Answering 64 Interview Questions:(PART-I)
General Guidelines
Everyone is nervous in interviews. If you simply allow yourself to feel nervous, you'll do much better.
Remember also that it's difficult for the interviewer as well.
In general, be upbeat, positive. Never be negative.
Rehearse your answers and time them. Never talk for more than two minutes straight.
Don't try to memorize answers word for word. Use the answers shown here as a guide only, and don't be
afraid to include your own thoughts and words. To help you remember key concepts, jot down and review
a few key words for each answer. Rehearse your answers frequently, and they will come to you naturally
in interviews.
As you will read in the accompanying report, the single most important strategy in interviewing, as in all
phases of your job search, is what we call, " The Greatest Executive Job Finding Secret." And that is....
Find out what people want, and then show them how you can help them get it.
Find out what an employer wants most in his or her ideal candidate, then show how you meet those
qualifications.
In other words, you must match your abilities with the needs of the employer. You must sell what the
buyer is buying. To do that, before you know what to emphasize in your answers, you must find out what
the buyer is buying ... what he is looking for. And the best way to do that is to ask a few questions
yourself.
You'll see how to bring this off skillfully as you read the first two questions of this report. But regardless
of how you accomplish it, you must remember this strategy above all: before blurting out your
qualifications, you must get some idea of what the employer wants most. Once you know what he wants,
you can then present your qualifications as the perfect "key" that fits the "lock" of that position.
Other important interview strategies:
Turn weaknesses into strengths. (You'll see how to do this in a few moments.)
Think before you answer. A pause to collect your thoughts is a hallmark of a thoughtful person.
As a daily exercise, practice being more optimistic. For example, just as an exercise in your daily life, try
putting a positive spin on events and situations you would normally regard as negative. This is not meant
to turn you into a Pollyanna, but to sharpen your selling skills. The best salespeople, as well as the best liked
interview candidates, come off as being naturally optimistic, "can do" people. You will dramatically
raise your level of attractiveness by daily practicing to be more optimistic.
Be honest ... never lie.
Keep an interview diary. Right after each interview, note what you did right, what could have gone a little
better, and what steps you should take next with this contact. Then take those steps. Don't be like the 95%
of humanity who say they will follow up on something, but never do.
About the 64 Questions
You might feel that the answers to the following questions are "canned," and that they will seldom match
up with the exact way you are asked the questions in actual interviews. The questions and answers are
designed to be as specific and realistic as possible. But no preparation can anticipate thousands of possible
variations on these questions.
What's important is that you thoroughly familiarize yourself with the main strategies behind each answer.
And it will be invaluable to you if you commit to memory a few key words that let you instantly call to
mind your best answer to the various questions. If you do this, and follow the principles of successful
interviewing presented here, you're going to do very well.
Good luck...!
QUESTION #1
Tell me about yourself...
TRAPS: Beware--about 80% of all interviews begin with this "innocent" question. Many candidates,
unprepared for the question, skewer themselves by rambling, recapping their life story, delving into ancient
work history or personal matters.
BEST ANSWER: Start with the present and tell why you are well qualified for the position.
Remember that the key to successful interviewing is to match your qualifications to what the interviewer is
looking for. In other words, you must sell what the buyer is buying. This is the single most important
strategy in executive 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 sure you take these two steps:
(1) Do all the homework you can before the interview to uncover this person's wants and needs (not the
generalized needs of the industry or company).
(2) 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 want to 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, etc.)."
Then, 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 interviewer is most looking
for.
You might ask simply, "And in addition to that..." or, "Is there anything else you see as essential to 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. If you 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 specific examples of 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.
QUESTION #2
What are your greatest strengths?
TRAPS: This question seems like a softball lob, but be prepared. You don't want to come across as
egotistical or arrogant. Neither is this a time to be humble.
BEST ANSWER: You know that your key strategy is to first uncover your interviewer's greatest wants and
needs before you answer questions. And from Question #I 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 2:30 a.m.
Then, once you uncover your interviewers 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 executives are:
1) A proven track record as an achiever...especially if your achievements match up with the
employer's greatest wants and needs.
2) Intelligence ... management "savvy."
3) Honesty ... integrity ... a decent human being.
4) Good fit with corporate culture...someone to feel comfortable with...a team player who meshes well
with interviewer's team.
5) Likeability ... positive attitude ... sense of humor.
6) Good communications skills.
7) Dedication ... willingness to walk the extra mile to achieve excellence.
8) Definiteness of purpose . clear goals.
9) Enthusiasm... high level of motivation.
10) Confident ... healthy.a leader.
QUESTION #3
What are your greatest weaknesses?
TRAPS: Beware this is an "eliminator" question, designed to shorten the candidate list. Any admission of a
weakness or fault will earn you an "A" for honesty, but an "F" for the interview.
