HowtoAnswer

The64Toughest
Int
erv
iew
Quest
ions
THISBOOKISDESIGNEDTOPROVI DEACCURATEINFORMATI
ONONTHESUBJECTS
COVERED.HOWEVER,ITISDONEWI THTHEUNDERSTANDINGTHATTHEPUBLI SHERI
S
NOTENGAGEDI NRENDERINGLEGAL,ACCOUNTINGORPROFESSIONALSERVI
CES.IF
LEGALADVICEOROTHERPROFESSI ONALASSSTANCEISREQUI
RED,THESERVICESOFA
COMPETENT,PROFESSIONALPERSONSHOUI DBESOUGHT.ANYNAMESUSEDI NTHE
TEXTAREFICTI
TIOUSANDFORI LLUSTRATI
VEPURPOSESONLY.ANYRESEMBLANCETO
ACTUALPERSONSORCOMPANI ESISPURELYCOINCI
DENTALANDUNINTENTIONAL.
 Dedi
cat
ion:
Thi
sreportisdedi
catedtocourageandknowledge,
thetwoqualit
iesmostneeded
t
osucceedi nanyhumanchal l
enge,
especi
all
yaj obsear
ch.
 Tabl
eofCont
ent
s

Gener
alGuidelinesi nAnswer ingI nt erv i
ewQuest ions 3
Q1 Tellmeabouty our sel f
. 5
Q2 Whatar ey ourgr eat estst rengt hs? 6
Q3 Whatar ey ourgr eat estweaknesses? 6
Q4 Tellmeaboutsomet hingy oudi dorf ail
edt odot hatyounowf eelalit
tl
e
ashamedof . 7
Q5 Whyar ey oul eav ing( ordi dy oul eav e)t hispositi
on? 8
Q6 The SilentTr eat ment 9
Q7 Whyshoul dIhi rey ou? 9
Q8 Arenty ouov erqual ifiedf ort hi
sposi t
ion? 10
Q9 Wher edoy ouseey our selff ivey ear sf rom now? 11
Q10 Descr i
bey ouri deal company ,locat ionandj ob. 12
Q11 Whydoy ouwantt owor katourcompany ? 12
Q12 Whatar ey ourcar eeropt i
onsr i
ghtnow? 12
Q13 Whyhav ey oubeenoutofwor ksol ong? 13
Q14 Tellmehonest l
yaboutt hest r
ongpoi ntsandweakpoi ntsofyourboss
(company ,managementt eam, et c.) 13
Q15 Whatgoodbookshav ey our eadl ately ? 14
Q16 Tellmeaboutasi tuat i
onwheny ourwor kwascr iti
cized. 14
Q17 Whatar ey ourout si dei nter est? 15
Q18 The Fat al Flawquest ion 15
Q19 Howdoy ouf eel aboutr epor ti
ngt oay oungerper son( minori
ty,
woman, et
c)?
16
Q20 Onconf ident i
al mat ters 16
Q21 Woul dy oul iefort hecompany ? 17
Q22 Lookingback, whatwoul dy oudodi ff
er entlyinyourl i
fe? 17
Q23 Couldy ouhav edonebet teri ny ourl astj ob? 18
Q24 Cany ouwor kunderpr essur e? 18
Q25 Whatmakesy ouangr y? 18
Q26 Whyar en ty ouear ni ngmor emoneyatt hi
sst ageofy ourcareer? 19
Q27 Whohasi nspi redy oui ny ourl ifeandwhy ? 19
Q28 Whatwast het oughestdeci siony ouev erhadt omake? 20
Q29 Tellmeaboutt hemostbor ingj oby ouv eeverhad. 20
Q30 Havey oubeenabsentf r
om wor kmor et hanaf ewday sinanypreviouspositi
on?
20
Q31 Whatchangeswoul dy oumakei fy oucameonboar d? 21
Q32 I
m concer nedt haty oudon thav easmuchexper ienceaswe dli
kein 21
Q33 Howdoy ouf eel aboutwor kingni ght sandweekends? 22
Q34 Arey ouwi llingt or el ocat eort rav el? 23
Q35 Doy ouhav et hest omacht of i
repeopl e?Hav eyouhadexper i
encef i
ri
ngmany
people? 23
Q36 Whyhav ey ouhadsomanyj obs? 24
Q37 Whatdoy ouseeast hepr operr ol e/mi ssionof agood( j
obti
tl
ey our
e
seeking) ;agoodmanager ;anexecut i
vei nservingthecommuni ty;a
l
eadingcompanyi nouri ndust ry; etc. 25

64ToughestQuest
ions Page1
Q38 Whatwoul dy ousayt oy ourbossi fhe scr azyaboutani dea, butyouthi
nki t
sti
nks? 25
Q39 Howcoul dy ouhav ei mpr ovedy ourcar eerpr ogr ess? 26
Q40 Whatwoul dy oudoi faf ellowexecut iveony ourowncor poratelev
elwasnt
pull
inghi s/ herwei ght andt hiswashur ti
ngy ourdepar tment ? 26
Q41 Youv ebeenwi thyourf i
rm al ongt ime.Won ti
tbehar dswi tchi
ngtoanew
company ? 27
Q42 MayIcont acty ourpr esentempl oyerf orar eference? 27
Q43 Givemeanexampl eofy ourcr eati
v it
y( anal yti
cal skill
managi ngabil
i
ty,etc.
)
28
Q44 Wher ecoul dy ouusesomei mpr ovement ? 28
Q45 Whatdoy ouwor r
yabout ? 28
Q46 Howmanyhour saweekdoy ounor mal l
ywor k? 28
Q47 What st hemostdi f fi
cul tpar tofbei nga( jobt it
le) ? 29
Q48 The Hy pot heticalPr oblem 29
Q49 Whatwast het oughestchal lengey ouveev erfaced? 29
Q50 Hav ey ouconsi derst art
ingy ourownbusi ness? 30
Q51 Whatar ey ourgoal s? 31
Q52 Whatdoy ouf orwheny ouhi repeopl e? 31
Q53 Sellmet hisst apler( thispenci l
thi sclockorsomeot herobj ecton
i
nter viewer
sdesk) . 31
Q54 TheSal ar yQuest i
onHowmuchmoneydoy ouwant ? 33
Q55 TheI ll
egal Quest i
on 33
Q56 The Secr etIll
egal Quest i
on 34
Q57 Whatwast het oughestpar tofy ourl astj ob? 35
Q58 Howdoy oudef i
nesuccessandhowdoy oumeasur eupt oy ourown
definition? . 35
Q59 TheOpi nionQuest ionWhatdoy out hinkaboutAbor t
ionThe
President TheDeat hPenal ty(oranyot hercont roversialsubject)
? 36
Q60 Ifyouwon$10mi l
lionl ottery,woul dy oust ill
wor k? 36
Q61 Looki ngbackony ourl astposi ti
on, hav ey oudoney ourbestwor k? 37
Q62 Whyshoul dIhi rey ouf rom t heout sidewhenIcoul dpromot esomeonef rom
within? 37
Q63 Tellmesomet hingnegat ivey ouvehear daboutourcompany 38
Q64 Onascal eofonet ot en, ratemeasani nterviewer . 38

64ToughestQuest
ions Page2
 Gener
alGui
del
ines
i
nAnsweri
ngInt
erv
iewQuest
ions
Ev
eryonei
snervousoni
nter
views.Ifyousi
mplyal
lowyour
selft
ofeel
nervous,
you'
l
ldo
muchbett
er.Rememberal
sot hati
t'
sdif
fi
cul
tfort
heint
erv
ieweraswell
.

I
ngener
al,
beupbeatandposi
ti
ve.Nev
erbenegat
ive.

Rehear
sey
ouranswer
sandt
imet
hem.Nev
ert
alkf
ormor
ethan2mi
nut
esst
rai
ght
.

Don'ttryt
omemor izeanswer swor df
orword.Usetheanswer sshownhereasaguide
only
, anddon'
tbeaf r
aidt
oi ncludeyourownthoughtsandwor ds.Tohel
py ouremember
keyconcepts,j
otdownandr eviewafewkeywor dsforeachanswer.Rehearseyour
answer sf
requent
ly,andtheywi ll
cometoyounat ur
all
yinint
ervi
ews.

Asyouwillr
eadi
ntheaccompany i
ngrepor
t,thesi
ngl
emostimportantst
rategyin
i
nter
viewi
ng,asi
nallphasesofyourj
obsearch,i
swhatwecall
:"TheGreatestExecut
ive
JobFindi
ngSecr
et.
"Andt hati
s..
.

Fi
ndoutwhatpeopl
ewant
,thanshowt
hem howyoucanhel
pthem geti
t.

Fi
ndoutwhatanemployerwant
smosti
nhi
sorheri
deal
candi
dat
e,t
henshowhowy
ou
meett
hosequal
if
icat
ions.

Inotherwords,
youmustmat chyourabi
l
iti
es,wit
ht heneedsoftheemployer.Youmust
sel
lwhatthebuyerisbuyi
ng.Todothat,
beforeyouknowwhatt oemphasizeinyour
answers,y
oumustf i
ndoutwhatthebuyerisbuying..
.whatheislooki
ngfor.Andthe
bestwaytodot hati
stoaskafewquestionsyourself
.

Youwi l
lseehowt obringthi
soffskil
lfull
yasy oureadthefi
rsttwoquesti
onsofthi
s
report
.Butregardl
essofhowy ouaccompl ishit
,youmustremembert hi
sstr
ategyabove
all
:beforebl
urti
ngoutyourqualif
icat
ions, youmustgetsomei deaofwhattheemployer
wantsmost .Oncey ouknowwhathewant s,youcanthenpresenty
ourquali
fi
cati
onsas
theperfect
keythatfi
tsthel
ockoft hatposit
ion.

Otherimport
antint
ervi
ewst rategi
es:
Turnweaknessesintostrengths(You'
l
lseehowtodot hi
sinaf
ewmoment
s.)
Thinkbefor
ey ouanswer.Apauset ocoll
ecty
ourthought
sisahal
l
mar
kofa
thoughtf
ulper
son.

Asadai l
yexer cise,pr
acti
cebei ngmor eoptimist
ic.Forexampl e,
tryputti
ngapositi
ve
spi
nonev entsandsi t
uationsy ouwouldnor mall
yregardasnegat ive.Thi
sisnotmeant
toturnyouintoaPol l
yanna, butt
osharpeny oursell
ingskil
ls.Thebestsalespeopl
e,as
wellasthebestl ikedint
erviewcandidates,comeof fasbeingnat ur
allyopti
mist
ic,
"can
do"people.Youwi l
ldramaticall
yrai
sey ourlev
elofat t
ract
ivenessbydai l
ypract
ici
ngto
bemor eopt i
mi sti
c.

Behonest
..
.nev
erl
i
e.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page3
Keepanint
ervi
ewdi ary.Ri
ghtaft
ereachi
nter
viewnotewhaty oudi
dright,
whatcoul
d
havegonealit
tl
ebet t
er,andwhatstepsy
oushouldtakenextwitht
hiscontact
.Then
taket
hosesteps.Don'tbeli
kethe95%ofhumanitywhosayt heywil
lfol
lowupon
somethi
ng,butneverdo.

Aboutt
he64quest
ions.
..

Youmi ghtfeelthatt
heanswer st ot
hef oll
owingquest i
onsare canned ,
andt hatthey
wil
l sel dom mat chupwi t
htheexactwayy ouar easkedthequest ionsi nact ual
i
nter views.Thequest ionsandanswer sar edesignedtobeasspeci ficandr ealist
icas
possi ble.Butnopr eparat
ioncanant i
cipatethousandsofpossi blev ari
at i
onsont hese
quest ions.What 'si
mpor t
anti
st hatyout horoughlyfamil
iar
izeyour selfwi t
ht hemai n
str
at egi esbehindeachanswer .Anditwi l
lbeinv al
uabletoyouify oucommi ttomemor y
afewkeywor dsthatletyoui
nstantl
ycal ltomindy ourbestanswert ot hevar i
ous
quest ions.Ifyoudot his,
andfollowthepr i
nciplesofsuccessful i
nterviewingpr esented
here, you'regoingtodov erywell.

Goodl
uck.
..
andgoodj
ob-
hunt
ing!

64ToughestQuest
ions Page4
Quest
ion1 Tel
lmeaboutyour
sel
f.
TRAPS:Bewar e,about80%ofallint
ervi
ewsbeginwi t
hthi
si
nnocent
questi
on.Many
candi
dat
es,unpreparedforthequesti
on,skewerthemsel
vesbyrambl
ing,
recappi
ngthei
r
l
ifest
ory
,delv
ingi nt
oancientworkhist
oryorpersonalmat
ter
s.

BESTANSWER:St ar
twit
hthepresentandt el
lwhyyouarewell
quali
fi
edfortheposit
ion.
Rememberthatt
hekeytoal
lsuccessfulint
erv
iewi
ngistomatchyourqual
if
icati
onsto
whatt
heint
ervi
eweri
slooki
ngfor.I
not herwordsyoumustsel
lwhatthebuyerisbuyi
ng.
Thi
sist
hesi
ngl
emosti
mpor
tantst
rat
egyi
njobhunt
ing.

So,befor
eyouanswerthisoranyquest
ionit
'si
mperat
ivet
haty
out
ryt
ouncov
ery
our
i
ntervi
ewer'
sgr
eatestneed,want
,probl
em orgoal
.

Todoso,
makey
out
aket
heset
wost
eps:

1.Doal lthehomewor kyoucanbef or

et hei nterviewtouncov erthisperson'
swant s
andneeds( nott hegener al
izedneedsoft hei ndustryorcompany )
2.Asear lyasy oucani nthei
nter
view,askf oramor ecompl etedescr i
pti
onofwhat
theposi t
ionent ails.Youmi ghtsay :
Ihav eanumberofaccompl i
shment sI
'dl
ike
tot el
lyouabout , butIwantt omaket hebestuseofourt i
met oget herandtal
k
directl
ytoy ourneeds.Tohel pmedo, that,coul dyoutel
lmemor eaboutthe
mosti mpor tantpr iori
ti
esofthisposition?Al l IknowiswhatI( heardfrom t
he
recruit
er,readint hecl assi
fi
edad, etc.)

Then,ALWAYSf ol
low-upwi t
hasecondandpossibly,
thi
rdquest
ion,t
odrawouthis
needsevenmor e.Surpri
singl
y ,
it'
susual
l
yt ssecondort
hi hi
rdquesti
onthatunear
ths
whattheint
erv
iewerismostl ookingf
or.

Youmightasksimply
,"Andinaddit
iontot
hat
?..
."or
,"I
sther
eany
thi
ngel
sey
ouseeas
essent
ial
tosuccessinthi
sposi
tion?:

Thisprocesswil
lnotfeeleasyornat ur
alatfi
rst
,becauseiti
seasiersi
mpl ytoanswer
questi
ons,butonlyi
fyouuncov ertheempl oy
er'
swant sandneedswi l
lyouranswers
maket hemostsense.Practiceaskingthesekeyquestionsbef
oregivi
ngy ouranswer
s,
theprocesswil
lfeel
mor enat ur
alandyouwi l
lbelightyear
saheadoft heotherj
ob
candi
datesyou'r
ecompet ingwith.

Afteruncover
ingwhattheempl oyerislooki
ngfor,
describewhytheneedsoft hisjob
bearstri
kingparal
l
elst
otasksy ou'vesucceededatbefore.Besuretoil
l
ust r
atewith
specif
icexamplesofyourresponsibil
it
iesandespecial
lyyourachi
evements,allofwhich
aregearedtopresenty
ourselfasaper fectmatchfortheneedshehasj ustdescri
bed.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page5
Quest
ion2 Whatar
eyourgr
eat
estst
rengt
hs?
TRAPS:Thi
squest
ionseemsl i
keasoft
bal
llob,
butbepr
epar
ed.Youdon'twantt
o
comeacr
ossasegoti
sti
calorarr
ogant
.Nei
theri
sthi
sati
metobehumbl e.

BESTANSWER:Youknowt hatyourkeyst
rat
egyistofi
rstuncov
eryourint
erv
iewer'
s
great
estwantsandneedsbef
oreyouanswerquesti
ons.Andfrom Quest
ion1,youknow
howtodot hi
s.

