Table of Contents

General Guidelines in Answering Interview Questions...................2

Q1 Tell me about yourself.........................................3
Q2 What are your greatest strengths?..............................3
Q3 What are your greatest weanesses?.............................!
Q! Tell me about something you did " or failed to do " that you now feel a little
ashamed of. !
Q# Why are you leaving $or did you leave% this &osition?..........#
Q' The ()ilent Treatment*.........................................#
Q+ Why should I hire you?.........................................#
Q, Aren-t you over.ualified for this &osition?....................'
Q/ Where do you see yourself five years from now?.................'
Q10 1es2ribe your ideal 2om&any3 lo2ation and 4ob..................+
Q11 Why do you want to wor at our 2om&any?........................+
Q12 What are your 2areer o&tions right now?........................+
Q13 Why have you been out of wor so long?.........................+
Q1! Tell me honestly about the strong &oints and wea &oints
of your boss $2om&any3 management team3 et2.%5................,
Q1# What good boos have you read lately?..........................,
Q1' Tell me about a situation when your wor was 2riti2i6ed........,
Q1+ What are your outside interest?................................,
Q1, The (7atal 7law* .uestion....................................../
Q1/ 8ow do you feel about re&orting to a younger &erson $minority3 woman3 et2%? /
Q20 9n 2onfidential matters5......................................./
Q21 Would you lie for the 2om&any?................................10
Q22 :ooing ba23 what would you do differently in your life?.....10
Q23 ;ould you have done better in your last 4ob?..................10
Q2! ;an you wor under &ressure?..................................10
Q2# What maes you angry?.........................................10
Q2' Why aren-t you earning more money at this stage of your 2areer?11
Q2+ Who has ins&ired you in your life and why?....................11
Q2, What was the toughest de2ision you ever had to mae?..........11
Q2/ Tell me about the most boring 4ob you-ve ever had.............11
Q30 8ave you been absent from wor more than a few days in any &revious &osition?
11
Q31 What 2hanges would you mae if you 2ame on board?.............12
Q32 I-m 2on2erned that you don-t have as mu2h e<&erien2e as we-d lie in5 12
Q33 8ow do you feel about woring nights and weeends?............12
Q3! Are you willing to relo2ate or travel?........................13
Q3# 1o you have the stoma2h to fire &eo&le? 8ave you had e<&erien2e firing many
&eo&le? 13
Q3' Why have you had so many 4obs?................................1!
Q3+ What do you see as the &ro&er role=mission of5 5a good $4ob title you-re seeing%>
5a good manager> 5an e<e2utive in serving the 2ommunity> 5a leading 2om&any in our
industry> et2........................................................1!
Q3, What would you say to your boss if he-s 2ra6y about an idea3 but you thin it
stins? 1!
Q3/ 8ow 2ould you have im&roved your 2areer &rogress?.............1#
Q!0 What would you do if a fellow e<e2utive on your own 2or&orate level wasn-t &ulling
his=her weight5and this was hurting your de&artment?.................1#
Q!1 ?ou-ve been with your firm a long time. Won-t it be hard swit2hing to a new
2om&any? 1#
Q!2 @ay I 2onta2t your &resent em&loyer for a referen2e?..........1#
Q!3 Give me an e<am&le of your 2reativity $analyti2al sill5managing ability3 et2.%
1'
Q!! Where 2ould you use some im&rovement?.........................1'
Q!# What do you worry about?......................................1'
Q!' 8ow many hours a wee do you normally wor?...................1'
Q!+ What-s the most diffi2ult &art of being a $4ob title%?........1'
Q!, The (8y&otheti2al Aroblem*....................................1'
Q!/ What was the toughest 2hallenge you-ve ever fa2ed?............1+
Q#0 8ave you 2onsider starting your own business?.................1+
Q#1 What are your goals?..........................................1+
64 Toughest Questions Page 1
Q#2 What do you for when you hire &eo&le?.........................1+
Q#3 )ell me this sta&ler5$this &en2il5this 2lo25or some other ob4e2t on interviewer-s
des%. 1,
Q#! (The )alary Question* " 8ow mu2h money do you want?...........1,
Q## The Illegal Question..........................................1/
Q#' The ()e2ret* Illegal Question.................................1/
Q#+ What was the toughest &art of your last 4ob?..................20
Q#, 8ow do you define su22ess5and how do you measure u& to your own definition?. 20
Q#/ (The 9&inion Question* " What do you thin about 5Abortion5The Aresident5The 1eath
Aenalty5$or any other 2ontroversial sub4e2t%?........................20
Q'0 If you won B10 million lottery3 would you still wor?.........20
Q'1 :ooing ba2 on your last &osition3 have you done your best wor? 21
Q'2 Why should I hire you from the outside when I 2ould &romote someone from within?
21
Q'3 Tell me something negative you-ve heard about our 2om&any5....21
Q'! 9n a s2ale of one to ten3 rate me as an interviewer...........21
General Guidelines
in Answering Interview Questions
Cveryone is nervous on interviews. If you sim&ly allow yourself to feel nervous3 youDll do
mu2h better. Eemember also that itDs diffi2ult for the interviewer as well.
In general3 be u&beat and &ositive. Fever be negative.
Eehearse your answers and time them. Fever tal for more than 2 minutes straight.
1onDt try to memori6e answers word for word. Gse the answers shown here as a guide only3
and donDt be afraid to in2lude your own thoughts and words. To hel& you remember ey
2on2e&ts3 4ot down and review a few ey words for ea2h answer. Eehearse your answers
fre.uently3 and they will 2ome to you naturally in interviews.
As you will read in the a22om&anying re&ort3 the single most im&ortant strategy in
interviewing3 as in all &hases of your 4ob sear2h3 is what we 2allH "The Greatest
Executive Job Finding Secret." And that is...
Find out what people want, than show them how you can help them get it.
7ind out what an em&loyer wants most in his or her ideal 2andidate3 then show how you meet
those .ualifi2ations.
In other words3 you must mat2h your abilities3 with the needs of the em&loyer. You must
sell what the buyer is buying. To do that3 before you now what to em&hasi6e in your
answers3 you must find out what the buyer is buying... what he is looing for. And the
best way to do that is to as a few .uestions yourself.
?ou will see how to bring this off sillfully as you read the first two .uestions of this
re&ort. Iut regardless of how you a22om&lish it3 you must remember this strategy above
allH before blurting out your ualifications! you must get some idea of what the em"loyer
wants most. 9n2e you now what he wants3 you 2an then &resent your .ualifi2ations as the
&erfe2t (ey* that fits the (lo2* of that &osition.
9ther im&ortant interview strategiesH
Turn weanesses into strengths $?ouDll see how to do this in a few moments.%
Thin before you answer. A &ause to 2olle2t your thoughts is a hallmar of a
thoughtful &erson.
As a daily e<er2ise3 &ra2ti2e being more o&timisti2. 7or e<am&le3 try &utting a &ositive
s&in on events and situations you would normally regard as negative. This is not meant to
turn you into a Aollyanna3 but to shar&en your selling sills. The best sales&eo&le3 as
well as the best lied interview 2andidates3 2ome off as being naturally o&timisti23 J2an
doJ &eo&le. ?ou will dramati2ally raise your level of attra2tiveness by daily &ra2ti2ing
to be more o&timisti2.
Ie honest...never lie.
Kee& an interview diary. Eight after ea2h interview note what you did right3 what 2ould
have gone a little better3 and what ste&s you should tae ne<t with this 2onta2t. Then
tae those ste&s. 1onDt be lie the /#L of humanity who say they will follow u& on
something3 but never do.
About the 64 questions...
?ou might feel that the answers to the following .uestions are (2anned*3 and that they
will seldom mat2h u& with the e<a2t way you are ased the .uestions in a2tual interviews.
The .uestions and answers are designed to be as s&e2ifi2 and realisti2 as &ossible. Iut no
&re&aration 2an anti2i&ate thousands of &ossible variations on these .uestions. WhatDs
64 Toughest Questions Page 2
im&ortant is that you thoroughly familiari6e yourself with the main strategies behind ea2h
answer. And it will be invaluable to you if you 2ommit to memory a few ey words that let
you instantly 2all to mind your best answer to the various .uestions. If you do this3 and
follow the &rin2i&les of su22essful interviewing &resented here3 youDre going to do very
well.
Good lu2...and good 4obMhuntingN
Question 1 Tell me about yourself.
TRAPSH Ieware3 about ,0L of all interviews begin with this (inno2ent* .uestion. @any
2andidates3 un&re&ared for the .uestion3 sewer themselves by rambling3 re2a&&ing their
life story3 delving into an2ient wor history or &ersonal matters.
!ST A"S#!R$ )tart with the &resent and tell why you are well .ualified for the &osition.
Eemember that the ey to all su22essful interviewing is to mat2h your .ualifi2ations to
what the interviewer is looing for. In other words you must sell what the buyer is
buying. This is the single most im"ortant strategy in #ob hunting.
)o3 before you answer this or any .uestion itDs im&erative that you try to un2over your
interviewerDs greatest need3 want3 &roblem or goal.
To do so3 mae you tae these two ste&sH
1. 1o all the homewor you 2an before the interview to un2over this "erson$s wants and
needs $not the generali6ed needs of the industry or 2om&any%
2. As early as you 2an in the interview3 as for a more 2om&lete des2ri&tion of what
the &osition entails. ?ou might sayH (I have a number of a22om&lishments IDd lie to tell
you about3 but I want to mae the best use of our time together and tal dire2tly to your
needs. To hel& me do3 that3 2ould you tell me more about the most im&ortant &riorities of
this &osition? All I now is what I $heard from the re2ruiter3 read in the 2lassified ad3
et2.%*
Then3 %&'%YS follow(u" with a second and "ossibly! third uestion3 to draw out his needs
even more. )ur&risingly3 itDs usually this second or third .uestion that unearths what the
interviewer is most looing for.
?ou might as sim&ly3 JAnd in addition to that?...J or3 JIs there anything else you see as
essential to su22ess in this &osition?H
This &ro2ess will not feel easy or natural at first3 be2ause it is easier sim&ly to answer
.uestions3 but only if you un2over the em&loyerDs wants and needs will your answers mae
the most sense. Ara2ti2e asing these ey .uestions before giving your answers3 the
&ro2ess will feel more natural and you will be light years ahead of the other #ob
candidates you$re com"eting with.
After un2overing what the em&loyer is looing for3 des2ribe why the needs of this 4ob bear
striing &arallels to tass youDve su22eeded at before. Ie sure to illustrate with
s&e2ifi2 e<am&les of your res&onsibilities and es&e2ially your a2hievements3 all of whi2h
are geared to &resent yourself as a &erfe2t mat2h for the needs he has 4ust des2ribed.
Question 2 'hat are your greatest strengths)
TRAPS$ This .uestion seems lie a softball lob3 but be &re&ared. ?ou donDt want to 2ome
a2ross as egotisti2al or arrogant. Feither is this a time to be humble.
!ST A"S#!R$ ?ou now that your ey strategy is to first un2over your interviewerDs
greatest wants and needs before you answer .uestions. And from Question 13 you now how to
do this.
Arior to any interview3 you should have a list mentally &re&ared of your greatest
strengths. ?ou should also have3 a s&e2ifi2 e<am&le or two3 whi2h illustrates ea2h
strength3 an e<am&le 2hosen from your most re2ent and most im&ressive a2hievements.
?ou should3 have this list of your greatest strengths and 2orres&onding e<am&les from your
a2hievements so well 2ommitted to memory that you 2an re2ite them 2old after being shaen
awae at 2H30A@.
Then3 on2e you un2over your interviewerDs greatest wants and needs3 you 2an 2hoose those
a2hievements from your list that best mat2h u&.
As a general guideline3 the 10 most desirable traits that all em&loyers love to see in
their em&loyees areH
*. A &roven tra2 re2ord as an a2hiever...es"ecially if your achievements match u"
with the em"loyer$s greatest wants and needs.
