How to Answer The Toughest Interview Questions 2

Question 11      Why do you want to work at our company?

TRAPS:  This question tests whether you’ve done any homework about the firm.  If you haven’t, you lose.  If you have, you win big.

BEST ANSWER:   This question is your opportunity to hit the ball out of the park, thanks to the in-depth research you should do before any interview.

Best sources for researching your target company:  annual reports, the corporate newsletter, contacts you know at the company or its suppliers, advertisements, articles about the company in the trade press.

Question 12      What are your career options right now?

TRAPS:  The interviewer is trying to find out, “How desperate are you?”

BEST ANSWER:  Prepare for this question by thinking of how you can position yourself as a desired commodity.  If you are still working, describe the possibilities at your present firm and why, though you’re greatly appreciated there, you’re looking for something more (challenge, money, responsibility, etc.).  Also mention that you’re seriously exploring opportunities with one or two other firms.

If you’re not working, you can talk about other employment possibilities you’re actually exploring.  But do this with a light touch, speaking only in general terms.  You don’t want to seem manipulative or coy.

Question 13      Why have you been out of work so long?

TRAPS:  A tough question if you’ve been on the beach a long time.  You don’t want to seem like damaged goods.

BEST ANSWER:  You want to emphasize factors which have prolonged your job search by your own choice.

Example: “After my job was terminated, I made a conscious decision not to jump on the first opportunities to come along.  In my life, I’ve found out that you can always turn a negative into a positive IF you try hard enough. This is what I determined to do.  I decided to take whatever time I needed to think through what I do best, what I most want to do, where I’d like to do it…and then identify those companies that could offer such an opportunity.”

“Also, in all honesty, you have to factor in the recession (consolidation, stabilization, etc.) in the (banking, financial services, manufacturing, advertising, etc.) industry.”

“So between my being selective and the companies in our industry downsizing, the process has taken time.  But in the end, I’m convinced that when I do find the right match, all that careful evaluation from both sides of the desk will have been well worthwhile for both the company that hires me and myself.

Question 14      Tell me honestly about the strong points and weak points of your boss (company, management team, etc.)…

TRAPS:  Skillful interviewers sometimes make it almost irresistible to open up and air a little dirty laundry from your previous position.  DON’T

BEST ANSWER:  Remember the rule:  Never be negative.  Stress only the good points, no matter how charmingly you’re invited to be critical.

Your interviewer doesn’t care a whit about your previous boss.  He wants to find out how loyal and positive you are, and whether you’ll criticize him behind his back if pressed to do so by someone in this own company.  This question is your opportunity to demonstrate your loyalty to those you work with.

Question 15      What good books have you read lately?

TRAPS:  As in all matters of your interview, never fake familiarity you don’t have.  Yet you don’t want to seem like a dullard who hasn’t read a book since Tom Sawyer.

BEST ANSWER:  Unless you’re up for a position in academia or as book critic for The New York Times, you’re not expected to be a literary lion.  But it wouldn’t hurt to have read a handful of the most recent and influential books in your profession and on management.

Consider it part of the work of your job search to read up on a few of these leading books.  But make sure they are quality books that reflect favorably upon you, nothing that could even remotely be considered superficial.  Finally, add a recently published bestselling work of fiction by a world-class author and you’ll pass this question with flying colors.

Question 16      Tell me about a situation when your work was criticized.

TRAPS:  This is a tough question because it’s a more clever and subtle way to get you to admit to a weakness.  You can’t dodge it by pretending you’ve never been criticized.  Everybody has been.  Yet it can be quite damaging to start admitting potential faults and failures that you’d just as soon leave buried.

This question is also intended to probe how well you accept criticism and direction.

BEST ANSWERS:  Begin by emphasizing the extremely positive feedback you’ve gotten throughout your career and (if it’s true) that your performance reviews have been uniformly excellent.

Of course, no one is perfect and you always welcome suggestions on how to improve your performance.  Then, give an example of a not-too-damaging learning experience from early in your career and relate the ways this lesson has since helped you.  This demonstrates that you learned from the experience and the lesson is now one of the strongest breastplates in your suit of armor.

If you are pressed for a criticism from a recent position, choose something fairly trivial that in no way is essential to your successful performance.  Add that you’ve learned from this, too, and over the past several years/months, it’s no longer an area of concern because you now make it a regular practice to…etc.

Another way to answer this question would be to describe your intention to broaden your master of an area of growing importance in your field.  For example, this might be a computer program you’ve been meaning to sit down and learn… a new management technique you’ve read about…or perhaps attending a seminar on some cutting-edge branch of your profession.

Again, the key is to focus on something not essential to your brilliant performance but which adds yet another dimension to your already impressive knowledge base.

Question 17      What are your outside interests?

