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Interview Questions

The key to interview success is to prepare ahead of time what you are going to say in an interview when a question arises. You will also want to have a list of questions to ask the employer as well. Below is a list of the preparations you should make before an interview:

• Prepare with practice questions an interviewer may ask you.
• Answer these questions ahead of time and get comfortable speaking.
• Prepare questions to ask the interviewer(s).
• Practice your interview skills with a friend.
• Decide what materials you will be bringing with.
• Think about your visual appearance.
• Know exactly where the location of the interview is.

Practice Questions

This is one of the most important tasks that need practicing with. You need to know some common questions that interviewers will normally ask and then practice what you are going to say so you will sound more competent in the interview. Interviewers can tell if you are prepared and it shows what kind of an employee you can be. Below is a common list of questions you should think about that you will find in the body of the interview:

• Tell me about yourself?
• Why did you choose this career field?
• Why do you want to work for our company?
• What do you consider to be your major strengths and weaknesses?
• Why did you choose to apply for this job?
• How do you work under pressure?

In the first question about telling the interviewer about yourself, you should think about things such as sharing basic information about yourself and career. By this, you should keep focus on educational and career related topics, not your hobbies or pets! You should also highlight your resume. This is a great question to sell your skills to the interviewer.

Types of interview questions

The above lists of questions are open questions that permit freedom in the length and nature of a response. Some questions may be closed questions, which restrict response. An example of a closed question is "Describe our company in one word". These are some of the hardest and trickiest questions that require you to pause and think carefully about! You may also be asked to answer bipolar questions, which is a question that limits your options of answer to two choices. I name these type of questions because they can help employers ask certain questions in an interview and the person who is interviewed can recognize what type of question is being asked.

Secondary questions are used to gain more information a response to a primary question such as the ones above. A clearinghouse question can be used to assure that the interviewer has all the information needed. A nudging question is used to motivate further discussion. A reflective question is used to verify information and an informational question is used to clarify a vague answer. If you want to know what questions these would be, a few examples are shown below:

• Clearinghouse Question: Is there anything else you want to tell me?
• Nudging Question: Now what did you do next?
• Reflective Question: So, do you think you'll make it?
• Informational Question: Tell me more about this?

Hypothetical and Behavior based questions

A hypothetical question is used so you can describe how you would handle and behave in a specific situation. A behavioral based question is focused on the applicant's past behavior in specific situations so an employer can get an idea of how you may react in future situations. These are important to think about and answer carefully as the hypothetical questions can simulate how competent you can be in the work place by answering a question quickly and effectively. Examples of these questions are shown below:

• Hypothetical Question: A customer is very angry about not having a repair job done, how would you handle this?
• Behavioral Question: Think of a time when you had to deal with an angry customer. Describe how you handled the situation and what did you do?

In all of the questions, always use real life examples if possible. This not only shows trust but also that you have experienced specific situations. Employers are looking for people with experience, especially working with a wide variety of customer situations. So add in a few stories into some of the open or secondary questions.

Illegal job interview questions

I thought this topic was important enough to discuss because employers and interviewees alike would want to recognize what an illegal question is. The Equal Employment Opportunity Laws (EEO) ensures that people are selected for employment without bias. Employers should describe the skills required for the position, ask questions to related to these skills and ask all candidates the same questions. These are known as bona fide occupational qualification questions which should be asked about skills, education, work experience, physical and personality traits.

An illegal question would be one asked about race, age, gender, religion, physical appearance, disability or citizenship. These are a violation of the EEO laws except in very rare occasions. What should you do when asked an unlawful question? First you should find out how important the position is to you and then weigh how severe the question is. If it is minor, then simply refuse to answer or provide a brief answer. If it is extreme, then not only refuse to answer, but also report the interviewer to a superior or employment agency authority.

Asking the employer questions

The questions that the employer asks you are part of the body of the interview. During the Close of the interview, you will want to start asking questions to your interviewer. Read our article about Interview Outline to get an idea of gauging when the close of the interview is so you can begin asking these questions appropriately. Your employer actually wants you to ask questions because it shows interest in the company and professionalism. These questions can actually help you get off on the right foot if you do land the job at the company. The types of questions that are asked to an interviewer are shown below in examples:

• What is an average work day like?
• What are the future company plans?
• How are employees evaluated?
• How does supervision of interns and employees work?
• What do you like best about working for this company?
• What is the timeline for the hiring process and when can I hear back from you?

If you want to know more about interview questions or to get some advice, don't hesitate to join our very own Career and Job Forums.