Just interviewed

I haven't posted in a while. I would say how well you answer questions in an interview(i.e. answering with accurate responses) is less important than the manner in which you answer them (i.e. do you get defensive, do you act like they are being unreasonable, etc). I know many people including myself that felt somewhat polverized in our interviews and still got in. Good luck!

Yup. I remember talking about tigers eating people in India. Don't ask. I couldn't shut myself up.

Received an acceptance less than two months later.

I was asked about a conversation that I had with a doctor recently...all that popped in my head was chewing out a doc for not packing the mouth well enough when he put leeches in (buccal skin graft failing) and they almost slid down the patient's throat. I think I grossed everyone out!

Yup. I remember talking about tigers eating people in India. Don't ask. I couldn't shut myself up.

Received an acceptance less than two months later.

Haha! Could you put this context for us, I'm curious.

Thank you for responding. I am new to the post but have been a lurker for a while. The interview is still eating at me and I know there's nothing I can do at this point. What's done is done. Thanks for your support.

the tiger story -

My husband's brother went to India for a conference and in the area there had been a problem with tigers coming into villages and dragging people off. Apparently the tiger's environment is being encroached upon by development so they are living closer to humans. My bro-in-law claimed that someone was actually attacked through the first floor window of the hotel he stayed in. Happily he was staying on an upper floor.

It was a friendly interview, they couldn't pronounce my last name and I explained that my husband is half Indian and that was how we got to tigers. I had good ol' diarrhea of the mouth. I didn't think I totally blew the interview but I didn't feel good. I don't know what it was that I said right, but I guess there was something!

I understand your concern over your performance at an interview. I have been doing some interviews for practice - not interested in the actual job. One of them was with a panel - they had a 17 page document in front of each of them. Each page had 4 questions on it, with the bottom blank for notes. And the worst part was they were behavior based questions, as in you need a specific example to answer. It was horrid, but I was happy to have run into that type of interview on an occasion I didn't care about. Since then I have been using the book, "Interview Power" by Tom Washington. It is amazingly helpful. I recommend it. It takes work to be ready for an interview and this book can get you there. Part of the work is going over questions before hand and having an outline in your hand for your answers. I am enclosing the questions from this book, but I recommend you get the book as it goes through each question and offfers ideas, suggestions and examples.

QUESTIONS

1. Tell me about yourself.

2. What is your greatest strength?

3. What can you offer us that no one else can?

4. What are your three most important career accomplishments?

5. How would you describe yourself?

6. Why should I hire you?

7. Describe the biggest crisis in your life (career).

8. What is unique about you?

9. How would your supervisor describe you?

10. Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10.

