1.
"Tell me about
yourself..."
Be prepared to talk for two
minutes about yourself. Be logical. Start anywhere, such as high school,
college or your first professional position. The interviewer is trying to
evaluate your communication skills and linear thinking. You may try to score a
point or two by describing a major personal attribute.
2.
"Why are you leaving your
current position?"
This is a very critical question.
Don't bad mouth your previous employer or co-workers or sound too
opportunistic. It's fine to mention major problems, a buy-out or a shutdown.
You may want to state that after long personal consideration, your chance to
make a contribution is very low due to extensive company-wide changes.
3.
"What do you consider your
most significant accomplishment?"
A good answer to this question
can get you the job. Prepare extensively—discuss hard work, long hours,
pressure and important company issues at stake. You may want to tell a two
minute detailed story, discussing personal involvement.
4.
"Why do you believe you are
qualified for this position?"
Pick two or three main factors
about the job and about yourself that are most relevant. Discuss for two
minutes, including specific details. You may mention a technical skill, a management
skill and/or a personal success story.
5.
"Have you ever accomplished
something you didn't think you could?"
The interviewer is trying to
determine your goal orientation, work ethic, personal commitment and integrity.
Prepare a good example where you overcame difficulties and succeeded. Prove
that you're not a quitter.
6.
"What do you like/dislike
most about your current or last position?"
The interviewer is trying to
determine compatibility with the open position. Be careful; don't say you
dislike overtime, like management, or get too detailed. It's safe to say that
you like challenges, pressure situations, opportunities to grow, or that you
dislike bureaucracy and frustrating situations.
7.
"How do you handle pressure?
Do you like or dislike these situations?"
High achievers tend to perform
well in high-pressure situations. Conversely, these questions could imply that
the open position is pressure-packed and out of control. Know what you're
getting into. If you do perform well under stress, provide a good, detailed
example. Be descriptive.
8.
"The sign of a good employee
is the ability to take initiative. Can you describe a situation where you
did this?"
The proactive, results-oriented person doesn't have
to be told what to do. To convince the interviewer you possess this trait, give
a series of short examples describing your self-motivation. Discuss one example
in-depth, describing the extra effort, your strong work ethic
and your creative, resourceful side.
and your creative, resourceful side.
9.
"What was the
worst/most embarrassing situation of your career? How would you have done
things differently with 20/20 hindsight?"
Your interviewer wants to know
how introspective you are, and to see if you can learn from your mistakes.
Don't be afraid to talk candidly about your failures, especially if you learned
something significant from them.
10.
"How have you grown or
changed over the past few years?"
Maturation, increased technical
skills and increased self-confidence are important developmental aspects. To
discuss these effectively is indicative of a well-balanced, intelligent
individual. Overcoming personal obstacles or recognising manageable weaknesses
can help identify you as an approachable and desirable employee.
11.
"What do you consider
your most significant strength?"
Know your key five or six strengths—the
ones most compatible with the job opening. Discuss each with specific examples.
Don't include your management or interpersonal skills unless you can describe
specific examples of good management, or how your relationship skills have been
critical to your success.
12.
"Deadlines, frustrations,
difficult people and silly rules can make a job difficult. How do you handle
these types of situations?"
Most companies, unfortunately,
face these problems daily. If you can't deal with petty problems, you'll be seen
as uncooperative. How you overcome these are important. Diplomacy, perseverance
and common sense will prevail in difficult circumstances.
13.
"One of our biggest problems
is… What has been your experience with this? How would you deal with it?"
Think on your feet. Ask questions
to get more details and break the problem into subsections. It is highly likely
that you will have had some experience dealing with the subsections. Answer
these and summarise the total. If you can't answer directly, state how you would
go about solving the problem. Be specific and show your organisational and
analytical skills.
14.
"How has your technical
ability been important in accomplishing results?"
A potential employee needs a
strong level of technical competence. Most strong managers have good technical
backgrounds. Describe specific examples of your technical abilities, and how
you resolved a technical issue.
15.
"How would you handle a
situation with tight deadlines, low employee morale and inadequate
resources?"
Your interviewer is looking for
strong management skills. You need to be creative and describe your toughest
management task, even if it doesn't meet all the criteria. Most situations
don't. Organisational and interpersonal skills, handling pressure and good
handling of this question are indicative of effective management skills.
16.
"Are you satisfied with your
career to date? What would you change if you could?"
Be honest. The interviewer wants
to know if you'll be happy. Are you willing to make some sacrifices to get your
career on the right track? Your degree of motivation is an important selection
factor.
17.
"What are your career goals?
Where do you see yourself five or ten years from now?"
Be realistic! Pie-in-the-sky
goals label you as immature. One or two management jumps in 3-5 years is a
reasonable goal. If your track record indicates you're in line for senior
management in 10 years, then mention it. If you've had a rocky road, be
introspective.
18.
"Why should we hire you for
this position? What kinds of contributions would you make?"
This is a good chance to
summarise. By now, you should know the key problems. Restate and show how you
would address them. Don't be arrogant—instead demonstrate a thoughtful,
organised and strong attitude.
Tugas Mata Kuliah Bahasa Inggris, Dra. Risnawati, M.Pd.
