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Interview week

Tough interview questions are supposed to challenge job candidates and make them think on their feet.

Q: Will you be out to take my job?
A: Maybe in about twenty years, but by then, I suspect you'll be running the entire company and will need a good, loyal lieutenant to help you manage this department!
Q: What if you work here for five years and don't get promoted? Many of our employees don't. Won't you find it frustrating?
A: I consider myself ambitious, but I'm also practical. As long as I am continuing to learn and grow within my position, I'll be a happy camper. Different companies promote people at different rates, and I'm pretty confident that working for you will keep me motivated and mentally stimulated for several years to come.
Q: What is your biggest weakness that's really a weakness, and not a secret strength?
A: I am extremely impatient. I expect my employees to prove themselves on the very first assignment. If they fail, my tendency is to stop delegating to them and start doing everything myself.
To compensate for my own weakness, however, I have started to really prep my people on exactly what will be expected of them.
Q: You have changed careers before. Why should I let you experiment on my nickel?
A. As a career-changer, I believe that I'm a better employee because I've gained a lot of diverse skills from moving around. These skills help me solve problems creatively.
Q: If you knew that things at your company were rocky, why didn't you get out of the company sooner?
A: I was working so hard to keep my job while everyone around me was being cut that I didn't have any time left over to look for another job. With all of the mergers that have been happening in our field, layoffs are a way of life. At least I gave it my best shot!
Q: From your resume, it looks like you were fired twice. How did that make you feel?
A: After I recuperated from the shock both times, it made me feel stronger. It's true that I was fired twice, but I managed to bounce back both times and land jobs that gave me more responsibility, paid me more money, and were at better firms.
The morale here is very high. I've been exposed to the "seamy underbelly" of this business, but I'm still passionate about working in it.
Q: I see from your resume that you worked at CC&L for four years, and that's terrific. But I also noticed that you weren't promoted during that time. Why not?
A: CC&L is a great company, and thanks in part to my team's contributions, they are doing very well these days. But that wasn't always the case.
During the first two years that I worked there, people were being fired left and right, and just hanging onto my job was a feat.
Once the company began to turn around, [my boss] was offered a terrific job at a rival organization and it took CC&L six months to replace him, and when they did, the new boss was eager to bring in his own people. Once again, I tenaciously hung on to my job, and, even though I was long overdue for a promotion, I really didn't think that the timing was right for me to broach it. No one from the old staff was there to even vouch for my performance!
Q: If you were running a company that produces X and the market was tanking for that product, what would you do?
A: I would search for new markets for the product while I spurred the engineers to change the product to make it more marketable to its original core audience.
Q: Are you telling me that, now that you're forty-something, you would be willing to start at an entry-level position just to get your foot in the door here?
A: Sometimes you need to take a step backward to move your career forward. Starting in an entry-level role would allow me to learn your business from the ground up.
The career that I've been in is so different than yours that I would love the opportunity to start over again in your field. The salary cut will be well worth it.
Q: From your resume, I notice that you interned at a small investment banking boutique. Did you pursue a full-time job offer with them? What happened?
A: Yes, I did very well at my internship, and I had originally assumed that I would come on staff once I graduated from college. However, BB&L drastically cut back the number of new hires they were planning. As fate would have it, they will not be hiring any of the interns they had last summer.
I love working at BB&L, and I brought some references with me today to show you that my job performance there was stellar. Still, in some ways, I consider this new turn of events to be a lucky break for me, believe it or not.
Q: We love women at this company, but our clients are Chinese and so we were thinking of hiring a man for this particular job.
A: Why is that, exactly? It seems to me that I am probably more qualified to handle this position than anyone, man or woman.
My father's career as a diplomat took our family around the world seven times, and I even spent my junior year abroad in the Far East. I would need far less training than an American man who grew up here and has never worked outside our borders.
Q: Our clients feel more comfortable with ethnic writers. So, while I would love to recommend you for the position, I'm worried that our clients will feel uneasy about us hiring you.
A. I sincerely believe that being a great writer requires one major skill beyond being able to string sentences together, and that quality is empathy. I think that, rather than looking at my skin color, your company needs to consider whether or not I can empathize with our target market, and the answer is certainly yes.
Q: Why did you take so much time off from work, and why do you wish to get a job now?
A: When I first had the twins, my husband was working 24/7, and I really needed to be there to raise the kids. But during that time, I really missed working.
Fortunately, I kept my hand in the business during those years by consulting for several of my ex-clients.
Q: What would you do if you really wanted to hire a woman under you, and you knew the perfect candidate, but your boss really wanted to hire a man for the job?
A: I'd recommend that we perform an on-site "test," by hiring both candidates on a freelance basis for two weeks each.
