lifehacker.com: Go on enough job interviews and you'll quickly learn most interviewers ask the same things. But what are employers really looking for when they ask things like "Where do you see yourself five years from now?" This graphic spells out the reasoning behind typical questions like that.
14 comments:
This is a really cool article, I think back to our Meta skills class where we learned proper interview educate (most notably to take the water offered. It would have been really great if we had gone over this sort of topic, what interviewers are looking for. This article so hit the nail on the head, with the main questions asked. It is hard to tell what an interview want to hear when you are on the other side of a desk, thankfully in our business, the expectations are a little different, but reading this article is a good place to start. I'm glad this was posted.
Dear Lifehacker,
When writing an article about interview questions, it often behooves you to make sure your author is the same nationality as you audience base.
Sincerely,
If you ask me about "my partner's" thoughts on anything in an interview, I will laugh in your face
But seriously, if I was ever asked what my partner thinks about a part of a job, I would question the motivation of my interviewer and the company to which I was applying. The comments section on the article itself say that in Europe, listing marital status etc. is normal and expected, but Lifehacker writes for a predominantly American audience and, as such, should pay attention to cultural incompatibilities in its articles.
I've been on a lot of job interviews and have heard a few of these questions, but not many. Perhaps these questions are for jobs that require higher qualifications than the basic server or cashier gig, but if that's the case, they seem a bit primitive. Sure, whether you answer 'how many quarters does it take to get to the top of the empire state building' with the amount it takes to buy an elevator pass, the calculated height of quarters, or a simple 'I have no idea' tells a bit about your character, it still does not signify if you can handle real world problems. These seem like games. I personally hate it when someone asks me 'what are your biggest weaknesses?' If I say 'I care too much' it sounds like a line, but what should I say? 'Deadlines are a weakness for me'? No one wants to hear that. It feels as if they are toying with you, seeing if you answer their out-of-the-box questions right. It just doesn't seem like a good way to get to know somebody. Then again, how else will you be able to?
This is definitely a useful article to practice for any job interview. However, it depends what job you are looking into and what interviewer finds important. However, I do agree with Ariel when she talks about some of the common questions, like "What are your weaknesses?" or "How would your friends describe you?" I still don't understand how anyone is ever supposed to answer. You either make yourself sound horrible or like you're exaggerating and have prepared every little thing you say. It's like how you find out if someone is a witch, if you float you're a witch, if you sink and died, you were a human. It's a lose-lose situation.
It's so easy to become nervous and over-think questions during an interview. This article is helpful for remembering that each question has the intention of finding out about YOU. There is no need to get worked up or confused when asked a seemingly random question. As long as you express yourself clearly and represent yourself accurately, it will be a stress-free (and hopefully successful) interview.
Although some of these questions may seem difficult to answer, it makes sense as to why interviewers ask these questions. For the interviewee it may be that we don't want to reveal what our biggest weakness is or about a time when we failed. However, whether the answer is something the interviewer wants to hear or not, answering truthfully also says a lot about our character and ability to stay strong in uncomfortable situations as well as our "self-awareness."
I appreciated seeing the intent behind some of what I classify as the "bizarro" questions a person can get asked during an interview. I think the pivotal point the article is making, is that it doesn't matter what questions you're being asked. What matters is how you answer them. Regardless if they agree or disagree with your response, the point is to look competent and confident. The best advice anybody every gave me was to pause and take a breath before I answered I was unsure of or extremely passionate about. Keeping centered, articulate, and focused can really so much more than people realize!
I really like this article because I think that a lot people go into job interviews without really thinking about why the interviewer is asking them certain questions, and then as a result miss out on opportunities to sell themselves. There is a clear intent behind each question that an employer asks and if you don't catch on quickly enough, you may end up giving an answer that doesn't reflect the skills or personality traits that you are trying to get across. It is really easy to write a question off as a silly hypothetical, but those questions are the perfect opportunities to show yourself as efficient and reliable critical thinker.
I'm surprised that this article doesn't mention at all there are are, in many cases, only certain ways that companies are allowed to phrase questions, especially regarding to race, background, and socio-economic inferences. This has much to do with the Equal Opportunity Employment litigation. Personally, no one has ever asked me about what I would do if I were stuck in a blender. But I like this question, because it potentially provides an appropriate outlet for humor. I feel like lots of these are rather generic questions. And most of the job interviews I have been on ask me more specific questions about problem solving regarding production. "How do you deal with Divas?" is a question I repeatedly hear over and over again. I agree with Christina on this one though, no matter the question: It's not what you say, it's how you answer. I'm ready for the lifehacker article that gives me the list of appropriate questions to ask the interviewer.
These are some weird questions, "if you were shrunk to the size of a pencil and put in a blender how would you get out" I mean come on... What??
I think this article is correct most companies are just trying to find out "If you can do the job, why you want the job, and if you will fit into the organization". All questions that you are asked can fall into one of these categories, so if you just find answers to these questions you can answer just about anything and get the job!
Interviews are always daunting, and one often finds themselves wondering: “What am I going to be asked?” and “What is the ‘Right’ response?” Sitting across the table, I often find myself with feelings of overwhelming scrutiny, as though my every syllable is being analyzed. Truth be told, this is more often than not, not the case. This article has a calming effect, as these explanations provide excellent insight into what interviewers are looking for. It is less about a quantitative analysis of your skills, but instead a qualitative look at your values and ambitions. An important thing I remind myself is that they want you to succeed, they want you to make their job easy for them. Similarly, rejection becomes a little bit easier, as what once may have been considered “you are not good enough” becomes “you’re just not the right fit.” An intriguing beneficial read.
I think Christina has a really good point: an interview isn't about the questions you asked, but how you handle them. When someone interviews you, they want to know if you'll be good for the job. Just as important though, (and especially in the theatre world, where everyone works closely with each other), the interviewer wants to figure out if they would want to spend 8 hour days working with you, days on end. That's why questions like "how would you get out of a blender?" or "why are manhole covers round?" are useful questions to ask sometimes, since they allow the interviewee to show more of their personality, and really demonstrate how they think on the fly.
I've read similar articles before where they discuss weird interview questions or different interview strategies and I've found a few commonalities between them. It seems like in interviews the questions basically fall into two categories, either the interviewer is actually genuinely interested in the answer to the question, or the interviewer is really just looking at how you approach the question and your reasoning skills. I could imagine that if as a interviewee you could after a question is asked, identify for yourself which category the question falls into, it will make the process of answering questions (no matter how absurd) easier.
This is a very interesting article for both the interviewer and the interviewee.
When I was interviewing soldiers for certain rolls in the army, I would have a set of questions that I would have to ask. Sometimes you sort of forget what the purpose of the question is. You just ask it out of habit but don't really understand what you're asking.
For people interviewing, this article could be really useful. I think before interviewing you should defiantly know that you can answer all these questions confidently.
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