TRAPS:  You want to be a well-rounded, not a drone.  But your potential employer would be even more turned off if he suspects that your heavy extracurricular load will interfere with your commitment to your work duties.

BEST ANSWERS:  Try to gauge how this company’s culture would look upon your favorite outside activities and be guided accordingly.

You can also use this question to shatter any stereotypes that could limit your chances.  If you’re over 50, for example, describe your activities that demonstrate physical stamina.  If you’re young, mention an activity that connotes wisdom and institutional trust, such as serving on the board of a popular charity.

But above all, remember that your employer is hiring your for what you can do for him, not your family, yourself or outside organizations, no matter how admirable those activities may be.

Question 18      The “Fatal Flaw” question

TRAPS:  If an interviewer has read your resume carefully, he may try to zero in on a “fatal flaw” of your candidacy, perhaps that you don’t have a college degree…you’ve been out of the job market for some time…you never earned your CPA, etc.

A fatal flaw question can be deadly, but usually only if you respond by being overly defensive.

BEST ANSWERS:  As every master salesperson knows, you will encounter objections (whether stated or merely thought) in every sale.  They’re part and parcel of the buyer’s anxiety.  The key is not to exacerbate the buyer’s anxiety but diminish it.  Here’s how…

Whenever you come up against a fatal flaw question:

1.            Be completely honest, open and straightforward about admitting the shortcoming.  (Showing you have nothing to hide diminishes the buyer’s anxiety.)

2.            Do not apologize or try to explain it away.  You know that this supposed flaw is nothing to be concerned about, and this is the attitude you want your interviewer to adopt as well.

3.            Add that as desirable as such a qualification might be, its lack has made you work all the harder throughout your career and has not prevented you from compiling an outstanding tack record of achievements.  You might even give examples of how, through a relentless commitment to excellence, you have consistently outperformed those who do have this qualification.

Of course, the ultimate way to handle “fatal flaw” questions is to prevent them from arising in the first place.  You will do that by following the master strategy described in Question 1, i.e., uncovering the employers needs and them matching your qualifications to those needs.

Once you’ve gotten the employer to start talking about his most urgently-felt wants and goals for the position, and then help him see in step-by-step fashion how perfectly your background and achievements match up with those needs, you’re going to have one very enthusiastic interviewer on your hands, one who is no longer looking for “fatal flaws”.

Question 19      How do you feel about reporting to a younger person (minority, woman, etc)?

TRAPS:  It’s a shame that some interviewers feel the need to ask this question, but many understand the reality that prejudices still exist among some job candidates, and it’s better to try to flush them out beforehand.

The trap here is that in today’s politically sensitized environment, even a well-intentioned answer can result in planting your foot neatly in your mouth.  Avoid anything which smacks of a patronizing or an insensitive attitude, such as “I think they make terrific bosses” or “Hey, some of my best friends are…”

Of course, since almost anyone with an IQ above room temperature will at least try to steadfastly affirm the right answer here, your interviewer will be judging your sincerity most of all.  “Do you really feel that way?” is what he or she will be wondering.

So you must make your answer believable and not just automatic.  If the firm is wise enough to have promoted peopled on the basis of ability alone, they’re likely quite proud of it, and prefer to hire others who will wholeheartedly share their strong sense of fair play.

BEST ANSWER:  You greatly admire a company that hires and promotes on merit alone and you couldn’t agree more with that philosophy.  The age (gender, race, etc.) of the person you report to would certainly make no difference to you.

Whoever has that position has obviously earned it and knows their job well.  Both the person and the position are fully deserving of respect.  You believe that all people in a company, from the receptionist to the Chairman, work best when their abilities, efforts and feelings are respected and rewarded fairly, and that includes you.  That’s the best type of work environment you can hope to find.

Question 20      On confidential matters…

TRAPS:  When an interviewer presses you to reveal confidential information about a present or former employer, you may feel it’s a no-win situation.  If you cooperate, you could be judged untrustworthy.  If you don’t, you may irritate the interviewer and seem obstinate, uncooperative or overly suspicious.

BEST ANSWER:  Your interviewer may press you for this information for two reasons.

First, many companies use interviews to research the competition.  It’s a perfect set-up.  Here in their own lair, is an insider from the enemy camp who can reveal prized information on the competition’s plans, research, financial condition, etc.

Second, the company may be testing your integrity to see if you can be cajoled or bullied into revealing confidential data.

What to do?  The answer here is easy.  Never reveal anything truly confidential about a present or former employer.  By all means, explain your reticence diplomatically.  For example, “I certainly want to be as open as I can about that.  But I also wish to respect the rights of those who have trusted me with their most sensitive information, just as you would hope to be able to trust any of your key people when talking with a competitor…”

And certainly you can allude to your finest achievements in specific ways that don’t reveal the combination to the company safe.