Pr
iortoanyinter
view,youshouldhaveali
stment al
lypr
epar
edofy
ourgr eat
est
st
rengths.Youshouldalsohave,aspeci
fi
cexampl eort
wo,whi
chil
lust
rateseach
st
rength,anexamplechosenfrom yourmostrecentandmosti
mpressi
veachievement
s.

Youshould,hav
ethisl
istofyourgr
eatestst
rengt
hsandcorr
espondi
ngexamplesf
rom
yourachi
evementssowel l
commi t
tedtomemor ythaty
oucanreci
tet
hem col
daft
er
beingshakenawakeat2:30AM.

Then,onceyouuncov
eryourint
ervi
ewer'
sgreat
estwantsandneeds,
youcanchoose
thoseachi
evementsf
rom yourl
istt
hatbestmatchup.

Asageneral
guidel
i
ne,
the10mostdesi
rabl
etr
ait
sthatal
lempl
oyer
slov
etoseei
nthei
r
empl
oyeesare:

1. Apr
ovent
rackr
ecor
dasanachi
ever
..
.especi
all
yifyourachi
evement
smat
ch
upwi
tht
heempl
oyer
'sgr
eat
estwant
sandneeds.
2. Intelli
gence...management" savv y"
.
3. Honest y..
.i
ntegri
ty.
..
adecenthumanbei ng.
4. Goodf itwithcorporatecul t
ure...
someonet ofeel
comfort
ablewit
h..
.at
eam
play erwhomesheswel l wit
hi ntervi
ewer'
steam.
5. Likeabi l
ity.
..
posit
iveatti
tude. .
.senseofhumor .
6. Goodcommuni cati
onski ll
s.
7. Dedi cation..
.wil
l
ingnesst owal kt heext
rami l
etoachi
eveexcel
l
ence.
8. Def ini
tenessofpur pose. .
.cl
eargoal s.
9. Ent husiasm. .
.hi
ghlevel ofmot i
vati
on.
10. Conf i
dent..
.heal
thy..
.aleader .

Quest
ion3 Whatar
eyourgr
eat
estweaknesses?
TRAPS:Beware-t
hisi
saneliminat
orquesti
on,
desi
gnedt
oshort
enthecandi
dat
eli
st.
Anyadmissi
onofaweaknessorfaul
twil
learny
ouanAf
orhonest
y,butan
Ff
orthe
i
nter
view.

PASSABLEANSWER:Di
sgui
seast
rengt
hasaweakness.

Exampl
e:
Isomet
imespushmypeopl
etoohar
d.Il
i
ket
owor
kwi
thasenseofur
gency
andev
ery
onei
snotal
way
sont
hesamewav
elengt
h.

Dr
awback:Thi
sst
rat
egyi
sbet
tert
hanadmi
tt
ingaf
law,
buti
t'
ssowi
del
yused,
iti
s

64ToughestQuest
ions Page6
 t
ranspar
entt
oanyexper
iencedi
nter
viewer
.

BESTANSWER:( andanotherreasoni
t'
ssoimpor tanttogetathoroughdescr i
ptionof
youri
nt er
viewer
'sneedsbeforeyouanswerquestions):Assuretheinter
viewerthatyou
canthinkofnothingthatwouldstandi
nthewayofy ourperfor
mi nginthi
spositionwit
h
excel
lence.Then,qui
cklyrevi
ewy oust
rongestqualif
icat
ions.

Exampl
e:
Nobody
'sper
fect
,butbasedonwhaty
ou'
vet
oldmeaboutt
hisposi
ti
on,
I
beli
eveI
'dmakeanout st
andi
ngmat ch.Iknowt hatwhenIhir
epeople,
Ilookfortwo
thi
ngsmostofal l
.Dot heyhavet hequali
ficat
ionstodothejobwell
,andthemot i
vati
on
todoitwell
?Ev ery
thinginmybackgr oundshowsIhav eboththequali
fi
cati
onsanda
str
ongdesir
et oachi eveexcell
enceinwhat ev
erItakeon.SoIcansayinallhonestythat
Iseenothi
ngt hatwoul dcausey ouev enasmal lconcer
naboutmyabi l
it
yormyst rong
desir
etoperformt hisjobwithexcell
ence.

Al
ter
nat
est
rat
egy(
ify
oudon'
tyetknowenoughaboutt
heposi
ti
ont
otal
kaboutsucha
perf
ectfit
):
Inst
eadofconfessi
ngaweakness,descr
ibewhatyouli
kemostandl ikeleast,
making
surethatwhatyoul
ikemostmatchesupwi t
hthemostimportantquali
fi
cationfor
successintheposi
ti
on,
andwhaty ouli
keleasti
snotessent
ial
.

Exampl
e:Let
'ssayy
ou'
reappl
yi
ngf
orat
eachi
ngposi
ti
on.
Ifgi
venachoi
ce,
Ili
ket
o
spendasmucht i
measpossi bl
einfrontofmypr ospectssel
l
ing,asopposedto
shuff
li
ngpaperworkbackattheof
fice.Ofcourse,Ilongagolear
nedt heimpor
tanceof
fi
li
ngpaperworkpr
operly
,andIdoitconscient
iously
.ButwhatIreall
ylovetodoissel
l(i
f
youri
nter
viewerwereasalesmanager,thi
sshouldbemusi ctohisears.)

Quest
ion4 Tellmeaboutsomet
hingyoudi
dorfai
l
edt
odo
thatyounowfeelal
i
ttl
eashamedof
.
TRAPS:Ther earesomequesti
onsy ourint
erviewerhasnobusi
nessasking,andthi
sis
one.Butwhileyoumayfeell
ikeanswering,noneofyourbusi
ness,
natural
l
yy oucan
t.
Somei nt
ervi
ewersaskt
hisquesti
onont hechancey ouadmittosomething,buti
fnot,
at
l
eastthey
ll
seehowy outhi
nkony ourfeet.

Someunpr epar
edcandidat
es,fl
ust
eredbyt hi
squesti
on,unbur
denthemsel
vesofgui
lt
fr
om thei
rpersonal
li
feorcareer
,perhapsexpressi
ngregret
sregar
dingapar
ent
,spouse,
chi
ld,
etc.Allsuchanswerscanbedi sast
rous.

BESTANSWER:Aswi t
hfault neverconf
sandweaknesses, essar
egr
et.Butdon
tseem
asify
ou
rest
onewal
l
ingeit
her.

Bestst
rat
egy:Sayyouhar
bornor
egr
ets,
thenaddapr
inci
pleorhabi
tyoupr
act
ice
r
egul
arl
yforheal
thyhumanr
elat
ions.

Exampl
e:Pausef
orr
efl
ect
ion,
asi
fthequest
ionnev
eroccur
redt
oyou.Thensay
,You
know,Ir
eal
lycan
tthi
nkofanyt
hing.
(Pauseagai
n,t
henadd)
:Iwouldaddthatasa
gener
almanagementpri
nci
ple,
I
vefoundthatt
hebestwayt
oav oi
dregret
sistoavoi
d

64ToughestQuest
ions Page7
 causingthem inthefi
rstplace.Ipr act
iceonehabitt
hathelpsmeagr eatdealinthi
s
regard.Attheendofeachday ,Imentall
yrevi
ewtheday
seventsandconversati
onsto
takeasecondl ookatthepeopl eanddev elopmentsI
mi nvol
vedwit
handdoa
doublecheckofwhatt hey
relikelytobefeeli
ng.Somet i
mesI
l
lseethi
ngsthatdoneed
mor efol
low-up,whetherapatont heback,ormaybeaf iveminut
echatinsomeones
offi
cetomakesur ewereclearont hi
ngswhatever.

Ial
soliketomakeeachper sonf eell
ikeamemberofanel i
teteam, li
ketheBoston
Celti
csorLALaker si ntheirprime.Ivefoundt hatifyouleteacht eam memberknow
youexpectexcellenceint heirperfor
mancei fy ouwor khardtosetanexampl e
yoursel
fandi fy
oul etpeopleknowy ouappr eciateandr especttheirfeel
i
ngs,y
ouwi nd
upwi t
hahi ghlymotivatedgr oup,ateam that
shav i
ngf unatwor kbecausethey
re
stri
vi
ngf orexcel
lencerathert hanbroodingov ersli
ght sorregret
s.

Quest
ion5 Whyar
eyoul
eavi
ng(
ordi
dyoul
eave)t
hisposi
ti
on?
TRAPS:Neverbadmouthyourprevi
ousi
ndust
ry,
company,boar
d, boss,
staf
f,
employ
eesorcustomers.Thi
srulei
sinv
iol e:nev
abl erbenegat
ive.Anymudyouhur
l
wil
lonl
ysoi
lyoursui
t.

Especi
all
yav
oidwordsl
i
kepersonal
ityclash
,di
dn
tgetal
ong
,orot
her
swhi
chcasta
shadowonyourcompet
ence,i
ntegri
ty,ortemperament
.

BESTANSWER:

(
Ifyouhaveaj
obpr
esent
ly)
Ifyou
renoty et100%commi tt
edt oleavingy ourpresentpost,
don
tbeafrai
dt osayso.
Sincey ouhaveajob,youareinast rongerposi t
ionthansomeonewhodoesnot .But
dontbecoyei t
her.Stat
ehonestlywhaty oudbehopi ngtofi
ndinanewspot .Ofcourse,
asstat edoft
enbefore,youanswerwi l
lallthestrongerifyouhaveal
readyuncovered
whatt hisposi
ti
onisallaboutandy oumat chyourdesi r
estoi
t.

(
Ifyoudonotpr
esent
lyhaveaj
ob.
)
Neverli
eabouthavingbeenfi
red.It
sunet
hical
andt ooeasi
lychecked.Butdotryt
o
def
lectthereasonfr
om youpersonal
ly.I
fyourfi
ri
ngwastheresultofatakeov
er,
merger,di
vi
sionwidelay
off,
etc.,
somucht hebett
er.

Buty oushouldalsodosomethingtotall
yunnatur
althatwil
ldemonstr
ateconsummat e
professi
onali
sm.Ev enifi
thurt
s, descri
beyourownf ir
ingcandidl
y,succi
nctl
yand
withoutatraceofbit
ter
nessf rom thecompany
spoint-
of-
view,
indi
cati
ngthatyou
couldunderstandwhyithappenedandy oumi ghthavemadet hesamedecisionyour
sel
f.

Yourstatur
ewi l
lri
seimmensel yand,mostimportantofal
l,
youwillshowy ouarehealed
fr
om thewoundsi nfl
ict
edbyt hefir
ing.Youwil
lenhanceyourimageasf ir
st-
class
managementmat eri
alandstandheadandshoul dersabov
et hel
egionsoffir
ingv i
cti
ms
who,attheslight
estprovocati
on,zi
popent hei
rshirt
stoexposetheirbat
tl
escar sand
decr
yt heunfair
nessofitall
.

Foral
lpr
iorposi
ti
ons:

64ToughestQuest
ions Page8
 Makesureyouv
epreparedabr
iefr
easonf
orl
eav
ing.Bestr
easons:mor
emoney
,
oppor
tuni
ty,
responsi
bil
i
tyorgr
owth.

Quest
ion6 The
Sil
entTr
eat
ment

TRAPS:Bewar eifyouareunprepar
edfort
hisquest
ion,youwil
lprobablynothandl
eit
ri
ghtandpossibl
ybl
owt heint
ervi
ew.Thankgoodnessmosti nt
erv
iewersdontemployi
t.
I
t
snormallyusedbythosedeter
minedtoseehowy ourespondunderstress.Here
s
howitworks:

Youanswerani
nter
viewersquest
ionandt
hen,
inst
eadofaski
nganot
her
,hej
ustst
ares
atyoui
nadeafeni
ngsilence.

Youwait
,gr
owingabi
tuneasy,
andtherehesi
ts,
sil
entasMt.Rushmore,
asifhedoesn
t
bel
iev
ewhatyou
vej
ustsai
d,orper
hapsmakingyoufeelt
hatyou
veunwit
ti
ngl
yvi
olated
somecardi
nal
rul
eofint
erv
ieweti
quett
e.

Wheny ougett
hissi
lenttr
eat
mentafteransweri
ngaparti
cular
lydi
ff
icul
tquesti
on,such
ast
ellmeaboutyourweaknesses
,it
sinti
midat
ingef
fectcanbemostdi squi
eti
ng,
even
topol
ishedj
obhunters.

Mostunpr eparedcandidatesrushint of i
l
lthev oi
dofsi l
ence,v
iewingpr olonged,
uncomf ort
ablesil
encesasani nv i
tat
iont oclearupt heprevi
ousanswerwhi chhas
obvi
ousl ycausedsomepr obl
em.Andt hat
swhatt heydor ambl eon, sputteri
ngmor
e
andmor einformation,someti
mesi r
relevantandof t
endamagi ng,becauset heyare
suddenlyplayi
ngther oleofsomeonewho sgoofedandi snowt ryi
ngt orecoup.But
si
ncet hecandidatedoesntknowwher eorhowhegoof ed,hejustkeepst alking,
showinghowf l
usteredandconf usedhei sbyt heinterv
iewer
sunmov ablesilence.

BESTANSWER:Li keapri
miti
vet
ribalmask,theSil
entTreatmentlosesalli
tpowerto
fri
ghtenyouonceyouref
usetobeinti
midated.Ifyourinter
viewerpull
sit
,keepquiet
yoursel
fforawhil
eandthenask,
wi t
hsincerepoli
tenessandnotat raceofsarcasm,I
s
thereanyt
hingel
seIcanfi
lli
nonthatpoint
?That
sallthereistoi
t.

Whateveryoudo,
don
tlettheSil
entTreat
mentint
imi
datey
oui
ntot
alki
ngabl
uest
reak,
becauseyoucoul
deasi
lytalkyour
selfoutoft
heposi
ti
on.

Quest
ion7 Whyshoul
dIhi
reyou?
TRAPS:Bel
i
ev ei
tornot
,thi
sisaki
l
lerquesti
onbecausesomanycandi
dat
esar
e
unpr
epar
edforit
.Ify
oustammeroradli
by ou
vebl
ownit.

BESTANSWER:Bynowy oucanseehowcr i
ticali
tist
oappl yt
heover
allst
rat
egyof
uncoveri
ngtheemployersneedsbef
oreyouanswerquest i
ons.Ify
ouknowt he
employer
sgreat
estneedsanddesires,t
hisquesti
onwillgi
v ey
ouabiglegupoverot
her
candi
datesbecauseyouwi l
lgi
vehim bett
erreasonsforhir
ingyout
hananyoneelsei
s
l
ikel
ytoreasonsti
eddirect
lyt
ohisneeds.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page9
 Whetheryourinter
viewerasksy outhi
squestonexpl
i i
cit
lyornot,t
hisist
hemost
i
mpor t
antquestionofy ouri
ntervewbecausehemustanswert
i hisquest
ionfavorabl
yin
i
sownmi ndbeforey ouwill
behi ed.Sohel
r phim out
!Wal kthr
ougheachoft he
posi
ti
onsrequir
ement sasy ouunderst
andthem,andfoll
oweachwi t
hareasonwhyy ou
meetthatrequir
ementsowel l
.

Exampl
e:
AsIunder
standy
ourneeds,
youar
efi
rstandf
oremostl
ooki
ngf
orsomeone
whocanmanaget hesalesandmar ket
ingofy ourbookpubli
shingdivi
sion.Asy ou
ve
saidyouneedsomeonewi t
hast rongbackgr oundintr
adebooksal es.Thisiswher eI
ve
spentalmostallofmycareer,
soI v
echal kedup18y earsofexperi
enceexactlyinthis
area.Ibel
ievethatIknowtherightcont act
s, met
hods,pri
ncipl
es,andsuccessful
managementt echniquesaswellasanyper soncaninourindustr
y.

Youalsoneedsomeonewhocanexpandy ourbookdist
ri
but
ionchannel
s.I
nmypr i
or
post,
myi nnovati
vepromot i
onal
ideasdoubled,
thentr
ipl
ed,t
henumberofoutl
etssel
li
ng
ourbooks.Im conf
identIcandothesamef oryou.

Youneedsomeonet ogiveanewshoti nt hearmt oy ourmai l

ordersales,someone
whoknowshowt oselli
nspaceanddi r
ectmai l
medi a.Her e,t
oo,Ibeli
ev eIhaveexact
ly
theexperiencey
ouneed.Inthelastfi
vey ears,I
veincreasedourmai lorderbooksales
from $600,000t
o$2,800,
000,andnowwe r
et hecountryssecondleadingmar ket
erof
scienti
fi
candmedicalbooksbymai l
.Etc.,etc.
,etc.,

Everyoneofthesesell
i
ngcouplets(
hisneedmat chedbyyourqual
i
ficat
ions)i
sa
touchdownthatrunsupyourscore.ITisyourbestopport
unit
ytooutsell
your
compet i
ti
on.

