We know all interview questions are tough but these are the
real hard ones! Generally these questions aren’t asked to
make your life difficult or to make you squirm they are
simply asked so that the interviewer can find out what he
wants to know in the best possible way. When you are posed
with a difficult question which you find awkward to answer
it puts you under pressure. Therefore there may be certain
questions that are delivered to you to see how well you deal
with that pressure – not an unreasonable request if the new
job you are applying for is likely to carry and element of
pressure. Just remember there is no need to get worked up or
frightened, as I keep saying, if you have done your research
and prepared properly for the interview these questions
won’t be half as difficult as you think. When a question is
posed to you try and keep calm, think about the question for
a few moments and deliver your answer accordingly. So here
we go!
Are You A Good Leader? -
Your interviewer is looking to ascertain whether you can
manage or lead well in your job and how you deal with the people
who work under you. Perhaps you could answer this question along
the lines of “I feel that my team leading qualities are
exceptional. I am always firm but fair with the people who work
for me and find that I get a good deal of respect by operating
in this manner”.
How Do You Feel About Taking Direction From Your Superiors? -
This is a very valid question from any potential employer. If
you have a boss who is delegating work to you your boss will
want to know that you are able to deal with his requests and
execute them in the manner dictated. You will therefore want to
be answering this question along the lines of “I take direction
from my superiors well. After all no team can work properly
unless they are able to accept instructions from their
superior”.
How Do You Feel About Carrying Out Mundane or Repetitive Work? -
Nearly every job carries an element of routine to it so this
could well be a frequently asked “difficult” question. The
answer could be something like “I understand all jobs have some
element of repetitiveness but I take all aspects of my job
seriously regardless of whether they are mundane or not and I
always give 100% to my job”.
Are You A Natural Born Leader? -
Some of us are natural born leaders and they
are usually the people heading up teams or managing departments.
Natural born leaders are chosen for the role of management or
leadership because of their ability to guide and deal with
people. They are usually people who possess enthusiasm,
confidence and good leadership qualities. Try and build
something into your answer that shows these qualities, it hasn’t
necessarily got to include areas of your work life, however it’s
better if it does, but you could use and example of something in
your personal life such as being “head of the local under 16’s
football team” or “head of your local cricket team” but whatever
you choose try and choose something that makes your leadership
qualities stand out.
How Well Do You Handle Criticism? -
Everyone gets criticised in the job they do at
some point in their career whether you feel that the criticism
is right or wrong there are always two sides to every situation.
An ideal answer to this question might be “We all at some point
make mistakes and I am more than happy to take on board any
constructive criticism that is given to me as it helps me
understand and learn from the situation”.
How Well Do You Work Within A Team Environment? -
Teamwork is very important to an employer. A properly
functioning team will create a happy workplace and smooth,
efficient production regardless of the product or service
involved. Everyone has a different approach to how they deal
with their colleagues so you will need to tailor the answer to
this question to your own approach. Perhaps you could offer an
answer like “I really enjoy working as a member of a team. There
is a feeling of comradeship in that we are all working towards
the same goal and that when we meet our objective we all benefit
from the feeling of success”.
What Motivates You? -
Your interviewer is not looking for an answer along the lines of “£
100,000 per year and a Bentley Turbo!” lets face it that’s what
we would all like! Try and give a constructive answer such as “I
get a real kick out of completing a project. This drives me
along the way and I get satisfaction at each stage of the
project knowing that I will have made a contribution to the end
result”.
Are You Good At Getting The Best Out Of Your Team? -
An
interviewer asking this question is looking for an answer that
shows how you manage and run your team that work for you in
order to achieve the best performance out of them. Your answer
should include areas that show your leadership qualities and how
they benefit the people that work for you such as communication
skills and praise.
You Have Only Been With Your Employer A Very Short Time - Why? -
As
I have mentioned before the recruitment process is a long and
expensive one. Where recruitment agencies are used to source
candidates their fee may be as much as 30% of your first years
annual package let alone the costs associated with any
additional training you may need so the last thing an employer
wants to do is employ a candidate who is only going to work for
them for five minutes and then look for another job! If you have
been with previous employer for a short period of time then you
need to find an answer that is going to reassure the
interviewer’s doubts and put his mind at rest. It is possible in
this situation that you could use a line such as “Yes I have
only been with my existing employer a relatively short period of
time and have found that I have had to more to gain more
experience and enhance my career but I feel that I am now ready
to settle down in a position I am comfortable with for a long
period of time”.
