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Archive for the ‘Interview Tips’ Category

I noticed in preparing this article that a lot of sites post the top 50 questions for an interview, one went further and had 51. Well not to be undone we are going to cut it down to what we believe will be the top 13. Brevity is the soul of something or other, I forget.

Tell Me About Yourself

This is the most asked question in an interview even though it is not stated as a question. Be prepared and have a short statement prepared. Don’t ramble, instead talk about the things you have done in your previous job(s) particularly the things that relate to the position you are applying for. Emphasize your accomplishments starting back as far as necessary and moving to the present.

Why Did You Leave Your Last Job (Alternate: Why Are You Looking For A New Position)

Oh Boy! What if you were fired? I have a Grandson who still lives at home while attending college. He was a manager of the DQ in the small town they live in. His record was spotless yet one day he was accused falsely of not charging a full amount for a product to a friend. The friend ordered a sundae and he and my Grandson (who was off work at the time) were eating. In fact, the owner came in and saw them eating, he knew that my Grandson had handled the transaction and drew the wrong conclusion. Why? I don’t know!

When he went for his next interview he asked his dad how to handle it and my son wisely told him not to lie but tell the employer that a misunderstanding had occurred and explain it. He was hired on the spot.

Do not talk negatively about your previous employer. Keep smiling and talk positively. If you don’t you will be the one looking bad.

Do  You Consider Yourself Successful:

This is a question that should always carry a yes answer. Simply explain why. Stress the fact that you know how to set goals and if they apply to this job application explain what they are & why. Be positive.

What Do You Know About This Company/Organization

This is the major reason why you find out everything you can about the company before the interview. How large is it? How many offices do they have? What attracted you to it? What do you know about the CEO (or CFO if you’re applying for a financial position)? Are they doing something innovative or interesting that makes you want to work there?

What Have You Done To Improve Your Knowledge/Experience In The Last Year

To answer this focus on any special classes you have taken to improve yourself. This is particularly important if this is a sales position. Also, if you didn’t go to school, did you take any special training within the company? Did they promote you or did you take on an extra assignment that required you to learn a skill or perform some research? Any time you show that you were “learning and growing” to benefit the company is a plus.

Are You Applying For Other Jobs

This is a touchy one but just smile and turn the question around and ask if they are interviewing other applicants for this position. Leave it at that. Be polite and smile when you answer, do not be offensive.

Why Do You Want To Work For This Organization

Thoughtfully answer and explain from your research on the company why you think you will enjoy joining their organization. Put it in terms of your long-term goals. Another approach to this is to smile and say, “I’m not sure that I want to work here yet. The interview isn’t just about whether you want me but whether I feel this would be a good fit for me”. Always smile when you say this. A wise woman I knew said “You can get away with saying anything as long as you smile when you say it.”

What Kind Of Salary Do You Expect

There are two ways of looking at this. 1) it is a loaded question or 2) it isn’t a loaded question and they want to know if your salary expectations are somewhere within their budget. Let’s look at it from both sides starting with the second one first. If you are expecting $80,000 per year and they are offering $40,000 then it’s better to know that up front and move on. If the salary offered is close then you might consider it.

Now from the other side let’s look at it as a loaded question. Smile and turn the question around and say; “That’s a tough question. Can you give me the range of compensation”? Many times the interviewer will be taken off guard and give you the answer. It’s a question of “the first person who speaks loses”.

Explain How You Would Be An Asset To Our Company

This give you the opportunity to shine. Explain your good points and how you can use them to be an asset. This question is one that you need to give some advance thought to. That’s where research comes in. And be ready.

Tell Me About A Suggestion Or Change You Have Made In A Previous Position

Have a good one ready. Preferably one that was accepted and considered successful. If your company didn’t ask for or accept suggestions say so. Most mid-level to upper-level positions though are looking for ways to improve.

What Is Your Greatest Strength

Most any answer will be good, just stay positive. Some possible answers: problem solving, ability to prioritize, work under pressure, work well with others (possible younger/older people), ability to focus well, leadership. See, it’s not too hard to come up with a list. If you can give an example of how you applied that in past positions. For instance, “I have a strong attention to detail and because of this I was responsible for tracking all the sales revenue and department expenses. I even found a few ways to save the company money through a few simple cost-cutting measures.”

What Is More Important – The Work Or The Money

Money is necessary to live but the correct answer on this one is WORK!

Tell Me About Some Previous Problem You Had With A Supervisor

Don’t fall into that! They want to see if you will speak badly of a previous employer/supervisor and tell of some problem. This is a test of your character. If you fall for it the interview is over. Stay positive and fail to remember. Speak highly of your boss (even if it’s hard, try to find something positive you liked about him).

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Whether you’re preparing for a job interview, writing that resume, preparing to give a speech before a crowd, or writing up a business presentation, it is critically important for you to make sure everything is correct. When it comes to your career, you can’t afford to make any mistakes.

Using poor English during a job interview, as well as on your job resume can cause you not to get the job. If you are giving a speech, using poor English will make your audience think you’re uneducated. If you submit a written proposal to your manager, and it is written with poor English, it may very likely be rejected. As you can see, failure is not an option.

Here are some of the most common English mistakes that can destroy your chances of career advancement, or your chances of getting the job you want.

