Tips for Handling One of the Toughest Interview Questions
The Recruiter Roundtable is a monthly feature that collects career and job-seeking advice from a group of recruiting experts throughout the US.
The question we put before our panel this month is: "Being asked about one's own 'biggest weaknesses' in a job interview is considered (by many job seekers, at least) one of the worst interview questions. Do you ask candidates this, and how would you recommend candidates answer this question in a job interview without being phony?"
Be Up Front
There are times when I ask job candidates this question. It's not that I want to nitpick or make people feel uncomfortable, but rather I want to see in which areas they feel they need to improve and what they are doing about it. In order to advance professionally, we all need to be able to honestly identify not just our strengths but also our weaknesses and how we can upgrade in these areas.
I recommend that job candidates be up front during interviews. Don't say you have "no weaknesses" or "work too hard." Instead, tell hiring managers what you are working on improving and what you've done to build your skills in these areas.
One thing to keep in mind: If one of your weaknesses is directly related to the position and could potentially take you out of the running, the opportunity may not be right for you.
-- DeLynn Senna, executive director of North American permanent placement services, Robert Half International
Let the Job Description Guide You
First, make sure you truly understand the job duties before the interview starts. Match the job duties with your strengths. What is a strength you have that someone may consider as a weakness?
For example, if you apply to a sales job, your weakness could be "not quick to close": "I really take a lot of time to listen to a customer before I provide recommendations. A lot of sales people are quick to answer, but I spend time making sure I understand the customer's needs." Salespeople need to be good listeners although they don't always come across that way.
Another example is if you applied to a very detail-oriented job, your weakness is you are a perfectionist. The hiring manager needs someone that pays close attention to the little things.
In summary, a weakness on one hand is a strength on the other.
-- Amanda Mertz, lead recruiter, Wells Fargo Home and Consumer Finance Group
Will It Match Your References?
The importance of this question is often not the candidate's answer per se, but whether or not the candidate's references respond in a similar manner. In short, it is a way for employers to assess the candidate's awareness of his or her own strengths and weaknesses.
-- Yves Lermusi, CEO, Checkster
Choose Wisely
This is definitely a popular question that we often ask, and a lot of our clients also like to include when interviewing candidates. While "weakness" is a harsh word, remember that nobody is perfect, and we all have areas of development that we need to work on.
Employers are cognizant of this and ask the question for two reasons -- first, to make sure your weakness isn't a skill they need someone to have mastery of immediately, and second, to see how you handle yourself under pressure and when asked tough questions.
We advise our candidates to be honest and focus on a weakness that is not one of the top three qualities required for the job. Also, be sure to describe how you've already taken steps and made strides in strengthening this skill, showing your ability and desire to constantly learn and grow.
-- Kathy Gans, Senior Vice President, Ajilon Professional Staffing
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Why Do You Want to Work Here?
By Carole Martin
The interviewer asks a rather simple question, yet it catches you off guard: "Why do you want to work for this company?" The obvious answer that comes to mind is, "Because you have an opening, and I need a job." While this may be true, it won't get you points in a job interview.
The interviewer is looking for an answer that indicates you've thought about where you want to work -- that you're not just sending your resume to any company with a job opening. Researching the company and industry before your interview will make you stand out as a more informed and competent applicant.
For instance, Annette is the first candidate interviewed for an HR manager position. When she is asked why she wants to work there, she replies, "I have always wanted to work for this company. I love your product, and I have used it for many years. This job would be perfect for me, a real opportunity for me to grow and develop."
Annette's answer begins well, but then shifts to what she can get out of the experience instead of what she has to offer. Her answer would be stronger if she proved she had researched the industry and company, and therefore could discuss more than her own experience with the product.
James is another candidate, and he answers more directly: "Based on the research I've done, this company is an industry leader. When I visited your Web site, I found some impressive information about future projects you have planned. I was also impressed with the founders' backgrounds and the current financial statements. This is the company I've been looking for, a place where my background, experience and skills can be put to use and make things happen."