+. Intelligen2e...management JsavvyJ.
,. 8onesty...integrity...a de2ent human being.
-. Good fit with 2or&orate 2ulture...someone to feel 2omfortable with...a team
&layer who meshes well with interviewerDs team.
.. :ieability...&ositive attitude...sense of humor.
/. Good 2ommuni2ation sills.
64 Toughest Questions Page 3
0. 1edi2ation...willingness to wal the e<tra mile to a2hieve e<2ellen2e.
1. 1efiniteness of &ur&ose...2lear goals.
2. Cnthusiasm...high level of motivation.
*3. ;onfident...healthy...a leader.
Question 3 'hat are your greatest wea4nesses)
TRAPSH Ieware M this is an eliminator .uestion3 designed to shorten the 2andidate list.
Any admission of a weaness or fault will earn you an (A* for honesty3 but an (7* for the
interview.
PASSA%! A"S#!R$ 1isguise a strength as a weaness.
Exam"le5 (I sometimes &ush my &eo&le too hard. I lie to wor with a sense of urgen2y and
everyone is not always on the same wavelength.*
6rawbac45 This strategy is better than admitting a flaw3 but itDs so widely used3 it is
trans&arent to any e<&erien2ed interviewer.
!ST A"S#!RH $and another reason itDs so im&ortant to get a thorough des2ri&tion of your
interviewerDs needs before you answer .uestions%H Assure the interviewer that you 2an
thin of nothing that would stand in the way of your &erforming in this &osition with
e<2ellen2e. Then3 .ui2ly review you strongest .ualifi2ations.
Exam"le5 (FobodyDs &erfe2t3 but based on what youDve told me about this &osition3 I
believe ID d mae an outstanding mat2h. I now that when I hire &eo&le3 I loo for two
things most of all. 1o they have the ualifications to do the 4ob well3 and the
motivation to do it well? Cverything in my ba2ground shows I have both the
.ualifi2ations and a strong desire to a2hieve e<2ellen2e in whatever I tae on. )o I 2an
say in all honesty that I see nothing that would 2ause you even a small 2on2ern about my
ability or my strong desire to &erform this 4ob with e<2ellen2e.*
%lternate strategy $if you donDt yet now enough about the &osition to tal about su2h a
&erfe2t fit%H
Instead of 2onfessing a weaness3 des2ribe what you li4e most and li4e least3 maing sure
that what you lie most mat2hes u& with the most im&ortant .ualifi2ation for su22ess in
the &osition3 and what you lie least is not essential.
Exam"le5 :etDs say youDre a&&lying for a tea2hing &osition. (If given a 2hoi2e3 I lie to
s&end as mu2h time as &ossible in front of my &ros&e2ts selling3 as o&&osed to shuffling
&a&erwor ba2 at the offi2e. 9f 2ourse3 I long ago learned the im&ortan2e of filing
&a&erwor &ro&erly3 and I do it 2ons2ientiously. Iut what I really love to do is sell $if
your interviewer were a sales manager3 this should be musi2 to his ears.%
Question 4 Tell me about something you did 7 or failed to do 7 that you now feel a
little ashamed of.
TRAPS$ There are some .uestions your interviewer has no business asing3 and this is one.
Iut while you may feel lie answering3 (none of your business!8 naturally you 2an-t. )ome
interviewers as this .uestion on the 2han2e you admit to something3 but if not3 at least
they-ll see how you thin on your feet.
)ome un&re&ared 2andidates3 flustered by this .uestion3 unburden themselves of guilt from
their &ersonal life or 2areer3 &erha&s e<&ressing regrets regarding a &arent3 s&ouse3
2hild3 et2. All su2h answers 2an be disastrous.
!ST A"S#!R$ As with faults and weanesses3 never confess a regret. Iut don-t seem as if
you-re stonewalling either.
9est strategy5 )ay you harbor no regrets3 then add a &rin2i&le or habit you &ra2ti2e
regularly for healthy human relations.
Exam"le5 Aause for refle2tion3 as if the .uestion never o22urred to you. Then say3 (?ou
now3 I really 2an-t thin of anything.* $Aause again3 then add%H (I would add that as a
general management &rin2i&le3 I-ve found that the best way to avoid regrets is to avoid
2ausing them in the first &la2e. I &ra2ti2e one habit that hel&s me a great deal in this
regard. At the end of ea2h day3 I mentally review the day-s events and 2onversations to
tae a se2ond loo at the &eo&le and develo&ments I-m involved with and do a double2he2
of what they-re liely to be feeling. )ometimes I-ll see things that do need more followM
u&3 whether a &at on the ba23 or maybe a five minute 2hat in someone-s offi2e to mae
sure we-re 2lear on things5whatever.*
(I also lie to mae ea2h &erson feel lie a member of an elite team3 lie the Ioston
;elti2s or :A :aers in their &rime. I-ve found that if you let ea2h team member now you
e<&e2t e<2ellen2e in their &erforman2e5if you wor hard to set an e<am&le yourself5and if
you let &eo&le now you a&&re2iate and res&e2t their feelings3 you wind u& with a highly
motivated grou&3 a team that-s having fun at wor be2ause they-re striving for e<2ellen2e
rather than brooding over slights or regrets.*
64 Toughest Questions Page 4
Question 5 'hy are you leaving :or did you leave; this "osition)
TRAPS$ Fever badmouth your &revious industry3 2om&any3 board3 boss3 staff3 em&loyees or
2ustomers. This rule is inviolableH never be negative. Any mud you hurl will only soil
your suit.
Cs&e2ially avoid words lie (&ersonality 2lash*3 (didn-t get along*3 or others whi2h 2ast
a shadow on your 2om&eten2e3 integrity3 or tem&erament.
!ST A"S#!R$
:<f you have a #ob "resently;
If you-re not yet 100L 2ommitted to leaving your &resent &ost3 don-t be afraid to say so.
)in2e you have a 4ob3 you are in a stronger &osition than someone who does not. Iut don-t
be 2oy either. )tate honestly what you-d be ho&ing to find in a new s&ot. 9f 2ourse3 as
stated often before3 you answer will all the stronger if you have already un2overed what
this &osition is all about and you mat2h your desires to it.
:<f you do not "resently have a #ob.;
Fever lie about having been fired. It-s unethi2al " and too easily 2he2ed. Iut do try
to defle2t the reason from you &ersonally. If your firing was the result of a taeover3
merger3 division wide layoff3 et2.3 so mu2h the better.
Iut you should also do something totally unnatural that will demonstrate 2onsummate
&rofessionalism. Cven if it hurts 3 des2ribe your own firing " 2andidly3 su22in2tly and
without a tra2e of bitterness " from the com"any=s &ointMofMview3 indi2ating that you
2ould understand why it ha&&ened and you might have made the same de2ision yourself.
?our stature will rise immensely and3 most im&ortant of all3 you will show you are healed
from the wounds infli2ted by the firing. ?ou will enhan2e your image as firstM2lass
management material and stand head and shoulders above the legions of firing vi2tims who3
at the slightest &rovo2ation3 6i& o&en their shirts to e<&ose their battle s2ars and de2ry
the unfairness of it all.
For all "rior "ositions5
@ae sure you-ve &re&ared a brief reason for leaving. 9est reasons5 more money3
o&&ortunity3 res&onsibility or growth.
Question 6 The >Silent Treatment8
TRAPS$ 9eware " if you are un&re&ared for this .uestion3 you will &robably not handle it
right and &ossibly blow the interview. Than goodness most interviewers don-t em&loy it.
It-s normally used by those determined to see how you res&ond under stress. 8ere-s how it
worsH
?ou answer an interviewer-s .uestion and then3 instead of asing another3 he 4ust stares
at you in a deafening silen2e.
?ou wait3 growing a bit uneasy3 and there he sits3 silent as @t. Eushmore3 as if he
doesn-t believe what you-ve 4ust said3 or &erha&s maing you feel that you-ve unwittingly
violated some 2ardinal rule of interview eti.uette.
When you get this silent treatment after answering a &arti2ularly diffi2ult .uestion 3
su2h as (tell me about your weanesses*3 its intimidating effe2t 2an be most dis.uieting3
even to &olished 4ob hunters.
@ost un&re&ared 2andidates rush in to fill the void of silen2e3 viewing &rolonged3
un2omfortable silen2es as an invitation to 2lear u& the &revious answer whi2h has
obviously 2aused some &roblem. And that-s what they do " ramble on3 s&uttering more and
more information3 sometimes irrelevant and often damaging3 be2ause they are suddenly
&laying the role of someone who-s goofed and is now trying to re2ou&. Iut sin2e the
2andidate doesn-t now where or how he goofed3 he 4ust ee&s taling3 showing how
flustered and 2onfused he is by the interviewer-s unmovable silen2e.
!ST A"S#!R$ :ie a &rimitive tribal mas3 the )ilent Treatment loses all it &ower to
frighten you on2e you refuse to be intimidated. If your interviewer &ulls it3 ee& .uiet
yourself for a while and then as3 with sin2ere &oliteness and not a tra2e of sar2asm3
><s there anything else < can fill in on that "oint)8 That-s all there is to it.
Whatever you do3 don-t let the )ilent Treatment intimidate you into taling a blue strea3
be2ause you 2ould easily tal yourself out of the &osition.
Question 7 'hy should < hire you)
TRAPS$ Ielieve it or not3 this is a iller .uestion be2ause so many 2andidates are
un&re&ared for it. If you stammer or adlib you-ve blown it.
!ST A"S#!R$ Iy now you 2an see how 2riti2al it is to a&&ly the overall strategy of
un2overing the em&loyer-s needs before you answer .uestions. If you now the em&loyer-s
greatest needs and desires3 this .uestion will give you a big leg u& over other 2andidates
be2ause you will give him better reasons for hiring you than anyone else is liely to5
reasons tied dire2tly to his needs.
64 Toughest Questions Page 5
Whether your interviewer ass you this .uestion ex"licitly or not3 this is the most
im&ortant .uestion of your interview be2ause he must answer this .uestion favorably in is
own mind before you will be hired. So hel" him out? Wal through ea2h of the &osition-s
re.uirements as you understand them3 and follow ea2h with a reason why you meet that
re.uirement so well.
Exam"le5 (As I understand your needs3 you are first and foremost looing for someone who
2an manage the sales and mareting of your boo &ublishing division. As you-ve said you
need someone with a strong ba2ground in trade boo sales. This is where I-ve s&ent
almost all of my 2areer3 so I-ve 2haled u& 1, years of e<&erien2e e<a2tly in this area.
I believe that I now the right 2onta2ts3 methods3 &rin2i&les3 and su22essful management
te2hni.ues as well as any &erson 2an in our industry.*
(?ou also need someone who 2an e<&and your boo distribution 2hannels. In my &rior &ost3
my innovative &romotional ideas doubled3 then tri&led3 the number of outlets selling our
boos. I-m 2onfident I 2an do the same for you.*
(?ou need someone to give a new shot in the arm to your mail order sales3 someone who
nows how to sell in s&a2e and dire2t mail media. 8ere3 too3 I believe I have e<a2tly the
e<&erien2e you need. In the last five years3 I-ve in2reased our mail order boo sales
from B'003000 to B23,0030003 and now we-re the 2ountry-s se2ond leading mareter of
s2ientifi2 and medi2al boos by mail.* Etc.! etc.! etc.!
Cvery one of these selling (2ou&lets* $his need mat2hed by your .ualifi2ations% is a
tou2hdown that runs u& your s2ore. IT is your best o&&ortunity to outsell your
2om&etition.
Question 8 %ren=t you overualified for this "osition)
TRAPS$ The em&loyer may be 2on2erned that you-ll grow dissatisfied and leave.
!ST A"S#!R$ As with any ob4e2tion3 don-t view this as a sign of imminent defeat. It-s
an invitation to tea2h the interviewer a new way to thin about this situation3 seeing
advantages instead of drawba2s.