Q: What if you worked with someone who managed to 'take credit' for all your great ideas. How would you handle it?
A: First, I would try to credit her publicly with the ideas that were hers. Sometimes, by being generous with credit, it spurs the other person to "return the favor."
If that doesn't solve it, I'd try to work out an arrangement where we each agreed to present the ideas that were our own to our bosses. If that doesn't work, I would openly discuss the situation with her.
However, if the person taking credit for my ideas was my boss, I would tread cautiously. To some extent, I believe that my job is to make my superiors shine. If I were being rewarded for my ideas with raises and promotions, I would be happy.
Q: How many hours a week do you usually work, and why?
A: I work pretty long hours most of the time. With the extra time, I try to find ways to "add value" to each assignment, both my own and the firm's. When our clients read our reports, I want them to think that no one else could have possibly written them, except for our company.
Q: Does a company need B players? Or is it better off only having A players on staff, and why.
A: I believe that a company needs both A and B players. When you're pitching new business, you want the A players on the front line. But behind the A players, you need the B players who can hammer out the details of the projects and stick with them on a day-to-day basis. Having too many A players on the team leads to ego clashes and a disorganized, anarchical way of doing business.
Q: Are you better at "managing up" or "managing down"?
A: If you aren't good at "managing up," you rarely get the opportunity to "manage down." Fortunately, I've always been quite good at self-management. I've never had a deadline that I didn't meet.
Q: This ad agency is a TV shop. But I see from your resume that you have far more experience handling print. You're weak on TV compared to other candidates. Why should I hire you for the job and not someone else who has the credentials that we're really looking for?
A: One thing I learned from these ad agencies is that print and TV are only mediums. The real thing that we offer clients is our ideas. And a strong, solid award-winning idea will work just as beautifully in TV as in print.
So while I may have fewer TV spots on my reel as other candidates, hopefully you'll agree that my ideas are stronger than theirs. Hire me for my ideas, and when you do, I promise you that they will translate seamlessly into TV.
Q: Would you rather get permission from your boss before undertaking a brand-new project, or be given enough rope to "hang yourself"?
A: During my first week on the job, I would ask my boss how she would prefer me to handle projects. If she indicated that she wanted a take-charge person under her, I would take the ropes. If she told me she wanted me to run ideas by her first, I would comply. I think the real challenge is being able to adapt to your work environment, and I'm flexible.
Q: Please give an example of the most difficult political situation that you've dealt with on a job.
A: I was hired by a woman who was on her way out. She asked me to be her "fall guy" on a number of assignments. I just learned to drop the assignments off with my boss on the day that they were due, and when the managers would ring me up, I would recommend that they simply follow up with her. This kept me out of hot water with my boss and with her superiors.
Q: Did you ever make a mistake that cost your company money?
A: I suppose that asking for name-brand vodka at the Christmas party, instead of the generic swill that they normally serve, doesn't count, right? No, really honestly, I'm delighted to report that I never made a mistake that cost my company money.
Q: Is it more important to be lucky or skillful?
A: I think that it's more important to be lucky, although being very skilled can help to create more opportunities. Certainly, [at my former job, my boss'] confidence in me inspired the decision makers at our firm to trust that I could do the job. But clearly, I also happened to be in the right place at the right time.
Q: When do you think you'll peak in your career?
A: I come from a long line of healthy, hardy, mentally active types, and so I confess that I never even think about "peaking" in my career. That having been said, I do think it's important to have some self-knowledge, and to recognize when one is past one's prime.
Q: Under what circumstances have you found it acceptable to break confidence?
A. When the person doing the confiding has shared the fact that she was doing something unethical — and if I felt that I might be able to stop her behavior by telling someone else about it.
Q: Do you consider yourself a leader?
A. Oh, yes, absolutely. I have all of the leadership qualities. I'm extroverted, but I also happen to be a terrific listener. I consider myself a "big idea" person, but I can also be hard-nosed and practical when necessary.
Q: What do you view as your risks and disadvantages with the position we are interviewing you for?
A: I think that with the home office located halfway across the globe, there is a very small risk that one might not have the chance to interact with the key decision makers as often as might be ideal. On the other hand, teleconferencing, email, faxing, and having a 24/7 work ethic will go a long way towards bridging the gap.
Q: What are a couple of the most courageous actions or unpopular stands that you have ever taken?
A: I used to work for a boss who managed four offices making his time ultra-limited ... he eventually called me one day, and begged me to review their work "unofficially." But there had been a long history in my office of people who would "act like the boss," sans any official title, only to be "beheaded" a few months later for overstepping their bounds.
I told my supervisor that if he wanted me to be "acting boss" in his absence, he needed to let people know officially, and that giving me a new title wouldn't hurt either.
Q: Can you describe your dream job?
A. This is my dream job and that's why I approached you about it in the first place. I am excited about the prospect of helping your promotion agency upgrade and fine tune your loyalty programs.
Q: How aware are you of internal politics that may affect your performance?