James's answer demonstrates his interest in and enthusiasm for the company and what it stands for. He also demonstrates how he envisions he could be a member of the team.
You must do research before the interview and come up with two or three reasons why you want to work for the company. Search company Web sites for mission statements, product and service information, principals' backgrounds and contact information. Check company financials through the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
It would also be beneficial to think of at least two reasons this job is a good match for your skills, strengths, experience and background. What can you bring to the company? Write down your thoughts and rehearse them as part of your script.
There are no right or wrong answers to this question. Your answer should reflect that you have thought about what you want and have researched the company. Let the interviewer know you are being selective about where you want to work and you're not just going to take any job offered to you. Demonstrate that this is the company you want to work for -- a little flattery will go a long way.
The interviewer asks a rather simple question, yet it catches you off guard: "Why do you want to work for this company?" The obvious answer that comes to mind is, "Because you have an opening, and I need a job." While this may be true, it won't get you points in a job interview.
The interviewer is looking for an answer that indicates you've thought about where you want to work -- that you're not just sending your resume to any company with a job opening. Researching the company and industry before your interview will make you stand out as a more informed and competent applicant.
For instance, Annette is the first candidate interviewed for an HR manager position. When she is asked why she wants to work there, she replies, "I have always wanted to work for this company. I love your product, and I have used it for many years. This job would be perfect for me, a real opportunity for me to grow and develop."
Annette's answer begins well, but then shifts to what she can get out of the experience instead of what she has to offer. Her answer would be stronger if she proved she had researched the industry and company, and therefore could discuss more than her own experience with the product.
James is another candidate, and he answers more directly: "Based on the research I've done, this company is an industry leader. When I visited your Web site, I found some impressive information about future projects you have planned. I was also impressed with the founders' backgrounds and the current financial statements. This is the company I've been looking for, a place where my background, experience and skills can be put to use and make things happen."
James's answer demonstrates his interest in and enthusiasm for the company and what it stands for. He also demonstrates how he envisions he could be a member of the team.
You must do research before the interview and come up with two or three reasons why you want to work for the company. Search company Web sites for mission statements, product and service information, principals' backgrounds and contact information. Check company financials through the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
It would also be beneficial to think of at least two reasons this job is a good match for your skills, strengths, experience and background. What can you bring to the company? Write down your thoughts and rehearse them as part of your script.
There are no right or wrong answers to this question. Your answer should reflect that you have thought about what you want and have researched the company. Let the interviewer know you are being selective about where you want to work and you're not just going to take any job offered to you. Demonstrate that this is the company you want to work for -- a little flattery will go a long way.
Beat Interview Brainteasers
By Thad Peterson
How many quarters -- placed one on top of the other -- would it take to reach the top of the Empire State Building?
When Jeremy Solomon was asked this in an interview, he didn't have a clue as to what would be the correct answer. Nonetheless, he remained calm.
First, he asked the interviewer exactly what she meant by "placed on top of the other." After she said on their sides, Solomon began to explain his logic step-by-step to the interviewer. He estimated that a quarter is about an inch in diameter and guessed that there are 120 floors in the Empire State Building, with each floor being 10 feet tall. Then he did the appropriate math.
Did Solomon give the right answer? Not quite -- the building only has 102 floors, and they aren't 10 feet tall.
Did he nail the question? Absolutely.
Divulge Your Thought Process
"Really, what interviewers are looking for is how somebody thinks through the problem," explains Jean Eisel, director of the Career Management Center at Duke's Fuqua School of Business. "Whether somebody gets the answer or not, it's more looking at how [job candidates] think through the problem. Don't try to get the answer. Focus on how you're going to divide the problem up. You don't necessarily have enough information to give the answer. They're really looking at how people process information."