Exam"le5 (I re2ogni6e the 4ob maret for what it is " a maret&la2e. :ie any
maret&la2e3 it-s sub4e2t to the laws of su&&ly and demand. )o Oover.ualified- 2an be a
relative term3 de&ending on how tight the 4ob maret is. And right now3 it-s very tight.
I understand and a22e&t that.*
(I also believe that there 2ould be very &ositive benefits for both of us in this mat2h.*
(Ie2ause of my unusually strong e<&erien2e in PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP 3 I 2ould start to
2ontribute right away3 &erha&s mu2h faster than someone who-d have to be brought along
more slowly.*
(There-s also the value of all the training and years of e<&erien2e that other 2om&anies
have invested tens of thousands of dollars to give me. ?ou-d be getting all the value of
that without having to &ay an e<tra dime for it. With someone who has yet to a2.uire that
e<&erien2e3 he-d have to gain it on your nic4el.*
(I 2ould also hel& you in many things they don-t tea2h at the 8arvard Iusiness )2hool.
7or e<am&le5$how to hire3 train3 motivate3 et2.% When it 2omes to nowing how to wor
well with &eo&le and getting the most out of them3 there-s 4ust no substitute for what you
learn over many years of frontMline e<&erien2e. ?ou 2om&any would gain all this3 too.*
(7rom my side3 there are strong benefits3 as well. Eight now3 I am unem&loyed. I want
to wor3 very much3 and the &osition you have here is e<a2tly what I love to do and am
best at. I-ll be ha&&y doing this wor and that-s what matters most to me3 a lot more
that money or title.*
(@ost im&ortant3 I-m looing to mae a long term 2ommitment in my 2areer now. I-ve had
enough of 4obMhunting and want a &ermanent s&ot at this &oint in my 2areer. I also now
that if I &erform this 4ob with e<2ellen2e3 other o&&ortunities 2annot hel& but o&en u&
for me right here. In time3 I-ll find many other ways to hel& this 2om&any and in so
doing3 hel& myself. I really am looing to mae a longMterm 2ommitment.*
F9TCH The main 2on2ern behind the (over.ualified* .uestion is that you will leave your
new em&loyer as soon as something better 2omes your way. Anything you 2an say to
demonstrate the sin2erity of your 2ommitment to the em&loyer and reassure him that you-re
looing to stay for the longMterm will hel& you over2ome this ob4e2tion.
Question 9 'here do you see yourself five years from now)
TRAPS$ 9ne reason interviewers as this .uestion is to see if you-re settling for this
&osition3 using it merely as a sto&over until something better 2omes along. 9r they 2ould
be trying to gauge your level of ambition.
If you-re too s&e2ifi23 i.e.3 naming the &romotions you someday ho&e to win3 you-ll sound
&resum&tuous. If you-re too vague3 you-ll seem rudderless.
64 Toughest Questions Page 6
!ST A"S#!R$ Eeassure your interviewer that you-re looing to mae a longMterm
2ommitment5that this &osition entails e<a2tly what you-re looing to do and what you do
e<tremely well. As for your future3 you believe that if you &erform ea2h 4ob at hand with
e<2ellen2e3 future o&&ortunities will tae 2are of themselves.
Exam"le5 (I am definitely interested in maing a longMterm 2ommitment to my ne<t
&osition. Qudging by what you-ve told me about this &osition3 it-s e<a2tly what I-m
looing for and what I am very well .ualified to do. In terms of my future 2areer &ath3
I-m 2onfident that if I do my wor with e<2ellen2e3 o&&ortunities will inevitable o&en u&
for me. It-s always been that way in my 2areer3 and I-m 2onfident I-ll have similar
o&&ortunities here.*
Question 1 6escribe your ideal com"any! location and #ob.
TRAPS$ This is often ased by an e<&erien2ed interviewer who thins you may be
over.ualified3 but nows better than to show his hand by &osing his ob4e2tion dire2tly.
)o he-ll use this .uestion instead3 whi2h often gets a 2andidate to reveal that3 indeed3
he or she is looing for something other than the &osition at hand.
!ST A"S#!R$ The only right answer is to des2ribe what this 2om&any is offering3 being
sure to mae your answer believable with s&e2ifi2 reasons3 stated with sin2erity3 why ea2h
.uality re&resented by this o&&ortunity is attra2tive to you.
Eemember that if you-re 2oming from a 2om&any that-s the leader in its field or from a
glamorous or mu2h admired 2om&any3 industry3 2ity or &osition3 your interviewer and his
2om&any may well have an (Avis* 2om&le<. That is3 they may feel a bit defensive about
being (se2ond best* to the &la2e you-re 2oming from3 worried that you may 2onsider them
bush league.
This an<iety 2ould well be there even though you-ve done nothing to ins&ire it. ?ou must
go out of your way to assuage su2h an<iety3 even if it-s not e<&ressed3 by &utting their
virtues high on the list of e<a2tly what you-re looing for3 &roviding 2redible reason for
wanting these .ualities.
If you do not e<&ress genuine enthusiasm for the firm3 its 2ulture3 lo2ation3 industry3
et2.3 you may fail to answer this (Avis* 2om&le< ob4e2tion and3 as a result3 leave the
interviewer sus&e2ting that a hot shot lie you3 2oming from a 7ortune #00 2om&any in Few
?or3 4ust wouldn-t be ha&&y at an unnown manufa2turer based in To&ea3 Kansas.
Question 11 'hy do you want to wor4 at our com"any)
TRAPS$ This .uestion tests whether you-ve done any homewor about the firm. If you
haven-t3 you lose. If you have3 you win big.
!ST A"S#!R$ This .uestion is your o&&ortunity to hit the ball out of the &ar3 thans
to the inMde&th resear2h you should do before any interview.
Iest sour2es for resear2hing your target 2om&anyH annual re&orts3 the 2or&orate
newsletter3 2onta2ts you now at the 2om&any or its su&&liers3 advertisements3 arti2les
about the 2om&any in the trade &ress.
Question 12 'hat are your career o"tions right now)
TRAPS$ The interviewer is trying to find out3 >@ow des"erate are you)8
!ST A"S#!R$ Are&are for this .uestion by thining of how you 2an &osition yourself as a
desired 2ommodity. If you are still woring3 des2ribe the &ossibilities at your &resent
firm and why3 though you-re greatly a&&re2iated there3 you-re looing for something more
$2hallenge3 money3 res&onsibility3 et2.%. Also mention that you-re seriously e<&loring
o&&ortunities with one or two other firms.
If you-re not woring3 you 2an tal about other em&loyment &ossibilities you-re a2tually
e<&loring. Iut do this with a light tou2h3 s&eaing only in general terms. ?ou don-t
want to seem mani&ulative or 2oy.
Question 13 'hy have you been out of wor4 so long)
TRAPS$ A tough .uestion if you-ve been on the bea2h a long time. ?ou don-t want to seem
lie damaged goods.
!ST A"S#!R$ ?ou want to em&hasi6e fa2tors whi2h have &rolonged your 4ob sear2h by your
own 2hoi2e.
Exam"le5 (After my 4ob was terminated3 I made a 2ons2ious de2ision not to 4um& on the
first o&&ortunities to 2ome along. In my life3 I-ve found out that you 2an always turn a
negative into a &ositive I7 you try hard enough. This is what I determined to do. I
de2ided to tae whatever time I needed to thin through what I do best3 what I most want
to do3 where I-d lie to do it5and then identify those 2om&anies that 2ould offer su2h an
o&&ortunity.*
(Also3 in all honesty3 you have to fa2tor in the re2ession $2onsolidation3 stabili6ation3
et2.% in the $baning3 finan2ial servi2es3 manufa2turing3 advertising3 et2.% industry.*
64 Toughest Questions Page 7
()o between my being sele2tive and the 2om&anies in our industry downsi6ing3 the &ro2ess
has taen time. Iut in the end3 I-m 2onvin2ed that when I do find the right mat2h3 all
that 2areful evaluation from both sides of the des will have been well worthwhile for
both the 2om&any that hires me and myself.
Question 14 Tell me honestly about the strong "oints and wea4 "oints of your boss
:com"any! management team! etc.;A
TRAPS$ )illfull interviewers sometimes mae it almost irresistible to o&en u& and air a
little dirty laundry from your &revious &osition. 19F-T
!ST A"S#!R$ Eemember the ruleH Fever be negative. )tress only the good &oints3 no
matter how 2harmingly you-re invited to be 2riti2al.
?our interviewer doesn-t 2are a whit about your &revious boss. 8e wants to find out how
loyal and &ositive you are3 and whether you-ll 2riti2i6e him behind his ba2 if &ressed to
do so by someone in this own 2om&any. This .uestion is your o&&ortunity to demonstrate
your loyalty to those you wor with.
Question 15 'hat good boo4s have you read lately)
TRAPS$ As in all matters of your interview3 never fae familiarity you don-t have. ?et
you don-t want to seem lie a dullard who hasn-t read a boo sin2e Tom Sawyer.
!ST A"S#!R$ Gnless you-re u& for a &osition in a2ademia or as boo 2riti2 for The Bew
Yor4 Times3 you-re not e<&e2ted to be a literary lion. Iut it wouldn-t hurt to have read
a handful of the most re2ent and influential boos in your &rofession and on management.
;onsider it &art of the wor of your 4ob sear2h to read u& on a few of these leading
boos. Iut mae sure they are uality boos that refle2t favorably u&on you3 nothing that
2ould even remotely be 2onsidered su&erfi2ial. 7inally3 add a re2ently &ublished
bestselling wor of fi2tion by a worldM2lass author and you-ll &ass this .uestion with
flying 2olors.
Question 16 Tell me about a situation when your wor4 was criticiCed.
TRAPS$ This is a tough .uestion be2ause it-s a more 2lever and subtle way to get you to
admit to a weaness. ?ou 2an-t dodge it by &retending you-ve never been 2riti2i6ed.
Cverybody has been. ?et it 2an be .uite damaging to start admitting &otential faults and
failures that you-d 4ust as soon leave buried.
This .uestion is also intended to &robe how well you a22e&t 2riti2ism and dire2tion.
!ST A"S#!RS$ Iegin by em&hasi6ing the e<tremely &ositive feedba2 you-ve gotten
throughout your 2areer and $if it-s true% that your &erforman2e reviews have been
uniformly e<2ellent.
9f 2ourse3 no one is &erfe2t and you always wel2ome suggestions on how to im&rove your
&erforman2e. Then3 give an e<am&le of a notMtooMdamaging learning e<&erien2e from early
in your 2areer and relate the ways this lesson has sin2e hel&ed you. This demonstrates
that you learned from the e<&erien2e and the lesson is now one of the strongest
breast&lates in your suit of armor.
If you are &ressed for a 2riti2ism from a recent &osition3 2hoose something fairly trivial
that in no way is essential to your su22essful &erforman2e. Add that you-ve learned from
this3 too3 and over the &ast several years=months3 it-s no longer an area of 2on2ern
be2ause you now mae it a regular &ra2ti2e to5et2.
Another way to answer this .uestion would be to des2ribe your intention to broaden your
master of an area of growing im&ortan2e in your field. 7or e<am&le3 this might be a
2om&uter &rogram you-ve been meaning to sit down and learn5 a new management te2hni.ue
you-ve read about5or &erha&s attending a seminar on some 2uttingMedge bran2h of your
&rofession.
Again3 the ey is to fo2us on something not essential to your brilliant &erforman2e but
whi2h adds yet another dimension to your already im&ressive nowledge base.
Question 17 'hat are your outside interests)
TRAPS$ ?ou want to be a wellMrounded3 not a drone. Iut your &otential em&loyer would be
even more turned off if he sus&e2ts that your heavy e<tra2urri2ular load will interfere
with your 2ommitment to your wor duties.
!ST A"S#!RS$ Try to gauge how this 2om&any-s 2ulture would loo u&on your favorite
outside a2tivities and be guided a22ordingly.
?ou 2an also use this .uestion to shatter any stereoty&es that 2ould limit your 2han2es.
