*Question 1 **Tell me about yourself. *

*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 all 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 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:

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. 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 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:

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 communication 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.

*PASSABLE ANSWER:* Disguise a 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 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 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 sell (if your interviewer

were a sales manager, this should 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 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

doublecheck 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 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 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, 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.)

*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 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, 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.

*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 violated 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 silences 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

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.

*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 adlib 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. 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 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, 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.

*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. 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.

*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 inevitable open up for me. It's always been

that way in my career, and I'm confident I'll have similar opportunities

here."

*Question 10 **Describe your ideal company, location and job.*

*TRAPS:* This is often asked by an experienced interviewer who thinks you

may be overqualified, but knows better than to show his hand by posing his

objection directly. So he'll use this question instead, which often gets a

candidate to reveal that, indeed, he or she is looking for something other

than the position at hand.

*BEST ANSWER:* 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 a glamorous 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 on the list of exactly what

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