The brainteaser is a type of interview question that's recently been popping up more and more. The use of these puzzling interview questions (how many times do a clock's hands overlap in a day? how would you weigh a plane without scales?) is originally attributed to Microsoft and made it's way into many technology companies' interviews. These types of questions have since been adopted by other industries, like business consulting, investment banking, law, marketing and finance.
There's even a book about this phenomenon, William Poundstone's How Would You Move Mount Fuji? The author offers similar advice to Eisel's: "They really expect you to walk them through your whole way of reasoning. And even if you end up not getting the right answer, they can be very impressed by some of the approaches you toss out there. In solving any real-world problem in business, you basically have to go through this process of brainstorming some ideas that aren't going to work out. So if you can show that you can do that -- even with one of these [mind-bending] problems -- that gives them a lot of useful information, even if you don't actually come up with the answer."
Talk It Out
Joel Spolsky is founder of Fog Creek Software and used to work as a program manager at Microsoft. He's used brainteasers at both companies, primarily as conversation starters. "The goal is to have an interesting conversation with the person and to try to see if they're smart through that conversation," Spolsky explains. "If you have an interesting conversation about certain types of topics with a person, you can determine if [he] is the type of person you want to hire. The questions are almost a pretext to having that conversation. If you have a conversation with somebody about the Backstreet Boys, you're not going to learn how smart the person is."
The truth is, a smart interviewer won't particularly care if you know how many piano tuners there are in the world or why manhole covers are round instead of square. What interviewers will care about is how you approach, analyze and break down a problem.
When Jeremy Solomon was asked this in an interview, he didn't have a clue as to what would be the correct answer. Nonetheless, he remained calm.
First, he asked the interviewer exactly what she meant by "placed on top of the other." After she said on their sides, Solomon began to explain his logic step-by-step to the interviewer. He estimated that a quarter is about an inch in diameter and guessed that there are 120 floors in the Empire State Building, with each floor being 10 feet tall. Then he did the appropriate math.
Did Solomon give the right answer? Not quite -- the building only has 102 floors, and they aren't 10 feet tall.
Did he nail the question? Absolutely.
Divulge Your Thought Process
"Really, what interviewers are looking for is how somebody thinks through the problem," explains Jean Eisel, director of the Career Management Center at Duke's Fuqua School of Business. "Whether somebody gets the answer or not, it's more looking at how [job candidates] think through the problem. Don't try to get the answer. Focus on how you're going to divide the problem up. You don't necessarily have enough information to give the answer. They're really looking at how people process information."
The brainteaser is a type of interview question that's recently been popping up more and more. The use of these puzzling interview questions (how many times do a clock's hands overlap in a day? how would you weigh a plane without scales?) is originally attributed to Microsoft and made it's way into many technology companies' interviews. These types of questions have since been adopted by other industries, like business consulting, investment banking, law, marketing and finance.
There's even a book about this phenomenon, William Poundstone's How Would You Move Mount Fuji? The author offers similar advice to Eisel's: "They really expect you to walk them through your whole way of reasoning. And even if you end up not getting the right answer, they can be very impressed by some of the approaches you toss out there. In solving any real-world problem in business, you basically have to go through this process of brainstorming some ideas that aren't going to work out. So if you can show that you can do that -- even with one of these [mind-bending] problems -- that gives them a lot of useful information, even if you don't actually come up with the answer."
Talk It Out
Joel Spolsky is founder of Fog Creek Software and used to work as a program manager at Microsoft. He's used brainteasers at both companies, primarily as conversation starters. "The goal is to have an interesting conversation with the person and to try to see if they're smart through that conversation," Spolsky explains. "If you have an interesting conversation about certain types of topics with a person, you can determine if [he] is the type of person you want to hire. The questions are almost a pretext to having that conversation. If you have a conversation with somebody about the Backstreet Boys, you're not going to learn how smart the person is."
The truth is, a smart interviewer won't particularly care if you know how many piano tuners there are in the world or why manhole covers are round instead of square. What interviewers will care about is how you approach, analyze and break down a problem.
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