If you-re over #03 for e<am&le3 des2ribe your a2tivities that demonstrate &hysi2al
stamina. If you-re young3 mention an a2tivity that 2onnotes wisdom and institutional
trust3 su2h as serving on the board of a &o&ular 2harity.
Iut above all3 remember that your em&loyer is hiring your for what you 2an do for him3 not
your family3 yourself or outside organi6ations3 no matter how admirable those a2tivities
may be.
64 Toughest Questions Page 8
Question 18 The >Fatal Flaw8 uestion
TRAPS$ If an interviewer has read your resume 2arefully3 he may try to 6ero in on a
(fatal flaw* of your 2andida2y3 &erha&s that you don-t have a 2ollege degree5you-ve been
out of the 4ob maret for some time5you never earned your ;AA3 et2.
A fatal flaw .uestion 2an be deadly3 but usually only if you res&ond by being overly
defensive.
!ST A"S#!RS$ As every master sales&erson nows3 you will en2ounter ob4e2tions $whether
stated or merely thought% in every sale. They-re &art and &ar2el of the buyer-s an<iety.
The ey is not to exacerbate the buyer-s an<iety but diminish it. 8ere-s how5
Whenever you 2ome u& against a fatal flaw .uestionH
1. Ie 2om&letely honest3 o&en and straightforward about admitting the short2oming.
$)howing you have nothing to hide diminishes the buyer-s an<iety.%
2. 1o not a&ologi6e or try to e<&lain it away. ?ou now that this su&&osed flaw is
nothing to be 2on2erned about3 and this is the attitude you want your interviewer to ado&t
as well.
3. Add that as desirable as su2h a .ualifi2ation might be3 its la2 has made you
wor all the harder throughout your 2areer and has not &revented you from 2om&iling an
outstanding ta2 re2ord of a2hievements. ?ou might even give e<am&les of how3 through a
relentless 2ommitment to e<2ellen2e3 you have 2onsistently out&erformed those who do have
this .ualifi2ation.
9f 2ourse3 the ultimate way to handle (fatal flaw* .uestions is to "revent them from
arising in the first &la2e. ?ou will do that by following the master strategy des2ribed
in Question 13 i.e.3 un2overing the em&loyers needs and them mat2hing your .ualifi2ations
to those needs.
9n2e you-ve gotten the em&loyer to start taling about his most urgentlyMfelt wants and
goals for the &osition3 and then hel& him see in ste&MbyMste& fashion how &erfe2tly your
ba2ground and a2hievements mat2h u& with those needs3 you-re going to have one very
enthusiasti2 interviewer on your hands3 one who is no longer looing for (fatal flaws*.
Question 19 @ow do you feel about re"orting to a younger "erson :minority! woman!
etc;)
TRAPS$ It-s a shame that some interviewers feel the need to as this .uestion3 but many
understand the reality that &re4udi2es still e<ist among some 4ob 2andidates3 and it-s
better to try to flush them out beforehand.
The tra& here is that in today-s &oliti2ally sensiti6ed environment3 even a well(
intentioned answer 2an result in &lanting your foot neatly in your mouth. Avoid anything
whi2h sma2s of a &atroni6ing or an insensitive attitude3 su2h as (I thin they mae
terrifi2 bosses* or (8ey3 some of my best friends are5*
9f 2ourse3 sin2e almost anyone with an IQ above room tem&erature will at least try to
steadfastly affirm the right answer here3 your interviewer will be 4udging your sincerity
most of all. >6o you really feel that way)8 is what he or she will be wondering.
)o you must mae your answer believable and not 4ust automati2. If the firm is wise
enough to have &romoted &eo&led on the basis of ability alone3 they-re liely .uite &roud
of it3 and &refer to hire others who will wholeheartedly share their strong sense of fair
&lay.
!ST A"S#!R$ ?ou greatly admire a 2om&any that hires and &romotes on merit alone and you
2ouldn-t agree more with that &hiloso&hy. The age $gender3 ra2e3 et2.% of the &erson you
re&ort to would certainly mae no differen2e to you.
Whoever has that &osition has obviously earned it and nows their 4ob well. Ioth the
&erson and the &osition are fully deserving of res&e2t. ?ou believe that all &eo&le in a
2om&any3 from the re2e&tionist to the ;hairman3 wor best when their abilities3 efforts
and feelings are res&e2ted and rewarded fairly3 and that in2ludes you. That-s the best
ty&e of wor environment you 2an ho&e to find.
Question 2 Dn confidential mattersA
TRAPS$ When an interviewer &resses you to reveal 2onfidential information about a &resent
or former em&loyer3 you may feel it-s a noMwin situation. If you 2oo&erate3 you 2ould be
4udged untrustworthy. If you don-t3 you may irritate the interviewer and seem obstinate3
un2oo&erative or overly sus&i2ious.
!ST A"S#!R$ ?our interviewer may &ress you for this information for two reasons.
7irst3 many 2om&anies use interviews to resear2h the 2om&etition. It-s a &erfe2t setMu&.
8ere in their own lair3 is an insider from the enemy 2am& who 2an reveal &ri6ed
information on the 2om&etition-s &lans3 resear2h3 finan2ial 2ondition3 et2.
)e2ond3 the 2om&any may be testing your integrity to see if you 2an be 2a4oled or bullied
into revealing 2onfidential data.
64 Toughest Questions Page 9
What to do? The answer here is easy. Bever reveal anything truly 2onfidential about a
&resent or former em&loyer. Iy all means3 e<&lain your reti2en2e di"lomatically. 7or
e<am&le3 (I 2ertainly want to be as o&en as I 2an about that. Iut I also wish to res&e2t
the rights of those who have trusted me with their most sensitive information3 4ust as you
would ho&e to be able to trust any of your ey &eo&le when taling with a 2om&etitor5*
And 2ertainly you 2an allude to your finest a2hievements in s&e2ifi2 ways that don-t
reveal the 2ombination to the 2om&any safe.
Iut be guided by the golden rule. If you were the owner of your &resent 2om&any3 would
you feel it ethi2ally wrong for the information to be given to your 2om&etitors? If so3
steadfastly refuse to reveal it.
Eemember that this .uestion &its your desire to be 2oo&erative against your integrity.
7a2ed with any su2h 2hoi2e3 always choose integrity. It is a far more valuable 2ommodity
than whatever information the 2om&any may &ry from you. @oreover3 on2e you surrender the
information3 your sto2 goes down. They will surely lose res&e2t for you.
9ne Aresident we now always &resses 2andidates unmer2ifully for 2onfidential information.
If he doesn-t get it3 he grows visibly annoyed3 relentlessly in.uisitive3 <t=s all an
act. 8e 2ouldn-t 2are less about the information. This is his way of testing the
2andidate-s moral fiber. 9nly those who hold fast are hired.
Question 21 'ould you lie for the com"any)
TRAPS$ This another .uestion that &its two values against one another3 in this 2ase
loyalty against integrity.
!ST A"S#!R$ Try to avoid 2hoosing between two values3 giving a &ositive statement whi2h
2overs all bases instead.
Exam"le5 (I would never do anything to hurt the 2om&any..*
If aggressively &ressed to 2hoose between two 2om&eting values3 always choose "ersonal
integrity. It is the most &ri6ed of all values.
Question 22 &oo4ing bac4! what would you do differently in your life)
TRAPS$ This .uestion is usually ased to un2over any lifeMinfluen2ing mistaes3 regrets3
disa&&ointments or &roblems that may 2ontinue to affe2t your &ersonality and &erforman2e.
?ou do not want to give the interviewer anything negative to remember you by3 su2h as some
great &ersonal or 2areer disa&&ointment3 even long ago3 that you wish 2ould have been
avoided.
For do you wish to give any answer whi2h may hint that your whole heart and soul will not
be in your wor.
!ST A"S#!R$ Indi2ate that you are a ha&&y3 fulfilled3 o&timisti2 &erson and that3 in
general3 you wouldn-t 2hange a thing.
Exam"le5 (It-s been a good life3 ri2h in learning and e<&erien2e3 and the best it yet to
2ome. Cvery e<&erien2e in life is a lesson it its own way. I wouldn-t 2hange a thing.*
Question 23 Eould you have done better in your last #ob)
TRAPS$ This is no time for true 2onfessions of ma4or or even minor &roblems.
!ST A"S#!R$ Again never be negative.
Exam"le5 (I su&&ose with the benefit of hindsight you 2an always find things to do
better3 of 2ourse3 but off the to& of my head3 I 2an-t thin of anything of ma4or
2onse.uen2e.*
:<f more ex"lanation seems necessary;
1es2riber a situation that didn-t suffer be2ause of you but from e<ternal 2onditions
beyond your 2ontrol.
7or e<am&le3 des2ribe the disa&&ointment you felt with a test 2am&aign3 new &rodu2t
laun2h3 merger3 et2.3 whi2h looed &romising at first3 but led to underwhelming results.
(I wish we 2ould have nown at the start what we later found out $about the e2onomy
turning3 the maret&la2e 2hanging3 et2.%3 but sin2e we 2ouldn-t3 we 4ust had to go for it.
And we did learn from it5*
Question 24 Ean you wor4 under "ressure)
TRAPS$ An easy .uestion3 but you want to mae your answer believable.
!ST A"S#!R$ Absolutely5$then &rove it with a vivid e<am&le or two of a goal or &ro4e2t
a22om&lished under severe &ressure.%
Question 25 'hat ma4es you angry)
TRAPS$ ?ou don-t want to 2ome a2ross either as a hothead or a wim&.
!ST A"S#!R$ Give an answer that-s suited to both your &ersonality and the management
style of the firm. 8ere3 the homewor you-ve done about the 2om&any and its style 2an
hel& in your 2hoi2e of words.
Exam"les5 <f you are a reserved "erson andFor the cor"orate culture is coolly
"rofessional5
64 Toughest Questions Page 10
(I-m an evenMtem&ered and &ositive &erson by nature3 and I believe this hel&s me a great
deal in ee&ing my de&artment running smoothly3 harmoniously and with a genuine es"rit de
cor"s. I believe in 2ommuni2ating 2learly what-s e<&e2ted3 getting &eo&le-s 2ommitment to
those goals3 and then following u& 2ontinuously to 2he2 &rogress.*
(If anyone or anything is going off tra23 I want to now about it early. If3 after that
ind of o&en 2ommuni2ation and follow u&3 someone isn-t getting the 4ob done3 I-ll want to
now why. If there-s no good reason3 then I-ll get im&atient and angry5and tae
a&&ro&riate ste&s from there. Iut if you hire good &eo&le3 motivate them to strive for
e<2ellen2e and then follow u& 2onstantly3 it almost never gets to that state.*
<f you are feisty by nature andFor the "osition calls for a tough straw boss.
(?ou now what maes me angry? Aeo&le who $the fill in the blans with the most
ob4e2tionable traits for this ty&e of &osition%5&eo&le who don-t &ull their own weight3
who are negative3 &eo&le who lie5et2.*
Question 26 'hy aren=t you earning more money at this stage of your career)
TRAPS$ ?ou don-t want to give the im&ression that money is not im&ortant to you3 yet you
want to e<&lain why your salary may be a little below industry standards.
!ST A"S#!R$ ?ou lie to mae money3 but other fa2tors are even more im&ortant.
Exam"le5 (@aing money is very im&ortant to me3 and one reason I-m here is be2ause I-m
looing to mae more. Throughout my 2areer3 what-s been even more im&ortant to me is
doing wor I really lie to do at the ind of 2om&any I lie and res&e2t.
$Then be &re&ared to be s&e2ifi2 about what your ideal &osition and 2om&any would be lie3
mat2hing them as 2losely as &ossible to the o&&ortunity at hand.
Question 27 'ho has ins"ired you in your life and why)
TRAPS$ The two tra&s here are un&re&aredness and irrelevan2e. If you gro&e for an
answer3 it seems you-ve never been ins&ired. If you ramble about your high s2hool
basetball 2oa2h3 you-ve wasted an o&&ortunity to &resent .ualities of great value to the
2om&any.
