If you were a fruit, what would you be?
Big interview in less than 24 hours. Have you ever been asked a particularly good – or bad – job interview question? This company is known for being rigorous, so I want to prepare as much as possible. Any questions or suggestions you could throw my way would be appreciated!
Interview Tomorrow
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14 responses
I’m becoming increasingly honest in job interviews, and it seems to work.
Example: when asked what is your greatest weakness, I don’t play the game of citing a strength thinly dressed as a weakness (in the vein of “I just work too hard”) that some people recommend. Instead, I really talk about a weakness and then talk about how I am working to overcome it. My person answer goes something like: I have a problem with long, amorphous projects without clear deliverables and can fall victim to analysis paralysis, so I try to work with my manager to establish a lot of interim milestones throughout a project to make sure that I make progress.
It’s good to go through your resume in advance and have a good story for every bullet point.
I’ve heard that the “tell me about yourself” question is very telling, so it’s nice to be prepped for that one. “Why do you want to work here” and “why should you get this job instead of someone else” are also really good (and potentially tough) questions.
I really think that the most important thing is to be yourself and remember that you’re interviewing the company as much as they are interviewing you. They should demonstrate to you why you’d want to work there, so don’t be afraid to ask good questions.
Is this blog title a cryptic clue of some sort???
I’ve never had any particularly standout interview questions. Just the usual one that I hate — So, where do you see yourself in five years time?
Pineapple – prickly on the oustide, but sweet as honey in the middle, with a tough core. Oh, sorry, I thought you were asking me…
Smile. And look as relaxed as it’s possible to while while being grilled on a spiky spit. Look as if you’re enjoying yourself. If you can convince yourself that you really are enjoying yourself, so much the better. And remember: you’re interviewing them too. Have at least one or two questions ready to ask them so you look as if you’re a take-charge kind of girl – in the nicest possible smiling way, of course.
And good luck. We’re rooting for you. 🙂
Good advice from everyone here. Adding to what M-H says, someone once told me that they were very impressed with an interviewee who, when given the chance to ask a question of the interviewer, asked “What would you say is the best thing about working here?”
I got asked whats the best trait about myself, and then they wanted to know my worst!!!
(I said I can a bit a bit too honest sometimes – if someone asks me a question I dont know when to sugar-coat something or dodge around the truth a bit ;P)
My new favourite interview question is about work/life balance. No more life sucking jobs for me!
You’ll be great Kris, break a leg 🙂
Oh, and I forgot to mention; good luck!
(Ooh, I hate the where do you see yourself in 5 years question, too!)
Is this for a technical or a non-technical position? If the former, I’m assuming it would be close to the Microsoft model: 30 minutes of ‘fuzzy’ talk, 2-3 hours of whiteboard problem solving.
Not so technical. More in the customer service area. This is all great stuff, you guys.
thinking of you all the best – and if all else fails come and work with me……
A good one is to ask them if you can, should you not be sussessful in getting this position, ask them for feedback on how you could improve. It sounds great (especially to the Aussies, people NEVER say it here) and give you a chance to ring them if you get antsy after the interview.
Oh, and also always send a follow up thank you the day after the interview.
good luck! and just be yourself cuz you ROCK!
Honesty is great…to a point. Call me boring, but I didn’t grant an interview to the young man who ended 2 (!) of his previous jobs because of ‘altercations.’ Whether they were actual fistfights or he didn’t quite understand what he was communicating, I decided to take a pass. 🙂
As an interview I hate being put on the spot – don’t ask me how you went in the interview, especially if you think just even for a second they may not like you. I’ll either lie or tell the truth, and you really won’t be any better off. Make sure you have your life story highlights nicely organised. My most telling question is “tell me how your career got you here” – it helps find out how a person thinks and organises their thoughts as well as what sort of career progression they’ve had.
Good luck! And yes, be yourself 🙂
My company likes to ask “Sell me a matchbook (or pineapple or insert some other boring, nondescript object) in 15 seconds” … ahh … got to love sales!!!!