Page 39 - 101 Dynamite Answers to Interview Questions

32 Nail the lob Interview!

We’ve talked about some oftlie challenges facing this ofice during the next
two years. What would you want to accomplish during your first 90 days
on the job? Couldyou give me some specEfic changesyou would bring about
immediately?

Wiat kind of personality do you think would work best in this work
environinen t ?

Tell me more aboutyour career goals over the next five to teri years and how
they might relate to this job.

You may tale several minutes responding to each question. And your
response may lead the interviewer into related areas of questioning that
were unplanned. It is this lack of planned structure as well as the lack of
parallel questioning of other applicants that makes some employers
uncomfortable and more likely to use the direct form of questioning.
In the indirect interview you will be at center stage doing most of the
talking. You may feel more at ease during such an interview because you
feel less pressure to come up with the “right answer” to specific questions.
But beware of getting too comfortable; you are still being evaluated even
though you are not answering a series of specific questions most com-
monly identified as the key to the interview process. The interviewer may
be loolung for key analytical, problem-solving, and communication skulls
along with determining your style, personality, and philosophies. In such
a situation, how you answer the questions and converse with the
interviewer may be just as important as what you say. Before responding,
quickly try to determine what the interviewer is trying to assess. Try to
focus your response and answer in an organized, coherent fashion. Be
careful not to ramble in an unfocused stream of consciousness.

Stress

Although most interviews seem stressful to job applicants, fortunately for
you, few interviewers actually put candidates through a stress interview.
But since you could encounter one, you need to Iaow what one is so you
would recognize it and keep your composure if ever you are subjected to
one.
Stress interviews may be conducted by one person or a panel of
interviewers who fire numerous questions at the candidate. The inter-