!ST A"S#!R$ 8ave a few heroes in mind3 from your mental (Ioard of 1ire2tors* " :eaders
in your industry3 from history or anyone else who has been your mentor.
Ie &re&ared to give e<am&les of how their words3 a2tions or tea2hings have hel&ed ins&ire
your a2hievements. As always3 &re&are an answer whi2h highlights .ualities that would be
highly valuable in the &osition you are seeing.
Question 28 'hat was the toughest decision you ever had to ma4e)
TRAPS$ Giving an un&re&ared or irrelevant answer.
!ST A"S#!R$ Ie &re&ared with a good e<am&le3 e<&laining why the de2ision was diffi2ult5
the &ro2ess you followed in rea2hing it5the 2ourageous or effe2tive way you 2arried it
out5and the benefi2ial results.
Question 29 Tell me about the most boring #ob you=ve ever had.
TRAPS$ ?ou give a very memorable des2ri&tion of a very boring 4ob. Eesult? ?ou be2ome
asso2iated with this boring 4ob in the interviewer-s mind.
!ST A"S#!R$ ?ou have never allowed yourself to grow bored with a 4ob and you 2an-t
understand it when others let themselves fall into that rut.
Exam"le5 >Aerha&s I-ve been fortunate3 but that I-ve never found myself bored with any
4ob I have ever held. I-ve always en4oyed hard wor. As with a2tors who feel there are
no small &arts3 I also believe that in every 2om&any or de&artment there are e<2iting
2hallenges and intriguing &roblems 2rying out for energeti2 and enthusiasti2 solutions.
If you-re bored3 it-s &robably be2ause you-re not 2hallenging yourself to ta2le those
&roblems right under your nose.*
Question 3 @ave you been absent from wor4 more than a few days in any "revious
"osition)
TRAPS$ If you-ve had a &roblem3 you 2an-t lie. ?ou 2ould easily be found out. ?et
admitting an attendan2e &roblem 2ould raise many flags.
!ST A"S#!R$ If you have had no &roblem3 em&hasi6e your e<2ellent and 2onsistent
attendan2e re2ord throughout your 2areer.
Also des2ribe how im&ortant you believe su2h 2onsistent attendan2e is for a ey e<e2utive5
why it-s u& to you to set an e<am&le of dedi2ation5and why there-s 4ust no substitute for
being there with your &eo&le to ee& the o&eration running smoothly3 answer .uestions and
handle &roblems and 2rises as they arise.
If you do have a &ast attendan2e &roblem3 you want to minimi6e it3 maing it 2lear that it
was an e<2e&tional 2ir2umstan2e and that it-s 2ause has been 2orre2ted.
To do this3 give the same answer as above but &refa2e it with something lie3 (9ther that
being out last year $or whenever% be2ause of $your reason3 whi2h is now in the &ast%3 I
have never had a &roblem and have en4oyed an e<2ellent attendan2e re2ord throughout my
64 Toughest Questions Page 11
2areer. 7urthermore3 I believe3 2onsistent attendan2e is im&ortant be2ause5* $Ai2 u&
the rest of the answer as outlined above.%.
Question 31 'hat changes would you ma4e if you came on board)
TRAPS$ Wat2h outN This .uestion 2an derail your 2andida2y faster than a bomb on the
tra2s " and #ust as you are about to be hired.
Geason5 Fo matter how bright you are3 you 2annot now the right a2tions to tae in a
&osition before you settle in and get to now the o&eration-s strengths3 weanesses ey
&eo&le3 finan2ial 2ondition3 methods of o&eration3 et2. If you lunge at this tem&tingly
baited .uestion3 you will &robably be seen as someone who shoots from the hi&.
@oreover3 no matter how 2omfortable you may feel with your interviewer3 you are still an
outsider. Fo one3 in2luding your interviewer3 lies to thin that a nowMitMall outsider
is going to 2ome in3 turn the &la2e u&side down and with swee&ing3 grand gestures3
&rom&tly demonstrate what 4ers everybody-s been for years.
!ST A"S#!R$ ?ou3 of 2ourse3 will want to tae a good hard loo at everything the 2om&any
is doing before maing any re2ommendations.
Exam"le5 (Well3 I wouldn-t be a very good do2tor if I gave my diagnosis before the
e<amination. )hould you hire me3 as I ho&e you will3 I-d want to tae a good hard loo at
everything you-re doing and understand why it-s being done that way. I-d lie to have inM
de&th meetings with you and the other ey &eo&le to get a dee&er gras& of what you feel
you-re doing right and what 2ould be im&roved.
(7rom what you-ve told me so far3 the areas of greatest 2on2ern to you are5* $name them.
Then do two things. 7irst3 as if these are in fa2t his ma4or 2on2erns. If so then
reaffirm how your e<&erien2e in meeting similar needs elsewhere might &rove very hel&ful%.
Question 32 <=m concerned that you don=t have as much ex"erience as we=d li4e inA
TRAPS$ This 2ould be a maeMorMbrea .uestion. The interviewer mostly lies what he
sees3 but has doubts over one ey area. If you 2an assure him on this &oint3 the 4ob may
be yours.
!ST A"S#!R$ This .uestion is related to (The 7atal 7law* $Question 1,%3 but here the
2on2ern is not that you are totally missing some .ualifi2ations3 su2h as ;AA
2ertifi2ation3 but rather that your e<&erien2e is light in one area.
Iefore going into any interview3 try to identify the weaest as&e2ts of your 2andida2y
from this 2om&any-s &oint of view. Then &re&are the best answer you &ossible 2an to shore
u& your defenses.
To get &ast this .uestion with flying 2olors3 you are going to rely on your master
strategy of uncovering the em"loyer=s greatest wants and needs and then matching them
with your strengths. )in2e you already now how to do this from Question 13 you are in a
mu2h stronger &osition.
@ore s&e2ifi2ally3 when the interviewer &oses as ob4e2tion lie this3 you should5
1. Agree on the im&ortan2e of this .ualifi2ation.
2. C<&lain that your strength may be indeed be greater than your resume indi2ates
be2ause5
3. When this strength is added to your other strengths3 it-s really your
combination of .ualifi2ations that-s most im&ortant.
Then review the areas of your greatest strengths that mat2h u& most favorably with the
2om&any-s most urgentlyMfelt wants and needs.
This is &owerful way to handle this .uestion for two reasons. 7irst3 you-re giving your
interviewer more ammunition in the area of his 2on2ern. Iut more im&ortantly3 you-re
shifting his fo2us away from this one3 isolated area and &utting it on the uniue
combination of strengths you offer3 strengths whi2h tie in &erfe2tly with his greatest
wants.
Question 33 @ow do you feel about wor4ing nights and wee4ends)
TRAPS$ Ilurt out (no way3 Qose* and you 2an iss the 4ob offer goodbye. Iut what if you
have a family and want to wor a reasonably normal s2hedule? Is there a way to get both
the 4ob and the s2hedule you want?
!ST A"S#!R$ 7irst3 if you-re a 2onfirmed woraholi23 this .uestion is a softball lob.
Wha2 it out of the &ar on the first swing by saying this ind of s2hedule is 4ust your
style. Add that your family understands it. Indeed3 they-re ha&&y for you3 as they now
you get your greatest satisfa2tion from your wor.
If however3 you &refer a more balan2ed lifestyle3 answer this .uestion with anotherH
('hat=s the norm for your best "eo"le here)*
If the hours still sound unrealisti2 for you3 as3 (1o you have any to& &eo&le who &erform
e<2e&tionally for you3 but who also have families and lie to get home in time to see them
64 Toughest Questions Page 12
at night?* ;han2es are this 2om&any does3 and this asso2iates you with this other (to&M
&erformersMwhoMleaveMnotMlaterMthanMsi<* grou&.
1e&ending on the answer3 be honest about how you would fit into the &i2ture. If all those
e<tra hours mae you un2omfortable3 say so3 but &hrase your res&onse &ositively.
Exam"le5 (I love my wor and do it e<2e&tionally well. I thin the results s&ea for
themselves3 es&e2ially in 5$mention your two or three .ualifi2ations of greater interest
to the em&loyer. Eemember3 this is what he wants most3 not a woraholi2 with wea4
2redentials%. Fot only would I bring these .ualities3 but I-ve built my whole 2areer on
woring not 4ust hard3 but smart. I thin you-ll find me one of the most "roductive
&eo&le here.
I do have a family who lies to see me after wor and on weeends. They add balan2e and
ri2hness to my life3 whi2h in turn hel&s me be ha&&y and &rodu2tive at wor. If I 2ould
handle some of the e<tra wor at home in the evenings or on weeends3 that would be ideal.
?ou-d be getting a &erson of e<2e&tional &rodu2tivity who meets your needs with strong
2redentials. And I-d be able to handle some of the heavy worload at home where I 2an be
under the same roof as my family. Cverybody would win.*
Question 34 %re you willing to relocate or travel)
TRAPS$ Answer with a flat (no* and you may slam the door shut on this o&&ortunity. Iut
what if you-d really &refer not to relo2ate or travel3 yet wouldn-t want to lose the 4ob
offer over it?
!ST A"S#!R$ 7irst find out where you may have to relo2ate and how mu2h travel may be
involved. Then res&ond to the .uestion.
If there-s no &roblem3 say so enthusiasti2ally.
If you do have a reservation3 there are two s2hools of thought on how to handle it.
9ne advises you to ee& your o&tions o&en and your reservations to yourself in the early
going3 by saying3 (no &roblem*. ?ou strategy here is to get the best offer you 2an3 then
mae a 4udgment whether it-s worth it to you to relo2ate or travel.
Also3 by the time the offer 2omes through3 you may have other offers and 2an mae a more
informed de2ision. Why ill of this o&&ortunity before it has 2han2e to blossom into
something really s&e2ial? And if you-re a little more des&erate three months from now3
you might wish you hadn-t slammed the door on relo2ating or traveling.
The se2ond way to handle this .uestion is to voi2e a reservation3 but assert that you-d be
o&en to relo2ating $or traveling% for the right o&&ortunity.
The answering strategy you 2hoose de&ends on how eager you are for the 4ob. If you want
to tae no 2han2es3 2hoose the first a&&roa2h.
If you want to &lay a little harderMtoMget in ho&es of generating a more enti2ing offer3
2hoose the se2ond.
Question 35 6o you have the stomach to fire "eo"le) @ave you had ex"erience firing
many "eo"le)
TRAPS$ This (inno2ent* .uestion 2ould be a tra& door whi2h sends you down a 2hute and
lands you in a hea& of dust outside the front door. Why? Ie2ause its real intent is not
4ust to see if you-ve got the stoma2h to fire3 but also to un2over "oor #udgment in
hiring whi2h has 2aused you to fire so many. Also3 if you fire so often3 you 2ould be a
tyrant.
)o don-t rise to the bait by boasting how many you-ve fired3 unless you-ve &re&ared to
e<&lain why it was beyond your 2ontrol3 and not the result of your &oor hiring &ro2edures
or foul tem&erament.
!ST A"S#!R$ 1es2ribe the rational and sensible management &ro2ess you follow in both
hiring and firing.
Exam"le5 (@y whole management a&&roa2h is to hire the best &eo&le I 2an find3 train them
thoroughly and well3 get them e<2ited and &roud to be &art of our team3 and then wor with
them to a2hieve our goals together. If you do all of that right3 es&e2ially hiring the
right &eo&le3 I-ve found you don-t have to fire very often.
()o with me3 firing is a last resort. Iut when it-s got to be done3 it-s got to be done3
and the faster and 2leaner3 the better. A &oor em&loyee 2an wrea terrible damage in
undermining the morale of an entire team of good &eo&le. When there-s no other way3 I-ve
found it-s better for all 2on2erned to a2t de2isively in getting rid of offenders who
won-t 2hange their ways.*
Question 36 'hy have you had so many #obs)
TRAPS$ ?our interviewer fears you may leave this &osition .ui2ly3 as you have others.