Quest
ion8 Ar
en
tyouover
qual
i
fiedf
ort
hisposi
ti
on?
TRAPS:Theempl
oyermaybeconcer
nedt
haty
ou
l
lgr
owdi
ssat
isf
iedandl
eav
e.

BESTANSWER:Aswi thanyobject
ion,
don
tvi
ewthi
sasasi gnofimminentdefeat.I
t
s
aninvi
tat
iontot
eachtheint
ervi
eweranewwayt ot
hinkaboutthi
ssit
uati
on,seeing
advant
agesinst
eadofdrawbacks.

Exampl
e:
Irecogni
zet
hej
obmar
ketf
orwhati
tisamar
ket
place.Li
keany
marketpl
ace,
it
ssubj
ecttothel
awsofsuppl
yanddemand.Soov
erqual
ifi
edcanbea
rel
ati
veter
m,dependi
ngonhowt ightt
hej
obmarketi
s.Andri
ghtnow,it
sver
yt i
ght
.I
underst
andandacceptthat
.

Ial
sobel
i
evet
hatt
her
ecoul
dbev
eryposi
ti
vebenef
it
sforbot
hofusi
nthi
smat
ch.

Becauseofmyunusuall
ystrongexperi
encein___
___
____
___
___,Icoul
dst
artt
o
contri
but
erightaway,
perhapsmuchf ast
erthansomeonewho
dhav et
obebrought
alongmoreslowly.

Ther
esalsothevalueofallt
hetrai
ningandyear
sofexper
iencet
hatothercompani
es
haveinvestedtensofthousandsofdoll
arstogi
veme.Youdbegett
ingallt
heval
ueof
thatwit
houthav i
ngtopayanext r
adimef ori
t.Wit
hsomeonewhohasy ett
oacqui
re

64ToughestQuest
ions Page10
 t
hatexper
ience,
he
dhav
etogai
nitony
ourni
ckel
.

Icoul
dalsohelpyouinmanyt hingstheydon tt
eachattheHarvar
dBusinessSchool
.
Forexample(howtohir
e,tr
ain, moti
vate,etc.)Whenitcomestoknowinghowt owork
wellwi
thpeopleandgett
ingthemostoutoft hem,ther
esj
ustnosubst
it
uteforwhatyou
l
earnovermanyy ear
soffront-
lineexperience.Youcompanywoul dgai
nal lt
his,
too.

Fr
om mysi de,ther
earestrongbenefi
ts,
aswell.Rightnow,Iam unempl
oyed.Iwant
towork,verymuch, andtheposi
ti
ony ouhaveherei
sexactlywhatIl
ovetodoandam
bestat
.I
ll
behappydoi ngthisworkandthat
swhatmat t
ersmosttome,alotmorethat
moneyort i
tle.

Mostimpor t
ant,I
mlooki ngtomakealongt er
m commi tmenti nmycar eernow.I
ve
hadenoughofj ob-huntingandwantaper manentspotatt hispointinmycareer.Ialso
knowt hati
fIperformt hisjobwit
hexcel
lence,otheropportuni
tiescannothelpbutopen
upf ormerighthere.Int i
me, I

llf
indmanyotherway stohel pthiscompanyandi nso
doing,hel
pmy self
.Ir eall
yam looki
ngtomakeal ong-
term commi tment.

NOTE:Themai nconcer
nbehindt
heoverqual
ifi
edquesti
onisthatyouwil
lleaveyour
newemploy erassoonassomethi
ngbettercomesy ourway.Any t
hingyoucansayt o
demonstr
atet hesi
nceri
tyofy
ourcommitmentt otheemployerandreassur
ehi mthat
you
rel
ookingt ost
ayforthel
ong-
ter
m willhel
py ouover
comet hi
sobjecti
on.

Quest
ion9 Wher
edoyouseeyour
sel
ffi
veyear
sfr
om now?
TRAPS:Onereasonint
ervi
ewersaskthi
squesti
onistoseeifyou
reset
tl
ingf
orthi
s
posi
ti
on,
usingi
tmerelyasastopoverunt
ilsomet
hingbet
tercomesalong.Orthey
coul
dbetry
ingtogaugeyourl
evelofambit
ion.

I
fyou
ret
oospecif
ic,i
.e.,
namingt
hepromotionsy ousomedayhopet
owi
n,y
ou
l
lsound
pr
esumpt
uous.Ifyou
r etoov
ague,y
oul
lseem rudderl
ess.

BESTANSWER:Reassur eyourintervi
ewerthatyour
el ooki
ngt omakeal ong-t
erm
commitmentthatthi
spositi
onent ail
sexactlywhatyou r
elookingtodoandwhaty ou
doext
remelywell.Asf oryourfut
ur e,
youbel i
evethatifyouperform eachjobathand
wit
hexcel
lence,fut
ureoppor t
unit
ieswi l
ltakecareofthemsel v
es.

Exampl
e:
Iam def
ini
tel
yint
erest
edi
nmaki
ngal
ong-
ter
m commi
tmentt
omynext
posi
tion.Judgi ngbywhaty ou
vetoldmeaboutt hi
spositi
on,i
t
sexactl
ywhatIm
l
ookingf orandwhatIam v erywellqual
i
fiedtodo.Inter
msofmyf utur
ecareerpat
h,I
m
confi
dentt hatifIdomywor kwithexcel
lence,oppor
tuni
ti
eswilli
nevi
tabl
eopenupf or
me.I t
salway sbeenthatwayinmycar eer,andI
m conf
identI
l
lhavesimi
lar
opportunit
iesher e.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page11
Quest
ion10 Descr
ibeyouri
dealcompany,
locat
ionandj
ob.
TRAPS:Thi sisoftenaskedbyanexper iencedi
nter
v i
ewerwhothi
nksyoumaybe
over
quali
fied,butknowsbet t
erthantoshowhi shandbyposinghi
sobjecti
ondirect
ly.
Sohel
luset hi
squestioninstead,
whichof t
engetsacandidat
etorev
ealthat,
indeed,he
orsheislookingforsomet hi
ngotherthantheposit
ionathand.

BESTANSWER:Theonlyrightansweristodescr
ibewhatthi
scompanyi
soff
eri
ng,
bei
ngsuret
omakeyouranswerbelievabl
ewithspeci
fi
creasons,
stat
edwi
thsi
ncer
it
y,
whyeachqual
i
tyr
epr
esentedbyt hi
sopportuni
tyi
sattr
acti
vetoyou.

Remembert hatifyou
recomingfr
om acompanyt hat
stheleaderinitsfiel
dorf r
om a
glamorousormuchadmi r
edcompany,i
ndustr
y,cityorposit
ion,yourint
erviewerandhi
s
companymaywel lhaveanAvi
scomplex.Thatis,t
heymayf eelabitdefensi
veabout
beingsecondbesttothepl
aceyou
recomingfrom, worr
iedthaty oumayconsi der
them bushleague.

Thi
sanxiet
ycouldwellbet
hereeventhoughyouv
edonenothingt oinspi
rei
t.Youmust
gooutofyourwaytoassuagesuchanxiet
y,evenifi
t
snotexpressed,byput
tingthei
r
vi
rt
ueshighontheli
stofexact
lywhatyou
relooki
ngfor,
provi
dingcredibl
ereasonfor
wanti
ngthesequal
i
ties.

I
fyoudonotexpr essgenuineenthusi
asm fort
hef i
rm,i
tscul
tur
e,location,i
ndust
ry,
etc.,
youmayf ai
ltoanswerthi
s Avi
scompl exobj
ecti
onand,asaresult
,leav et
he
i
nter
viewersuspecti
ngthatahotshotlikeyou,comingf
rom aFortune500companyi n
NewYor k,j
ustwouldn
tbehappyatanunknownmanuf actur
erbasedi nTopeka,Kansas.

Quest
ion11 Whydoyouwantt
owor
katourcompany?
TRAPS:Thisquest
iontest
swhetheryou
vedoneanyhomewor
kaboutt
hef
ir
m.I
fyou
hav
ent
,youlose.I
fyouhave,
youwi nbi
g.

BESTANSWER:Thi squest
ioni
sy ouropport
uni
tytohitthebal
loutoft
hepar
k,t
hanks
tot
hein-
dept
hresear
chyoushoulddobef or
eanyinter
view.

Bestsourcesforresear
chi
ngyourtargetcompany
:annualr
eport
s,t
hecorpor
ate
newslett
er,cont
actsyouknowatthecompanyori t
ssuppl
i
ers,
advert
isement
s,ar
ti
cles
aboutthecompanyi nthet
radepress.

Quest
ion12 Whatar
eyourcar
eeropt
ionsr
ightnow?
TRAPS:Thei
nter
vieweri
str
yingt
ofi
ndout
,Howdesper
atear
eyou?

BESTANSWER:Pr epareforthisquesti
onbythi
nkingofhowy oucanposi ti
onyoursel
f
asadesi r
edcommodi t
y.Ifyouar esti
ll
worki
ng,describethepossi
bil
it
iesatyour
presentfi
rm andwhy ,
thoughy our
egreatl
yappreci
atedthere,
your
elookingfor
somet hi
ngmor e(chal
lenge,money ,r
esponsi
bil
i
ty,etc.
).Alsomentionthatyou
re
seri
ouslyexplor
ingopportuni
tieswithoneortwoot herfi
rms.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page12
 Ifyou
renotworking,youcant
alkaboutotheremploy
mentpossibi
li
ti
esy
ou
react
ual
l
y
explor
ing.Butdot hi
swithali
ghtt
ouch,speakingonl
yingener
alter
ms.Youdon
twant
toseem manipulati
veorcoy.

Quest
ion13 Whyhaveyoubeenoutofwor
ksol
ong?
TRAPS:Atoughquest
ioni
fyou
vebeenont
hebeachal
ongt
ime.Youdon
twantt
o
seem l
i
kedamagedgoods.

BESTANSWER:Youwantt
oemphasi
zef
act
orswhi
chhav
epr
olongedy
ourj
obsear
ch
byyourownchoi
ce.

Exampl
e:
Aft
ermyj
obwast
ermi
nat
ed,
Imadeaconsci
ousdeci
sionnott
ojumpont
he
fi
rstopport
uniti
estocomealong.I nmylif
e,Iv
ef oundoutt
hatyoucanal wayst
urna
negativei
ntoapositi
veIFyoutr
yhar denough.Thi si
swhatIdeterminedtodo.I
decidedtotakewhatevert
imeIneededt othinkthroughwhatIdobest ,
whatImostwant
todo, wher
eIdli
ketodoit
andt henident
ifythosecompaniesthatcouldoff
ersuchan
opportuni
ty.

Also,
inallhonesty,youhav
et ofact
orintherecessi
on(consoli
dati
on,st
abil
izat
ion,
etc.
)
i
nthe(banking,
financial
ser
vices,manufact
uri
ng,adver
ti
sing,et
c.)i
ndustr
y.

Sobetweenmybei ngsel
ecti
veandt hecompaniesinourindust
rydownsi
zing,the
processhastakenti
me.Butint heend, I

m convi
ncedthatwhenIdofindtherightmatch,
allt
hatcaref
uleval
uati
onfrom bothsidesofthedeskwil
lhavebeenwellworthwhil
efor
boththecompanythathir
esmeandmy self
.

Quest
ion14 Tellmehonestlyaboutt
hestrongpoint
sandweak
pointsofyourboss(company,managementt
eam,
etc.)

TRAPS:Ski
ll
ful
lint
erv
iewerssometi
mesmakei tal
mosti
rr
esi
sti
blet
oopenupandai
ra
l
it
tl
edir
tyl
aundryfr
om yourprev
iousposi
ti
on.DONT

BESTANSWER:Remembertherul
e:Nev
erbenegat
ive.St
ressonl
ythegoodpoi
nts,
no
matt
erhowchar
mingl
yyou
rei
nvi
tedt
obecri
ti
cal
.

Youri
nter
viewerdoesntcareawhi
taboutyourprevi
ousboss.Hewant stofi
ndouthow
l
oyalandposit
iveyouar e,
andwhethery
oul
lcri
ti
cizehim behi
ndhisbackifpressedt
o
dosobysomeonei nthi
sowncompany .Thisquestioni
sy ouroppor
tunit
yto
demonstr
ateyourloyalt
ytothosey
ouwor kwit
h.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page13
Quest
ion15 Whatgoodbookshaveyour
eadl
atel
y?
TRAPS:Asinal
lmatt
ersofy
ouri
nter
view,
neverf
akefami
li
ari
tyy
oudon
thave.Yety
ou
don
twantt
oseem l
i
keadull
ardwhohasn
tr nceTom Sawy
eadabooksi er.

BESTANSWER:Unl essyou
reupf oraposit
ioninacademiaorasbookcr i
ti
cforThe
NewYorkTimes,y
ourenotexpectedtobeal i
ter
aryl
ion.Butitwouldn
thurtt
ohave
readahandf
uloft
hemostr ecentandinf
luenti
albooksinyourprof
essionandon
management.

Consideritpartoftheworkofyourjobsearchtoreaduponaf ewoft heseleadi ng

books.Butmakesur et equal
heyar i
tybooksthatref
lectfavor
ablyupony ou, nothi
ng
thatcoul
dev enr emotel
ybeconsideredsuperf
ici
al.Final
l
y ,
addar ecentl
ypubl ished
bestsel
li
ngwor koff i
cti
onbyawor l
d-classaut
horandy oul
lpassthi
squest ionwi th
fl
yingcolors.

Quest
ion16 Tel
lmeaboutasi
tuat
ionwhenyourwor
kwas
cr
it
ici
zed.
TRAPS:Thi si
sat oughquesti
onbecausei t
samorecl
everandsubt
lewaytogety outo
admittoaweakness.Youcan tdodgeitbypret
endi
ngyouv
eneverbeencri
ti
cized.
Every
bodyhasbeen.Yeti tcanbequitedamagingtost
artadmit
ti
ngpotent
ialf
aultsand
fai
lur
esthatyou
djustassoonl eav
eburied.

Thi
squest
ioni
sal
soi
ntendedt
opr
obehowwel
lyouacceptcr
it
ici
sm anddi
rect
ion.

BESTANSWERS:Beginbyemphasizi
ngtheext
remelyposi
ti
vefeedbacky
ou
vegot
ten
thr
oughouty
ourcar
eerand(
ifi
t
str
ue)thaty
ourper
formancerevi
ewshavebeen
uni
for
mlyexcel
l
ent.

Ofcourse,noonei sperfectandy oualwayswelcomesuggestionsonhowt oimprove

yourperf
ormance.Then, giv
eanexampl eofanot-t
oo-damaginglearni
ngexper
ience
fom ear
r l
yiny ourcareerandr el
atetheway st
hislessonhassincehelpedyou.This
demonstratesthatyoulearnedfrom theexperi
enceandt hel
essoni snowoneoft he
str
ongestbreastpl
atesiny oursuitofarmor.

I
fy ouarepressedforacr i
ti
cism fom ar
r ecentposi
ti
on,
choosesomethingfai
rl
ytri
vial
thati
nnowayi sessenti
altoy oursuccessfulper
for
mance.Addthatyouv
elearned
from t
his,
too,andov ert
hepastsev er
alyears/mont
hs,i
t
snolongeranareaofconcern
becauseyounowmakei taregularpracti
cetoetc.

Anotherwayt oanswert hi
squesti
onwouldbet odescr
ibey ouri
ntent
iont
obr oadenyour
mast erofanareaofgr owi
ngimportancei
nyourfiel
d.Forexampl e,t
hismightbea
comput erprogr
am y ou
vebeenmeaningtositdownandlear nanewmanagement
techniqueyouv
er eadaboutorper
hapsatt
endingasemi naronsomecut t
ing-edge
branchofy ourprofessi
on.

Agai
n,t
hekeyi
stof
ocusonsomet
hingnotessent
ialt
oyourbr
il
li
antper
for
mancebut

64ToughestQuest
ions Page14
 whi
chaddsy
etanot
herdi
mensi
ont
oyoural
readyi
mpr
essi
veknowl
edgebase.