ANSWER: 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 that 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 your 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 a 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 sales position: "If given a choice, I like to spend as much time as
possible in front of 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 sell." (If your interviewer were a sales manager, this would be music to his ears.)
QUESTION #4
Tell me about something you did--or failed to do--that you now feel a little ashamed of.
TRAPS: There are some questions your interviewer has no business asking, and this iS one. But while you
may feel like answering, "none of your business, " naturally you can't. Some interviewers ask this question
on the chance you may admit to something, but if not, at least they'll see how you think on your feet.
Some unprepared candidates, flustered by this question, unburden themselves of guilt from their personal
life or career, perhaps expressing regrets regarding a parent, spouse, child, etc. All such answers can be
disastrous.
BEST ANSWER: As with faults and weaknesses, never confess a 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, "You know, I really can't
think of anything." (Pause again, then add): "I would add that as a general management 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 a five-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 know you appreciate and respect their
feelings, you wind up with a highly motivated group, a team that's actually having fun at work because
they're striving for excellence rather than brooding over slights or regrets."
QUESTION #5
Why are you leaving (or did you leave) this position?
TRAPS: Never badmouth your previous industry, company, Board, boss, staff, employees or customers.
This rule is inviolable: never be negative. Any mud you hurl will only soil your own suit.
Especially avoid words like "personality clash," "didn't get along," or others, which cast a shadow on your
competence, integrity or temperament.
BEST ANSWER:
(If you have a job presently:)
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, your answer will be 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:)
Never lie about having been fired. It's unethical and too easily checked. But do try to deflect the reason
from you personally. Examples might be your firing was the result of a takeover, merger, and divisionwide
layoff.
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 a trace 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, rip 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.
QUESTION #6
The "Silent Treatment."
TRAPS: Beware--if you are unprepared for this question, you will probably not handle it right and possibly
blow the interview. Thank goodness most interviewers don't employ it. It's normally used by those
determined to see how you respond under stress. Here's how it works:
You answer an interviewer's question and then, instead of asking another, he just stares at you in a
deafening silence.
You wait, growing a bit uneasy, and there he sits, silent as Mt. Rushmore, as if he doesn't believe what
you've just said, or perhaps making you feel that you've unwittingly vibrated some cardinal rule of
interview etiquette.
When you get this silent treatment after answering a particularly difficult question, such as "tell me about
your weaknesses," its intimidating effect can be most disquieting, even to polished job hunters.
Most unprepared candidates rush in to fill the void of silence, viewing prolonged, uncomfortable silence as
an invitation to clear up the previous answer which has obviously caused some problem. And that's what
they do--ramble on, sputtering more and more information, sometimes irrelevant and often damaging,
because they are suddenly playing the role of someone who's goofed and is now trying to recoup. But since
the candidate doesn't know where or how he goofed, he just keeps talking, showing how flustered and
confused he is by the interviewer's unmovable silence.
BEST ANSWER: Like a primitive tribal mask, the Silent Treatment loses all its 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.
QUESTION #7
Why should I hire you?
TRAPS: Believe it or not, this is a killer question because so many candidates are unprepared for it. If you
stammer or ad lib, you've blown it.
BEST ANSWER: By now you can see how critical it is to apply the overall strategy of uncovering the
employer's needs before you answer questions. Knowing the employer's greatest needs and desires will
give you a big leg up over other candidates because you will give him better reasons for hiring you than
anyone else.
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 his 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 my entire career, so I've chalked up 18
years experience exactly in this area. I believe that I know the right contacts; methods, principles, and
successful management techniques as well as any person can in our industry.
"You also need someone who can expand your book distribution channels. In my prior post, my innovative
promotional ideas doubled, and 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.
"
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.
QUESTION #8
Aren't you overqualified for this position?
TRAPS: The employer may be concerned that you'll grow dissatisfied and leave.
BEST ANSWER: 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. Your
company would gain all this, too.
> my side, there are strong benefits, as well. Right now, I'm 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 than 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.
QUESTION #9
Where do you see yourself five years from now?
TRAPS: One-reason interviewers ask this question is to see if you're settling for this position, using it
merely as a stopover until something better comes along. Or they could be trying to gauge your level of
ambition.
If you're too specific, i.e., naming the promotions you someday hope to win, you'll sound presumptuous. If
you're too vague, you'll seem rudderless.
BEST ANSWER: 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
themselves.
Example: "I am definitely interested in making a long-term commitment to my next position. Judging by
what you've told me about this position, it's exactly what I'm looking for and what I 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 inevitably open up for me. It's always been that way in my career, and I'm confident I'll have similar
opportunities here."
"""""""""REST YOU CAN EXPECT ON MONDAY NIGHT"""""""""