11. Tell me a story.

12. How have you benefited from disappointment?

13. What is your greatest weakness?

14. Have you ever been fired or asked to resign?

15. Why have you changed jobs so frequently?

16. Why have you been out of work so long? What have you been doing?

17. What is the biggest mistake you ever made?

18. What are your career goals?

19. What do you want to do in life?

20. How long have you been out of work?

21. What personal, non-job related gals have you set for yourself?

22. Are you willing to relocate?

23. Are you willing to travel overnight?

24. How do you feel about overtime?

25. What have you learned from your past mistakes? What are some of them?

26. What do you think determines a person's progress with a goof company?

27. Who has exercised the greatest influence on you? How?

28. What public figure do you admire most and why?

29. What are your primary activities outside of work?

30. Would you have any concern if we did a full background check on you? What would we find?

31. What qualities do you most admire in people?

32. What have you done to increase your personal development?

33. What type of books and magazines do you read?

34. What was the last book you read (movie you saw) and how did it affect you?

35. How do you feel about your career progress?

36. Can you work well under stress?

37. Do you prefer to work as an individually or as a part of a team?

38. Are you a team player?

39. Tell me about the last incident that made you angry. How did you handle it?

40. What are the things that motivate you?

41. How do you handle people that you really don't get along with?

42. What have you done that shows initiative?

43. What personal qualities are important for success in this field?

44. Sell me this pen.

45. Are you willing to take calculated risks?

46. Describe your perfect job?

47. What is most important to you in a job?

48. Why do you want to change careers?

49. Why do you want to get into this field?

50. Why did you leave your last job?

51. How long will it take before you make a positive contribution to our organization?

52. What do you like least about this position? Most?

53. Tell me about your duties at your present job?

54. What is the most important aspect of your job?

55. Describe a time when you were criticized for your job.

56. What is the most difficult situation you have ever faced?

57. What frustrates you about your job?

58. What jobs have you enjoyed most? Least? Why?

59. What duties have you enjoyed most? Least? Why?

60. What is the worst thing your have ever heard about this organization?

61. What position do you expect to hold in five years? (similar to, Where do you expect to be in 5 years?)

62. Why would you like to work for us?

63. What is opinion of your present (or past) employer?

64. How long would you stay if we offered you this position?

65. What do you know about our company?

66. Why do you want to leave your present employer?

67. Starting with your first job out of college, tell me why you left each organization.

68. What kinds of recommendations will you get from previous employers?

69. Describe your relationship with your last three supervisors.

70. What are your supervisor's strengths and weaknesses?

71. What kind of supervisors do you like most? Least? Why?

72. How has your supervisor helped you grow?

73. What did your supervisor rate you highest on during your last review? Lowest?

74. What kind of supervisor gets the best results out of you?

75. What is your boss like?

76. What actions would you take if you came on board?

77. Can you supervise people?

78. Describe your management philosophy and management style.

79. How many people have you hired? How do you go about it? How successful have the people been?

80. How many people have you fired?

81. How would your subordinates describe you as a supervisor?

82. Some managers watch their employees closely while others use a loose rein. How do you manage?

83. How have you improved as a supervisor over the years?

84. Why did you pick your major?

85. What kind of grades did you have?

86. What course did you like the most? Least? Why?

87. How has your schooling prepared you for this job?

88. Do you feel you did the best work at school that you were capable of doing?

89. How did your summer jobs benefit you?

SOME BEHAVIOR BASED QUESTIONS

Tell me about a time when you:

1. Achieved a great deal in a short amount of time.

2. Were disappointed in your performance.

3. Made a major sacrifice to achieve a work goal.

4. Were unwilling or unable to make the necessary sacrifice to achieve a goal.

5. Worked effectively under a great deal of pressure.

6. Didn't handle a stressful situation very well.

7. Really got angry over a situation at work.

8. Felt under a great deal of pressure from an internal or external customer.

9. Were really bothered by the actions of a coworker.

10. Were especially creative in solving a problem.

11. Were not as creative as usual.

12. Organized and planned an event that was successful.

13. Planned and coordinated a project that was very successful.

14. Were unable to complete a project on schedule despite your best efforts.

15. Really had to remain flexible.

16. Had to deal with a personality conflict with a boss or coworker.

17. Were unable to sell your idea to a key person.

18. Felt really good about a decision you made and the process you went through.

19. Were very effective in your problem-solving ability.

20. Used facts and reason to persuade someone to accept your recommendation.

21. Utilized your leadership ability to gain support for what initially had been strong opposition.

22. Were able to build team spirit during a time of low morale.

23. Were able to gain commitment from others to really work as a team.

24. Used your political savvy to push through a program you believed in.

25. Were particularly perceptive regarding a person's or group's feelings and needs.

26. Were able to predict someone's behavior or response based on your assessment of him or her.

27. Were particularly supportive and reassuring to a person who needed a friend.

28. Built rapport quickly with someone under difficult conditions.

29. Wrote a report which was well received by others.

30. Were particularly effective at prioritizing tasks and completing a project on schedule.

31. Identified potential problems and resolved the situation before the problems became serious.

32. Were highly motivated and your example inspired others.

33. Found it necessary to tactfully but forcefully say things others did not want to hear.

34. Were particularly effective in a talk you gave or a seminar you taught.

35. Had to make an important decision quickly even though you did not have all the information you wanted.

36. Had to make a decision you knew would be unpopular.

Were in a situation when events and circumstances changed rapidly.

Good luck!