Quest
ion17 Whatar
eyourout
sidei
nter
est
s?
TRAPS:Youwanttobeawell-
rounded,
notadrone.Buty
ourpotenti
alempl
oyerwould
beevenmoret
urnedof
fifhesuspectst
hatyourheav
yext
racur
ri
cularl
oadwil
lint
erf
ere
wit
hyourcommit
menttoyourworkduti
es.

BESTANSWERS:Tr ytogaugehowthi
scompany
scul
tur
ewoul
dlookupony
our
fav
ori
teout
sideact
ivi
ti
esandbegui
dedaccor
dingly
.

Youcanal sousethisquest
iontoshatt
eranyster
eotypest
hatcoul
dli
mi ty
ourchances.
Ify
oureover50,f
orexample,descri
beyouracti
vi
ti
esthatdemonst
rat
ephy si
calst
amina.
Ify
oureyoung,mentionanacti
vi
tythatconnot
eswisdom andi
nsti
tut
ionalt
rust
,suchas
servi
ngont heboardofapopularchari
ty.

Butaboveal
l
,rememberthaty
ouremploy
eri
shiri
ngy
ourf oucandof
orwhaty orhi
m,
notyourf
amil
y,your
sel
forout
sideor
gani
zat
ions,
nomatt
erhowadmir
abl
ethose
act
ivi
ti
esmaybe.

Quest
ion18 The
Fat
alFl
awquest
ion
TRAPS:Ifaninter
v i
ewerhasreadyourresumecar eful
l
y,hemayt r
yt ozeroi
nona f
atal
fl
awofyourcandidacy
,perhapsthaty
oudon thaveacollegedegreeyou
vebeenout
ofthej
obmar ketf
orsomet imeyounev erearnedyourCPA,etc.

Afatal
flawquest
ioncanbedeadl
y,butusual
l
yonl
yify
our
espondbybei
ngov
erl
y
def
ensive.

BESTANSWERS:Asev erymastersal
espersonknows,youwil
lencounterobjecti
ons
(whet
herst
atedormerelythought
)inever
ysale.They
repartandparcelofthebuy er
s
anxi
ety
.Thekeyisnottoexacerbatet
hebuy er
sanxi
etybutdi
minishit
.Her eshow

Whenev
ery
oucomeupagai
nstaf
atal
flawquest
ion:

1. Becompl etel
yhonest ,openandst r ai
ght forwardaboutadmi t
ti
ngt he
short
comi ng.(Showi ngy ouhav enot hingt ohidediminishesthebuy er
s
anxi
ety.
)
2. Donotapol ogi
zeort rytoexplainitaway .Youknowt hatthi
ssupposedf l
aw
i
snothingt obeconcer nedabout ,andt hisistheatti
tudey ouwanty our
i
nterv
iewert oadoptaswel l.
3. Addthatasdesi rableassuchaqual i
ficationmi ghtbe,i
tslackhasmadey ou
workallthehardert hroughouty ourcar eerandhasnotpr eventedy ouf r
om
compili
nganout st
andi ngtackr ecor dofachi evement s.Youmi ghtev engive
examplesofhow, throughar elentlesscommi tmenttoexcel l
ence,y ouhav e
consi
stentlyoutperformedt hosewhodohav et hi
squalifi
cati
on.

Ofcour
se,
theul
ti
mat
ewayt
ohandl
ef
atal
flawquest
ionsi
stopr
eventt
hem f
rom

64ToughestQuest
ions Page15
 ari
singinthefi
rstpl
ace.Youwil
ldothatbyfoll
owingthemast
erstr
ategydescr
ibedin
Question1,i
.e.
,uncover
ingt
heemployersneedsandthem mat
chingyourqual
if
icat
ions
tothoseneeds.

Oncey ou
v egott
entheempl oyert
ostarttal
kingabouthismostur gentl
y-
feltwantsand
goalsforthepositi
on,andthenhelphim seeinstep-
by-st
epfashionhowper f
ectl
yyour
backgroundandachi evementsmatchupwi ththoseneeds,your
egoingt ohaveonev er
y
enthusi
asticint
ervi
ewerony ourhands,onewhoi snolongerlooki
ngf orf
atalfl
aws.

Quest
ion19 Howdoyoufeelaboutrepor
ti
ngt
oayoungerper
son
(
minor
it
y,woman,etc)
?
TRAPS:I t
sashamet hatsomei nter
viewersfeel
theneedt
oaskthisquesti
on,butmany
underst
andthereal
it
yt hatpr
ejudicessti
llexi
stamongsomejobcandidat
es,andit
s
bett
ertotryt
oflushthem outbeforehand.

Thetrapher
eisthatintoday
spol i
ti
call
ysensiti
zedenvi
ronment,
evenawel l
-i
ntent
ioned
answercanresul
tinplant
ingyourfootneatl
yi nyourmouth.Avoidanyt
hingwhich
smacksofapat r
onizi
ngorani nsensit
iveat
tit
ude,suchasIt
hinktheymaketerri
fi
c
bossesor
Hey ,
someofmybestf r
iendsare

Ofcourse,si
ncealmostanyonewithanIQaboveroom temperatur
ewill
atleasttr
yto
st
eadfastl
yaffi
rmtherightanswerher
e,youri
nter
viewerwi
llbejudgi
ngyoursinceri
ty
mostofall.Doyoureall
yfeelt
hatway?iswhatheorshewi l
lbewonderi
ng.

Soyoumustmakey ouranswerbel
i
evableandnotj
ustaut
omat i
c.I
fthefir
miswise
enoughtohavepr
omotedpeopledonthebasi
sofabil
it
yalone,t
hey
rel
ikel
yqui
teproud
ofit
,andpref
ert
ohireother
swhowi l
lwhol
ehear
tedl
yshar
et hei
rst
rongsenseoffai
r
pl
ay.

BESTANSWER:Yougr eatl
yadmi r
eacompanythathir
esandpromotesonmer i
talone
andyoucoul
dntagreemorewiththatphi
l
osophy.Theage(gender
,race,
etc.
)ofthe
per
sonyoureporttowouldcer
tainl
ymakenodi f
fer
encetoyou.

Whoev erhasthatpositi
onhasobv i
ouslyear
neditandknowstheirjobwell
.Boththe
personandt hepositi
onarefull
ydeservi
ngofrespect.Youbel
iev
et hatal
lpeoplei
na
company ,f
rom therecepti
onistt
otheChairman,workbestwhentheirabi
li
ti
es,eff
ort
s
andf eel
i
ngsar erespect
edandr ewardedfai
rl
y,andthati
ncl
udesy ou.That
sthebest
ty
peofwor kenvi
ronmenty oucanhopet ofi
nd.

Quest
ion20 Onconf
ident
ialmat
ter
s
TRAPS:Whenani nter
viewerpressesyoutorevealconfi
dent
iali
nformati
onabouta
presentorformerempl oyer
,youmayf eelit
sano-winsit
uati
on.Ifyoucooperat
e,you
couldbejudgedunt r
ustworthy.Ifyoudont
,youmayi rr
it
atethei
ntervi
ewerandseem
obstinat
e,uncooperati
veorov er
lysuspi
cious.

BESTANSWER:Youri
nter
viewermaypr
essy
ouf
ort
hisi
nfor
mat
ionf
ort
wor
easons.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page16
 Fi
rst,
manycompaniesuseint
ervi
ewstoresearchthecompetit
ion.It
saper fectset
-up.
Hereint
heirownl
air
,isani
nsiderf
rom t
heenemycampwhocanr ev
eal pr
ized
i
nformat
iononthecompeti
ti
onspl
ans,r
esearch,f
inanci
alcondit
ion,et
c.

Second,thecompanymaybetest
ingy
ouri
ntegr
it
ytoseei
fyoucanbecaj
oledorbul
l
ied
i
ntoreveali
ngconf
ident
ial
dat
a.

Whatt odo?Theanswerher eiseasy.Neverreveal

anythi
ngt r
ulyconfi
denti
alabouta
presentorformerempl oyer
.Byal l
means,explai
nyourret
icencediplomati
call
y.For
exampl e,
Icertai
nlywanttobeasopenasIcanaboutt hat.ButIalsowisht orespect
therightsofthosewhohav etr
ustedmewi t
ht hei
rmostsensiti
veinformati
on,justas
youwoul dhopet obeabletotrustanyofy
ourkeypeoplewhent al
ki
ngwi t
ha
compet it
or

Andcer
tai
nlyy
oucanall
udetoyourf
inestachi
evement
sinspeci
fi
cway
sthatdon
t
rev
ealt
hecombinat
iont
othecompanysafe.

Butbeguidedbythegol
denrule.Ifyouweret
heownerofy
ourpresentcompany,woul
d
youfeeli
tethi
cal
l
ywrongfortheinformat
iont
obegiv
entoyourcompetit
ors?Ifso,
steadf
ast
lyref
usetorev
eali
t.

Rememberthatthi
squest i
onpi t
syourdesiretobecooperati
veagainsty ourintegr
ity
.
Facedwit
hanysuchchoi ce,alwayschoosei nt
egr
it
y.Iti
saf armorev aluable
commoditythanwhateverinformati
ont hecompanymaypr yfrom you.Mor eov er,
once
yousur
renderthei
nformation,yourstockgoesdown.Theywi llsur
elyloser espectfor
you.

OnePresidentweknowal way
spr essescandi datesunmer cif
ull
yforconfi
dent
ial
i
nformati
on.Ifhedoesn
tgetit
,hegr owsvisiblyannoy ed,rel
entl
essl
yinqui
sit
ive,I
t
sal
l
anact.Hecoul dn
tcar
elessabouttheinformat ion.Thisishiswayoftesti
ngthe
candi
datesmoralfi
ber
.Onlythosewhohol df astarehired.

Quest
ion21 Woul
dyoul
i
efort
hecompany?
TRAPS:Thisanotherquest
iont
hatpi
tst
wov
aluesagai
nstoneanot
her
,int
hiscase
l
oyal
tyagai
nstint
egrit
y.

BESTANSWER:Tr ytoavoi
dchoosi
ngbet
weent
wov
alues,
giv
ingaposi
ti
vest
atement
whichcov
ersal
lbasesi
nstead.

Exampl
e:
Iwoul
dnev
erdoany
thi
ngt
ohur
tthecompany
..

I
faggressiv
elypressedt
ochoosebetweent
wocompeti
ngv
al al
ues, wayschoose
per
sonalintegr
it
y.Itist
hemostpri
zedofal
lval
ues.

Quest
ion22 Looki
ngback,
whatwoul
dyoudodi
ff
erent
lyi
nyourl
i
fe?
TRAPS:Thi
squest
ioni
susual
l
yaskedt
ouncov
eranyl
i
fe-
inf
luenci
ngmi
stakes,
regr
ets,

64ToughestQuest
ions Page17
 di
sappoi
ntment
sorpr
obl
emst
hatmaycont
inuet
oaf
fecty
ourper
sonal
i
tyand
per
for
mance.

Youdonotwanttogiv
etheinter
vieweranyt
hingnegati
vetorememberyouby,suchas
somegreatper
sonal
orcareerdi
sappointment,
evenlongago,thaty
ouwishcouldhav
e
beenav
oided.

Nordoyouwisht
ogiveanyanswerwhi
chmayhi
ntt
haty
ourwhol
ehear
tandsoul
wil
l
notbei
nyourwork.

BESTANSWER:Indi
catethaty
ouareahappy
,ful
fi
ll
ed,
opt
imi
sti
cper
sonandt
hat
,in
gener
al,
youwoul
dn
tchangeathi
ng.

Exampl
e:
It
sbeenagoodl
i
fe,
richi
nlear
ningandex
per
ience,
andt
hebesti
tyett
o
come.Ev
eryexper
iencei
nli
fei
sal
essoni
tit
sownway
.Iwoul
dn
tchangeat
hing.

Quest
ion23 Coul
dyouhavedonebet
teri
nyourl
astj
ob?
TRAPS:Thi
sisnot
imef
ort
rueconf
essi
onsofmaj
ororev
enmi
norpr
obl
ems.

nnev
BESTANSWER:Agai erbenegat
ive.

Exampl
e:
Isupposewi
tht
hebenef
itofhi
ndsi
ghty
oucanal
way
sfi
ndt
hingst
odobet
ter
,
ofcour
se,
butof
fthet
opofmyhead,
Ican
tthi
nkofany
thi
ngofmaj
orconsequence.

(
Ifmor
eexpl
anat
ionseemsnecessar
y)
Descri
berasit
uat
ionthatdi
dn
tsuf
ferbecauseofy
oubutf
rom ext
ernal
condi
ti
ons
beyondyourcont
rol
.

Forexample,describethedisappoi
ntmenty oufeltwithat estcampaign,newproduct
l
aunch,merger,etc.,whichl
ookedpr omisi
ngatf ir
st,butledtounder whelmi
ngresult
s.I
wishwecoul dhaveknownatt hestartwhatwel aterfoundout( abouttheeconomy
tur
ning,
themar ketplacechanging,
etc.)
,butsincewecoul dn
t,wejusthadtogof ori
t.
Andwedi dlearnfrom it

Quest
ion24 Canyouwor
kunderpr
essur
e?
TRAPS:Aneasyquest
ion,
buty
ouwantt ouranswerbel
omakey i
evabl
e.

BESTANSWER:Absolutel
y(thenproveitwit
hav
ivi
dexampl
eort
woofagoal
or
pr
ojectaccompl
i
shedunderseverepressur
e.)

Quest
ion25 Whatmakesyouangr
y?
TRAPS:Youdon
twantt
ocomeacr
ossei
therasahot
headorawi
mp.

BESTANSWER: Gi veananswert
hat
ssui
tedt
obot
hy ourper
sonal
i
tyandt
he
managementst
yleofthef
ir
m.Here,t
hehomeworkyou
vedoneaboutt
hecompanyand

64ToughestQuest
ions Page18
 i
tsst
ylecanhel
piny
ourchoi
ceofwor
ds.

Examples:Ifyouar
ear
eser
vedper
sonand/
ort
hecor
por
atecul
tur
eiscool
l
y
prof
essional
:

I
m aneven-
temperedandposi
tiv
epersonbynat ure,
andIbeli
evethishelpsmeagr eat
dealinkeepi
ngmydepar t
mentrunni
ngsmoot hly
,harmoniousl
yandwi t
hagenui ne
espri
tdecorps.Ibeli
evei
ncommuni cat
ingclearl
ywhat
sexpected,gett
ingpeople
s
commi tmenttot
hosegoals,
andthenfol
lowingupcont i
nuousl
ytocheckpr ogr
ess.

I
fanyoneoranythi
ngisgoingof ftrack,Iwanttoknowabouti tearly
.If,af
terthatki
nd
ofopencommuni cati
onandf oll
owup, someoneisntget t
ingthejobdone,I
llwantto
knowwhy .Ift
here
snogoodr eason, t
henI
ll
getimpatientandangr yandtake
appropri
atest
epsfrom ther
e.Buti fyouhi regoodpeopl e,motivat
ethem tostri
vefor
excell
enceandthenfoll
owupconst antly
,ital
mostnev erget stothatst
ate.

I
fyouar
efei
stybynat
ureand/
ort
heposi
ti
oncal
l
sforat
oughst
rawboss.

Youknowwhatmakesmeangr y?Peoplewho(thefi
l
lint
hebl
ankswit
hthemost
object
ionabl
etrai
tsfort
hist
ypeofposi
ti
on)peopl
ewhodon
tpul
lthei
rownwei
ght,
whoar enegati
ve,peopl
ewholi
eetc.

Quest
ion26 Whyar en
tyouear
ningmor
emoneyatt
hisst
ageof
yourcareer
?
TRAPS:Youdon
twantt
ogivetheimpr
essi
onthatmoneyi
snotimport
anttoyou,
yet
youwantt
oexpl
ainwhyyoursal
arymaybeali
tt
lebel
owindust
ryst
andards.

BESTANSWER:Youl
i
ket
omakemoney
,butot
herf
act
orsar
eev
enmor
eimpor
tant
.

Exampl
e:
Maki
ngmoneyi
sver
yimpor
tantt
ome,
andoner
easonI

m her
eisbecause
I
ml
ooki
ngtomakemore.Throughoutmycareer
,what
sbeenevenmoreimpor
tantt
o
mei
sdoingwor
kIreal
l
yli
ketodoatt heki
ndofcompanyIli
keandrespect
.

