Page 177 - 101 Dynamite Answers to Interview Questions

170 Nail the Job Interview!

99. What are your salary expectations? (page l33)

100. How soon could you begin work? (page 134)

101. Do you have any questions? (pages 147-155)

Unexpected Questions

You may not be asked any questions beyond the ones outlined in this
book. If the questions you are asked do go beyond these, they will most
likely fall into one of two categories:

rn Specific questions that relate to special knowledge or skulls
required for the job for which you are being considered.

rn Questions that are raised by unusual items or unexplained
gaps or omissions on your resume or application.

Look over your resume. Is there anything that stands out? If you spent
your junior year abroad - not in Paris or Spain - but in Timbultu or your
first job was in Inner Mongolia, these points are likely to raise questions
simply because they are unusual choices. The interviewer is going to be
curious about your experiences as well as whalt these choices say about
you. If you have a two-year unexplained gap in your job history, this gap
is bound to raise the question of what you were doing during this time.
You need to be ready with honest, yet positive answers, that will further
promote your candidacy rather than l~ock you out of the running.
If you have thoughtfully considered your responses and practiced re-
spondingwith the gist of the message you want to convey, these questions
should not throw you. However, if you haven’t given such questions much
thought, your responses are likely to show it.
Few questions should ever be answered with just a ‘3~s~~ or ‘iio.”
Remember to provide examples as often as possible to support the points
you male. If asked by the interviewer whether you are a self-starter you
could simply respond ‘jm. ” However, you will score few points for this
monosyllabic response. It really says nothing e.xcept either that you think
you are a self-starter or you think this is the response the interviewer
wants to hear. But if you follow your ‘’yes77 response with an example or
two of what you did that demonstrates you were a self-starter in your last