How Do You Deal With Interpersonal Problems Within Your Team? -
Nothing runs smoothly all the time and from time to time there
will be disputes amongst members of your team. Obviously your
answer will probably come from your own experience here but
areas such as being fair by hearing both sides of the dispute,
dealing with the problem in private and not causing
embarrassment in front of others and looking for a compromise
between the individuals may all come into play.
How Would Your Current Boss Describe You? -
“Your useless and should look for another job
before I fire you!!”. Just kidding (or maybe not in some
cases!!). Remember at some point in the future the man or woman
sitting in the chair opposite you could well be your future
employer. When you answer this question provide an answer in a
way that you think you would like your boss to actually think of
you. So perhaps you can say something like “I get on very well
with my boss and we have an excellent working relationship. I
think that the reason we get on well is due to the fact that we
have mutual respect for each other. My boss considers me as a
hard working, loyal and efficient employee who is able to work
well using my own initiative and can trust me to carry out the
work given to me without having to bother him”. It’s not a
terribly good idea to blatantly lie about your relationship with
your boss if it’s horrendous as it may come out in references
that are taken later however under the employment law past
employers have to be very careful how they word references and
are not allowed to tear your personality apart!
What Part Of Your Job Do You Dislike The Most? -
Well the answer to this can’t be “I am
completely happy with my job and I enjoy every aspect of it as
it fulfils my daily working hours with joy and happiness and I
just wish I could do it 24 hours a day 365 days a year!!”. Why
not? Because you wouldn’t be applying for this job if it was
would you!? Don’t give answers that are purely motivated by
money and benefits – even if that is the case. You might
genuinely love your job but the money is crap but that isn’t
what the interviewer wants to hear. Perhaps you could use a line
like “I really do enjoy my current job and quite frankly there
aren’t really any areas of my work that I can honestly say I
dislike. However, the company I work for is small and I don’t
get much chance to deal with new business very often which is an
area I really find exciting and feel that this job would be able
to offer me that opportunity”. Of course there may be an area
you dislike in your job but if you decide to bring it up then
try and create a positive out of it. For example “I used to find
doing my filing at the end of the day a bit time consuming as I
would always get distracted by more important issues to deal
with so I decided that I would come in a bit earlier each
morning to deal with this enabling me to start the day fresh and
be left with a bit of spare time at the end of each day should
something really important come up”.
If
You Were Starting Out Again In Your Career Are There Any
Decisions You Would Choose Differently? -
Hey come on what a nonsense question really. No one can turn back
the clock so it’s completely irrelevant isn’t it but this is one
of those questions some interviewers like to pose. The only
answer I can think of giving is “I wouldn’t change anything. I
have been more than happy with all of the decisions I have made
in my career and don’t feel that I can gain any benefit out of
looking back and analysing something I cannot change”.
You Have Been With Your Employer A Long Time - Why? -
To
be honest I think this question is a bit unfair. There could be
many reasons why you have shown loyalty to your existing
employer for a lengthy period of time – it may be that you just
liked your job and the people you have worked for but
circumstances have changed or it might be that you have had a
wide and varied career working in different parts of the company
doing different job roles or you may have worked overseas for
the same company. People don’t generally stay with the same
employer in this day and age predominantly because it isn’t
always easy to get promoted internally within an organisation so
it could look to an interviewer that you have been unable to get
another job. Of course this probably isn’t the case so build
your answer around the facts.
Do
You Feel That Your Career Has Been A Success To Date? -
Again, another no brainer question that really has no bearing on
whether you are capable of doing the job you are applying for or
whether or not you are the right person for the job! Success can
only really be measured by the person who it applies to, what
one person thinks is successful another may think is
unsuccessful and I genuinely think very few people actually feel
that their career has been a failure. The only way to address
this question is to say “Yes I feel my career has been
successful to date and I have been more than happy with my
career progression. I have always put emphasis on enjoying the
job I do and not how much it pays or what benefits I can gain
from it and have found so far that this strategy has worked well
for me”.
We
Think You Might Be Overqualified For This Job! -
If
you were overqualified for this job would you be applying for
it? Well I guess in an interviewers mind it could be that you
are desperate, or it may be that you are desperate! A future
employer doesn’t want to think he is going to take you on if you
are going to get bored in five minutes because the job is too
easy and then start looking elsewhere again. This is a difficult
question to answer but you could intimate that you have a very
low boredom threshold and that everything you do, you do to the
best of your ability.
If
You Were Appointed To This Position How Long Would It Be Before
You Would Expect To Be Promoted? -
Lets face it most of us want promotion as soon as possible.
