HR Interview Questions and Answers
Tell me about yourself?
Start
with the present and tell why you are well qualified for the position. Remember
that thekey to all successful interviewing is to match your qualifications to
what the interviewer islookingfor. In other words you must sell what the buyer
is buying. This is the single most important strategy in job hunting.So, before
you answer this or any question it's imperative that you try to uncover your
interviewer’s greatest need, want, problem or goal.
To do so, make you take these two steps:
Do
all the homework you can before the hr interview to uncover this person's wants
and needs
(Not
the generalized needs of the industry or company)As early as you can in the
interview, ask for a more complete description of what the position entails.
You might say: “I have a number of accomplishments I'd like to tell you about,
but I wants make the best use of our time together and talk directly to your
needs. To help me do, that, could you tell me more about the most important
priorities of this position? All I know is what I(heard from the recruiter,
read in the classified ad, etcThen, ALWAYS follow-up with a second and
possibly, third question, to draw out his needs even more. Surprisingly, it's
usually this second or third question that unearths what the interviewers most
looking for. You might ask simply, "And in addition to that?" or,
"Is there anything else you see as essentials success in this position?:
This
process will not feel easy or natural at first, because it is easier simply to
answer questions,
But
only if you uncover the employer's wants and needs will your answers make the
most sense. Practice asking these key questions before giving your answers, the
process will feel more natural and you will be light years ahead of the other
job candidates you're competing with. After uncovering what the employer is
looking for, describe why the needs of this job bear striking parallels to
tasks you've succeeded at before. Be sure to illustrate with specificexamplesof
your responsibilities and especially your achievements, all of which are geared
to present yourself as a perfect match for the needs he has just described.
What
are your greatest strengths?
You know that
your key strategy is to first uncover your interviewer's greatest wants and needs
before you answer questions. And from Question 1, you know how to do this.
Prior to any interview; you should have a list mentally prepared of your
greatest strengths. You should also have, a specific example or two, which
illustrates each strength, an example chosen from your most recent and most
impressive achievements. You should, have this list of your greatest strengths
and corresponding examples from your achievements so well committed to memory
that you can recite them cold after being shaken awake at 2:30AM.Then, once you
uncover your interviewer's greatest wants and needs, you can choose those
achievements from your list that best match up. As a general guideline, the 10
most desirable traits that all employers love to see in their employees are: A
proven track record as an achiever...especially if your achievements match up
with the employer’s greatest wants and needs. Intelligence...management
"savvy".
Honesty...integrity...a
decent human being.
Good fit with
corporate culture...someone to feel comfortable with...a team player who meshes
well with interviewer's team. Likeability...positive attitude...sense of humor.
Good communication skills. Dedication...willingness to walk the extra mile to
achieve excellence. Definiteness of purpose...clears goals. Enthusiasm...high
level of motivation. Confident...healthy...a leader.
What
are your greatest weaknesses?
Disguise
strength as a weakness. Example: “I sometimes push my people too hard. I like
to work with a sense of urgency and everyone is not always on the same
wavelength.”Drawback: This strategy is better than admitting a flaw, but it's
so widely used; it is transparent to any experienced interviewer.
BEST
ANSWER: (and another reason it's so important to get a
thorough description of your interviewer’s needs before you answer questions):
Assure the interviewer that you can think of nothing that would stand in the
way of your performing in this position with excellence. Then,
Quickly review
you strongest qualifications.
Example:
“Nobody's perfect, but based on what you've told me about this position, I
believe I’d
Make an
outstanding match. I know that when I hire people, I look for two things most
of all. Do they have the qualifications to do the job well, and the motivation
to do it well? Everything in my background shows I have both the qualifications
and a strong desire to achieve excellence in whatever I take on. So I can say
in all honesty that I see nothing that would cause you even small concern about
my ability or my strong desire to perform this job with excellence.”Alternate
strategy (if you don't yet know enough about the position to talk about such a perfect
fit):Instead of confessing a weakness, describe what you like most and like
least, making sure that what you like most matches up with the most important
qualification for success in the position, and what you like least is not
essential.
Example:
Let's say you're applying for a teaching position. “If given a choice, I like
to spend as much time as possible in front of my prospects selling, as opposed
to shuffling paperwork back
at the office.
Of course, I long ago learned the importance of filing paperwork properly, and
I do it conscientiously. But what I really love to do is selling (if your interviewer
was a sales manager, this should be music to his ears.)Tell me about something
you did – or failed to do – that you now feel a little ashamed of? As with faults
and weaknesses, never confess regret. But don’t seem as if you’re stonewalling
Either. Best
strategy: Say you harbor no regrets, then add a principle or habit you practice
regularly for healthy human relations.
Example:
Pause for reflection, as if the question never occurred to you. Then say to hr,
“You know, I really can’t think of anything.” (Pause again, and then add): “I
would add that as ageneralmanagement principle,
I’ve found that the best way to avoid regrets
is to avoid causing them in the first place. I practice one habit that helps me
a great deal in this regard. At the end of each day, I mentally review the day’s
events and conversations to take a second look at the people and developments I’m
involved with and do a double check of what they’re likely to be feeling.Sometimes
I’ll see things that do need more follow-up, whether a pat on the back, or
maybe afive minute chat in someone’s office to make sure we’re clear on things…whatever.”