The First Of These Mistakes Is Pronouncing Words Incorrectly

While this mistake may sound easy to avoid, it is one of the most common mistakes that people make. I had a friend that used the word obsese instead of obese. Was she a dummy? Certainly not – just not careful. To become a master at English, it is not enough for you to know a word, or understand its definition. You must also be able to say it correctly. When you fail to pronounce a word correctly, even if people think you’re somewhat intelligent for using the word in the right way, you will be criticized for not saying the word properly.

One of the best ways to fix this problem is to break the word down into its syllables in your head and speak it slowly. This is how we teach children to read and speak English. By breaking a word down we can sound each piece out until we know it well enough to say it correctly every time.

The Use of Slang

The second mistake you can make is using slang. What is hard is that most of us learn English by listening, not reading. Especially in groups with friends. Which means that we pick up the everyday English that these people speak. Some of it is fine, while a lot of it is just slang and bad grammar.

Now most people born in this country know what they are saying is slang and when they interview they “clean up” their speach and talk properly. A good way to help is to “practice interview” with a friend that speaks well and ask them to help you cut out those slang words.

While slang may sound cool when you’re talking with your friends, you will not want to use slang words during a job interview, during a speech, and definitely not on your job resume. If you do, it is very likely that you just killed your chances of being successful.

A Failure to Speak or Write Carefully

This is a mistake that gets a lot of people in trouble. They speak without taking the time to think carefully about the words that come out of their mouth. Not only can this cause your interviewer to become confused, it may also cause them to become offended if you say the wrong things. We all have been guilty of this from time to time and it is something to carefully watch.

When I say speak or write carefully, I am talking about grammar as well as the impression you make on your listeners or readers. I have a very good friend, a college graduate from the University of California who writes terribly. Why? I am not sure, but I know that when she was doing business proposals she would always send them to my wife (an English major) to correct the grammar. Without the corrections our friend would have seemed illiterate, yet she isn’t. And she does not speak like she writes. Interesting isn’t it? She is brilliant but a poor speller.

Conclusion

English is a difficult language to learn. In fact it’s one of the top 5 hardest (Russian, Chinese, and Vietnemese rank up there too). Because of this most people are understanding with people that are from another country. However - if you were born here and speak poor English then you have no excuse and a person interviewing you will be put off by bad English.

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If English is your second language and you have trouble speaking properly during an interview then we highly recommend the book English Harmony. Like you, Enlish is the author’s second language and he found himself struggling during conversations and often forgetting words he knew. His method will help you in a few easy steps to remember the words you know and to be able to speak English with confidence. It’s very affordable and will help you during your interview.

Over the years there have been a number of studies done that have consistently demonstrated that those with an advanced knowledge of the English language are much more likely to advance their careers. Also these studies have demonstrated that a strong command of the English language will lead to higher paying jobs and a great deal of social success.

No matter what career you choose, whether it is engineering or teaching, having a powerful command of the English language will greatly increase your odds of success. Your vocabulary will need to be equal to those who are in the same career field.

However, if you want to surpass your colleagues, and make yourself more marketable, you will need to increase you English skills, and make them superior to the other people who work in your field. While you may not realize it, people will judge you by the way you speak.

What Barriers Will You Need to Overcome

Most of us are familiar with how people feel about appearances, but the manner in which you speak is also important. Even if you are dressed nicely, using poor grammar will slow your progress. To succeed, you must focus on your appearance as well as your manner of speaking.

Most people underestimate the importance of mastering English. This is especially true for people who live in English speaking countries such as the United States or Great Britain. Because they are raised speaking the language, they don’t feel that it is all that important. They think they can get by on the basic language classes they took in school while they were children.

However, only having a basic knowledge of English will not open career doors. If you speak only an average level of English, people will think you’re average. If you speak in a manner that is eloquent, this will create a powerful impression.

The first barrier you will need to overcome is the belief that Basic English is enough. When I say Basic English, I’m referring to the English that most Americans speak on a daily basis. While the English language is comprised of about 700,000 words, the typical American only uses 50,000 in their day to day conversations. Most educated people who have earned a degree in college, or who read lots of books, will have a vocabulary that is closer to 100,000, twice the amount of the average American. These people are much more likely to land the higher paying jobs.

Many people have a poor command of the English language because they don’t read. I always laugh when I hear people say that they hate to read. These people don’t realize that they are destroying their chances of being economically successful. Not only does reading allow you to build up your vocabulary, but it also allows you to become more informed about the world around you.

Reading can increase your IQ while watching television cannot, and some would even argue that it does the opposite. The first step in speaking English properly is to learn more words.

Take Classes, and Read More

For years the Readers Digest ran an interesting column, “Increasing Your Wordpower”. I always enjoyed this part of the magazine and here is what they recommended. When you learn a new word, you should take the time to use it in a sentence. Use it when you speak to people. By using the word in your everyday speech and writing, the word will be saved in your long term memory. Studies have shown that you will need to repeat the word at least seven times before it “sticks“.

In addition to learning new words, you will want to read everything you can get your hands on. Read fiction as well as non-fiction. Read things you normally wouldn’t read. This will allow you to learn new words that you normally wouldn’t be exposed to. Increasing your English skills can become very lucrative.

Despite the fact that English is often referred to as being a global language, most people will never learn even 35% of the words that comprise the language. However, learning as much as you can will allow you to stand out from the crowd, and it will open up opportunities that will be closed to others.