Promotion usually leads to more money and better employment
benefits (of course it also usually entails more work and
stress!) but you should consider your answer to this question
carefully. If you answer “I’d expect promotion within 12 months
of being appointed” you allocate a timescale which of course may
not be acceptable to your future employer – they may not be
looking to promote you for a good few years and they may feel
that you would become despondent and leave if you didn’t achieve
what you want. In all honesty the right kind of answer to this
question is going to be something like “I couldn’t give a
timescale in which I would expect to be promoted as I feel I
would need to prove myself to the company in terms of my
ability, leadership skills and experience I would bring to the
business. I feel that promotion is a reward, not a right and as
with all rewards I am a great believer in that you have to earn
them”.
How Have You Managed To Attend This Interview In Works Time? -
Another naughty question often posed by interviewers but at the
same time it does bear some relevance. If you are attending an
interview when you would normally expect to be in work then your
potential employer wants to know what type of excuse you have
come up with to blag your existing employer. Really this is a
question of honesty and the reality is that you won’t have asked
your existing boss for time off to attend an interview for
another job. It may well be that you have blagged the time by
telling your boss that you have had to take your pet anaconda to
the vets or you might have thrown a sicky but that isn’t what
your future employer wants to hear. One straight forward answer
to this question is “I have taken some holiday to take part in
this interview”. If you are feeling really clever and you want
to impress your interviewer you could say “Unfortunately I
didn’t have any holiday left so I asked my employer if I could
take a days unpaid leave because I had a personal issue I needed
to deal with. I preferred to take that action as I don’t feel it
fair on my existing employer to attend this interview whilst he
was paying me – I do not think its right to cheat”.
You Have Read The Job Description And A Summary Of The Job Role
So What Areas Of This Job Appeal To You The Least? -
Hmm….It’s a nasty one this isn’t it! At
this point in your interview you don’t want to go and start
making out that there is anything at all that you don’t fancy
doing in this new job. I am not one for one sentence answers but
if you get this one dropped on you I think it’s good to get off
the subject as quickly as possible and use the damage limitation
technique. I think a simple “Having reviewed the job summary and
description I have to say that I can’t find anything that
doesn’t appeal to me in this job at all”. If you do find
something about the job that looks less than appealing make sure
it isn’t a major part of role and if you can’t find anyway of
turning the duty from a negative to a positive leave it well
alone.
What Sort Of People Do You Find It Difficult To Work With? -
There’s always someone in the office that doesn’t work with the
team and the rest of the team ends up carrying but that’s life
at the end of the day and it’s up to your boss to sort that
problem out. This often causes bad feeling amongst the team and
irritates the other members. However, when you are attending an
interview you really don’t want to be seen to be moaning about
individuals in your current organisation. The easiest way to
deal with this interview question then is to give your answer
based on the fact that although you are a very amenable and easy
to get on with person, you are very much a team player and the
most difficult people to work with are the ones that do not
carry the same high standards in their work that you do.
Have You Attended Other Interviews As Well As This One? -
This is a great question and one that you can manipulate to your
advantage. If the interviewer thinks that one of their
competitors is after you it makes you a much better catch should
they get you. You have to remember many (not all) employers are
like sheep and the bigger the company the more likely it will be
that they are after a stereotypical candidate – but one that’s
just a little bit better than the last. If you give the
impression that you are talking to other firms as well and that
you have made the last batch of interviews with them you are
going to be a far more attractive prospect. So whether you are
or are not talking to other companies make sure you give the
impression that you are in demand.
What Do You Think About The War In Iraq, Privatization (or
something that has a social political bearing) -
The idea behind this question is for your
interviewer to see if you take an interest in what goes on in
the world, current affairs and so on and to show that your
interest in the world doesn’t stop when you shut your front door
at night. Your answer is likely to give your interviewer an
insight into your values whether they be moral or otherwise and
how you address life itself. Politically correct answers aren’t
always the right ones, what you need to do is show the
interviewer that you have the ability to see recognise all sides
of a debate, that you don’t see things simply in black and white
and that you have the ability to debate a subject properly and
at the same time that you are open minded enough to form your
own opinion on a subject. What you don’t want to do is jump on
your high horse and fire off with your own political views
without being able to show that you understand the subject. This
question can be particularly relevant to certain industries, for
example if you are applying to work for an oil company you may
be asked your opinion on global warming and whether the work
green peace does is right or wrong alternatively if you are
applying for a job working for a company that manufactures for
example make up you may be asked for your views on whether the
work that animal rights campaigners carry out is justified – you
get the picture.
