Tough Questions?

Recently there was an article on the trickiest interview questions that seemed to cause candidates some anxiety.

The moderator was Joyce lain Kennedy the author of "Job interviews for dummies". I should note that the article was targeting all job seekers rather than being focused at the executive level. It seems some people would rather plead the 5th before answering these questions but really these types of questions should be embraced as it allows people to see ones true colours.

1. Do you know anyone that works for us?

The best advice is to only mention someone by name if you know that they have an impeccable standing within the organization.

Otherwise, I suggest to generally discuss your familiarity with the company that may or may not span quite a few years.

That way any names that come up could easily be a guy that lived on your street as oppose to your best friend.

The one thing that I have learned is that there is always office politics at every company even when people say that it does not exist. Different factions form in all companies and you may not know to which group that the interviewer is affiliated.

2. Describe a situation where you messed up and what you learned from it?

I am not sure why this is considered a tough question. Everyone makes mistakes and it is what we learned from them that is the key. I have never dismissed someone as a candidate for providing an embarrassing example but I have dismissed someone that gave a poor answer that shows little personal discovery.

3. How do you manage time for interviews?

Reality is that everyone has to interview in order to develop further in their careers. Try to work an interview around your current schedule but if the company insists on a certain time and then asks you this question, it is best to remind them that you had actually preferred another time that better aligned with your work commitments.

Then add that you made an exception because of your genuine interest in the opportunity.

4. Why were you laid off?

The article recommended an answer for this question but I must say that I did not agree with their recommendation.

They suggested the answer. "I don't know. I was an excellent employee who gave more than a day's work for a day's pay". This is what I would consider a brutal answer that does not build any equity.

It is both biased and evasive.

Saying that you don't know is fine but follow it up with something more intelligent regarding your speculation as to why it occurred. (i.e. market conditions, underperforming division, company being sold etc..)

Farewell,

Mike