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The Interview Questions You Need to Beat
The job interview is a very stress-inducing experience, at least partly because certain questions are asked by interviewers in order to get applicants to reveal less flattering aspects of themselves. Some of them are obvious, but others can catch you by surprise, so that only hours or days later you realize that your candid answer cast you in a bad light. It is essential to be aware of these trap questions and be ready to sidestep them.
Bitterness check questions
Employers want people with positive attitudes working for them, and want to weed out people who bear grudges toward past employers or have a general tendency to resent their situations. Questions such as "why did you leave your job?" should be answered very carefully to emphasize positive reasons such as desire for career advancement rather than problems with the work assignment or relations with supervisors and co-workers.
Even if there were serious problems at a previous job, you must not let your emotions gain control of your mouth. If the interviewer asks you about problems with your past job, avoid saying anything negative about the personality or business practices of your former boss. When you do so, the interviewer would sense that you are being bitter, or worse, that you are showing a pattern of pushing the blame for problems onto others rather than taking responsibility for your own actions. Instead, focus upon your own learning experiences and how you resolved them positively.
If you left because your boss wanted you to do things that were unethical or downright illegal, you may feel a strong temptation to say so. However, unless there has actually been formal censure or legal action against your employer, it is even more important to avoid making negative statements for the simple reason that everyone is entitled to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Nobody wants to hire someone who might make false statements out of spite. In the absence of a formal action against the employer which can be cited, it is generally best to stay with a euphemistic summation such as having problems that could not be reconciled.
Weakness exposure questions
It is generally fairly easy to answer questions which presuppose the positive, such as "Why do you think we must hire you?" However, some questions have a deeper goal of trying to see how you approach negatives. For instance, you may be asked such questions as, "What is your biggest weakness?"
In these cases, you must be careful to avoid answering it overly literally. Obviously you do not want to blurt out something that will reveal major flaws in your personality or work skills. However, the advice of citing a strength that you tend to carry to excess as a weakness can be problematical for the simple reason that it has been given so much that people's answers tend to become pat and stereotyped. The last thing you want to do is give the impression that you are reciting answers you've learned from a book somewhere, or are simply telling the interviewer what you think he or she wants to hear. Your responses must sound authentic, and should reassure the interviewer that while you understand that you are not free of weaknesses, you have the necessary coping strategies in place that will enable you to be an asset to the company in spite of them.
Problem resolution questions
Interviewers may ask you how you would handle a difficult situation on the job. For instance, they may ask you how you would respond to an abusive customer or an equipment failure. Alternatively, they may ask you how you have handled situations in the past, and particularly situations that required you to go beyond the established procedures and protocols in order to resolve them.
Especially if all your previous jobs have involved situations in which you have had little or no latitude to make decisions on your own, this sort of question will be difficult to answer. Under no circumstances should you yield to the temptation to make up incidents if you are asked about actual experience. Even if your interviewer does not subsequently follow up with your previous employer and learn you fabricated your answer, he or she may be able to tell from your body language that you are drawing on the part of the brain that controls imagination rather than memory. So find some actual example, no matter how tiny or insignificant, in which you can show that you have used that skill.
Illegal questions
Some questions, such as inquiries into your marital status, parenthood or child-care arrangements, are forbidden by Federal fair employment law. However, you will still face the possibility of being asked them in a job interview. Some interviewers may not realize that they have crossed the line, especially if they are making conversation before the formal interview. Others may not care, and think that the tough economic times will make prospects afraid to object because they cannot risk any chance to get a job.
Whatever the motivation of the interviewer in asking an illegal question, you will have to decide what is the best way of handling it. While you would be within your rights to object to the question and even file a complaint with the appropriate government agency, it may not be the most prudent strategy for your particular situation. Particularly if it is clear that the interviewer simply phrased a question poorly and did not deliberately set out to violate the law, it may be best to sidestep the question by assuring the interviewer that you are able to keep your personal life from interfering with your ability to fulfill your job responsibilities and move on to the next part of the interview.
By being aware of these kinds of questions and thinking about how you will answer them, you can avoid being caught by surprise and blurting out something that will work to your detriment.