8e-s 2on2erned you may be unstable3 or a (&roblem &erson* who 2an-t get along with others.
!ST A"S#!R$ 7irst3 before you even get to the interview stage3 you should try to
minimi6e your image as 4ob ho&&er. If there are several entries on your resume of less
64 Toughest Questions Page 13
than one year3 2onsider eliminating the less im&ortant ones. Aerha&s you 2an s&e2ify the
time you s&ent at &revious &ositions in rounded years not in months and years.
Exam"le5 Instead of showing three &ositions this wayH
'=1/,2 " 3=1/,33 Aosition A>
!=1/,3 " 12=1/,33 Aosition I>
1=1/,! " ,=1/,+3 Aosition ;>
5it would be better to show sim&lyH
1/,2 " 1/,33 Aosition A>
1/,! " 1/,+ Aosition ;.
In other words3 you would dro& Aosition I altogether. Foti2e what a differen2e this maes
in redu2ing your image as a 4ob ho&&er.
9n2e in front of the interviewer and this .uestion 2omes u&3 you must try to reassure him.
1es2ribe ea2h &osition as &art of an overall &attern of growth and 2areer destination.
Ie 2areful not to blame other &eo&le for your fre.uent 2hanges. Iut you 2an and should
attribute 2ertain 2hanges to 2onditions beyond your 2ontrol.
Exam"le5 Thans to an u&2oming merger3 you wanted to avoid an ensuing bloodbath3 so you
made a good3 u&ward 2areer move before your de&artment 2ame under the a<e of the new
owners.
If &ossible3 also show that your 4ob 2hanges were more fre.uent in your younger days3
while you were establishing yourself3 rounding out your sills and looing for the right
2areer &ath. At this stage in your 2areer3 you-re 2ertainly mu2h more interested in the
best long(term o&&ortunity.
?ou might also 2ite the 4ob$s% where you stayed the longest and des2ribe that this ty&e of
situation is what you-re looing for now.
Question 37 'hat do you see as the "ro"er roleFmission ofA
Aa good :#ob title you=re see4ing;H
Aa good managerH
Aan executive in serving the communityH
Aa leading com"any in our industryH etc.
TRAPS$ These and other (&ro&er role* .uestions are designed to test your understanding of
your &la2e in the bigger &i2ture of your de&artment3 2om&any3 2ommunity and &rofession5.as
well as the &ro&er role ea2h of these entities should &lay in its bigger &i2ture.
The .uestion is most fre.uently ased by the most thoughtful individuals and 2om&anies5or
by those 2on2erned that you-re 2oming from a &la2e with a radi2ally different 2or&orate
2ulture $su2h as from a big government bureau2ra2y to an aggressive small 2om&any%.
The most fre.uent mistae e<e2utives mae in answering is sim&ly not being &re&ared
$seeming as if they-ve never giving any of this a though.%5or in &hrasing an answer best
suited to their "rior organi6ation-s 2ulture instead of the hiring 2om&any-s.
!ST A"S#!R$ Thin of the most essential ingredients of su22ess for ea2h 2ategory above
" your 4ob title3 your role as manager3 your firm-s role3 et2.
Identify at least three but no more than si< .ualities you feel are most im&ortant to
su22ess in ea2h role. Then 2ommit your res&onse to memory.
8ere3 again3 the more information you-ve already drawn out about the greatest wants and
needs of the interviewer3 and the more homewor you-ve done to identify the 2ulture of the
firm3 the more onMtarget your answer will be.
Question 38 'hat would you say to your boss if he=s craCy about an idea! but you thin4
it stin4s)
TRAPS$ This is another .uestion that &its two values3 in this 2ase loyalty and honesty3
against one another.
!ST A"S#!R$ Eemember the rule stated earlierH In any 2onfli2t between values3 always
choose integrity.
Exam"le5 I believe that when evaluating anything3 it-s im&ortant to em&hasi6e the
&ositive. What do I lie about this idea?*
(Then3 if you have reservations3 I 2ertainly want to &oint them out3 as s&e2ifi2ally3
ob4e2tively and fa2tually as I 2an.*
(After all3 the most im&ortant thing I owe my boss is honesty. If he 2an-t 2ount on me
for that3 then everything else I may do or say 2ould be .uestionable in his eyes.*
(Iut I also want to e<&ress my thoughts in a 2onstru2tive way. )o my goal in this 2ase
would be to see if my boss and I 2ould mae his idea even stronger and more a&&ealing3 so
that it effe2tively over2omes any initial reservation I or others may have about it.*
(9f 2ourse3 if he overrules me and says3 Ono3 let-s do it my way3- then I owe him my full
and enthusiasti2 su&&ort to mae it wor as best it 2an.*
64 Toughest Questions Page 14
Question 39 @ow could you have im"roved your career "rogress)
TRAPS$ This is another variation on the .uestion3 (If you 2ould3 how would you live your
life over?* Eemember3 you-re not going to fall for any su2h invitations to rewrite &erson
history. ?ou 2an-t win if you do.
!ST A"S#!R$ ?ou-re generally .uite ha&&y with your 2areer &rogress. @aybe3 if you had
nown something earlier in life $im&ossible to now at the time3 su2h as the booming
growth in a bran2h in your industry5or the 2or&orate downsi6ing that would &hase out your
last 4ob%3 you might have moved in a 2ertain dire2tion sooner.
Iut all things 2onsidered3 you tae res&onsibility for where you are3 how you-ve gotten
there3 where you are going5and you harbor no regrets.
Question 4 'hat would you do if a fellow executive on your own cor"orate level wasn=t
"ulling hisFher weightAand this was hurting your de"artment)
TRAPS$ This .uestion and other hy&otheti2al ones test your sense of human relations and
how you might handle offi2e &oliti2s.
!ST A"S#!R$ Try to gauge the &oliti2al style of the firm and be guided a22ordingly. In
general3 fall ba2 on universal &rin2i&les of effe2tive human relations " whi2h in the
end3 embody the way you would lie to be treated in a similar 2ir2umstan2e.
Exam"le5 (Good human relations would 2all for me to go dire2tly to the &erson and e<&lain
the situation3 to try to enlist his hel& in a 2onstru2tive3 &ositive solution. If I
sensed resistan2e3 I would be as &ersuasive as I now how to e<&lain the benefits we 2an
all gain from woring together3 and the &roblems we3 the 2om&any and our 2ustomers will
e<&erien2e if we don-t.*
P&SSI%! '&%%&#()P Q)!STI&"$ And what would you do if he still did not 2hange his ways?
A"S#!R$ (9ne thing I wouldn-t do is let the &roblem slide3 be2ause it would only get
worse and overlooing it would set a bad &re2edent. I would try again and again and
again3 in whatever way I 2ould3 to solve the &roblem3 involving wider and wider 2ir2les of
&eo&le3 both above and below the offending e<e2utive and in2luding my own boss if
ne2essary3 so that everyone involved 2an see the rewards for teamwor and the drawba2s of
nonM2oo&eration.*
(I might add that I-ve never yet 2ome a2ross a situation that 2ouldn-t be resolved by
harnessing others in a determined3 2onstru2tive effort.*
Question 41 You=ve been with your firm a long time. 'on=t it be hard switching to a
new com"any)
TRAPS$ ?our interviewer is worried that this old dog will find it hard to learn new
tri2s.
!ST A"S#!R$ To over2ome this ob4e2tion3 you must &oint to the many ways you have grown
and ada&ted to 2hanging 2onditions at your &resent firm. It has not been a stati2
situation. 8ighlight the different res&onsibilities you-ve held3 the wide array of new
situations you-ve fa2ed and 2on.uered.
As a result3 you-ve learned to ada&t .ui2ly to whatever is thrown at you3 and you thrive
on the stimulation of new 2hallenges.
To further assure the interviewer3 des2ribe the similarities between the new &osition and
your &rior one. C<&lain that you should be .uite 2omfortable woring there3 sin2e their
needs and your sills mae a &erfe2t mat2h.
Question 42 Iay < contact your "resent em"loyer for a reference)
TRAPS$ If you-re trying to ee& your 4ob sear2h &rivate3 this is the last thing you want.
Iut if you don-t 2oo&erate3 won-t you seem as if you-re trying to hide something?
!ST A"S#!R$ C<&ress your 2on2ern that you-d lie to ee& your 4ob sear2h &rivate3 but
that in time3 it will be &erfe2tly oay.
Exam"le5 (@y &resent em&loyer is not aware of my 4ob sear2h and3 for obvious reasons> I-d
&refer to ee& it that way. I-d be most a&&re2iative if we e&t our dis2ussion
2onfidential right now. 9f 2ourse3 when we both agree the time is right3 then by all
means you should 2onta2t them. I-m very &roud of my re2ord there.
Question 43 Give me an exam"le of your creativity :analytical s4illAmanaging ability!
etc.;
TRAPS$ The worst offense here is sim&ly being un&re&ared. ?our hesitation may seem as if
you-re having a hard time remembering the last time you were 2reative3 analyti2al3 et2.
!ST A"S#!R$ Eemember from Question 2 that you should 2ommit to memory a list of your
greatest and most re2ent a2hievements3 ever ready on the ti& of your tongue.
If you have su2h a list3 it-s easy to &resent any of your a2hievements in light of the
.uality the interviewer is asing about. 7or e<am&le3 the smashing su22ess you
or2hestrated at last year-s trade show 2ould be used as an e<am&le of 2reativity3 or
analyti2al ability3 or your ability to manage.
64 Toughest Questions Page 15
Question 44 'here could you use some im"rovement)
TRAPS$ Another tri2y way to get you to admit weanesses. 1on-t fall for it.
!ST A"S#!R$ Kee& this answer3 lie all your answers3 &ositive. A good way to answer
this .uestion is to identify a 2uttingMedge bran2h of your &rofession $one that-s not
essential to your em&loyer-s needs% as an area you-re very e<2ited about and want to
e<&lore more fully over the ne<t si< months.
Question 45 'hat do you worry about)
TRAPS$ Admit to worrying and you 2ould sound lie a loser. )aying you never worry
doesn-t sound 2redible.
!ST A"S#!R$ Eedefine the word Oworry- so that it does not refle2t negatively on you.
Exam"le5 (I wouldn-t 2all it worry3 but I am a strongly goalMoriented &erson. )o I ee&
turning over in my mind anything that seems to be ee&ing me from a2hieving those goals3
until I find a solution. That-s &art of my tena2ity3 I su&&ose.*
Question 46 @ow many hours a wee4 do you normally wor4)
TRAPS$ ?ou don-t want to give a s&e2ifi2 number. @ae it to low3 and you may not measure
u&. Too high3 and you-ll forever feel guilty about sneaing out the door at #H1#.
!ST A"S#!R$ <f you are in fact a wor4aholic and you sense this com"any would li4e that5
)ay you are a 2onfirmed woraholi23 that you often wor nights and weeends. ?our family
a22e&ts this be2ause it maes you fulfilled.
<f you are not a wor4aholic5 )ay you have always wored hard and &ut in long hours. It
goes with the territory. It one sense3 it-s hard to ee& tra2 of the hours be2ause your
wor is a labor of love3 you en4oy nothing more than solving &roblems. )o you-re almost
always thining about your wor3 in2luding times when you-re home3 while shaving in the
morning3 while 2ommuting3 et2.
Question 47 'hat=s the most difficult "art of being a :#ob title;)
TRAPS$ Gnless you &hrase your answer &ro&erly3 your interviewer may 2on2lude that
whatever you identify as (diffi2ult* is where you are wea.
!ST A"S#!R$ 7irst3 redefine (diffi2ult* to be (2hallenging* whi2h is more &ositive.
Then3 identify an area everyone in your &rofession 2onsiders 2hallenging and in whi2h you
e<2el. 1es2ribe the &ro2ess you follow that enables you to get s&lendid results5and be
s&e2ifi2 about those results.
