asking this question, the interviewers are inviting you to share an achievement/accomplishment which provides proof that you are the best candidate for this job
Focus on them: Choose a recent accomplishment, if possible, that demonstrates your ability to do this job very well. Have several good examples prepared before the interview.
Like your greatest strength, your greatest accomplishment aligns with something they need. Again, as with strengths, while you have many accomplishments you could describe, the smartest strategy is to focus on your recent accomplishments that make it clear you can do their job very well.
Be truthful and also be very careful about treating this question casually. Advanced preparation is the smartest strategy.
Hopefully, your and your resume reference this accomplishment or situation in some way.
Focus On The Employer’s Needs
Though the question “Why should we hire you” seems like the focus is on you and your wants, it’s really not. Your personal career goals are certainly important, but this question is an opportunity to explain how you’ll bring value to the company.
To prepare, research everything you can about the business’ agendaread its website, social media, quarterly reports, company profiles on Monster, press releases, and recent news stories about the company. What are their goals? Where do they see themselves headed in the future? How can your talents help get them there?
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How Do You Evaluate Success
What They Want to Know: Your answer to this question will give the interviewer a sense of your work ethic, your career goals, and your life goals. Tailor your response to fit what you expect to achieve if you were to be hired by this employer.
When I wake up each morning enthusiastic about going to work, then lock the clinic at night knowing that weve made a difference in peoples lives, I figure the day has been a success.
More Answers: Job Interview Question: How Do You Define Success?
Question: What Do You Know About Us
This is actually a test. If you know very little, it is an indication that you are not very serious about working there.
Focus on them: Candidates who are really excited about the prospect of working there have done their homework. If you really want to stand out, learn more than what is listed on their web site.
Do some heavy research perhaps find some articles on the company that not many would know about. It may even come up in conversation spontaneously, and you can show them a copy of the article .
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What Three Words Would Your Colleagues Use To Describe You
The answer can clue you in to a candidates personality trait that may not be readily apparent through their resume or traditional interview questions. It also gives insight into how the individual perceives themselves and the role theyre applying for. For example, if their answer focuses on their creative side but the position is very analytical in nature, the job may not be a good fit.
Hiring IT professionals? We can help:
If The Interviewer Gives You A Big Picture And Specifies With Your Experience:
If the interviewer tells about their companyâs challenge and says that they believe your experience would help to achieve and solve that. Then you need to put a smile on your face as it is a nod for hiring you in the company.
If the companyâs next challenge is put forth you and a big picture is presented to you regarding that, it means something special in you has already impressed them. So, this is also one of the signs which say that you have the potential to get selected.
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Interview Questions You Should Ask Potential Employees
Interviews are a notoriously nervy experience for the person being interviewed, but they can be just as nerve-shredding for the person doing the interviewing. If youre a small to medium business owner, bringing someone else into your company is a big change. You need them to adapt to the culture and mood of your workplace, and you need them to start producing quickly. Unlike a massive corporation, a small business cant afford to have passengers. When somebody new comes in, they have to hit the ground running. That means its essential you get the right candidate at the first time of asking.
Unfortunately, getting the right candidate isnt as easy as picking the person with the best resume and the most confident answers. Theres more to it than that. Anyone whos been through the recruitment process before knows it can feel a little like playing online slots. When someones playing games at an online slots website and isnt happy with the results theyre getting, they just pump in more money and spin the reels again until they get a result theyre happy with. Thats easy to do if were still talking about literal online slots, where each spin is just a few dollars, and the process happens in seconds. Each spin with recruitment is at least a months salary, and then a delay of a few weeks before you can bring in a replacement.
Here are a few of our favourites:
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:
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What Can We Expect From You In Your First Three Months
Ideally the answer to this should come from the employer: They should have plans and expectations for you.
But if you’re asked, use this general framework:
- You’ll work hard to determine how your job creates value — you won’t just stay busy, you’ll stay busy doing the right things.
- You’ll learn how to serve all your constituents — your boss, your employees, your peers, your customers, and your suppliers and vendors.
- You’ll focus on doing what you do best — you’ll be hired because you bring certain skills, and you’ll apply those skills to make things happen.
- You’ll make a difference — with customers, with other employees, to bring enthusiasm and focus and a sense of commitment and teamwork.
Then just layer in specifics that are applicable to you and the job.
How Do You Handle Tight Deadlines
IT teams often face daunting time constraints. You need someone who can work efficiently and accurately when under pressure. Ask this interview question of a potential employee and youll at least get a sense of how they deal with stress and whether they can keep up with the pace of projects at your company. You could also follow up by asking if theyve ever missed a deadline and, if so, how they dealt with the situation.
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What Is Your Salary Expectation
Choose a salary range.
Rather than offering a set number of the salary you expect, provide the employer with a range in which youd like your salary to fall. Try to keep your range tight rather than very wide. For example, if you want to make $75,000 a year, a good range to offer would be $73,000 to $80,000.
How Do You Prioritise Your Work
The employer wants to know whether you’re organised, can meet deadlines and are able to handle multiple projects at the same time. The best way to answer this question is to provide examples of times when you’ve juggled a number of different tasks and still delivered them to a high quality and on time. These examples can come from previous jobs, university study or your extra-curricular activities. Give some detail about what methods you use to keep track of your progress and productivity.