What Sort Of Decisions Do You Find The Most Difficult To Make? -
“Should I have prawn or beef sandwiches for lunch!” or “Should I
buy the 28 or 32 inch flat screen TV!” Most of us at some point
have had to make difficult decisions whether in our personal or
work lives. If you have ever had to fire someone or make them
redundant it’s not a nice decision to make, or job to carry out
for that matter, not from the point of view that you don’t
really like the person but most people have a conscience and
realise that if they take away a persons job it will have a
direct impact on their whole life. This is therefore a good
example to use as an answer to this question.
What Is Your Current Bosses Biggest Weakness? -
Wouldn’t you just love to say it - “Lunchtime Binge Drinking!”
You must remember regardless of what a dick you think your boss
is the person that is sitting in front of you may one day be the
same boss you are criticising and anyway it wouldn’t achieve
anything and would only make you look cheap. So if you get this
one thrown at you why not try something like “My boss is great
really and we get on very well, he is pretty damn good at his
job, one which he wouldn’t have got it in the first place if he
wasn’t, and I respect him for that. I am sure he may have
weaknesses but I have to say that if he has I haven’t picked up
on them”.
What Do You Think Of Your Existing Company? -
Now you might think that your existing
company are cheap skates, run old machinery, never want to
invest in the plant or the future of the business, use every
spare amount of cash they have to improve the cars parked in the
Directors car park and so on and so forth. However that just
isn’t the right answer! Your standard response to a question
such as this should be that you have really enjoyed working for
your current company and that you are thankful for the
opportunities, training and career progression that they have
afforded you to date.
What Is Your Current Salary? -
It’s a bit of a cheeky question this one and
you want to give a non committal answer. You must try and
remember that all companies want to save as much money on
salaries as they can and if you are offered the job the chances
are they are going to indicate a package either similar or
slightly more than the one your on. If you go straight in with
“I earn £ 23,000.00 plus expenses plus a BMW 318I and free
weekend tickets to the Manchester United games” you are setting
a bench mark that you may find difficult to the negotiate
around. Therefore an appropriate answer to this interview
question might be “it’s not really the salary that is important
to me it’s the whole package that I would be more interested
in”. By saying this you are being non committal and it will make
negotiating an acceptable package far more easy.
What Salary Would You Be Expecting For This Position? -
Again another cheeky one which, ideally, you don’t want to be
too committal over. If you commit to a salary at this stage you
wont be able to negotiate later on and if you ask for too much
they will think they cant afford you! If you don’t know what
level of salary a position pays you can do some research on the
internet there are several sites that collect data about average
industry and job role remunerations. So you could ask the
interviewer a question in response to his question such as “What
level of salary would you be expecting to pay for this
position?” If the interviewer doesn’t want to divulge this then
it’s not unreasonable for you to decline to answer too. If your
interviewer quotes you a salary of say £ 19,000 then try and
come back with something like “Well I was looking for a salary
in the region of £ 22,000 to £ 24,000. Your employer will always
start with their bottom figure first so by asking for a little
more it sets you a slightly higher bench mark. It may be that
your interviewer can only go to the level he quotes but it’s
fairly unlikely.
I
have A Pen Here – Sell It Me! -
I’ve been on loads of sales courses and this
has always been a question posed to me to see how good I am at
selling the benefits of a product – not just the product itself.
This is an interesting question and some employers will ask you
to do this even if you aren’t applying for a job that involves
selling. As I have said the reason behind this is to see if you
can sell the benefits of the pen rather than the object itself.
For example as a pen itself – it is just a Bic biro with a
roller ball and plastic coating. However, its benefits would be
– it’s a Bic biro and the roller ball is really smooth and gives
excellent presentation, it is leak proof and slim and sits
discretely in your pocket. This is all about the bigger picture.
If you are able to outline the benefits of the pen you will
impress your interviewer. Obviously if you are applying for a
sales role the chances are your interviewer will definitely ask
you this question, however, it might not necessarily be a pen it
could be something else sitting on your interviewers desk.
How Well Do You Work In A Stressful Environment? -
Most jobs carry an element of stress whether its working to very
tight deadlines or your in a position where by you are handling
lots of different projects and having to manage your time
effectively. Your answer to this question should encompass
examples of situations where you have operated well under stress
and also point out that you get a buzz out of a working in
stressful environment as it keeps you mind focused and it
assists you in your performance.
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