(
Thenbepr
eparedt
obespecif
icaboutwhaty
ourideal
posit
ionandcompanywoul
dbe
l
i
ke,mat
chi
ngthem ascl
osel
yaspossibl
etotheoppor
tuni
tyathand.

Quest
ion27 Whohasi
nspi
redyoui
nyourl
i
feandwhy?
TRAPS:Thet wot r
apshereareunpr
epar
ednessandirr
elevance.Ifyougr
opeforan
answer,i
tseemsy ou
veneverbeeni
nspi
red.Ify
ourambl eaboutyourhi
ghschool
basket
ballcoach,
you
vewastedanopportuni
tyt
opresentqualit
iesofgr
eatv
aluetothe
company.

BESTANSWER:Hav eafewheroesinmind,
from yourment
al
Boar
dofDirector
s
Leader
siny
ouri
ndustr
y,f
rom hi
stor
yoranyoneelsewhohasbeenyourmentor.

Bepr
epar
edt
ogi
veexampl
esofhowt
hei
rwor
ds,
act
ionsort
eachi
ngshav
ehel
ped

64ToughestQuest
ions Page19
 i
nspi
rey
ourachi
evements.Asal
ways,pr
epar
eananswerwhi
chhi
ghl
i
ght
squal
i
tiest
hat
woul
dbehi
ghlyval
uabl
eintheposi
ti
onyouar
eseeki
ng.

Quest
ion28 Whatwast
het
oughestdeci
si
onyoueverhadt
omake?
TRAPS:Gi
vi
nganunpr
epar
edori
rr
elev
antanswer
.

BESTANSWER:Bepr eparedwithagoodexample,expl
aini
ngwhyt hedeci
sionwas
dif
fi
cult
theprocessyoufollowedinr
eachi
ngit
t hecourageousoreff
ecti
vewayyou
carr
ieditout
andt hebenefi
cialr
esul
ts.

Quest
ion29 Tel
lmeaboutt
hemostbor
ingj
obyou
veeverhad.
TRAPS:Yougiveaver
ymemor abl
edescr
ipt
ionofaverybor
ingj
ob.Resul
t?You
becomeassoci
atedwi
tht
hisbori
ngjobi
ntheint
erv
iewer
smind.

BESTANSWER:Youhaveneveral
l
owedyour
sel
ftogrowbor
edwi
thaj
obandy
oucan
t
under
standi
twhenot
her
slett
hemsel
vesf
all
int
othatrut
.

Exampl
e:
Per
hapsI

vebeenf
ort
unat
e,butt
hatI

venev
erf
oundmy
sel
fbor
edwi
thany
j
obIhav eeverheld.I
vealwaysenjoyedhardwork.Aswithact
orswhof eelt
hereareno
small part
s,Ial
sobelievethatinever
ycompanyordepartmentther
eareexciti
ng
chall
engesandi ntri
guingproblemscryi
ngoutforener
geti
candenthusi
asticsol
uti
ons.
Ifyourebored,
it
sprobablybecauseyour
enotchall
engi
ngyoursel
ftot
acklethose
problemsr i
ghtundery ournose.

Quest
ion30 Haveyoubeenabsentfr
om wor
kmor
ethanaf
ewdays
i
nanyprevi
ousposit
ion?
TRAPS:Ify
ou
vehadapr obl
em,youcantli
e.Youcoul
deasi
l
ybef
oundout
.Yet
admit
ti
nganat
tendanceprobl
em coul
draisemanyfl
ags.

BESTANSWER:I fy
ouhav ehadnoproblem,emphasi
zey
ourexcel
l
entandconsi
stent
at
tendancer
ecor
dthroughouty
ourcareer.

Alsodescri
behowimportantyoubeli
evesuchconsi
stentattendancei
sf orakey
execut
ivewhyit
suptoyoutosetanexampleofdedicationandwhyt here
sjustno
substi
tut
eforbei
ngtherewithyourpeopl
etokeeptheoper ati
onrunni
ngsmoot hl
y,
answerquesti
onsandhandleproblemsandcri
sesast heyarise.

I
fyoudohaveapastattendanceprobl
em, y
ouwanttominimi
zeit
,makingi
tcl
eart
hati
t
wasanexcept
ional
cir
cumst anceandthati
t
scausehasbeencor
rect
ed.

Todothis,gi
vet hesameanswerasabov ebutpr ef
aceitwithsomethi
nglike,
Otherthat
bei
ngoutlastyear(orwhenever
)becauseof( yourreason,
whichisnowi nthepast),
I
hav
enev erhadapr obl
em andhaveenjoyedanexcel l
entatt
endancerecordthr
oughout
mycareer.Furthermore,
Ibel
iev
e,consist
entattendanceisimport
antbecause( Pi
ck
uptherestoftheanswerasoutli
nedabov e.
).

64ToughestQuest
ions Page20
Quest
ion31 Whatchangeswoul
dyoumakei
fyoucameonboar
d?
TRAPS:Watchout!Thisquest
ioncander
aily
ourcandi
dacyf
ast
ert
hanabombont
he
tacksandj
r ustasyouareaboutt
obehired.

Reason:Nomat
terhowbr
ighty
ouar
e,y
oucannotknowt
her
ightact
ionst
otakei
na
posi
ti
onbeforeyousett
lei
nandgettoknowt heoper
ati
onsstr
engths,weaknesseskey
peopl
e,f
inanci
alcondi
ti
on,methodsofoper
ati
on,et
c.Ifyoulungeatthistempti
ngly
bai
tedquesti
on,youwi
llpr
obablybeseenassomeonewhoshoot sfrom thehip.

Mor eover,nomatt
erhowcomf ort
ableyoumayfeelwit
hyourint
erv
iewer
,youaresti
l
lan
outsider.Noone,i
ncludi
ngyourint
ervi
ewer
,li
kestothi
nkthataknow-i
t-
all
outsi
deri
s
goingt ocomein,t
urnthepl
aceupsidedownandwi t
hsweeping,gr
andgestur
es,
prompt lydemonst
rat
ewhatjerksevery
body
sbeenforyear
s.

BESTANSWER:You,ofcour
se,
will
wanttotakeagoodhar
dlookatev
ery
thi
ngt
he
companyi
sdoi
ngbef
oremakinganyrecommendat
ions.

Exampl
e:
Wel
l
,Iwoul
dn
tbeav
erygooddoct
ori
fIgav
emydi sbef
agnosi oret
he
examinat
ion.Shoul dy
ouhireme,asIhopey ouwil
l
,I
dwanttotakeagoodhardlookat
ever
ythi
ngy our
edoingandunderst
andwhyi t
sbei
ngdonethatway.I
dli
ketohavein-
dept
hmeet ingswithyouandtheotherkeypeoplet
ogetadeepergraspofwhatyoufeel
you
redoingrightandwhatcoul
dbei mproved.

From whaty
ouvetoldmesof ar
, t
heareasofgreat
estconcer
nt oy
ouar e(name
them.Thendot wot hi
ngs.Fir
st,aski
ftheseareinfacthi
smajorconcerns.Ifsothen
reaff
ir
m howy ourexper
iencei
nmeet i
ngsimil
arneedselsewheremightprovevery
helpf
ul).

Quest
ion32 I
m concernedthatyoudon
thaveasmuchexper
ience
aswedlikein
TRAPS:Thiscoul
dbeamake-or-
breakquest
ion.Thei
nter
viewermost
lyli
keswhathe
sees,
buthasdoubt
soveronekeyarea.I
fyoucanassur
ehim onthi
spoint,
thej
obmay
beyours.

BESTANSWER:Thi squestioni
srelatedtoTheFatalFl
aw( Quest
ion18)
,buther
ethe
concer
nisnott
hatyouaret otal
l
ymi ssingsomequalif
icat
ions,suchasCPAcerti
fi
cat
ion,
butrat
hert
hatyourexper
ienceisli
ghtinonear ea.

Beforegoingint
oanyi nt
ervi
ew,t
ryt
oident
ifyt
heweakestaspect
sofyourcandidacy
fr
om thiscompany spoi
ntofvi
ew.Thenprepar
ethebestansweryoupossi
blecanto
shoreupy ourdefenses.

Togetpastt hi
squesti
onwi t
hf l
yi
ngcolor
s,youar
egoingtor
elyonyourmasterstr
ategy
ofuncover
ingtheempl oyer
sgreat
estwantsandneedsandt
henmat chi
ngthem wit
h
yourst
rengths.Si
ncey oualreadyknowhowt odothi
sfr
om Quest
ion1,youareina
muchstrongerposit
ion.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page21
 Mor
especi
fi
cal
l
y,whent
hei
nter
viewerposesasobj
ect
ionl
i
ket
his,
youshoul
d

1. Agreeonthei mport
anceofthisquali
fi
cati
on.
2. Explai
nthatyourstr
engthmaybei ndeedbegr eaterthanyourr
esume
i
ndicatesbecause
3. Whent hi
sstrengthi
saddedt oyourotherstr
engt hs,
it
sreal
lyy
our
combinati
onofqualif
icat
ionsthat
smostimpor tant.

Thenrev
iewt
heareasofyourgreat
estst
rengt
hsthatmat
chupmostf
avor
abl
ywi
tht
he
company
smosturgent
ly-
fel
twantsandneeds.

Thisi
spower f
ul waytohandlethi
squesti
onfort
wor easons.Fir
st,you
regiv
ingy our
i
ntervi
ewermor eammuni ti
oninthear
eaofhisconcern.Butmor eimportant
ly,
youre
shi
fti
nghisfocusawayf rom t
hisone,
isol
atedar
eaandput ti
ngitontheunique
combinat
ionofst r
engthsyouoffer
,st
rengt
hswhichtieinperf
ectl
ywi t
hhisgreatest
wants.

Quest
ion33 Howdoyouf
eelaboutwor
kingni
ght
sandweekends?
TRAPS:Bl
urtoutnoway,Joseandyoucankissthejoboff
ergoodbye.Butwhati
fyou
hav
eafamil
yandwantt owor kareasonabl
ynormalschedul
e?Isther
eawayt oget
bot
hthej
obandt heschedul
ey ouwant?

BESTANSWER:Fi r
st,i
fyoureaconfi
rmedwor kaholi
c,t
hisquest
ionisasof
tbal
ll
ob.
Whackitoutoftheparkont hefi
rstswi
ngbysay ingthi
skindofschedul
eisj
ustyour
sty
le.Addthatyourfamil
yunder st
andsit
.Indeed,they
rehappyf
oryou,ast
heyknow
yougetyourgreat
estsati
sfacti
onfrom y
ourwor k.

I
fhowever
,youpr
eferamorebalancedl
if
est
yle,
answert
hisquest
ionwi
thanot
her
:
What

sthenormforyourbestpeopl
eher
e?

Ifthehourssti
l
lsoundunreal
ist
icforyou,ask,
Doy ouhaveanytoppeopl
ewhoper f
orm
excepti
onall
yforyou,
butwhoal sohavefami l
i
esandl i
ketogethomeinti
met osee
them atni
ght?Chancesarethiscompanydoes, andthisassoci
atesy
ouwit
ht hi
sother
top-
perf
ormers-who-
leav
e-not-
lat
er-
than-
sixgroup.

Dependi
ngontheanswer,
behonestabouthowy ouwoul
dfiti
ntot
hepict
ure.Ifal
lthose
ext
rahoursmakeyouuncomf
ortabl
e,sayso,butphr
aseyourr
esponseposi
ti
vely.

Exampl
e:
Ilov
emywor
kanddoi
texcept
ional
l
ywel
l
.It
hinkt
her
esul
tsspeakf
or
themselves,especi
all
yin(mentiony ourtwoort hr
eequali
fi
cat
ionsofgreat
erint
erest
totheempl oyer.Remember ,
thi
si swhathewant smost,notaworkahol
i
cwi hweak
t
credent
ials)
.Notonl ywouldIbri
ngt hesequali
ties,butI

vebuil
tmywholecareeron
workingnotjusthard,butsmart
.It hinkyou
ll
findmeoneoft hemostproducti
vepeople
here.

Idohaveafamil
ywholikest
oseemeaf t
erworkandonweekends.Theyaddbalance
andri
chnesstomyl
if
e, whi
chint
urnhel
psmebehappyandpr oduct
iveatwor
k.IfI
coul
dhandlesomeoftheextr
aworkathomeintheeveni
ngsoronweekends,
that

64ToughestQuest
ions Page22
 wouldbeideal
.You
dbeget ti
ngapersonofexcept
ional
product
ivi
tywhomeetsyour
needswit
hst r
ongcr
edenti
als.AndI
dbeabletohandlesomeoftheheavyworkl
oadat
homewher eIcanbeunderthesameroofasmyf amil
y.Every
bodywouldwin.

Quest
ion34 Ar
eyouwi
l
li
ngt
orel
ocat
eort
ravel
?
TRAPS:Answerwit
haflat
noandyoumaysl
am thedoorshutont
hisopport
uni
ty.But
whati
fyou
dreal
l
ypref
ernottorel
ocat
eort
rav
el,
yetwouldn
twantt
ol oset
hejoboff
er
overi
t?

BESTANSWER:Firstf
indoutwher
ey oumayhav
etor
elocat
eandhowmucht
rav
elmay
beinv
olv
ed.Thenr
espondtothequesti
on.

I
fther
esnopr
obl
em,
saysoent
husi
ast
ical
l
y.

I
fyoudohav
ear
eser
vat
ion,
ther
ear
etwoschool
soft
houghtonhowt
ohandl
eit
.

Oneadvi
sesyoutokeepy ouropt
ionsopenandyourreser
vationstoy
oursel
fintheearl
y
goi
ng,bysay
ing,
noproblem.Youstrat
egyher
eistogett hebestof
feryoucan,then
makeajudgmentwhetherit
sworthi
ttoyoutor
elocateortravel
.

Also,bytheti
metheof f
ercomesthr
ough,youmayhav eotheroff
ersandcanmakea
mor einf
ormeddeci
sion.Whykill
ofthisoppor
tuni
tybefor
eithaschancet obl
ossom
i
ntosomet hi
ngreal
lyspeci
al?Andifyou
reali
ttl
emoredesper at
ethreemonthsfrom
now, youmightwi
shy ouhadn
tsl
ammedt hedooronrelocati
ngortravel
i
ng.

Thesecondwaytohandl
ethisquest
ioni
stovoiceareser
vat
ion,
butasser
tthaty
ou
dbe
opentorel
ocat
ing(
ortr
avel
ing)f
ortheri
ghtopport
uni
ty.

Theanswer
ingst
rat
egyyouchoosedependsonhoweagery
ouar
efort
hej
ob.I
fyou
wanttot
akenochances,
choosethef
irstappr
oach.

Ify
ouwanttoplayal
it
tl
ehar
der
-t
o-geti
nhopesofgener
ati
ngamor
eent
ici
ngof
fer
,
chooset
hesecond.

Quest
ion35 Doyouhavethestomachtof
irepeopl
e?Haveyouhad
exper
iencef
ir
ingmanypeopl
e?
TRAPS:Thi s
innocentquest
ioncoul
dbeatrapdoorwhichsendsyoudownachut e
andlandsyouinaheapofdustout si
dethef
rontdoor.Why?Becauseitsr
eali
ntentis
notjustt
oseeifyouvegotthestomachtof
ir
e,butal
sotouncoverpoorj
udgmentin
hi
ringwhichhascausedy outofi
resomany.Also,i
fyoufi
resooften,
youcoul
dbea
ty
rant.

Sodontrisetot
hebaitbyboasti
nghowmanyy ouv
ef i
red,unlessyou
vepreparedto
explai
nwhyi twasbeyondyourcont
rol
,andnottheresultofyourpoorhir
ingprocedur
es
orfoultemperament
.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page23
 BESTANSWER: Descri
bet
her
ati
onal
andsensi
blemanagementpr
ocessy
ouf
oll
owi
n
bot
hhir
ingandf
ir
ing.

Exampl
e:
Mywhol
emanagementappr
oachi
stohi
ret
hebestpeopl
eIcanf
ind,
trai
n
t
hem t
horoughlyandwell
,gett
hem exci
tedandpr
oudtobepartofourt
eam,andthen
wor
kwiththem toachi
eveourgoal
stogether
.Ify
oudoal l
oft
hatri
ght,
especi
all
yhi
ri
ng
t
heri
ghtpeople,I
v
efoundyoudon
thavet of
ir
everyof
ten.