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What Would You Hope To Achieve In The First Six Months After Being Hired
The answer to this tech interview question depends on the role. A developer, for example, may hope to have developed a small project during that time, while a tech manager may want to have analyzed internal processes. A candidates response will give you insights into their overall understanding of the position. If their goals and ambitions dont match the job description, this may not be the right position for them.
What Did You Like Most About The Job Description
This is one of the best HR interview questions to ask to start a conversation on requirements and responsibilities. And, its useful to assess how much the candidate has understood the role.
Sample answer:
First, the job description itself was very well-written and gave me a good idea of what the role was about. Second, I really liked the fact that this accounting role involves collaboration with others. I love accounting, but I dont want to sit at my desk to look at numbers all day I want to have the chance to work as part of a team where we can exchange opinions and knowledge of new accounting methods and organize the company accounting department in the best way possible.
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What Were Your Starting And Final Levels Of Compensation
What They Want to Know: Hiring managers will want to learn how much you earned to see if you’re a competitive candidate for the company from a salary perspective. Be honest when discussing how much you were paid because employers can ask about salary when checking your background.
However, also be aware that in some locations employers are prohibited from asking about your prior wages. Some employers have also implemented policies that restrict questions about salary from being asked.
When I started my entry-level job as an accountant, my annual salary was approximately $42K I then became a CPA and currently take home around $80K.
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Questions About Your Supervisors And Co
What They Want to Know: Did you get along with your manager? Have you worked with difficult colleagues? How you interact with supervisors and co-workers will provide the interviewer with insight into your interpersonal and communication skills.
I think I get along well with both my manager and my colleagues, because I approach everyone with respect. When issues arise, I try to ask for clarification and find points of agreement we can use to resolve differences of opinion.
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What Was Your Biggest Accomplishment In This Position
What They Want to Know: What are you proudest of? Was there a time something didn’t work out, but you were able to learn from it? Let the hiring manager know what you achieved, again sharing examples from your most recent job.
Im most proud of having convinced our CEO to implement an internal training and promotion program that allowed our personnel to steadily advance within our organization.
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How Do You Define Success
Employers ask this to help them understand how your definition of success influences your goals and how you measure them. A good answer will show that you know how to define and measure goals and youre willing to challenge yourself and work hard to meet them.
Consider your proudest achievements, your long and short-term successes and how the company youre interviewing with views success. Give specific examples of how youve succeeded in the past.
Example answer:I define success as fulfilling my role in my team and in the company. I work toward completing my individual duties as effectively as possible, balancing that with professional growth and contributing to larger organizational goals. In my previous role, success meant exceeding weekly metrics, implementing processes that supported the companys KPIs and meeting quarterly professional development goals.
Read more: Interview Question: “How Do You Define Success?”
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What Do You Expect Me To Accomplish In The First 90 Days
If you weren’t asked this question, ask it yourself. Why? Great candidates want to hit the ground running. They don’t want to spend weeks or months “getting to know the organization.” They don’t want to spend huge chunks of time in orientation, in training, or in the futile pursuit of getting their feet wet.
They want to make a difference — and they want to make that difference right now.
Tell Me About Yourself / Your Past Work Experience
What seems like such a simple question can sometimes be one of the toughest to answer for most professionals. As it is often the opening question for interviews, it is one of the most important since first impressions are key. When asking this question, the interviewer is looking for an answer that is pertinent to the job you’re interviewing for.
inside out and start with an overview of your highest qualification then run through your past jobs. Give examples of your achievements and the skills you’ve developed in your career so far.
Keep your answer brief – the interviewer will ask you to expand on any areas where they’d like more information.”
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When Can You Start
Your goal here should be to set realistic expectations that will work for both you and the company. What exactly that sounds like will depend on your specific situation. If youre ready to start immediatelyif youre unemployed, for exampleyou could offer to start within the week. But if you need to give notice to your current employer, dont be afraid to say so people will understand and respect that you plan to wrap things up right. Its also legitimate to want to take a break between jobs, though you might want to say you have previously scheduled commitments to attend to and try to be flexible if they really need someone to start a bit sooner.
What Are The Qualities Of A Successful Team Or Project Leader
Always be on the lookout for leaders, even when youre not hiring for a management position. The nature of IT work means individuals will frequently have to take responsibility for delivering projects, and this requires leadership skills such as organization, motivation, positivity, delegation and communication.
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How Would Your Boss Or Coworkers Describe You
This question is pretty much the same as what are your greatest strengths, the only difference is that it should be from the point of view from your boss or coworkers.
Here, you want to focus on your traits and achievements that youve previously been praised for .
There are at least 2 ways to answer this question:
1) Describe a specific situation where you excelled at work
Sample Answer
Theyd say Im super hard working. During my weekend-off, not one, but three of my coworkers got sick, and I had to spot for them.
The weekend was peak season in Nantucket, so the restaurant was getting seriously overwhelmed. All of a sudden, we went from being very prepared for the season, to complete panic.
Had to jump between serving, bussing, and line-cooking, but overall, managed to survive through the weekend successfully.
2) Quote a performance review
If youve previously worked in an office job, youre probably all too familiar with these.
Did your boss give you a glowing performance review? Make sure to mention it here!
Sample answer:
Well, in my last performance review in September, my boss described me as someone who takes initiative.
My position as a PR manager involves constantly keeping track of our clients brand reputation, and if something goes wrong, dealing with it as fast as possible.
In a lot of cases, you need to be very proactive – if you wait for your entire team to have a meeting on how to deal with the issue, it might already be too late.
