If You Were Appointed To This Position How Long Would It Be Before You Would Expect To Be Promoted? - Lets face it most of us want promotion as soon as possible. Promotion usually leads to more money and better employment benefits (of course it also usually entails more work and stress!) but you should consider your answer to this question carefully. If you answer “I’d expect promotion within 12 months of being appointed” you allocate a timescale which of course may not be acceptable to your future employer – they may not be looking to promote you for a good few years and they may feel that you would become despondent and leave if you didn’t achieve what you want. In all honesty the right kind of answer to this question is going to be something like “I couldn’t give a timescale in which I would expect to be promoted as I feel I would need to prove myself to the company in terms of my ability, leadership skills and experience I would bring to the business. I feel that promotion is a reward, not a right and as with all rewards I am a great believer in that you have to earn them”.
How Have You Managed To Attend This Interview In Works Time? - Another naughty question often posed by interviewers but at the same time it does bear some relevance. If you are attending an interview when you would normally expect to be in work then your potential employer wants to know what type of excuse you have come up with to blag your existing employer. Really this is a question of honesty and the reality is that you won’t have asked your existing boss for time off to attend an interview for another job. It may well be that you have blagged the time by telling your boss that you have had to take your pet anaconda to the vets or you might have thrown a sicky but that isn’t what your future employer wants to hear. One straight forward answer to this question is “I have taken some holiday to take part in this interview”. If you are feeling really clever and you want to impress your interviewer you could say “Unfortunately I didn’t have any holiday left so I asked my employer if I could take a days unpaid leave because I had a personal issue I needed to deal with. I preferred to take that action as I don’t feel it fair on my existing employer to attend this interview whilst he was paying me – I do not think its right to cheat”.
You Have Read The Job Description And A Summary Of The Job Role So What Areas Of This Job Appeal To You The Least? - Hmm….It’s a nasty one this isn’t it! At this point in your interview you don’t want to go and start making out that there is anything at all that you don’t fancy doing in this new job. I am not one for one sentence answers but if you get this one dropped on you I think it’s good to get off the subject as quickly as possible and use the damage limitation technique. I think a simple “Having reviewed the job summary and description I have to say that I can’t find anything that doesn’t appeal to me in this job at all”. If you do find something about the job that looks less than appealing make sure it isn’t a major part of role and if you can’t find anyway of turning the duty from a negative to a positive leave it well alone.
What Sort Of People Do You Find It Difficult To Work With? - There’s always someone in the office that doesn’t work with the team and the rest of the team ends up carrying but that’s life at the end of the day and it’s up to your boss to sort that problem out. This often causes bad feeling amongst the team and irritates the other members. However, when you are attending an interview you really don’t want to be seen to be moaning about individuals in your current organisation. The easiest way to deal with this interview question then is to give your answer based on the fact that although you are a very amenable and easy to get on with person, you are very much a team player and the most difficult people to work with are the ones that do not carry the same high standards in their work that you do.
Have You Attended Other Interviews As Well As This One? - This is a great question and one that you can manipulate to your advantage. If the interviewer thinks that one of their competitors is after you it makes you a much better catch should they get you. You have to remember many (not all) employers are like sheep and the bigger the company the more likely it will be that they are after a stereotypical candidate – but one that’s just a little bit better than the last. If you give the impression that you are talking to other firms as well and that you have made the last batch of interviews with them you are going to be a far more attractive prospect. So whether you are or are not talking to other companies make sure you give the impression that you are in demand.
What Do You Think About The War In Iraq, Privatization (or something that has a social political bearing) - The idea behind this question is for your interviewer to see if you take an interest in what goes on in the world, current affairs and so on and to show that your interest in the world doesn’t stop when you shut your front door at night. Your answer is likely to give your interviewer an insight into your values whether they be moral or otherwise and how you address life itself. Politically correct answers aren’t always the right ones, what you need to do is show the interviewer that you have the ability to see recognise all sides of a debate, that you don’t see things simply in black and white and that you have the ability to debate a subject properly and at the same time that you are open minded enough to form your own opinion on a subject. What you don’t want to do is jump on your high horse and fire off with your own political views without being able to show that you understand the subject. This question can be particularly relevant to certain industries, for example if you are applying to work for an oil company you may be asked your opinion on global warming and whether the work green peace does is right or wrong alternatively if you are applying for a job working for a company that manufactures for example make up you may be asked for your views on whether the work that animal rights campaigners carry out is justified – you get the picture.