Exam"le5 (I thin every sales manager finds it 2hallenging to motivate the troo&s in a
re2ession. Iut that-s &robably the strongest test of a to& sales manager. I feel this is
one area where I e<2el.*
(When I see the first sign that sales may sli& or that sales for2e motivation is flagging
be2ause of a downturn in the e2onomy3 here-s the &lan I &ut into a2tion immediately5*
$followed by a des2ri&tion of ea2h ste& in the &ro2ess5and most im"ortantly! the
e<2e&tional results you-ve a2hieved.%.
Question 48 The >@y"othetical Jroblem8
TRAPS$ )ometimes an interviewer will des2ribe a diffi2ult situation and as3 >@ow would
you handle this)8 )in2e it is virtually im&ossible to have all the fa2ts in front of you
from su2h a short &resentation3 don-t fall into the tra& of trying to solve this &roblem
and giving your verdi2t on the s&ot. It will mae your de2isionMmaing &ro2ess seem
woefully inade.uate.
!ST A"S#!R$ Instead3 des2ribe the rational3 methodi2al &ro2ess you would follow in
analy6ing this &roblem3 who you would 2onsult with3 generating &ossible solutions3
2hoosing the best 2ourse of a2tion3 and monitoring the results.
Eemember3 in all su2h3 >'hat would you do)8 .uestions3 always des2ribe your "rocess or
wor4ing methods! and you-ll never go wrong.
Question 49 'hat was the toughest challenge you=ve ever faced)
TRAPS$ Ieing un&re&ared or 2iting an e<am&le from so early in your life that it doesn-t
s2ore many &oints for you at this stage of your 2areer.
!ST A"S#!R$ This is an easy .uestion if you-re &re&ared. 8ave a re2ent e<am&le ready
that demonstrates eitherH
1. A .uality most im&ortant to the 4ob at hand> or
2. A .uality that is always in demand3 su2h as leadershi&3 initiative3 managerial
sill3 &ersuasiveness3 2ourage3 &ersisten2e3 intelligen2e3 et2.
Question 5 @ave you consider starting your own business)
TRAPS$ If you say (yes* and elaborate enthusiasti2ally3 you 2ould be &er2eived as a loose
2annon in a larger 2om&any3 too entre&reneurial to mae a good team &layer5or someone who
had to settle for the 2or&orate life be2ause you 2ouldn-t mae a go of your own business.
64 Toughest Questions Page 16
Also too mu2h enthusiasm in answering (yes* 2ould rouse the &aranoia of a small 2om&any
indi2ating that you may &lan to go out on your own soon3 &erha&s taing some ey a22ounts
or trade se2rets with you.
9n the other hand3 if you answer (no3 never* you 2ould be &er2eived as a se2urityMminded
drone who never dreamed a big dream.
!ST A"S#!R$ Again it-s best toH
1. Gauge this 2om&any-s 2or&orate 2ulture before answering and5
2. Ie honest $whi2h doesn-t mean you have to vividly share your fantasy of the
fran2hise or bedMandMbreafast you someday &lan to o&en%.
In general3 if the 2or&orate 2ulture is that of a large3 formal3 militaryMstyle stru2ture3
minimi6e any indi2ation that you-d love to have your own business. ?ou might say3 (9h3 I
may have given it a thought on2e or twi2e3 but my whole 2areer has been in larger
organi6ations. That-s where I have e<2elled and where I want to be.*
If the 2or&orate 2ulture is 2loser to the freeMwheeling3 everybody-sMaMdealMmaer variety3
then em&hasi6e that in a firm lie this3 you 2an virtually get the best of all worlds3 the
e<2itement of seeing your own ideas and &lans tae sha&e52ombined with the resour2es and
stability of a wellMestablished organi6ation. )ounds lie the &erfe2t environment to
you.
In any 2ase3 no matter what the 2or&orate 2ulture3 be sure to indi2ate that any desires
about running your own show are &art of your "ast3 not your &resent or future.
The last thing you want to &ro4e2t is an image of either a dreamer who failed and is now
settling for the 2or&orate 2o2oon5or the restless maveri2 who will fly out the door with
ey a22ounts3 2onta2ts and trade se2rets under his arms 4ust as soon as his banroll has
gotten rebuilt.
Always rememberH @at2h what you want with what the &osition offers. The more information
you-ve un2overed about the &osition3 the more believable you 2an mae your 2ase.
Question 51 'hat are your goals)
TRAPS$ Fot having any5or having only vague generalities3 not highly s"ecific goals.
!ST A"S#!R$ @any e<e2utives in a &osition to hire you are strong believers in goalM
setting. $It-s one of the reason they-ve a2hieved so mu2h%. They lie to hire in ind.
If you-re vague about your 2areer and &ersonal goals3 it 2ould be a big turnoff to may
&eo&le you will en2ounter in your 4ob sear2h.
Ie ready to dis2uss your goals for ea2h ma4or area of your lifeH 2areer3 &ersonal
develo&ment and learning3 family3 &hysi2al $health%3 2ommunity servi2e and $if your
interviewer is 2learly a religious &erson% you 2ould briefly and generally allude to your
s&iritual goals $showing you are a wellMrounded individual with your values in the right
order%.
Ie &re&ared to des2ribe ea2h goal in terms of s&e2ifi2 milestones you wish to a22om&lish
along the way3 time &eriods you-re allotting for a22om&lishment3 why the goal is im&ortant
to you3 and the s&e2ifi2 ste&s you-re taing to bring it about. Iut do this 2on2isely3 as
you never want to tal more than two minutes straight before letting your interviewer ba2
into the 2onversation.
Question 52 'hat do you for when you hire "eo"le)
TRAPS$ Ieing un&re&ared for the .uestion.
!ST A"S#!R$ )&ea your own thoughts here3 but for the best answer weave them around the
three most im&ortant .ualifi2ations for any &osition.
1. ;an the &erson do the wor $.ualifi2ations%?
2. Will the &erson do the wor $motivation%?
3. Will the &erson fit in $(our ind of team &layer*%?
Question 53 Sell me this sta"lerA:this "encilAthis cloc4Aor some other ob#ect on
interviewer=s des4;.
TRAPS$ )ome interviewers3 es&e2ially business owners and hardM2hanging e<e2utives in
maretingMdriven 2om&anies3 feel that good salesmanshi& is essential for any ey &osition
and as for an instant demonstration of your sill. Ie ready.
!ST A"S#!R$ 9f 2ourse3 you already now the most im&ortant se2ret of all great
salesmanshi& " (find out what "eo"le want! then show them how to get it.8
If your interviewer &i2s u& his sta&ler and ass3 (sell this to me3* you are going to
demonstrate this &roven master &rin2i&le. @ere=s how5
(Well3 a good salesman must now both his &rodu2t and his &ros&e2t before he sells
anything. If I were selling this3 I-d first get to now everything I 2ould about it3 all
its features and benefits.*
64 Toughest Questions Page 17
(Then3 if my goal were to sell it you3 I would do some resear2h on how you might use a
fine sta&ler lie this. The best way to do that is by asing some .uestions. @ay I as
you a few .uestions?*
Then as a few .uestions su2h as3 (Qust out of 2uriosity3 if you didn-t already have a
sta&ler lie this3 why would you want one? And in addition to that? Any other reason?
Anything else?*
(And would you want su2h a sta&ler to be reliable?...8old a good su&&ly of sta&les?* $As
more .uestions that &oint to the features this sta&ler has.%
9n2e you-ve ased these .uestions3 mae your &resentation 2iting all the features and
benefits of this sta&ler and why it-s e<a2tly what the interviewer 4ust told you he-s
looing for.
Then 2lose with3 (Qust out of 2uriosity3 what would you 2onsider a reasonable &ri2e for a
.uality sta&ler lie this5a sta&ler you 2ould have right now and would $then re&eat all
the &roblems the sta&ler would solve for him%? Whatever he says3 $unless it-s 6ero%3 say3
(9ay3 we-ve got a deal.*
F9TCH If your interviewer tests you by fighting every ste& of the way3 denying that he
even wants su2h an item3 don=t fight him. Tae the &rodu2t away from him by saying3 (@r.
Aros&e2t3 I-m delighted you-ve told me right u&front that there-s no way you-d ever want
this sta&ler. As you well now3 the first rule of the most &rodu2tive sales&eo&le in any
field is to meet the needs of &eo&le who really need and want our &rodu2ts3 and it 4ust
wastes everyone-s time if we try to for2e it on those who don-t. And I 2ertainly wouldn-t
want to waste your time. Iut we sell many items. Is there any &rodu2t on this des you
would very mu2h lie to own54ust one item?* When he &oints something out3 re&eat the
&ro2ess above. If he nows anything about selling3 he may give you a standing ovation.
Question 54 >The Salary Kuestion8 7 @ow much money do you want)
TRAPS$ @ay also be &hrases as3 >'hat salary are you worth)85or3 >@ow much are you ma4ing
now)8 This is your most im&ortant negotiation. 8andle it wrong and you 2an blow the 4ob
offer or go to wor at far less than you might have gotten.
!ST A"S#!R$ 7or ma<imum salary negotiating &ower3 remember these five guidelinesH
1. Fever bring u& salary. :et the interviewer do it first. Good sales&eo&le sell
their &rodu2ts thoroughly before taling &ri2e. So should you. @ae the interviewer want
you first3 and your bargaining &osition will be mu2h stronger.
2. If your interviewer raises the salary .uestion too early3 before you-ve had a 2han2e
to 2reate desire for your .ualifi2ations3 "ost"one the .uestion3 saying something lie3
(@oney is im&ortant to me3 but is not my main 2on2ern. 9&&ortunity and growth are far
more im&ortant. What I-d rather do3 if you don-t mind3 is e<&lore if I-m right for the
&osition3 and then tal about money. Would that be oay?*
3. The R1 rule of any negotiation isH the side with more information wins. After
you-ve done a thorough 4ob of selling the interviewer and it-s time to tal salary3 the
se2ret is to get the em&loyer taling about what he-s willing to &ay before you reveal
what you=re willing to a22e&t. )o3 when ased about salary3 res&ond by asing3 (I-m sure
the 2om&any has already established a salary range for this &osition. ;ould you tell me
what that is?* 9r3 (I want an in2ome 2ommensurate with my ability and .ualifi2ations. I
trust you-ll be fair with me. What does the &osition &ay?* 9r3 more sim&ly3 (What does
this &osition &ay?*
!. Know beforehand what you-d a22e&t. To now what-s reasonable3 resear2h the 4ob
maret and this &osition for any relevant salary information. Eemember that most
e<e2utives loo for a 20M2#LB &ay boost when they swit2h 4obs. If you-re grossly
under&aid3 you may want more.
#. Fever lie about what you 2urrently mae3 but feel free to in2lude the estimated 2ost
of all your fringes3 whi2h 2ould well ta2 on 2#M#0L more to your &resent (2ashMonly*
salary.
Question 55 The <llegal Kuestion
TRAPS$ Illegal .uestions in2lude any regarding your age5number and ages of your 2hildren
or other de&endents5marital status5maiden name5religion5&oliti2al affiliation5an2estry5
national origin5birth&la2e5naturali6ation of your &arents3 s&ouse or 2hildren5diseases5
disabilities52lubs5or s&ouse-s o22u&ation5unless any of the above are directly related to
your "erformance of the #ob. ?ou 2an-t even be ased about arrests3 though you 2an be
ased about convictions.
!ST A"S#!R$ Gnder the everM&resent threat of lawsuits3 most interviewers are well aware
of these taboos. ?et you may en2ounter3 usually on a se2ond or third interview3 a senior
e<e2utive who doesn-t interview mu2h and forgets he 2an-t as su2h .uestions.
64 Toughest Questions Page 18
?ou 2an handle an illegal .uestion in several ways. 7irst3 you 2an assert your legal right
not to answer. Iut this will frighten or embarrass your interviewer and destroy any
ra&&ort you had.
