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Question |
Hint |
Your answer |
| Big picture |
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Tell me about yourself |
A classic opening question. |
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Tell me about your last job |
Seeking perspective and detail. |
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Tell me about your career so far |
Seeking patterns and themes. |
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Please describe a typical day |
Looking for what really happens. |
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How does your current job fit into the overall business |
Seeking strategic understanding. |
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Tell me about your ideal job |
Looking for key motivation. |
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Strengths |
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What has made you successful? |
Examples and reasons for success. |
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What interests you most about this job? |
Show your motivation. |
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What is your greatest strength? |
What you think you're good at. |
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Tell me about when you were particularly challenged |
Challenge brings out the real person. |
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Tell me of a time when things went really well |
...and it was more than luck. |
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Would you call yourself ...? |
Probing for named qualities. |
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What have you done that you are proud of? |
Motivation and concern for self. |
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What did you learn in that job? |
Openness, learning, risk bias. |
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Why should I employ you? |
Show fit and motivation. |
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What would you do if you got the job? |
Strategic and tactical detail. |
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Possible weaknesses |
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What are your weaknesses? |
Admit non-important weaknesses. |
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What skills would you like to develop? |
Motivation and new areas. |
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Tell me about when something you did didn't work |
Coping with failure. |
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What did you like least about that job? |
Checking the range of your motivation. |
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What do you find difficult? |
Show you can handle difficulties. |
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How do you approach risks? |
Show foresight and planning. |
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What have you done that you are not proud of? |
Exposing shame and values. |
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Have you ever lost your job? |
Show positive attitude. |
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Do you take your work home with you? |
Show both organization and passion for work. |
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Stress |
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Can you work under pressure? |
Demonstrate control and fortitude. |
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What keeps you awake at night? |
Whether you can relax or how you prioritize. |
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What annoys you? |
Show control and calm. |
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How do you handle stressful situations? |
Show that you are calm under fire. |
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How do you handle criticism? |
Positive learning or robust response. |
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How do you respond to change? |
Contribution, collaboration, leadership. |
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Have you ever had to dismiss someone? |
With sensitivity and due process. |
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Do you plan to have children? |
Respond carefully to this. |
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What do you do to relax? |
Show that you have a life! |
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Do you take your work home? |
Be willing to work extra when needed. |
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That was stupid! |
Assertive reframing or questioning back. |
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Working with others |
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Would you say that you stand out as an individual? |
Be individual, but not anti-others. |
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How do you work in teams? |
Leader, follower, collaborator -- as appropriate. |
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How do you handle conflict? |
Show emotional maturity in mediation. |
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What sorts of people do you not get on with? |
Make it a bad person. |
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Tell me about a time when you influenced someone else. |
Show subtle changing of minds. |
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What do you do when you disagree with others? |
Manage emotions. |
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How do you get on with others at work? |
Sociability and assertiveness. |
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What do you think about your manager? |
Show you're a good employee. |
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Tell me about the best manager you had |
Describe good management. |
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Constraints |
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Why are you looking for another job? |
Tell reasons for leaving. |
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What particularly attracted you to this job? |
Tell reasons for joining. |
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Are you prepared to travel? |
Because this job has lots of it! |
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What did you like/dislike about that job? |
Show positive motivations. |
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Why do you want to leave your current job? |
Need to grow, etc. |
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Which job did you like least? |
Give good reasons. |
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What salary are you seeking? |
Don't be greedy and don't be timid. |
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How long would it take to get up to speed in this job? |
Be realistic. Show competence. |
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What are your career aspirations? |
Show good sense of the future. |
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Do you work much outside normal hours? |
Show control and flexibility. |
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And... |
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Do you have any questions? |
Go out on a high note with great questions! |
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