What Sort Of Decisions Do You Find The Most Difficult To Make? - “Should I have prawn or beef sandwiches for lunch!” or “Should I buy the 28 or 32 inch flat screen TV!” Most of us at some point have had to make difficult decisions whether in our personal or work lives. If you have ever had to fire someone or make them redundant it’s not a nice decision to make, or job to carry out for that matter, not from the point of view that you don’t really like the person but most people have a conscience and realise that if they take away a persons job it will have a direct impact on their whole life. This is therefore a good example to use as an answer to this question.
What Is Your Current Bosses Biggest Weakness? - Wouldn’t you just love to say it - “Lunchtime Binge Drinking!” You must remember regardless of what a dick you think your boss is the person that is sitting in front of you may one day be the same boss you are criticising and anyway it wouldn’t achieve anything and would only make you look cheap. So if you get this one thrown at you why not try something like “My boss is great really and we get on very well, he is pretty damn good at his job, one which he wouldn’t have got it in the first place if he wasn’t, and I respect him for that. I am sure he may have weaknesses but I have to say that if he has I haven’t picked up on them”.
What Do You Think Of Your Existing Company? - Now you might think that your existing company are cheap skates, run old machinery, never want to invest in the plant or the future of the business, use every spare amount of cash they have to improve the cars parked in the Directors car park and so on and so forth. However that just isn’t the right answer! Your standard response to a question such as this should be that you have really enjoyed working for your current company and that you are thankful for the opportunities, training and career progression that they have afforded you to date.
What Is Your Current Salary? - It’s a bit of a cheeky question this one and you want to give a non committal answer. You must try and remember that all companies want to save as much money on salaries as they can and if you are offered the job the chances are they are going to indicate a package either similar or slightly more than the one your on. If you go straight in with “I earn £ 23,000.00 plus expenses plus a BMW 318I and free weekend tickets to the Manchester United games” you are setting a bench mark that you may find difficult to the negotiate around. Therefore an appropriate answer to this interview question might be “it’s not really the salary that is important to me it’s the whole package that I would be more interested in”. By saying this you are being non committal and it will make negotiating an acceptable package far more easy.
What Salary Would You Be Expecting For This Position? - Again another cheeky one which, ideally, you don’t want to be too committal over. If you commit to a salary at this stage you wont be able to negotiate later on and if you ask for too much they will think they cant afford you! If you don’t know what level of salary a position pays you can do some research on the internet there are several sites that collect data about average industry and job role remunerations. So you could ask the interviewer a question in response to his question such as “What level of salary would you be expecting to pay for this position?” If the interviewer doesn’t want to divulge this then it’s not unreasonable for you to decline to answer too. If your interviewer quotes you a salary of say £ 19,000 then try and come back with something like “Well I was looking for a salary in the region of £ 22,000 to £ 24,000. Your employer will always start with their bottom figure first so by asking for a little more it sets you a slightly higher bench mark. It may be that your interviewer can only go to the level he quotes but it’s fairly unlikely.
I have A Pen Here – Sell It Me! - I’ve been on loads of sales courses and this has always been a question posed to me to see how good I am at selling the benefits of a product – not just the product itself. This is an interesting question and some employers will ask you to do this even if you aren’t applying for a job that involves selling. As I have said the reason behind this is to see if you can sell the benefits of the pen rather than the object itself. For example as a pen itself – it is just a Bic biro with a roller ball and plastic coating. However, its benefits would be – it’s a Bic biro and the roller ball is really smooth and gives excellent presentation, it is leak proof and slim and sits discretely in your pocket. This is all about the bigger picture. If you are able to outline the benefits of the pen you will impress your interviewer. Obviously if you are applying for a sales role the chances are your interviewer will definitely ask you this question, however, it might not necessarily be a pen it could be something else sitting on your interviewers desk.
How Well Do You Work In A Stressful Environment? - Most jobs carry an element of stress whether its working to very tight deadlines or your in a position where by you are handling lots of different projects and having to manage your time effectively. Your answer to this question should encompass examples of situations where you have operated well under stress and also point out that you get a buzz out of a working in stressful environment as it keeps you mind focused and it assists you in your performance.
