First question generally asked by interviewers may be: Tell us about yourself?

They do not invite you to ramble on. If you have broad background, you need to know more about the question before giving an answer. You may tell them, "I have been involved in many projects in different areas (you need to tell them exactly the projects you have experienced in which areas). Is any particular aspect of my background that you would like to know more?"

The story you tell should be relevant to the job selective criteria. You need to remind the job interviewer that you have right skills for the position, you have quality to fit in the company’s culture and you work diligently.

An example to show and tell of your skills, your personal quality and your work style would be supportive and more persuasive.

It is very common for any employers to ask you Why are you leaving your job?

You need to strategically answer this question. You may have encountered problems with your previous or current bosses or colleges; however, you need to present youself from the positive side. Otherwise the potential employer may think you would have problems with your future boss or colleges.

The following answers are reasonable, and one of them may suit you.

1. I have felt bored with the current work and looking for more challenges. I am an excellent employee and I didn't want my unhappiness to have any impact on the job I was doing for my employer.
2. It is very hard for growth with my current employer (tell interviewer why: e.g. you would like expose to larger projects) and I would like to find a new challenge.
3. I'm relocating to this area to save time spent on travelling.
4. I've decided that is not the direction I want to go in my career and my current employer has no opportunities in the direction I'd like to head.
5. I have been with current employer for (how many) years, I'm looking for a company where I can contribute and grow in a team-oriented environment.
6. I would like to expose myself to xx area (you need to do some homework to find out what areas the company works on) and an opportunity to fully use my technical skills and experience in a different capacity than I have in the past.
7. I am interested in a job with more responsibility, and I am ready for a new challenge.
8. To be honest, I wasn't considering a move, but, this job and your company have intrigued me. It sounds like an exciting opportunity and an ideal match with my skills, personal quality and qualifications.
9. This position seemed like an excellent match for my skills and experience and I am not able to fully utilize them in my present job.


Most of managers or bosses want to know if you can cope well with work stress or pressure. Very often they would ask you Tell me about your ability to work under pressure?

Throughout my career in the (what) industry I have always been able to demonstrate a high level of control even when placed under pressure.

For example when employed by (a company), I am sometime in a situation to have urgent project in, and only have very short period to complete it. During these busy times was able to categorize requests as either 'urgent' or 'non-urgent' and act them accordingly.

I have been able to develop a means of prioritizing tasks so that my workload remains manageable.

It is common for a future employer to ask you How do you delegate responsibility?

This is the question the future employer would know if you are a team player. You can give an example about how you involved everyone in projects that were successful because of your team effort.

Another common question is Why should I hire you?

Assume that you have done your research about the company, industry and position. You can summarise why your skills match the job's requirments, plus some areas that the company offers and you have attended short couses, you would like to be practically invovled in. Express you are competitive and like challenge. Be sure of yourself and enthusiastic.

It’s very important for you to ask questions during or at the end of interview. At the end of the interview, the interviewers generally invite you to ask questions, “Now, do you have any questions?”

How much and what do you know may decide if you will be an employee, or a job seeker. If you fail to ask a few intelligent questions, you leave impressions of that you have no interests on the job and the company, you are not intelligent or you are bored or boring. You will be destined to remain a job seeker.

Therefore, before going to an interview, you need to search the company’s web site to understand the company’s services, goals, senior people, and more… You need to show the interviewers your interests on the company’s services, and tell them what you can contribute towards to the company’s goals.

Also, a couple of feedback questions will do you good. You really want to know how much chance you would be offered the position. You can ask “do you have any concerns about my experience and skills to do the job and fit in?”

Also you can ask a further question like “How do you compare me with other candidates you have interviewed?”

You can ask more questions if they do not show you to wrap us the interview soon.

Good luck!

Kate has posted a interview question at Better Education forum, and I would like your guys to share her successes.

Kate: In my job interview experience, most employers at these days like to ask you about salary range early on. The most important thing is to avoid this question for as long as possible. Ideally, you don’t want to talk about money until you’ve been offered the job. The potential employers may think you are too expensive. I would leave this question to my job recruiter. If your interview is not through a job recruiter, you can say “I’d like to discuss specifics about salary and conditions once we’re further along the track”

Bear in mind, it is really important for you to ask some smart questions. Please do not mechanically memorise the questions, you need to understand the logic of how to ask questions: what you should ask, and what you should avoid to ask. You can learn this logic from other people’s experience or books. When ask questions, using the right logic together with relevant content of the conversation between you and your interviewers.

It is climate of financial crisis, and only few jobs are still there. Competitive and challenge, but you will win!

Good luck.

Bear in mind, if be asked "Tell me about yourself", just introduce yourself and emphasise your strength. You may think "you have my CV in front of you, why don't you read it" however, don't say that. Just answer the question.

Also, your personal presentation and general hygeine are as important as answering interview questions. Guard on all the time during any interviews to show the interviewer you're a professional.

Before answering any questions, think for a while to show them you're seriously wanting the job.

good luck to all of you.

Hi,

Thanks very much for this comment. It help me to think about my ideals.

Apart from that, this link below may be useful: Administrative interview questions
Tks again and pls keep posting.

Hi

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