A: I'm sensitive to internal politics and respect authority figures. But I also do my best to never become embroiled in office politics. At my level, I consider this to be a wise course of action. I like people and can pretty much work with anyone. So I concentrate on doing my job, listening to directions, surpassing expectations, and leaving the internal political battles to the politicians.

Interview week


Below are five common questions asked by hiring managers and how to prepare for them?

1. Tell me about your experience at Company X.

In other words, how does your past experience relate to the job the hiring manager is looking to fill? When answering this question, you want to convince the hiring manager that you can hit the ground running and bring value to the team by providing specific examples that resulted in successful outcomes. It’s also helpful to identify how your current and prospective employers differ. This will help you determine which skills to emphasize.

Sample Answer: Despite working for a company that prefers organic growth, I have worked through the nuances that evolve when two organizations with distinct cultural norms are brought together. For example, recently, new leadership from Company Y brought new ways of evaluating projects. I set out to understand their ways of doing things by building a rapport with key leaders and sharing with them the institutional knowledge I acquired during a successful eight-year career in the firm. An example of when my knowledge was beneficial is…etc.

2. What is your biggest professional accomplishment to date?

This is your opportunity to provide an example that shows you can do the job. Think about the skills detailed in the job description and which of your accomplishments most directly relate. The goal is to convey to the hiring manager not only your past successes but also what you are capable of accomplishing if offered the job.

Sample Answer: My greatest accomplishment was when I grew the IBM IBM -0.15% business on my agency’s behalf by 25% in one year. Most clients were cutting back on producing events as a way to warm leads for their sales force. With my creative team, I came up with a way to offer the same high-touch experience via webinars. Each webinar was accessible 24 hours a day and led by IBM thought leaders. In the end, I reduced event production costs by 40% and with those savings, IBM invested in more webinars worldwide. I won my agency’s award and was soon promoted.

3. How would people you have worked with describe you?

This question centers on how well you work with others and your ability to manage relationships with your peers, managers and direct reports. Give examples of situations that illustrate how you work with people across various functions. Answer truthfully, as the hiring manager will reach out to your references at a later point to ensure your perception of yourself is in line with theirs.

Sample Answer: My managers would describe me as someone who would rather tirelessly overcome obstacles on my own than continuously seek managerial guidance. I make my managers’ lives easier in this way. For example, when I first started working at firm C, I was asked to figure out ways to cut costs. Instead of relying on my manager, who had other projects to oversee, I decided to better understand the transportation logistics behind the wood chips that my employer needed in each facility. After seeing what worked best and what could be improved, I took this information to my manager, who was grateful for the initiative I took.

4. What is your greatest weakness?

Often dreaded by job candidates, the key to answering this question is to be honest yet strategic. On my site, I go into more detail on new and effective ways to answer this question truthfully without taking yourself out of the running. You also need to address the unspoken follow up, which is what you are doing to overcome your weakness. Ultimately, you want to show the hiring manager that you are self-aware, thoughtful and proactive about your strengths and weaknesses.

Sample Answer: My greatest weakness is my low patience when a team member withholds important information to the detriment of his or her peers or the assignment’s success. I have always tried to maximize knowledge-sharing by bringing team members together prior to launching any assignment to ensure everyone is on the same page. Yet, there have been times when people have withheld information even after these efforts. In those instances, I have learned to speak privately with those team members to understand why information was withheld.

5. Why are you the best person for this position?

In asking this question, the hiring manager is looking for you to succinctly convey what sets you apart from the other candidates. Think of your most impressive and unique strengths that closely relate to the job description and use those to pitch yourself in a way that clearly illustrates the skill set and qualities you bring to the table.

Sample Answer: My analytical horsepower sets me apart from other candidates. For example, I imagine all of your candidates can create robust Excel-based financial models. However, I can also see and articulate the business story behind the numbers to influence decision-making. During a major food-chain deal, I conducted the due diligence necessary to come up with the right multiple that my superiors should consider based not only on raw data but also on what was the best way to position the assets we were selling. My strategy resulted in a more profitable deal.


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