Some of the things you should ask at the time include:-
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Don’t:
1. Crossing Your Arms: Makes you look defensive.
2. Sit on the edge of your seat.
3. Mess with your face or play with your jewellery or hair.
4. Rock on the seat.
5. Interrupt when being asked a question.
6. Give one word answers (unless the answer dictates a one word answer!)
Do:
1. Smile as frequently as possible (especially when you are asked a question and respond to the person who has asked the question) but don’t over do it!
2. Keep your hands in your lap don’t wave them around all over the place.
3. Keep eye contact at all times (I don’t mean stare out your interviewer). If there is more than one interviewer flick from person to person.
4. Be articulate and listen carefully to each question before giving your answer.
5. Keep calm and don’t panic!
Oh No – I hear you cry help! Well you shouldn’t. Psychometric testing is becoming more and more popular now to vet potential candidates and you can use these in your favour. If you’ve never taken one before it can be a little bit worrying, it’s a bit like going back to school and sitting an exam doing those multiple choice questions with puzzles! These need not be a worry and are not once you understand what they’re for, how they work and what they are set out to achieve. In my experience it is really no wonder why companies have taken to using these tests to gauge applicants as nowadays there are some many well qualified applicants for each job that if you were to interview them all you would be there until doomsday. These tests are a good way to assess which candidates are most likely to be the best for the job. If you are the right person for the position then it will just give reassurance to the interviewer and you will be in a good position. On the basis that you have never sat a psychometric test or heard of one for that matter I will give you some brief information about them.
A psychometric test isn’t really a test and that is because you cannot really fail one. It is called a test because - well in all honesty how else can you categorise something where you are asked to carry out a task which you will then be assessed on. What these do is ascertain how you think and whether you think in the same format as the company you are applying to but these tests don’t tend to be used on their own in the interview and selection process. Basically psychometric tests – are split into four areas and can include one or all of the following; An Ability Test, A Personality Test, An Aptitude Test and Motivational Test. Each test speaks for itself really, the ability test is looking to assess your overall general ability, the personality test is assessing what type of personality you have, the aptitude test is carried out to test the skills you have that are specific to areas of the job that you are applying for and the motivational test which is set to find out what motivates you. Don’t panic if you are on your way to an interview and you suddenly get a thought go through your head like “oh no I wonder if I will be asked to sit a psychometric test at this interview”. It is very unlikely if you haven’t been informed that a psychometric test will form part of the interview that it will be sprung on you – after all that would be a bit of a dirty trick to play on an unsuspecting candidate. These tests are often carried out on the same day as the interview but generally speaking you will be given advance warning if this is going to form part of the day.
Should you be asked to sit a test as part of the interview then the chances are your interviewer of the HR manager will brief you beforehand as to what the test is about, what you need to do to complete the test and which type of test you will be asked to complete. If they do not brief you (which is fairly unlikely) then you might want to ask them a few questions about the test – things like how will the test be taken, what type of test will you be taking and what will the information be used for etc, etc. There is plenty of information readily available about psychometric tests on the internet so if you want examples or more information on this subject just go to Google and search for “psychometric tests”. If you know you are going to be taking a test then make sure you have everything you need before attending (it’s just like going into an exam without a pen or your glasses) make sure you are prepared you don’t want to add to your worries by leaving something important at home that’s going to hinder you. You should use the same type of formula when taking the test as you would if you were taking an exam – for those of you have been left school or University for a while and forgotten then here are a couple of pointers:
1. Sit down, keep your cool and follow all of the instructions given on the paper. Read them thoroughly and take them in. If you rush you may misunderstand the way in which the test is being set and end up answering questions incorrectly.
2. If at the start of the test there is an area that you are unsure of or do not fully comprehend then ask the assessor for help.
3. As with any exam you need to answer as many questions as possible correctly so be careful if the time spent on each question. If you are not sure of the answer or don’t understand the question don’t get flustered, leave it and move on, you can always return to the question again at the end if you have time left over.
4. Finally, if when you have finished all of the questions there remain some unanswered ones go back and have another go and by all counts if you still don’t know the answer just guess – you might come out lucky!
I will try and give you some insight into what you can expect from the different types of tests and how to answer them, I am no expert at the end of the day I can only go off my past experience and information I have read up on the subject.