“I also like to
make each person feel like a member of an elite team, like the Boston Celtics
or LA
Lakers in their
prime. I’ve found that if you let each team member know you expect excellence
in their performance…if you work hard to set an example yourself…and if you let
people knowyou appreciate and respect their feelings, you wind up with a highly
motivated group, a team that’s having fun at work because they’re striving for
excellence rather than brooding overslights or regrets.”
Why
are you leaving (or did you leave) this position?
(If you have a
job presently tell the hr)If you’re not yet 100% committed to leaving your
present post, don’t be afraid to say so. Since you have a job, you are in a
stronger position than someone who does not. But don’t be coy either. State
honestly what you’d be hoping to find in a new spot. Of course, as stated often
before, you answer will all the stronger if you have already uncovered what
this position is all about and you match your desires to it.(If you do not
presently have a job tell the hr.)Never lie about having been fired. It’s
unethical – and too easily checked. But do try to deflect the reason from you
personally. If your firing was the result of a takeover, merger, division wide
layoff, etc., so much the better. But you should also do something totally
unnatural that will demonstrate consummate professionalism. Even if it hurts,
describe your own firing – candidly, succinctly and without atrace of
bitterness – from the company’s point-of-view, indicating that you could understand
why it happened and you might have made the same decision yourself. Your
stature will rise immensely and, most important of all, you will show you are
healed from the wounds inflicted by the firing. You will enhance your image as
first-class management material and stand head and shoulders above the legions
of firing victims who, at the slightest provocation, zip open their shirts to
expose their battle scars and decry the unfairness of it all. For all prior positions
make sure you’ve prepared a brief reason for leaving. Best reasons: more money,
opportunity, responsibility or growth.
The
"Silent Treatment"
Like a primitive
tribal mask, the Silent Treatment loses all it power to frighten you once you
refuse to be intimidated. If your interviewer pulls it, keep quiet yourself for
a while and then ask, with sincere politeness and not a trace of sarcasm, “Is
there anything else I can fill in on that point?” That’s all there is to it.
Whatever you do, don’t let the Silent Treatment intimidate you into talking a
blue streak, because you could easily talk yourself out of the position.
Why
should I hire you?
By now you can
see how critical it is to apply the overall strategy of uncovering the employer’s
Needs before you
answer questions. If you know the employer’s greatest needs and desires, this
Question will
give you a big leg up over other candidates because you will give him better
reasons for hiring you than anyone else is likely to…reasons tied directly to
his needs. Whether your interviewer asks you this question explicitly or not,
this is the most important question of your interview because he must answer
this question favorably in is own mind before you will be hired. So help him
out! Walk through each of the position’s requirements as you understand them,
and follow each with a reason why you meet that requirement so well.
Example:
“As I understand your needs, you are first and foremost looking for someone who
can manage the sales and marketing of your book publishing division. As you’ve
said you need someone with a strong background in trade book sales. This is
where I’ve spent almost all of my career, so I’ve chalked up 18 years of
experience exactly in this area. I believe that I know the
Right contacts,
methods, principles, and successful management techniques as well as anyperson
can in our industry.”
“You also need
someone who can expand your book distribution channels. In my prior post, my
Innovative
promotional ideas doubled, then tripled, the number of outlets selling our
books. I’m
Confident I can
do the same for you.”
“You need
someone to give a new shot in the arm to your mail order sales, someone who
knows
How to sell in
space and direct mail media. Here, too, I believe I have exactly the experience
you
need. In the
last five years, I’ve increased our mail order book sales from $600,000 to$2,800,000,
and now we’re the country’s second leading marketer of scientific and medical
books by mail.” Etc., etc., etc., Every one of these selling “couplets” (his
need matched by your qualifications) is a touchdown that runs up your score. IT
is your best opportunity to outsell your competition.
Aren’t
you overqualified for this position?
As with any
objection, don’t view this as a sign of imminent defeat. It’s an invitation to
teach the interviewer a new way to think about this situation, seeing
advantages instead of drawbacks. Example: “I recognize the job market for what
it is – a marketplace. Like any marketplace, it’s subject to the laws of supply
and demand. So ‘overqualified’ can be a relative term, depending on how tight
the job market is. And right now, it’s very tight. I understand and accept
that.”
“I also believe
that there could be very positive benefits for both of us in this match.”“Because
of my unusually strong experience in ________________ , I could start to contribute
right away, perhaps much faster than someone who’d have to be brought along
more slowly.”“There’s also the value of all the training and years of
experience that other companies have invested tens of thousands of dollars to
give me. You’d be getting all the value of that without having to pay an extra
dime for it. With someone who has yet to acquire that experience, he’d have to
gain it on your nickel.”
