Comments on: Common Job Interview Questions

By: Lewis, AKA SeattleInterviewCoach.com

Lewis, AKA SeattleInterviewCoach.com — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 20:49:26 +0000

“What is your biggest weakness?” question is clearly a dreaded question and there’s no shortage of opinions on how to address it. Here’s my take on how to address this question without coming across as fake:

http://blog.seattleinterviewcoach.com/2009/01/how-to-answer-what-is-your-biggest.html

By: crazyqqq

crazyqqq — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:14:48 +0000

I do not agree the first answer. The answer is so outdated, becasue the interviewer will think you are so “fake”. The interviewer may even say: this is your strength. Please give me another example of your weakness. If you don’t have a great answre, you screw up.

By: FrugalTrader

FrugalTrader — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:37:26 +0000

Gates, your questions yesterday were awesome. I didn’t include it in this post as it was pre written. However, for those readers who didn’t read the comment, here it is again:

http://www.milliondollarjourney.com/job-interview-tips.htm#comment-61152

By: Neko

Neko — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 23:13:51 +0000

for Question number one, never show a true weakness. Instead, turn a weakness into a strentgh, but with stealth:

“I went through this phase of procrastination which, while under control now, taught me to work well under pressure and with tight deadlines.

By: Brandon

Brandon — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:46:17 +0000

“Do you have any questions?”

I’ve always used this question to ask similar interview questions to the interviewer. I’ll ask questions regarding management style and day to day processes.

Another thing ot remember about interviews:
To an employer, the interview is to see if you are a right fit for the company… but for you, the interview is to see if you want to work for that company. This has helped me create the mindset that interviews are not bad/stressful things.

By: Gates VP

Gates VP — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:52:50 +0000

Megan: How about “What salary do you expect?” This can be a tough one to deal with!

Tough? That’s the most difficult question of all :)

And hey, FT where’s mah props for yesterday’s “blog reply in a comment” :)

Honestly, your list is better. I’m in IT and you’ll see the same questions there. Based on the friends I’ve talked to, much of this question set is pretty much universal. Of course, now that it’s well-documented, it’s like a course where they tell you the exam questions before the actual exam date. Might as well memorize as many of the answers as possible.

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:14:31 +0000

Weaknesses

A couple of suggestions on how to answer that question.
(1) avoid refering to a weakness in reply, instead refer to it as an area that can be improved, or something to work one.

(2) Always be prepared to spell out how you work around it or are improving it. Similar to Xenko’s response, employers aren’t really looking to hire someone who’s perfect (doesn’t exist), but instead are looking for someone who can acknowledge that they need to do a bit of work in an area and are working towards it.

By: Craig

Craig — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:51:55 +0000

A lot of questions are behavioral questions which I hate. For example, name me a time when you failed at something. Name me a time when you overcame a challenge, etc. questions like that. Difficult but they want to know how you took step, thought out the situation, and what you learned post situation.

Craig
http://www.budgetpulse.com

By: Tetsuo

Tetsuo — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:27:33 +0000

Yeah I usually used the “perfectionist” or some derivative but I’ve noticed its been getting more of a an “eyes glaze over” response lately, seems everyone has caught on to it.

I’m thinking of switching to “I need to be challenged to remain motivated” or similar. Thoughts?

By: Megan

Megan — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:09:54 +0000

How about “What salary do you expect?” This can be a tough one to deal with!

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:06:29 +0000

Here’s a true interview story I have. It was 1996 and the HR interviewer asked me where I’d be in 5 years time. I looked at her and said “You mean where will I be in the 21st century?” She started to laugh and asked if she could use that one. Suffice it to say, I got the job.

By: Weera

Weera — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:10:25 +0000

Even “I am a perfectionist” is considered cliche now. But this is one question that will stump me. It is hard to put a positive spin on something negative. I like Oil Baron’s idea. I have seen many slackers and am currently working alongside one. Makes my blood boil. Kryptonite would be a fantastic response if you deem interviewer(s) will be receptive to it. It shoudl also be followed by the actual response. To be on the safe side, I would avoid humor during an interview.

By: FrugalTrader

FrugalTrader — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:38:42 +0000

I like that “kryptonite” answer. What do you guys think about using a bit of humor during an interview?

By: Xenko

Xenko — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:37:32 +0000

“Use weaknesses like, you have a tendency to work too hard, or that you are a perfectionist.”

Yeah, saying you are a perfectionist is a cop-out. One tip I had is to give a weakness, and then give an example of how you work to overcome that weakness. For example:

“I tend to get distracted by side projects and lose track of the big picture, which is why I make heavy use of Outlook’s calendar and tasks sections to keep myself organized on and on track.”

It shows that you have a real weakness, but also that you have taken steps to overcome said weakness, which I am sure is what employers are really looking for in that question.

By: Neil

Neil — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:27:39 +0000

Yeah, don’t ever use “I work too hard” as a weakness. It’s probably the worst response you can give. I interviewed someone to replace me when I was leaving my last job, and they gave that response to my question. I told them to pick a real weakness.

I tend to go with an actual weakness that isn’t a big deal. Personally, I can’t get photocopiers to do what I want unless its make one copy on 8.5×11.

Incidentally, the best answer I’ve heard to that question is Kryptonite.

By: FrugalTrader

FrugalTrader — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:42:08 +0000

Oil, thanks for the tip! I may use that one next time.

By: Oil Baron

Oil Baron — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:36:08 +0000

I’d recommend avoiding the cliche “I work too hard”. You want to differentiate yourself in an interview. There are many ways to be clever with in answering that question. A favorite answer I heard interviewing someone was, “I get frustrated by people who come to work not wanting to work.”

By: Dividend Growth Investor

Dividend Growth Investor — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:10:24 +0000

Oh interview questions. Here’s my favorite: “Give me an example of a situation where you had to fire a friend”

By the way all of these questions are relevant to the business/accounting fields as well..