Sowithme, f
iringi
sal astresort
.Butwheni t
sgott obedone, it
sgottobedone, and
thefast
erandcl eaner,
thebet t
er.Apoorempl oy eecanwr eakterr
ibl
edamagei n
undermini
ngt hemor al
eofanent ireteam ofgoodpeopl e.Whent here
snoot herway,
I
vefoundit
sbet t
erforallconcernedtoactdecisivel
yingetti
ngridofoffenderswho
wontchanget hei
rways.

Quest
ion36 Whyhaveyouhadsomanyj
obs?
TRAPS:Youri
ntervi
ewerf
ear
syoumayleavethi
sposit
ionqui
ckl
y,asyouhaveot
hers.
He
sconcer
nedy oumaybeunst
abl
e,orapr
oblem per
sonwhocan
tgetal
ongwith
ot
hers.

BESTANSWER:Fi rst
,beforey ouevengettotheintervi
ewstage,youshoul
dtryt
o
minimizeyourimageasjobhopper .Ift
herearesev eralent
ri
esony ourr
esumeofless
thanoneyear,consi
derel
imi nati
ngthelessi
mpor tantones.Perhapsyoucanspecif
y
theti
mey ouspentatpreviousposit
ionsinroundedyear snoti
nmont hsandyear
s.

Exampl
e:I
nst
eadofshowi
ngt
hreeposi
ti
onst
hisway
:

6/
19823/1983,Posi
ti
onA;
4/
198312/1983,Posi
ti
onB;
1/
19848/1987,Posi
ti
onC;

i
twoul
dbebet
tert
oshowsi
mpl
y:

19821983,
Posi
tionA;
19841987Posi
ti
onC.

I
notherwords,
y ouwoul
ddropPosi
ti
onBalt
oget
her
.Not
icewhatadi
ff
erencet
his
makesinr
educingyouri
mageasajobhopper
.

Onceinfrontofthei
nter
viewerandthi
squesti
oncomesup,
youmusttr
ytoreassur
e
hi
m.Descr ibeeachposi
ti
onaspar tofanover
all
pat
ter
nofgrowt
handcar
eer
dest
inat
ion.

Becareful
nottoblameotherpeopl
eforyourf
requentchanges.Buty
oucanandshoul
d
at
tri
butecert
ainchangest
oconditi
onsbeyondyourcontr
ol.

Exampl
e:Thankst
oanupcomi
ngmer
ger
,youwant
edt
oav
oidanensui
ngbl
oodbat
h,so
y
oumadeagood,
upwar
dcar
eermov
ebef
orey
ourdepar
tmentcameundert
heaxeof

64ToughestQuest
ions Page24
 t
henewowner
s.

Ifpossibl
e,al
soshowt hatyourjobchangesweremor efrequenti
ny ouryoungerdays,
whileyouwereest abl
i
shingyourself
,roundi
ngoutyourskil
lsandlookingfortheri
ght
careerpath.Atthisst
ageiny ourcareer,
you
recer
tai
nlymuchmor einter
estedinthe
bestlong-t
erm opport
unit
y.

Youmi ghtal
soci
tet
hej
ob(s)wher
eyoust
ayedt
hel
ongestanddescr
ibet
hatt
hist
ype
ofsi
tuati
oniswhaty
ou
rel
ookingf
ornow.

Quest
ion37 Whatdoyouseeast heproperr ol
e/missionof

agood(jobti
tl
eyoureseeking);
agoodmanager ;
anexecuti
vei
nservingthecommuni ty;
aleadi
ngcompanyinouri ndustry;
etc.
TRAPS:Theseandot herpr
operrol
equesti
onsaredesi
gnedtotestyour
under
standi
ngofy ourpl
aceinthebi
ggerpict
ureofyourdepar
tment,company
,
communityandprofessi
on.aswell
astheproperrol
eeachoftheseenti
ti
esshoul
dpl
ay
ni
i tsbi
ggerpict
ure.

Thequest ioni
smostf r
equentlyaskedbythemostthoughtf
uli
ndivi
dualsand
compani esorbythoseconcernedthatyou
recomingfr
om aplacewitharadi
cal
l
y
di
fferentcorpor
atecult
ure(suchasf r
om abiggovernmentbur
eaucracytoan
aggressivesmallcompany).

Themostfrequentmistakeexecutiv
esmakei nansweringissi
mplynotbei
ngprepar
ed
(seemi
ngasifthey
venev ergiv
inganyofthisathough.)ori
nphrasi
ngananswerbest
suit
edtot
heirpri
ororganizat
ionscult
urei
nsteadofthehiri
ngcompany
s.

BESTANSWER: Thi
nkofthemostessent
iali
ngr
edient
sofsuccessf
oreachcat
egor
y
abov
eyourj
obti
tl
e,yourr
oleasmanager
,yourf
ir
m sr
ole,
etc.

Ident
if
yatl
eastt
hreebutnomor
ethansixqual
it
iesyouf
eel
aremosti
mpor
tantt
o
successi
neachrol
e.Thencommityourr
esponsetomemory.

Here,agai
n,t
hemor ei
nformationyouv
ealr
eadydr
awnoutaboutthegr
eatestwant
sand
needsoftheint
erv
iewer,andthemor ehomeworky
ou
vedonetoident
if
ythecult
ureof
thefi
rm,themoreon-t
argetyouranswerwil
lbe.

Quest
ion38 Whatwouldyousaytoyourbossi
fhe
scr
azyaboutan
i
dea,butyout
hinki
tsti
nks?
TRAPS:Thisisanotherquest
iont
hatpi
tst
wov
alues,
int
hiscasel
oyal
tyandhonest
y,
agai
nstoneanother
.

BESTANSWER: Remembert
her
ulest
atedear
li
er:I
nanyconf
li
ctbet
weenv
alues,

64ToughestQuest
ions Page25
 al
wayschoosei
ntegr
it
y.

Exampl
e:Ibel
i
evet
hatwhenev
aluat
ingany
thi
ng,
it
simpor
tantt
oemphasi
zet
he
posi
ti
ve.WhatdoIl
i
keaboutt
hisi
dea?

Then,i
fyouhav
ereser
vat
ions,
Icert
ainl
ywantt
opoi
ntt
hem out
,asspeci
fi
cal
l
y,
object
ivel
yandf
act
uall
yasIcan.

Aft
erall
,themostimport
antt
hi shonest
ngIowemybossi y.I
fhecan
tcountonmef
or
t
hat
,thenever
ythi
ngelseImaydoorsaycoul
dbequest
ionabl
einhi
seyes.

ButIal
sowanttoexpr
essmythought
sinaconstr
ucti
veway.Somygoal inthi
scase
wouldbetoseeifmybossandIcoul
dmakehisideaevenstr
ongerandmoreappeali
ng,
sothati
teff
ect
ivel
yover
comesanyini
ti
alr
eser
vati
onIorothersmayhaveaboutit
.

Ofcourse,
ifheoverrul
esmeandsay
s,
no,l
et
sdoitmyway
,t
henIowehi
m myf
ull
andenthusiast
icsupportt
omakei
tworkasbesti
tcan.

Quest
ion39 Howcoul
dyouhavei
mpr
ovedyourcar
eerpr
ogr
ess?
TRAPS:Thisisanot
hervari
ati
ononthequesti
on,
Ify
oucould,howwouldyouli
veyour
l
if
eover?Remember ,
your
enotgoi
ngtofall
foranysuchi
nvit
ationst
orewri
teper
son
hi
stor
y.Youcan
twinifyoudo.

BESTANSWER:Youregeneral
lyqui
tehappywit
hyourcareerprogress.Maybe,
ify
ou
hadknownsomethi
ngearli
eri
nlif
e(i
mpossiblet
oknowatt hetime,suchasthe
boominggr
owthi
nabr anchinyouri
ndustr
yort
hecorporatedownsizingt
hatwoul
d
phaseouty
ourl
astj
ob),youmighthavemov edi
nacertai
ndirecti
onsooner.

Butall
thi
ngsconsi
der
ed, y
outakeresponsi
bil
i
tyforwher
eyouar
e,howy
ou
vegot
ten
ther
e,wher
eyouaregoingandyouharbornoregret
s.

Quest
ion40 Whatwouldyoudoi fafel
lowexecut
iveonyourown
cor
porat
elevelwasntpul
l
inghis/
herweight
andthi
s
washurt
ingyourdepartment?
TRAPS:Thi
squesti
onandot
herhypothet
ical
onest
esty
oursenseofhumanr
elat
ions
andhowyoumighthandl
eof
fi
cepoli
ti
cs.

BESTANSWER:Tr ytogauget hepol

iti
cal
sty
leofthefi
rm andbeguidedaccor
dingl
y.In
gener
al,
fal
lbackonuni
versalpri
nci
plesofef
fect
ivehumanr el
ati
onswhichintheend,
embodythewayyouwouldliketobetreat
edinasimil
arci
rcumstance.

Exampl
e:
Goodhumanr
elat
ionswoul
dcal
lformet
ogodi
rect
lyt
otheper
sonand
expl
ainthesi
tuation,
t otr
ytoenl
isthishel
pinaconstr
uct
ive,posi
ti
vesol
uti
on.IfI
sensedresi
stance,Iwouldbeasper suasi
veasIknowhowt oexpl
aint
hebenefi
tswe
canallgai
nfrom workingtoget
her,andtheprobl
emswe,thecompanyandour
customerswill
experienceifwedont.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page26
 POSSIBLEFOLLOW-
UPQUESTI
ON:Andwhatwoul
dyoudoi
fhest
il
ldi
dnotchangehi
s
ways?

ANSWER: OnethingIwouldntdoislettheproblem sli

de,becausei twoul
donlyget
worseandov er
lookingitwouldsetabadpr ecedent.Iwouldtryagainandagai nand
again,i
nwhateverwayIcoul d,tosolv
et heproblem, i
nvol
vi
ngwi derandwidercir
clesof
people,bot
habov eandbelowt heoffendingexecut i
veandincludingmyownbossi f
necessary,
sothatev er
yoneinvolvedcanseet her ewardsf
ort eamwor kandthe
drawbacksofnon-cooperati
on.

Imightaddt
hatI
venev
eryetcomeacrossasit
uati
onthatcoul
dn
tber
esol
vedby
harnessi
ngot
hersinadeter
mined,
constr
uct
iveeff
ort
.

Quest
ion41 You
vebeenwit
hyourf
ir
m al
ongt
ime.Won
titbe
har
dswitchi
ngt
oanewcompany?
TRAPS:Youri
nter
vieweri
swor
ri
edt
hatt
hisol
ddogwi
l
lfi
ndi
thar
dtol
ear
nnewt
ri
cks.

BESTANSWER:Toov er
comet hi
sobjection,youmustpointtot
hemanyway syouhave
gr
ownandadapt edtochangingcondit
ionsaty ourpr
esentfir
m.Ithasnotbeenastat
ic
si
tuat
ion.Hi
ghl
ightthedif
fer
entresponsibil
it
iesyou
vehel
d, t
hewidear
rayofnew
si
tuat
ionsyou
vefacedandconquered.

Asaresult
,you
vel
earnedt
oadaptqui
ckl
ytowhat
everi
sthr
ownaty
ou,
andy
out
hri
ve
ont
hest i
mulati
onofnewchal
l
enges.

Tofurt
herassur
etheint
erv
iewer
,descr
ibethesi
mil
ari
ti
esbetweent
henewpositi
onand
yourpr
iorone.Expl
aint
hatyoushoul
dbequitecomfor
tabl
eworki
ngther
e,si
ncethei
r
needsandyourskil
l
smakeaper f
ectmatch.

Quest
ion42 MayIcont
actyourpr
esentempl
oyerf
orar
efer
ence?
TRAPS:Ify
ou
retry
ingtokeepyourj
obsearchpr
ivate,
thi
sisthelastt
hingy
ouwant
.
Buti
fyoudon
tcooper
ate,won
tyouseem asi
fyour
etryi
ngtohidesomethi
ng?

BESTANSWER:Expr
essyourconcer
nthaty
ou
dli
ket
okeepy
ourj
obsear
chpr
ivat
e,but
thati
nti
me,
itwi
l
lbeper
fect
lyokay.

Exampl
e:
Mypr
esentempl
oyeri
snotawar
eofmyj
obsear
chand,
forobv
iousr
easons;
I
dprefert
okeepi tt
hatway.I
dbemostappr
eci
ati
veifwekeptourdi
scussi
on
conf
identi
alr
ightnow.Ofcourse,
whenwebothagreetheti
meisri
ght,
thenbyal
l
meansy oushouldcontactt
hem.I
mverypr
oudofmyr ecor
dther
e.

Quest
ion43 Givemeanexampl
eofyourcr
eat
ivi
ty(
anal
yti
cal
skil
l
managi
ngabi
l
ity,
etc.
)
TRAPS:Thewor
stof
fenseher
eissi
mpl
ybei
ngunpr
epar
ed.Yourhesi
tat
ionmayseem

64ToughestQuest
ions Page27
 asify
ou
rehav
ingahar
dti
mer
emember
ingt
hel
astt
imey
ouwer
ecr
eat
ive,
anal
yti
cal
,
et
c.

BESTANSWER:Rememberf rom Quest

ion2thatyoushoul
dcommitt
omemor yal
istof
yourgr
eat
estandmostr
ecentachiev
ements,
ev err
eadyonthet
ipofy
ourt
ongue.

I
fyouhavesuchal ist
,it
seasyt
opresentanyofy
ourachi
evementsi
nli
ghtofthequali
ty
t
heinter
viewerisaski
ngabout.Forexample,t
hesmashi
ngsuccessyouorchest
rat
edat
l
astyear
stradeshowcouldbeusedasanexampl eofcr
eati
vi
ty,
oranal
yti
calabi
li
ty,
or
y
ourabil
itytomanage.

Quest
ion44 Wher
ecoul
dyouusesomei
mpr
ovement
?
TRAPS:Anot
hert
ri
ckywayt
ogety
out
oadmi
tweaknesses.Don
tfal
lfori
t.

BESTANSWER:Keept hisanswer,l
ikeal
lyouranswer
s,posit
ive.Agoodwayt oanswer
thi
squesti
onistoi
denti
fyacutting-
edgebranchofyourprof
ession(onethat
snot
essent
ial
toyouremployer
sneeds)asanar eayou
rever
yexcitedaboutandwantto
expl
oremoreful
lyoverthenextsixmonths.

Quest
ion45 Whatdoyouwor
ryabout
?
TRAPS:Admi tt
owor ry
ingandy
oucoul
dsoundl
i
keal
oser
.Say
ingy
ounev
erwor
ry
doesn
tsoundcredi
ble.

BESTANSWER:Redef
inet
hewor
dwor
ry
sot
hati
tdoesnotr
efl
ectnegat
ivel
yony
ou.

Exampl
e:
Iwoul
dn
tcal
li
twor
ry,
butIam ast
rongl
ygoal
-or
ient
edper
son.SoIkeep
tur
ningov
erinmymi ndanythi
ngthatseemstobekeepingmef rom achi
evi
ngt
hose
goals,
unt
ilIf
indasolut
ion.That
spartofmytenaci
ty,
Isuppose.

Quest
ion46 Howmanyhour
saweekdoyounor
mal
l
ywor
k?
TRAPS:Youdon
twanttogi
veaspeci
fi
cnumber.Makeittolow,andy
oumaynot
measur
eup.Toohigh,
andyou
l
lfor
everfeel
gui
l
tyaboutsneaki
ngoutthedoorat5:
15.

BESTANSWER:I fyouarei
nfactaworkaholi
candyousenset
hiscompanywouldli
ke
that
:Sayyouar
eaconf i
rmedworkahol
ic,t
hatyouoft
enworkni
ghtsandweekends.
Yourfami
l
yacceptsthi
sbecausei
tmakesy ouful
fi
ll
ed.

I
fyouar
enotawor
kahol
i
c:Sayyouhaveal
way
swor
kedhar
dandputi
nlonghour
s.I
t
goeswit
ht heter
ri
tory.Itonesense,it
shar
dt okeeptr
ackoft hehour
sbecauseyour
worki
sal aboroflov
e, y
ouenj oynothi
ngmor ethansol
vingproblems.Soyou
real
most
al
waysthinki
ngabouty ourwor k,
incl
udingt
imeswheny our
ehome, whil
eshavi
nginthe
morni
ng,whilecommut ing,et
c.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page28
Quest
ion47 What
st
hemostdi
ff
icul
tpar
tofbei
nga(
jobt
it
le)
?
TRAPS:Unlessyouphr
aseyouranswerpr
operl
y,youri
nter
viewermayconcl
udet
hat
what
every
oui dent
if
yasdi
ff
icul
ti
swhereyouareweak.

