What will you contribute to this job?
This job interview question is very similar to “Why should we hire you?” Or, “Why do we want you over the other candidates?” The job interview is a sales process in which you are the product and the hiring manager and company is the buyer. Your salary ... Views: 1404
What do you know about this company?
This is a very typical job interview question. Hiring managers want to know if you’ve done your homework. Have you done any company research?
You would be surprised at how many job candidates can’t answer this question. Other candidates get a basic ... Views: 1401
Alumni Organizations
Alumni organizations are great networking resources for you, which means they are also great resources to help you find a job.
I graduated from the University of Oklahoma, so I have attended many OU alumni functions in Dallas. (Most alumni organizations have groups in ... Views: 1398
Friends / Family / Church
It is so important to talk to your friends, family, and church about your job search situation if for no other reason than they are your support system. The job search is too stressful to carry it on your shoulders alone.
I’ve known job seekers to leave the ... Views: 1397
Previous Co-Workers
People you have worked with in the past are a big networking opportunity for you in your quest to find a new job.
(1) They can pass on job leads to you. People in your career space will naturally hear about job openings and happenings in other companies. If it’s ... Views: 1396
What makes you unique?
What are hiring managers really asking in the job interview when they ask about what makes you unique? Well, they don’t want to know about what makes you special on a personal level. They want to know what makes you unique in relation to the job you’re interviewing ... Views: 1395
How do you evaluate success?
I think the answer to this question has to be related directly to your work. Don’t wax philosophical about what success really is, or what a successful life is all about.
If you go into a philosophical explanation, you’ll knock yourself out of a job. They ... Views: 1391
What do you expect from a supervisor?
Be careful when answering this job interview question. There’s a line to walk. They’re looking to see (1) do you understand the general supervisor/employee relationship, (2) will your style match with your potential new boss, and (3) will you take this ... Views: 1388
Social / Civic Events
Not all social or civic events are hotbeds of job search networking…I’ll give you that one. Networking events are better suited for that. However, I believe that any gathering where someone might ask you, “So what do you do for a living?” is a not-to-be-missed ... Views: 1382
Recruiters
Recruiters can be extremely valuable to your job search. Why? First, they very often have an “in” at some great companies that you don’t…if there’s an opening and the recruiter says, “Hey, this is someone you should look at,” that’s going to carry more weight than if you show up ... Views: 1378
Phone interviews are often the very first step of the interview and hiring process. You’re not likely to get a call to come in and interview without some kind of conversation on the phone first.
How Important Phone Interviews Really Are
Your resume got you the phone call. Now this one ... Views: 1377
Internships / Volunteering
Internships are fantastic. There are more paid internships than ever before, but even unpaid internships can be extremely valuable to you—if you can snag one at a company within your career area.
Some internships are the very formalized set-time programs ... Views: 1372
Networking Events
Do you have a love/hate relationship with networking events? You know how important networking is for your job search and career success. Networking events are specifically set up so you can network and meet new people. That’s a very good thing. Yet, the thought of ... Views: 1371
Industry Organizations
Industry organizations are some of the best job search resources anywhere. These can be fantastic because they are a direct connection for you to people in your field—including potential hiring managers, but that’s not your only benefit here. You can expand your ... Views: 1365
What can you do to make this company better?
There are a million ways for an interviewer to ask “Why should we hire you?” and this is one of them. They want to know what benefits you as an employee are bringing to the table, and it’s right for them to ask. The job interview is where you sell ... Views: 1360
The very best thing about phone interviews is the fact that they can’t see you—which means, you can use as many “cheat sheets” as you want to. So what’s a cheat sheet? Cheat sheets are just what they sound like: Notes that help you do better on the test, which in this case is the phone ... Views: 1357
Career Counseling Centers
There are two types of career counseling centers: college counseling offices and post-graduate work centers. If you’ve gone to college you’re familiar at least with the first kind of career counseling office, but I’d be willing to be that you didn’t especially ... Views: 1351
What do you wish you’d done better?
When you are asked this question in job interview, please be aware that they are referring to your career, not your life. You could say that you wish you’d hired someone to tile your floor instead of doing it yourself, or that you wish you’d planned your ... Views: 1350
What would your friends tell me about you?
This question could also easily be “What would your friends or co-workers tell me about you?” They just want to know what you would say about how other people would describe you.
Asking you about what your friends would tell the interviewer about ... Views: 1333
Does your mind ever wander, even slightly, when you’re on the phone? I think we’re all a little guilty of that…I mean, it’s not like they can see you, so we very often feel a little more freedom to look around the room or even complete another task while we’re on the phone. We’re not as ... Views: 1317