“I could also
help you in many things they don’t teach at the Harvard Business School. For
example… (how to hire, train, motivate, etc.) When it comes to knowing how to
work well with people and getting the most out of them, there’s just no
substitute for what you learn over
Many years of
front-line experience. You company would gain all this, too.”
“From my side,
there are strong benefits, as well. Right now, I am unemployed. I want to work,
very much, and the position you have here is exactly what I love to do and am
best at. I’ll be happy doing this work and that’s what matters most to me, a
lot more that money or title.”“Most important, I’m looking to make a long term
commitment in my career now. I’ve had
Enough of
job-hunting and want a permanent spot at this point in my career. I also know
that if I perform this job with excellence, other opportunities cannot help but
open up for me right here.
In time, I’ll
find many other ways to help this company and in so doing, help myself. I
really am
Looking to make
a long-term commitment.”
NOTE:
The main concern behind the “overqualified” question is that you will leave
your new
Employer as soon
as something better comes your way. Anything you can say to demonstrate
the sincerity of
your commitment to the employer and reassure him that you’re looking to stay
for the
long-term will help you overcome this objection.
Where
do you see yourself five years from now?
Reassure your
interviewer that you’re looking to make a long-term commitment…that this
position entails exactly what you’re looking to do and what you do extremely
well. As for your future, you believe that if you perform each job at hand with
excellence, future opportunities
Will take care
of them. Example: “I am definitely interested in making a long-term commitment
to my next position. am very well qualified to do. In terms of my future career
path, I’m confident that if I do my work with excellence, opportunities will
inevitable open up for me. It’s always been that way in my career, and I’m
confident I’ll have similar opportunities here.”
Describe your
ideal company, location and job.The only right answer is to describe what this
company is offering, being sure to make your answer believable with specific
reasons, stated with sincerity, why each quality represented by this
opportunity is attractive to you. Remember that if you’re coming from a company
that’s the leader in its field or from aglamorous or much admired company,
industry, city or position, your interviewer and his company may well have an “Avis”
complex. That is, they may feel a bit defensive about being “second best” to
the place you’re coming from, worried that you may consider them bush-league.
This anxiety
could well be there even though you’ve done nothing to inspire it. You must go
out
of your way to
assuage such anxiety, even if it’s not expressed, by putting their virtues high
onthe list of exactly what you’re looking for, providing credible reason for
wanting these qualities.
If you do not
express genuine enthusiasm for the firm, its culture, location, industry, etc.,
youmay fail to answer this “Avis” complex objection and, as a result, leave the
interviewersuspecting that a hot shot like you, coming from a Fortune 500
company in New York, justwouldn’t be happy at an unknown manufacturer based in
Topeka, Kansas.
Why
do you want to work at our company?
This question is
your opportunity to hit the ball out of the park, thanks to the in-depth
researchyou should do before any interview.Best sources for researching your
target company: annual reports, the corporate newsletter,contacts you know at
the company or its suppliers, advertisements, articles about the companyin the
trade press.
What
are your career options right now?
Prepare for this
question by thinking of how you can position yourself as a desired commodity.
If
you are still
working, describe the possibilities at your present firm and why, though you’regreatly
appreciated there, you’re looking for something more (challenge, money,
responsibility,etc.). Also mention that you’re seriously exploring
opportunities with one or two other firms.If you’re not working, you can talk
about other employment possibilities you’re actuallyexploring. But do this with
a light touch, speaking only in general terms. You don’t want to seemmanipulative
or coy.
Why have you been out of work so long ?
You want to
emphasize factors which have prolonged your job search by your own choice.
Example: “After my job was terminated, I made a conscious decision not to jump
on the first opportunities to come along. In my life, I’ve found out that you
can always turn a negative into appositive IF you try hard enough. This is what
I determined to do. I decided to take whatever timeI needed to think through
what I do best, what I most want to do, where I’d like to do it…and then
identify those companies that could offer such an opportunity.”
“Also, in all
honesty, you have to factor in the recession (consolidation, stabilization,
etc.) in the
(Banking,
financial services, manufacturing, advertising, etc.) Industry.”“So between my
being selective and the companies in our industry downsizing, the process has
taken time. But in the end, I’m convinced that when I do find the right match,
all that careful evaluation from both sides of the desk will have been well
worthwhile for both the company that hires me and me.
Tell me honestly about the strong points and weak
points of your boss (company, management team, etc.)
Remember the
rule: Never be negative. Stress only the good points, no matter how charmingly
you’re invited to be critical. Your interviewer doesn’t care a whit about your
previous boss. He wants to find out how loyal and positive you are, and whether
you’ll criticize him behind his back if pressed to do so by someone in this own
company. This question is your opportunity to demonstrate your loyalty to those
you work with.
What
good books have you read lately?
Unless you’re up
for a position in academia or as book critic for The New York Times, you’re not
expected to be a literary lion. But it wouldn’t hurt to have read a handful of
the most recent and influential books in your profession and on management.
Consider it part of the work of your job search to read up on a few of these
leading books. But make sure they are quality books that reflect favorably upon
you.