But be guided by the golden rule.  If you were the owner of your present company, would you feel it ethically wrong for the information to be given to your competitors?  If so, steadfastly refuse to reveal it.

Remember that this question pits your desire to be cooperative against your integrity.  Faced with any such choice, always choose integrity.  It is a far more valuable commodity than whatever information the company may pry from you.  Moreover, once you surrender the information, your stock goes down.  They will surely lose respect for you.

One President we know always presses candidates unmercifully for confidential information. If he doesn’t get it, he grows visibly annoyed, relentlessly inquisitive,  It’s all an act.  He couldn’t care less about the information. This is his way of testing the candidate’s moral fiber.  Only those who hold fast are hired.

Question 21      Would you lie for the company?

TRAPS:  This another question that pits two values against one another, in this case loyalty against integrity.

BEST ANSWER:  Try to avoid choosing between two values, giving a positive statement which covers all bases instead.

Example:  “I would never do anything to hurt the company..”

If aggressively pressed to choose between two competing values, always choose personal integrity.  It is the most prized of all values.

Question 22      Looking back, what would you do differently in your life?

TRAPS:  This question is usually asked to uncover any life-influencing mistakes, regrets, disappointments or problems that may continue to affect your personality and performance.

You do not want to give the interviewer anything negative to remember you by, such as some great personal or career disappointment, even long ago, that you wish could have been avoided.

Nor do you wish to give any answer which may hint that your whole heart and soul will not be in your work.

BEST ANSWER:  Indicate that you are a happy, fulfilled, optimistic person and that, in general, you wouldn’t change a thing.

Example:  “It’s been a good life, rich in learning and experience, and the best it yet to come.  Every experience in life is a lesson it its own way.  I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Question 23      Could you have done better in your last job?

TRAPS:  This is no time for true confessions of major or even minor problems.

BEST ANSWER:  Again never be negative.

Example:  “I suppose with the benefit of hindsight you can always find things to do better, of course, but off the top of my head, I can’t think of anything of major consequence.”

(If more explanation seems necessary)
Describer a situation that didn’t suffer because of you but from external conditions beyond your control.

For example, describe the disappointment you felt with a test campaign, new product launch, merger, etc., which looked promising at first, but led to underwhelming results.  “I wish we could have known at the start what we later found out (about the economy turning, the marketplace changing, etc.), but since we couldn’t, we just had to go for it.  And we did learn from it…”

Question 24      Can you work under pressure?

TRAPS:  An easy question, but you want to make your answer believable.

BEST ANSWER:  Absolutely…(then prove it with a vivid example or two of a goal or project accomplished under severe pressure.)

Question 25      What makes you angry?

TRAPS:  You don’t want to come across either as a hothead or a wimp.

BEST ANSWER:    Give an answer that’s suited to both your personality and the management style of the firm.  Here, the homework you’ve done about the company and its style can help in your choice of words.

Examples:  If you are a reserved person and/or the corporate culture is coolly professional:

“I’m an even-tempered and positive person by nature, and I believe this helps me a great deal in keeping my department running smoothly, harmoniously and with a genuine esprit de corps.  I believe in communicating clearly what’s expected, getting people’s commitment to those goals, and then following up continuously to check progress.”

“If anyone or anything is going off track, I want to know about it early.  If, after that kind of open communication and follow up, someone isn’t getting the job done, I’ll want to know why.  If there’s no good reason, then I’ll get impatient and angry…and take appropriate steps from there.  But if you hire good people, motivate them to strive for excellence and then follow up constantly, it almost never gets to that state.”

If you are feisty by nature and/or the position calls for a tough straw boss.

“You know what makes me angry?  People who (the fill in the blanks with the most objectionable traits for this type of position)…people who don’t pull their own weight, who are negative, people who lie…etc.”

Question 26      Why aren’t you earning more money at this stage of your career?

TRAPS:  You don’t want to give the impression that money is not important to you, yet you want to explain why your salary may be a little below industry standards.

BEST ANSWER:  You like to make money, but other factors are even more important.

Example:  “Making money is very important to me, and one reason I’m here is because I’m looking to make more.  Throughout my career, what’s been even more important to me is doing work I really like to do at the kind of company I like and respect.

(Then be prepared to be specific about what your ideal position and company would be like, matching them as closely as possible to the opportunity at hand.

Question 27      Who has inspired you in your life and why?

TRAPS:  The two traps here are unpreparedness and irrelevance.  If you grope for an answer, it seems you’ve never been inspired.  If you ramble about your high school basketball coach, you’ve wasted an opportunity to present qualities of great value to the company.

BEST ANSWER:  Have a few heroes in mind, from your mental “Board of Directors” – Leaders in your industry, from history or anyone else who has been your mentor.

Be prepared to give examples of how their words, actions or teachings have helped inspire your achievements.  As always, prepare an answer which highlights qualities that would be highly valuable in the position you are seeking.