Ability/Aptitude Tests:
Ability and aptitude tests are set to assess your specific skills. You will sit the test and the resultant mark you get will indicate to your future employer your overall level of ability. The content of the test may be general questions set to see how you think, how you deal with specific circumstances and what type of logic you are using to come up with your answer. These tests are frequently designed using multiple choice questions (or what we called multiple guess questions in my day at school!). Sometimes these tests will be set using far more questions than can possibly be answered in the allotted time but it is quality not quantity the examiner will be looking for as your overall score will be a percentage of the right questions answered not how many questions have been answered. It is fairly easy to do some preparation for aptitude tests, most of these tests are based around logical thinking which is something that we all do in everyday life. If you really want to try and increase your logical thinking you could try the doing the daily crossword in your newspaper, Sudoku which you can get from most local shops (or even play it on the internet for free) or you could try buying one of those puzzler magazines from WH Smiths or Sainsbury’s. What I am getting at here is that you need to get your mind working in a logical thinking way and by carrying out exercises that involve mathematical puzzles and problem solving you will give yourself a good start. Remember the more practice you get the better you will become at doing these tests.
Motivation Tests/Personality Tests:
Motivation questionnaires are set to specifically analyse what “motivates” or “drives” you as a person and how you are likely to integrate that into your work, how much stamina you have or how much enthusiasm you dedicate to a project. These tests are likely to set using a question followed by several possible answers. Personality tests are very similar to Motivation Tests and are designed to assess what type of person you are, unlike Aptitude tests which are created to analyse what type of logic you use to address problem solving. There are no right or wrong answers to Personality tests because everyone thinks differently and these tests are designed more to see if you will fit in with the companies way of thinking or the type of job you will be doing. Generally speaking there will be no time limit set at a personality test so they are not as pressurised as aptitude tests. It is not possible to analyse what sort of information the employer is looking for when you take a personality test as different employers will be looking for different qualities and they may be aimed at how well you are going to fit into their team and company. However, the general type of areas your employer may be looking to quantify are what your attitude is to your work life and personal life, how well you communicate with others, what drives you and how you deal with sorting out and solving problems.
There are many different ways for an interviewer to shortlist candidate’s, I have looked at general interviews, telephone interview, psychometric testing and so on and so forth. Another area that potential employers use, to assess potential candidates capabilities, are what’s known as assessment centres. Again these are not generally used in isolation they will form part of the whole selection process. An assessment centre is a place where you will take a test but it will probably involve some form of practical work.
Some jobs, by their nature alone, are going to be dependent upon a fully interactive well oiled team and it may be very, very important to the employer that the candidate who is offered the job is able to thoroughly interact with his colleagues to ensure that each project that is carried out runs smoothly and efficiently. For example you may be put with a group of other candidates and given a project to do – it could be something fairly simple like you are give a model bridge to build and you have to construct it as a team but there is a deliberate problem built into the project. What will happen is you will work together as a team to solve the problem and complete the project while you are being observed by the assessors or interviewer. What they will do is make notes about each candidate and the chances are they will be looking out for certain aspects, such as who takes the lead of the team (who is the natural born leader), how well you interact with each other etc, etc.
It is often the case that you will get two or more people with the same type of leadership skills in one of these projects (hence possibly causing a clash of personalities) so your assessor will also be looking at how well you can communicate with the other people. If you are a true team player or a natural leader then these type of tests are a real opportunity to show your skills off and I think are far less imposing than some of the other tests. If you enjoy being creative and interacting with others these assessments can be quite enjoyable. Aside from carrying out little projects you may also have to get involved with group discussions, tasks where you are given a situation that has to be resolved and role play amongst many other exercises. Some tests may involve physical exercises which take you away for a couple of days and involve getting from one destination to another via an assault course to evaluate your team and leadership skills etc, etc.
Remember that you are under scrutiny by your assessors for each and everything you do whilst you are carrying out your tasks. Don’t try and pretend you are a different person or something you are not, these tests can take anything from several hours to several days to complete and trying to make out that you are a natural born leader when you are not will show through and your assessor will spot it a mile off.
Finally one thing I would add is that even if you are not a natural born leader you must contribute and get involved, if you just sit there and have no input or say nothing it won’t look good at all. Remember not to get into arguments with your team mates – try and discuss any issues calmly – as I have mentioned it’s always easy to start getting frustrated if you find yourself clashing with another team member and it is an issue that is fairly likely to raise its ugly head. If you get involved, stay cool headed and professionally and try and enjoy the experience then it is a great way to enhance your interview skills and even in some cases make new friends!