BESTANSWER:Fi rst
,redef
inedi
ff
icult
t obechall
engingwhichismoreposit
ive.
Then,i
denti
fyanareaev er
yoneinyourpr ofessi
onconsiderschall
engi
ngandinwhi ch
youexcel
.Describetheprocessyouf ol
lowt hatenabl
esy outogetsplendi
dresul
tsand
bespecif
icaboutthoseresult
s.

Exampl
e:
Ithi
nkev
erysal
esmanagerf
indsi
tchal
l
engi
ngt
omot
ivat
ethet
roopsi
na
recession.Butt
hat
sprobabl
ythest
rongestt
estofat
opsal
esmanager
.If
eel
thi
sis
onear eawhereIexcel
.

WhenIseethefi
rstsi
gnthatsalesmaysl
iporthatsal
esfor
cemotivat
ionisfl
aggi
ng
becauseofadownturnint
heeconomy ,
here
stheplanIputi
ntoact
ionimmediatel
y
(f
oll
owedbyadescr i
pti
onofeachstepint
heprocessandmostimportant
ly,t
he
excepti
onal
resul
tsyou
veachiev
ed.)
.

Quest
ion48 The
Hypot
het
icalPr
obl
em
TRAPS:Somet imesaninterv
iewerwill
descr
ibeadiff
icul
tsit
uat
ionandask,Howwould
youhandl et
his?Sinceiti
svirt
uall
yimpossi
bletohaveallt
hefact
sinf r
ontofyoufr
om
suchashor tpresent
ati
on,dontfal
li
ntothet
rapoftry
ingtosolv
ethisprobl
em and
givi
ngy ourver
dictonthespot.Itwil
lmakeyourdeci
sion-
makingprocessseem woef
ull
y
inadequate.

BESTANSWER:Instead,descr
ibetherati
onal
,methodi
cal pr
ocessyouwoul
df ol
l
owin
anal
yzi
ngt
hispr
oblem, whoyouwoul dconsul
twit
h,generati
ngpossibl
esol
uti
ons,
choosi
ngt
hebestcourseofaction,
andmoni t
ori
ngtheresult
s.

Remember
,inal
l
such,Whatwoul
dyoudo?quest
ions,
alway
sdescr
i ourpr
bey ocessor
worki
ngmet
hods,andyou
l
lnev
ergowrong.

Quest
ion49 Whatwast
het
oughestchal
l
engeyou
veeverf
aced?
TRAPS:Bei
ngunpr
epar
edorci
tinganexamplefrom soear
lyi
nyourl
i
fet
hati
tdoesn
t
scor
emanypoi
ntsf
oryouatt
hisstageofyourcareer
.

BESTANSWER:Thi si
saneasyquest
ioni
fyou
repr
epar
ed.Hav
ear
ecentexampl
e
readyt
hatdemonst
rat
esei
ther
:

1.Aquali
tymostimportantt
othejobathand;or
2.Aquali
tyt sal
hati waysindemand,suchasleadershi
p,i
nit
iat
ive,
manager
ial
ski
l
l,
per
suasiv
eness,cour
age,per
sist
ence,i
ntel
l
igence,et
c.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page29
Quest
ion50 Haveyouconsi
derst
art
ingyourownbusi
ness?
TRAPS:Ifyousayyesandelaborat
eenthusi
asti
call
y,y
oucoul
dbeper cei
vedasa
l
oosecannoninalargercompany ,
tooent
repreneur
ialt
omakeagoodt eam pl
ayer
or
someonewhohadt osettl
eforthecorpor
ateli
febecauseyoucoul
dn
tmakeagoofy our
ownbusi
ness.

Alsotoomuchenthusi
asm inansweri
ngy
escoul
drouset
heparanoi
aofasmall
companyindi
cat
ingthatyoumayplantogooutonyourownsoon,per
hapst
aki
ngsome
keyaccount
sortradesecret
swithyou.

Ontheot
herhand,
ifyouanswer
no,nev
ery
oucoul
dbeper
cei
vedasasecur
it
y-mi
nded
dr
onewhoneverdreamedabigdream.

BESTANSWER:Agai
nit
sbestt
o:

1.Gaugethi
scompany
scorporat
ecult
urebefor
eanswer i
ngand
2.Behonest(whi
chdoesntmeany ouhavet
ov i
vidl
yshareyourf
ant
asyoft
he
fr
anchi
seorbed-and-
breakf
astyousomedayplant oopen)
.

I
ngener al
,i
fthecor poratecultur
eisthatofalar
ge,f
ormal
,mili
tary
-st
ylest
ructure,
mini
mizeanyi ndicationthatyou
dlovetohaveyourownbusiness.Youmi ghtsay,
Oh,
I
mayhav egiv
eni tat houghtonceortwice,butmywholecar
eerhasbeeni nlarger
or
ganizati
ons.That swher eIhaveexcell
edandwhereIwanttobe.

Ifthecorpor
atecult
ureisclosertothef ree-
wheeli
ng,ever
ybody
s-a-
deal
-makervari
ety
,
thenemphasizethatinaf i
rmlikethis,
y oucanvirt
uall
ygetthebestofal
lworlds,t
he
excitementofseei
ngy ourowni deasandpl anstakeshapecombinedwitht
he
resourcesandstabi
li
tyofawel l-
establ
ishedorganizat
ion.Soundsliket
heper f
ect
env i
ronmenttoyou.

Inanycase,nomatterwhatt
hecor
porat
ecultur
e,besur
etoindicat
ethatanydesi
res
aboutr
unningyourownshowarepartofyourpast
,noty
ourpresentorfut
ure.

Thelastt
hingyouwantt
oprojecti
sanimageofeit
heradreamerwhofail
edandisnow
set
tl
ingforthecor
por
atecocoonort
herest
lessmaver
ickwhowillf
lyoutt
hedoorwith
keyaccounts,
cont
act
sandt r
adesecr
etsunderhi
sarmsjustassoonashisbankr
oll
has
gott
enrebuil
t.

Alwaysr
emember:Matchwhaty
ouwantwit
hwhattheposi
ti
onoffer
s.Themore
i
nformat
iony
ou
veuncover
edaboutt
heposi
ti
on,
themorebeli
evabl
eyoucanmakey
our
case.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page30
Quest
ion51 Whatar
eyourgoal
s?
TRAPS:Nothav
ingany
orhav
ingonl
yvaguegener
ali
ti nothi
es, ghl
yspeci
fi
cgoal
s.

BESTANSWER:Manyexecuti
vesi
napositiont
ohi
reyouar
estr
ongbel
i
eversi
ngoal
-
set
ti
ng.(
It
soneoft
her
easonthey
veachi
evedsomuch)
.Theyl
iket
ohir
einki
nd.

I
fyou
revagueaboutyourcar
eerandper
sonalgoal
s,i
tcoul
dbeabi
gtur
nof
ftomay
peopl
eyouwill
encounteri
nyourj
obsearch.

Ber eadytodiscussy ourgoalsforeachmaj orar

eaofy ourl
i
fe:career,personal
developmentandl earning,fami
ly,physi
cal (
heal
th)
,communityser
v i
ceand( i
fyour
i
nterviewerisclearl
yar el
igi
ousper son)youcouldbri
efl
yandgenerall
yalludet oyour
spir
itualgoal
s( showingy ouareawel l
-roundedi
ndivi
dualwi
thyourvaluesi ntheri
ght
order).

Beprepar
edt odescr
ibeeachgoal i
nt ermsofspeci f
icmil
estonesy ouwi shto
accompli
shalongtheway ,
timeperiodsy oureal
lot
ti
ngforaccompl ishment,whythe
goali
simportantt
oy ou,
andt hespecificst epsyou
retaki
ngtobringi tabout.Butdo
thi
sconci
sely,asyouneverwanttot alkmor ethantwominutesstraightbeforel
ett
ing
youri
nter
viewerbackint
otheconv ersation.

Quest
ion52 Whatdoyouf
orwhenyouhi
repeopl
e?
TRAPS:Bei
ngunpr
epar
edf
ort
hequest
ion.

BESTANSWER:Speakyourownt houghtsher
e,butfort
hebestanswerweav
ethem
ar
oundthet
hreemosti
mportantquali
fi
cati
onsforanyposi
ti
on.

1.Cantheper
sondot hework(qual
i
ficat
ions)?
2.Wil
ltheper
sondothewor k(moti
vati
on)?
3.Wil
ltheper
sonfi
tin(ourki
ndofteam play
er)
?

Quest
ion53 Sellmethi
sstapler(t
hispenci
l
thi
scl
ockorsome
otherobj
ectonintervi
ewer
sdesk)
.
TRAPS:Somei nt
erv
iewers,especi
all
ybusinessownersandhard-
changi
ngexecut
ivesi
n
market
ing-
dri
vencompanies,feelt
hatgoodsalesmanshi
pisessenti
alf
oranykey
posi
ti
onandaskforaninstantdemonstrat
ionofyourski
ll
.Beready.

BESTANSWER:Ofcour
se,
youalreadyknowthemosti
mportantsecr
etofal
lgr
eat
sal
esmanshi f
pi
ndoutwhatpeoplewant,
thenshowt
hem howt ogeti
t.

I
fyouri
nter
viewerpi
cksuphisstapl
erandasks,sel
lthi
stome,
youar
egoi
ngt
o
demonst
rat
et hi
sprovenmasterpri
nci
ple.Her
eshow:

Wel
l
,agoodsal
esmanmustknowbot
hhi
spr
oductandhi
spr
ospectbef
orehesel
l
s

64ToughestQuest
ions Page31
 anyt
hing.IfIwer
esell
ingt
his,
I
dfi
rstgett
oknowev
ery
thi
ngIcoul
dabouti
t,al
li
ts
feat
uresandbenefi
ts.

Then,ifmygoalweretosel
lty
i ou,
Iwoul
ddosomer esear
chonhowy oumightusea
f
inest
aplerl
i
kethis.Thebestwayt
odothati
sbyaskingsomequest
ions.MayIask
y
ouaf ewquesti
ons?

Thenaskaf ewquest
ionssuchas,
Justoutofcuri
osi
ty,
ify
oudidn
tal
readyhavea
st
aplerl
ikethi
s,whywouldyouwantone?Andi naddi
ti
ontothat
?Anyot herr
eason?
Anyt
hingelse?

Andwouldyouwantsuchast
aplert
ober el
iabl
e?.
..
Holdagoodsuppl
yofst
apl
es?

(
Askmorequest
ionst
hatpoi
nttothefeat
uresthi
sstapl
erhas.
)

Onceyou
veaskedthesequest
ions,makeyourpr
esent
ati
oncit
ingallt
hefeat
uresand
benef
it
softhi
sstaplerandwhyit
sexact
lywhatt
heint
erv
iewerjustt
oldy
ouheslooki
ng
for
.

Thenclosewi th,Justoutofcuri
osity
,whatwoul
dyouconsi
derareasonablepri
cefora
quali
tystaplerli
ket hi
sastapl
eryoucouldhaveri
ghtnowandwould(thenrepeatal
lthe
probl
emst hest aplerwouldsolv
ef orhim)
?Whateverhesay
s,(
unl
essi t
szero),
say,
Okay,wevegotadeal .

NOTE:I fyourinter
viewert estsyoubyf i
ghti
ngever ystepoftheway ,denyingt hathe
evenwant ssuchani tem, dontfi
ghthim.Taket hepr oductawayf rom him bysay i
ng,
Mr.Pr ospect,I
m deli
ghtedy ouvetol
dmer ightupf r
ontthatther e
snowayy oudev er
wantt hisstapler.Asy ouwel lknow, t
hefir
struleofthemostpr oductivesalespeoplein
anyfieldistomeett heneedsofpeopl ewhor ealyneedandwantourpr
l oduct s,andit
j
ustwast eseveryonesti
mei fwet r
ytoforceitont hosewhodon t
.AndIcer tainl
y
wouldn twanttowast eyourt ime.Butwesel l manyi t
ems.I st hereanypr oductont hi
s
desky ouwoul dv erymuchl i
ketoownj ustoneitem? Whenhepoi ntssomet hingout,
repeatt heprocessabov e.I fheknowsany thingaboutselli
ng, hemaygi v
ey oua
standingov ati
on.

Quest
ion54
TheSal
aryQuest
ionHowmuchmoneydoyouwant
?
TRAPS:Mayal
sobephr
asesas,Whatsalar
yareyouwor th?
or,
Howmuchareyou
maki
ngnow?Thi
sisyourmostimpor
tantnegot
iat
ion.Handleitwrongandy
oucan
bl
owthej
oboff
erorgotoworkatfarl
essthanyoumi ghthavegott
en.

BESTANSWER:Formaxi
mum sal
arynegot
iat
ingpower
,remembert
hesef
ivegui
del
i
nes:

1.Nev erbringupsal ary.Lettheintervi

ewerdoi tfi
rst
.Goodsal espeoplesell t
heir
productst horoughlybeforetal
kingpr ce.Soshoul
i dyou.Maket heinter
viewer
wanty ouf ir
st ,
andy ourbargai
ningposi t
ionwillbemuchst r
onger .
2.Ifyourinterviewerraisesthesalaryquestiontooearly,
befor
ey ouvehada
chancet ocr eatedesireforyourqualif
icati
ons,postponethequestion,saying
somet hinglike,Moneyi simportanttome, butisnotmymai nconcer n.
Oppor t
uni t
yandgr owt harefarmor eimpor t
ant.WhatI
dratherdo,ifyoudon t

64ToughestQuest
ions Page32
 mind, i
sexpl oreifImrightfortheposi ti
on, andt hent al
kaboutmoney .Woul d
thatbeokay ?
3.The#1r uleofanynegot iat
ionis:thesi dewi thmor einformationwi ns.Af ter
youvedoneat horoughjobofsel l
i
ngt heinterviewerandi t
sti
met ot alksalar y
,
thesecreti stogett heempl oyertalki
ngaboutwhathe swi l
li
ngt opaybef oreyou
revealwhaty ou r
ewi l
li
ngt oaccept.So, whenaskedaboutsal ary,respondby
asking,I
m sur ethecompanyhasal readyest ablishedasal aryr angef ort his
positi
on.Coul dy outellmewhatt hati s?Or ,Iwantani ncomecommensur at
e
withmyabi l
ityandqual if
icati
ons.It r
usty oul
lbef airwithme.Whatdoest he
positi
onpay ?Or ,moresimply,Whatdoest hi
sposi tionpay ?
4.Knowbef orehandwhaty oudaccept .Toknowwhat
sreasonabl e, r
esear cht he
j
obmar ketandt hisposit
ionforanyr elevantsal aryinformat i
on.Remembert hat
mostexecut i
v eslookfora20- 25%$payboostwhent heyswi t
chj obs.I fyoure
grosslyunder paid,youmaywantmor e.
5.Nev erli
eaboutwhaty oucur r
entl
ymake, butf eel fr
eet oincludet heest imat ed
costofal lyourf ri
nges,whichcouldwel ltackon25- 50%mor et oy ourpr esent
cash-onlysal ar
y.

Quest
ion55 TheI
ll
egalQuest
ion
TRAPS:I ll
egalquestionsincl
udeanyr egardi
ngy ouragenumberandagesofy our
chi
ldrenorotherdependent smar it
alstatusmai dennamer eli
gionpol
iti
cal
aff
il
iati
onancestrynationalori
ginbirt
hplacenat ural
izat
ionofyourparents,
spouse
orchil
drendiseasesdisabil
iti
esclubsorspouse soccupatonunl
i essanyofthe
abovearedi r
ectl
yrelatedtoyourper formanceoft hejob.Youcan tev
enbeaskedabout
arr
ests,thoughyoucanbeaskedaboutconv ict
ions.

BESTANSWER:Undert heever-
presentt
hreatofl
awsui t
s,mosti
nter
viewersarewell
awareofthesetaboos.Yetyoumayencount er
,usuall
yonasecondort hi
rdint
erv
iew,a
seni
orexecuti
vewhodoesntint
ervi
ewmuchandf orget
shecantasksuchquesti
ons.

Youcanhandleani
ll
egal
questi
oninsever
always.Fi
rst,
y oucanasser
tyourl
egalr
ight
nottoanswer
.Butt
hiswi
llf
ri
ghtenorembarr
assyourintervi
eweranddest
royany
rappor
tyouhad.