)e2ond3 you 2ould swallow your 2on2erns over &riva2y and answer the .uestion straight
forwardly if you feel the answer 2ould hel& you. 7or e<am&le3 your interviewer3 a devout
Ia&tist3 re2ogni6es you from 2hur2h and mentions it. 8ere3 you 2ould gain by taling about
your 2hur2h.
Third3 if you don-t want your &riva2y invaded3 you 2an di&lomati2ally answer the concern
behind the .uestion without answering the .uestion itself.
Exam"le5 If you are over #0 and are ased3 (@ow old are you)8 you 2an answer with a
friendly3 smiling .uestion of your own on whether there-s a 2on2ern that your age my
affe2t your &erforman2e. 7ollow this u& by reassuring the interviewer that there-s
nothing in this 4ob you 2an-t do and3 in fa2t3 your age and e<&erien2e are the most
im&ortant advantages you offer the em&loyer for the following reasons5
%nother exam"le5 If ased3 >6o you "lan to have children)8 you 2ould answer3 (I am
wholeheartedly dedi2ated to my 2areer(3 &erha&s adding3 (I have no &lans regarding
2hildren.* $?ou needn-t fear you-ve &ledged eternal 2hildlessness. ?ou have every right
to 2hange your &lans later. Get the 4ob first and then en4oy all your o&tions.%
@ost im&ortantly3 remember that illegal .uestions arise from fear that you won-t &erform
well. The best answer of all is to get the 4ob and &erform brilliantly. All 2on2erns and
fears will then varnish3 re&la2ed by res&e2t and a&&re2iation for your wor.
Question 56 The >Secret8 <llegal Kuestion
TRAPS$ @u2h more fre.uent than the Illegal .uestion :see Kuestion ..; is the sec!et
illegal .uestion. It-s se2ret be2ause it-s ased only in the interviewer-s mind. )in2e
it-s not even e<&ressed to you3 you have no way to res&ond to it3 and it 2an there be most
damaging.
Exam"le5 ?ou-re &hysi2ally 2hallenged3 or a single mother returning to your &rofessional
2areer3 or over #03 or a member of an ethni2 minority3 or fit any of a do6en other
2ategories that do not stri2tly 2onform to the ma4ority in a given 2om&any.
?our interviewer wonders3 (Is this &erson really able to handle the 4ob?*5*Is he or she a
Ogood fit- at a &la2e lie ours?*5*Will the 2hemistry ever be right with someone lie
this?* Iut the interviewer never raises su2h .uestions be2ause they-re illegal. )o what
2an you do?
!ST A"S#!R$ Eemember that 4ust be2ause the interviewer doesn-t as an illegal .uestion
doesn-t mean he doesn-t have it. @ore than liely3 he is going to 2ome u& with his own
answer. )o you might as well hel& him out.
8ow? Well3 you obviously 2an-t res&ond to an illegal .uestion if he hasn-t even ased.
This may well offend him. And there-s always the 2han2e he wasn-t even 2on2erned about
the issue until you brought it u&3 and only then begins to wonder.
)o you 2an-t address (se2ret* illegal .uestions head(on. Iut what you 2an do is mae sure
there-s enough counterbalancing information to more than reassure him that there-s no
&roblem in the area he may be doubtful about.
7or e<am&le3 let-s say you-re a sales re& who had &olio as a 2hild and you need a 2ane to
wal. ?ou now your 2ondition has never im&eded your &erforman2e3 yet you-re 2on2erned
that your interviewer may se2retly be wondering about your stamina or ability to travel.
Well3 mae sure that you hit these abilities very hard3 leaving no doubt about your
2a&a2ity to handle them well.
)o3 too3 if you-re in any different from what &asses for (normal*. @ae sure3 without in
any way seeming defensive about yourself that you mention strengths3 a22om&lishments3
&referen2es and affiliations that strongly 2ounterbalan2e any uns&oen 2on2ern your
interviewer may have.
Question 57 'hat was the toughest "art of your last #ob)
TRAPS$ This is slightly different from the .uestion raised earlier3 >'hat=s the most
difficult "art of being a :#ob titleA;8 be2ause this ass what you "ersonally have found
most diffi2ult in your last &osition. This .uestion is more diffi2ult to redefine into
something &ositive. ?our interviewer will assume that whatever you found toughest may
give you a &roblem in your new &osition.
!ST A"S#!R$ )tate that there was nothing in your &rior &osition that you found overly
diffi2ult3 and let your answer go at that. If &ressed to e<&and your answer3 you 2ould
des2ribe the as&e2ts of the &osition you en#oyed more than others3 maing sure that you
e<&ress ma<imum en4oyment for those tass most im&ortant to the o&en &osition3 and you
en4oyed least those tass that are unim&ortant to the &osition at hand.
64 Toughest Questions Page 19
Question 58 @ow do you define successAand how do you measure u" to your own
definition)
TRAPS$ )eems lie an obvious enough .uestion. ?et many e<e2utives3 un&re&ared for it3
fumble the ball.
!ST A"S#!R$ Give a wellMa22e&ted definition of su22ess that leads right into your own
stellar 2olle2tion of a2hievements.
Exam"le5 (The best definition I-ve 2ome a2ross is that su22ess is the &rogressive
reali6ation of a worthy goal.*
(As to how I would measure u& to that definition3 I would 2onsider myself both su22essful
and fortunate5*$Then summari6e your 2areer goals and how your a2hievements have indeed
re&resented a &rogressive &ath toward reali6ation of your goals.%
Question 59 >The D"inion Kuestion8 7 'hat do you thin4 about A%bortionAThe JresidentA
The 6eath JenaltyA:or any other controversial sub#ect;)
TRAPS$ 9bviously3 these and other (o&inion* .uestions should never be ased. )ometimes
they 2ome u& over a 2ombination dinner=interview when the interviewer has had a drin or
two3 is feeling rela<ed3 and is s&outing off about something that bugged him in today-s
news. If you give your o&inion and it-s the o&&osite of his3 you won-t 2hange his
o&inions3 but you 2ould easily lose the 4ob offer.
!ST A"S#!R$ In all of these instan2es3 4ust remember the tale about student and the wise
old rabbi. The s2ene is a seminary3 where an overly serious student is &ressing the rabbi
to answer the ultimate .uestions of suffering3 life and death. Iut no matter how hard he
&resses3 the wise old rabbi will only answer ea2h diffi2ult .uestion with a .uestion of
his own.
In e<as&eration3 the seminary student demands3 >'hy! rabbi! do you always answer a
uestion with another uestion)8 To whi2h the rabbi res&onds3 >%nd why not)8
If you are ever un2omfortable with any .uestion3 asing a .uestion in return is the
greatest es2a&e hat2h ever invented. It throws the onus ba2 on the other &erson3
sidetra2s the dis2ussion from going into an area of ris to you3 and gives you time to
thin of your answer or3 even better3 your next uestion?
In res&onse to any of the (o&inion* .uestions 2ited above3 merely res&onding3 >'hy do you
as4)8 will usually be enough to dissi&ate any &ressure to give your o&inion. Iut if your
interviewer again &resses you for an o&inion3 you 2an as another .uestion.
9r you 2ould assert a generality that almost everyone would agree with. 7or e<am&le3 if
your interviewer is 2om&laining about &oliti2ians then suddenly turns to you and ass if
you-re a Ee&ubli2an or 1emo2rat3 you 2ould res&ond by saying3 (A2tually3 I-m finding it
hard to find any &oliti2ians I lie these days.*
$9f 2ourse3 your best .uestion of all may be whether you want to wor for someone
o&inionated.%
Question 6 <f you won L*3 million lottery! would you still wor4)
TRAPS$ ?our totally honest res&onse might be3 >@ell! no! are you serious)8 That might be
so3 but any answer whi2h shows you as fleeing wor if given the 2han2e 2ould mae you seem
la6y. 9n the other hand3 if you answer3 >Dh! <=d want to 4ee" doing exactly what < am
doing! only doing it for your firm!8 you 2ould easily ins&ire your interviewer to silently
mutter to himself3 >Yeah! sure. Gimme a brea4.8
!ST A"S#!R$ This ty&e of .uestion is aimed at getting at your bedro2 attitude about
wor and how you feel about what you do. ?our best answer will fo2us on your &ositive
feelings.
Exam"le5 (After I floated down from 2loud nine3 I thin I would still hold my basi2
belief that a2hievement and &ur&oseful wor are essential to a ha&&y3 &rodu2tive life.
After all3 if money alone bought ha&&iness3 then all ri2h &eo&le would be all ha&&y3 and
that-s not true.
(I love the wor I do3 and I thin I-d always want to be involved in my 2areer in some
fashion. Winning the lottery would mae it more fun be2ause it would mean having more
fle<ibility3 more o&tions...who nows?*
(9f 2ourse3 sin2e I 2an-t 2ount on winning3 I-d 4ust as soon 2reate my own destiny by
sti2ing with what-s wored for me3 meaning good old reliable hard wor and a desire to
a2hieve. I thin those .ualities have built many more fortunes that all the lotteries &ut
together.*
Question 61 &oo4ing bac4 on your last "osition! have you done your best wor4)
TRAPS$ Tri2y .uestion. Answer >absolutely8 and it 2an seem lie your best wor is
behind you. Answer3 >no! my best wor4 is ahead of me!8 and it 2an seem as if you didn-t
give it your all.
64 Toughest Questions Page 20
!ST A"S#!R$ To 2over both &ossible &aths this .uestion 2an tae3 your answer should
state that you always try to do your best3 and the best of your 2areer is right now. :ie
an athlete at the to& of his game3 you are 4ust hitting your 2areer stride thans to
several fa2tors. Then3 re2a& those fa2tors3 highlighting your strongest .ualifi2ations.
Question 62 'hy should < hire you from the outside when < could "romote someone from
within)
TRAPS$ This .uestion isn-t as aggressive as it sounds. It re&resents the interviewer-s
own dilemma over this 2ommon &roblem. 8e-s &robably leaning toward you already and for
reassuran2e3 wants to hear what you have to say on the matter.
!ST A"S#!R$ 8el& him see the .ualifi2ations that only you 2an offer.
Exam"le5 (In general3 I thin it-s a good &oli2y to hire from within " to loo outside
&robably means you-re not 2om&letely 2omfortable 2hoosing someone from inside.
Naturally, you want this department to be as strong as it possibly can be, so you want the strongest candidate. I feel that I can fill that
bill because(then recap your strongest qualifications that match up with his greatest needs).
Question 63 Tell me something negative you=ve heard about our com"anyA
TRAPS$ This is a 2ommon fishing e<&edition to see what the industry gra&evine may be
saying about the 2om&any. Iut it-s also a tra& be2ause as an outsider3 you never want to
be the bearer of unflattering news or gossi& about the firm. It 2an only hurt your
2han2es and sidetra2 the interviewer from getting sold on you.
BEST ANSWER: ust remember the rule ! ne"er be negati"e ! and you#ll handle this one $ust fine.
Question 64 Dn a scale of one to ten! rate me as an interviewer.
TRAPS$ Give a &erfe2t (103* and you-ll seem too easy to &lease. Give anything less than
a &erfe2t 103 and he 2ould &ress you as to where you-re being 2riti2al3 and that road
leads downhill for you.
!ST A"S#!R$ 9n2e again3 never be negative. The interviewer will only resent 2riti2ism
2oming from you. This is the time to show your &ositivism.
8owever3 don-t give a numeri2al rating. )im&ly &raise whatever interview style he-s been
using.
If he-s been tough3 say (?ou have been thorough and toughMminded3 the very .ualities
needed to 2ondu2t a good interview.*
If he-s been methodi2al3 say3 (?ou have been very methodi2al and analyti2al3 and I-m sure
that a&&roa2h results in e<2ellent hires for your firm.*
In other words3 &ay him a sin2ere 2om&liment that he can believe be2ause it-s an2hored in
the behavior you-ve 4ust seen.
64 Toughest Questions Page 21