Second,youcoul
dswall
owyourconcer
nsoverpri
vacyandanswert hequesti
onst r
aight
for
wardlyify
oufeel
theanswercoul
dhelpy
ou.Forexampl e,youri
nter
viewer
, adevout
Bapti
st,r
ecogni
zesyoufr
om chur
chandmentionsit
.Here,
y oucoul
dgainbyt alki
ng
aboutyourchur
ch.

Thir
d,i
fyoudon
twantyourpr
ivacyi
nvaded,
youcandipl
omat
ical
l heconcer
yanswert n
behi
ndthequest
ionwi
thoutansweri
ngthequest
ioni
tsel
f.

Exampl
e:I
fyouar
eov
er50andar
easked,
Howol
dar
eyou?youcananswerwi
tha
fr
iendly,smil
i
ngquest i
onofyourownonwhetherthere
saconcer nthatyouragemy
affectyourperf
ormance.Foll
owt hi
supbyreassuri
ngtheinter
viewerthatther
es
nothinginthi
sjoby oucan
tdoand,inf
act,
yourageandexper i
encear ethemost
i
mpor antadv
t antagesyouoff
ertheemploy
erforthefol
lowingreasons

64ToughestQuest
ions Page33
 Anot
herexampl
e:I
fasked,Doyoupl
ant
ohavechi
l
dren?youcoul
danswer
,Iam
wholeheart
edlydedi
catedtomycar
eer
,perhapsadding,
Ihavenoplansregar
ding
chi
ldren.
(Youneedntfeary
ou
vepledgedet er
nalchi
ldl
essness.Youhaveeveryri
ght
tochangey ourpl
anslater
.Gett
hejobf i
rstandthenenjoyall
youropti
ons.
)

Mosti
mpor tant
ly,
remembert hati
l
legalquest
ionsari
sefrom fearthatyouwontper
for
m
wel
l.Thebestanswerofal li
stogetthejobandperform br
il
li
antly
.Allconcer
nsand
f
earswil
lthenvarnish,
repl
acedbyrespectandappreciat
ionforyourwor k.

Quest
ion56 The
Secr
etI
ll
egalQuest
ion
TRAPS:Muchmor efrequentthantheIl
l
egalqueston(
i seeQuesti
on55)i hesecr
st et
i
ll
egalquest
ion.It
ssecretbecauseit
saskedonlyi
ntheint
ervi
ewer
smind.Sincei
t
s
notev
enexpr essedtoyou,youhavenowayt orespondtoit
,anditcant
herebemost
damaging.

Exampl
e:You
rephy
sical
l
ychal
l
enged,
orasi
ngl
emot
herr
etur
ningt
oyourpr
ofessi
onal
car
eer,
orover50,
oramemberofanet
hni
cminori
ty,orf
itanyofadozenother
cat
egori
est
hatdonotst
ri
ctl
yconf
ormtot
hemajori
tyinagivencompany.

Yourint
erviewerwonders,
Isthi
spersonreal
lyabl
etohandlethejob?
I
sheorshea

goodf i
tataplaceli
keours?
Will
thechemistr
yeverberightwit
hsomeoneli
kethi
s?
Buttheinterv
iewerneverr
aisessuchquesti
onsbecausethey
reil
l
egal.Sowhatcanyou
do?

BESTANSWER:Remembert hatj
ustbecauset
heinter
viewerdoesn
taskanil
l
egal
quest
iondoesn
tmeanhedoesnthav
eit.Morethanli
kely,
heisgoingtocomeupwit
h
hi
sownanswer .Soyoumightaswellhel
phim out
.

How?Well,youobviousl
ycantr
espondtoani
llegalquesti
onifhehasn
tevenasked.
Thismaywellof
fendhim.Andt her
esal
waysthechancehewasn tevenconcer
ned
aboutt
heissueunti
lyoubroughti
tup,andonl
yt henbeginstowonder.

Soy oucantaddr
esssecr
etil
l
egalquestonshead-
i on.Butwhatyoucandoi
smake
surether
esenoughcounterbal
anci
nginfor
mationtomor et
hanreassur
ehimt
hat
ther
esnopr obl
em i
ntheareahemaybedoubt fulabout.

Forexample,let
ssayy ou
reasalesr
epwhohadpol ioasachildandy ouneedacaneto
walk.Youknowy ourconditi
onhasneverimpededyourperf
ormance,y ety
our
e
concernedthatyourinter
viewermaysecret
lybewonderingaboutyourstaminaorabi
l
ity
totrav
el.Well,makesur ethatyouhi
ttheseabi
li
ti
esveryhard,l
eavi
ngnodoubtabout
yourcapaci
tyt ohandlethem well
.

So,too,i
fyou
reinanydiffer
entfr
om whatpassesf ornormal
.Makesure,wit
houti
n
anywayseemi ngdefensiveaboutyour
selfthatyoument i
onstr
engths,
accomplishment
s,prefer
encesandaf f
il
iat
ionsthatstr
onglycount
erbal
anceany
unspokenconcernyourinter
viewermayhav e.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page34
Quest
ion57 Whatwast
het
oughestpar
tofyourl
astj
ob?
TRAPS:Thi
si ssl
ightl
ydif
fer
entf r
om thequesti
onrai
sedearli
er
,Whatsthemost
di
ff
icul
tpartofbeinga(j
obtit
le)becausethi
saskswhaty oupersonall
yhavefound
mostdif
fi
culti
ny ourl
astposi
tion.Thisquesti
onismorediffi
cul
ttoredefi
neint
o
somethi
ngpositi
ve.Yourint
erviewerwil
lassumethatwhateveryoufoundtoughestmay
gi
veyouapr obl
em inyournewposi t
ion.

BESTANSWER:St atethatther
ewasnot hinginy ourpri
orposit
ionthaty
oufoundov er
ly
dif
fi
cult,
andl
etyouranswergoatt hat.I
fpressedt oexpandyouranswer,y
oucoul d
descri
betheaspectsofthepositi
ony ouenjoyedmor ethanothers,
makingsurethatyou
expressmaxi
mum enj oymentforthosetasksmosti mpor t
anttotheopenposi
tion,and
youenjoyedl
eastthosetasksthatareunimpor t
anttothepositi
onathand.

Quest
ion58 Howdoyoudef
inesuccessandhowdoyoumeasur
e
upt
oyourowndefi
nit
ion?
TRAPS:Seemsli
keanobv
iousenoughquest
ion.Yetmanyexecut
ives,
unpr
epar
edf
ori
t,
fumbl
ethebal
l
.

BESTANSWER:Gi v
eawel l
-accepteddef
ini
ti
onofsuccesst
hatl
eadsr
ighti
ntoy
ourown
st
ell
arcol
l
ect
ionofachi
evement s.

Exampl
e:
Thebestdef
ini
ti
onI

vecomeacr
ossi
sthatsuccessi
sthepr
ogr
essi
ve
r
eal
i
zat
ionofawor
thygoal
.

AstohowIwoul dmeasureuptothatdef
init
ion,Iwoul
dconsidermy sel
fboth
successf
ulandfort
unate
(Thensummarizey ourcar
eergoal
sandhowy our
achi
evementshaveindeedrepr
esent
edapr ogressi
vepathtowardreali
zat
ionofy
our
goals.
)

Quest
ion59 TheOpinionQuest i
onWhatdoyout hi
nkabout
Abor t
ionThePr esidentTheDeat
hPenal
ty(
orany
othercontrover
sialsubject
)?
TRAPS:Obv i
ously,t
heseandot heropi
nionquestionsshouldneverbeasked.
Sometimestheycomeupov eracombi nati
ondinner /
interv
iewwhentheintervi
ewerhas
hadadr i
nkortwo,isfeel
ingrel
axed,andisspoutingof faboutsomethi
ngt hatbugged
hi
mi ntoday
snews.I fyougiveyouropini
onandi tstheopposit
eofhis,youwont
changehisopi
nions,butyoucouldeasilyl
osethej obof fer
.

BESTANSWER:I nal
loftheseinst
ances,justrememberthetal
eaboutstudentandthe
wiseoldr
abbi.Thesceneisasemi nary,
wher eanoverl
yseri
ousstudentispr
essingthe
rabbi
toanswertheul
timatequesti
onsofsuf feri
ng,
li
feanddeath.Butnomat terhow
hardhepresses,
thewiseoldrabbiwil
lonlyanswereachdif
fi
cultquest
ionwitha
quest
ionofhisown.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page35
 I
nexasperat
ion,
theseminar
yst
udentdemands,Why,rabbi
,doyoual
waysanswera
quest
ionwit
hanotherquest
ion?Towhi chther
abbir
esponds,
Andwhynot?

Ifyouareev eruncomfor
tablewihanyquest
t i
on,aski
ngaquesti
oninretur
ni sthe
greatestescapehatcheverinv
ented.Itthr
owst heonusbackontheotherperson,
sidetr
acksthediscussi
onf r
om goingint
oanar eaofriskt
oyou,
andgivesy outimeto
thinkofyouransweror,evenbett
er,yournextquesti
on!

Inresponsetoanyoftheopini
onquesti
onscit
edabove,merel
yresponding,
Whydo
youask?willusual
l
ybeenought odissi
pateanypr
essuretogiv
ey ouropi
nion.Buti
f
yourint
ervi
eweragainpressesyouforanopini
on,y
oucanaskanot herquesti
on.

Oryoucouldassertagener ali
tyt
hatalmostev er
yonewouldagreewith.Forexampl
e,i
f
youri
nter
vieweriscompl ai
ningaboutpoli
tici
ansthensuddenlytur
nstoyouandasksif
you
reaRepublicanorDemocr at
,youcouldrespondbysaying,
Actual
ly,
I
mf i
ndi
ngit
hardtofi
ndanypol i
ti
ciansIliketheseday
s.

(Ofcourse,y
ourbestquest
ionofal
lmaybewhet
hery
ouwantt
owor
kforsomeone
opini
onated.
)

Quest
ion60 I
fyouwon$10mi
l
li
onl
ott
ery,
woul
dyoust
il
lwor
k?
TRAPS:Yourt otal
lyhonestr esponsemi ghtbe,Hell,no,ar
eyouser i
ous?Thatmight
beso,butanyanswerwhi chshowsy ouasf l
eeingwor kifgiventhechancecouldmake
youseem l
azy .Ont heotherhand, i
fy ouanswer
,Oh, I
dwantt okeepdoingexact
ly
whatIam doing,onlydoi
ngi tforyourf i
rm,youcoul deasil
yinspir
eyourint
ervi
ewerto
sil
ent
lymuttertohimself
, Yeah,sure.Gimmeabr eak.

BESTANSWER:Thist
y peofquest
ioni
saimedatgetti
ngatyourbedrockat
ti
tudeabout
workandhowy
oufeelaboutwhatyoudo.Yourbestanswerwil
lfocusonyourposi
ti
ve
feel
i
ngs.

Exampl
e:
Aft
erIf
loat
eddownf
rom cl
oudni
ne,
Ithi
nkIwoul
dst
il
lhol
dmybasi
cbel
i
ef
t
hatachi
evementandpurposef
ulworkar
eessent
ial
toahappy
,pr
oduct
iveli
fe.Aft
eral
l,
i
fmoneyaloneboughthappi
ness,
thenal
lri
chpeopl
ewoul
dbeall
happy,andthat
snot
t
rue.

Ilov
et hewor kIdo,andIthinkI
dalwayswanttobeinvol
vedi
nmycareeri
nsome
f
ashion.Wi nningthel
ott
erywoul dmakeitmorefunbecausei
twoul
dmeanhaving
moreflexi
bil
ity
, moreopt
ions..
.whoknows?

Ofcourse,si
nceIcan
tcountonwinning,I
djustassooncr eatemyowndest i
nyby
sti
ckingwithwhat
sworkedf orme,meaninggoodol drel
iablehardworkandadesir
eto
achieve.Ithi
nkthosequal
i
tieshavebuil
tmanymor efort
unest hatal
lthel
ott
eri
esput
together
.

64ToughestQuest
ions Page36
Quest
ion61 Looki
ngbackonyourl
astposi
ti
on,
haveyoudoneyour
bestwor
k?
TRAPS:Tri
ckyquest
ion.Answer
absol
utel
yandi
tcanseem l
i
keyourbestworki
s
behi
ndyou.Answer
,no,mybestworki
saheadofme,andi
tcanseem asify
oudidn
t
gi
veity
ourall
.

BESTANSWER:Tocov erbot
hpossibl
epathsthisquesti
oncant ake,y
ouranswer
shoul
dstat
ethaty
oualwayst
rytodoyourbest,andthebestofyourcar eeri
sr i
ghtnow.
Li
keanathl
eteatt
hetopofhi
sgame, youarej
usthitt
ingyourcareerstr
idethanksto
sever
alf
actor
s.Then,
recapt
hosefact
ors,hi
ghli
ghti
ngy ourst
rongestqualif
icat
ions.

Quest
ion62 Whyshoul
dIhi
reyoufr
om t
heout
sidewhenIcoul
d
pr
omotesomeonefr
om wi
thi
n?
TRAPS:Thisquesti
onisn
tasaggressi
veasitsounds.Itrepr
esent
sthei
nter
viewer
s
owndil
emmaov erthi
scommonpr obl
em.Hesprobablyleani
ngtowardy
oualreadyand
forr
eassur
ance,wantstohearwhatyouhavetosayont hematter
.

BESTANSWER:Hel
phi
m seet
hequal
i
ficat
i hatonl
onst yyoucanof
fer
.

Exampl
e:
Ingener
al,
Ithi
nki
t
sagoodpol
i
cyt
ohi
ref
rom wi
thi
nt
olookout
side
pr
obabl
ymeansy
ou
renotcompl
etel
ycomf
ort
abl
echoosi
ngsomeonef
rom i
nsi
de.

Natur
all
y,youwantthi
sdepar
tmenttobeasstrongasitpossi
blycanbe,soyouwant
thestr
ongestcandi
date.If
eelt
hatIcanfi
llt
hatbil
lbecause(
thenrecapyourst
rongest
qual
ifi
cati
onsthatmatchupwit
hhisgreat
estneeds).

64ToughestQuest
ions Page37
Quest
ion63 Tel
lmesomet
hingnegat
iveyou
vehear
daboutour
company
TRAPS:Thi si
sacommonf i
shi
ngexpediti
ontoseewhattheindustr
ygrapevi
nemaybe
sayi
ngaboutthecompany .Butitsal
soatrapbecauseasanoutsider
,youneverwantt
o
bethebearerofunfl
att
eri
ngnewsorgossi paboutthefi
rm.Itcanonlyhurty
our
chancesandsidet
racktheinter
viewerfr
om get
ti
ngsoldonyou.

BESTANSWER:Justr
emembert
her
ulenev
erbenegat
iveandy
ou
l
lhandl
ethi
sone
j
ustfi
ne.

Quest
ion64 Onascal
eofonet
oten,
rat
emeasani
nter
viewer
.
TRAPS:Gi veaperfect
10,
andyou
l
lseem t
ooeasytopl
ease.Giveanyt
hingl
esst
han
aperf
ect10, andhecouldpr
essy
ouast owherey
our
ebei
ngcrit
ical
,andthatr
oadl
eads
downhil
lforyou.

BESTANSWER:Onceagai
n,neverbenegat
ive.Thei
nterv
iewerwi
l
lonl
yresentcr
it
ici
sm
comi
ngfr
om y
ou.Thisi
stheti
met oshowyourposit
ivi
sm.

However
,don
tgi
veanumer
ical
rat
ing.Si
mpl
ypr
aisewhat
everi
nter
viewst
ylehe
sbeen
usi
ng.

I
fhesbeentough,say
Youhavebeent
hor
oughandt
ough-
minded,
thev
eryqual
i
ties
neededtoconductagoodint
erv
iew.

I
fhe
sbeenmethodi
cal
,say,
Youhav ebeenver
ymethodi
cal
andanal
yti
cal
,andI

m sur
e
t
hatappr
oachr
esult
sinexcel
lenthi
resfory
ourfi
rm.

I
notherwor
ds,payhim asincer mentt
ecompl
i hathecanbel
i
evebecausei
t
sanchor
ed
i
nthebehav
ioryou
vejustseen.

Goodl
ucki
nyourj
obsear
ch!

TheEdi
tor
s

64ToughestQuest
ions Page38