Daily Infographic: Job interviews can be both eye opening and stressful at the same time. Quite an important judgement has to be made often after a mere hour long chat. That’s why interviews are filled with probing questions like what are your weaknesses, what are your life goals, what would you change in your life, etc.
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As I am looking for summer jobs, I am really glad I came across this article because I think it could be really helpful. Also even though, clearly this article is centered around office jobs, the same questions still apply to theater. Often those curve balls can make or break an interview, because employers want to see how people react on the spot. Looking at this article, some of the questions are obvious, but I never would have thought of some of the other ones. I know that if I were asked to respond to them in an interview, I would not have known what to do. Even though I probably won’t have to do an interview for another couple of months, I want to bookmark this article and start thinking about how I would approach some of the more difficult questions.
These are really good interview questions that I would both want to be able to reply to and also ask from the other side of the table if I was hiring. Being able to articulately describe why you want the job and how it would be best for you and the company is really important. Being able to respond to that question in a confident manner means that you have done your research on the company, listened to any pitches or descriptions from those who have interviewed, and been able to process all of that it a statement or two on the fly. By doing so, you are able to not only show your ability to process information quickly, but that you have given some serious thought to the process as a whole. I'm not sure how the "if you could change anything in your past" question really fits with the other 7. I think that question has the potential to lead the discussion down a path that could cause the interviewee to reveal information about themselves that the employer has no right to. I find that question oddly personal and invasive, but the other 7 seem to be more on line with questions that I would like to be asked.
This are some good questions with some relatively good approaches to the answers. Its interesting because in the theatrical world it has been very rare that I have actually be asked questions like this. The interviews I have been a part of tend to be much more of conversations in which some of the content of these is hinted at but not really fully addressed. I do agree though that one should be able to adequately converse about the company in which they are interviewing with as well as the position they wish to hold. I think that one should also have the ability to converse well about themselves, their skills and interest. However as someone who has been on the hiring end I want the person I am interviewing to have to pause to think about the idea. I want to see how they think, how they respond and how they converse as a normal human without prepared questions and memorized answers. There is a plus to both sides of preparation.
Some of this questions seem a bit strange, though I believe they get asked. For example, I understand why interviewers would ask “What question did you not want me to ask?” but it seems like a pointless question. No one would actually say the question they REALLY don’t want to be asked, they’ll pick something they can spin. Also, “If you could change anything in your past, what would it be?” seems pretty inappropriate for an interview, and irrelevant, unless of course it is assumed they mean “anything about your career.” My guess is that if most people could really change one thing, that one thing would have to do with their personal life. I’m also not entirely sure how I feel about this advice. If you are applying to be an English teacher and you say your weakness is accounting, that seems like a bit of a cop out, and the interviewer could easily feel like you decided to dodge the question. It is more or less like saying “I don’t know how to juggle.” Technically accurate, but not relevant. I feel like if someone goes that route they should at least be ready for a follow up trying to get a more relevant weakness. I think talking about a relevant weakness and how you are working on it is probably the better strategy.
Many of these were entertaining, but only some of them were good advice. I particularly enjoyed the example where, when asked about your weaknesses as an English teacher, you should answer "I am bad at accounting." Any recruiter with half of a brain is going to realize that this is just a way to dodge the question. I think it is really important to be honest, but to focus on the improvements you are striving to make. Instead of mentioning your poor accounting skills, perhaps you could talk about your tendency to put off difficult conversations with students, but that you have approached this weakness head-on with a strategic plan. I would be so impressed with someone who could honestly explain their weaknesses, and even more impressed with someone who has recognized them on their own and done their best to combat them. The only one of these questions I find very frustrating is, "What is the one question you were hoping I wouldn't ask?" This, to me, is just getting started with a very strange dynamic. Suddenly, the person interviewing you (whom you may work closely with in the future) is making their view of the hierarchy in the situation very clear: you are the weak person who has come in with something to hide, and he or she is the almighty employer who will force it out of you. I find that very unsettling and would genuinely consider not taking a job from someone like that if I had other options. The rest of these questions I found fairly reasonable and not very "tough."
As the case almost always is with articles like this about interviewing and resumes, our experiences in theatre tend to be quite different. I think I’ve been asked maybe half of these questions at one time or another, but rarely all in one go. In theatre, the questions are usually much more specific to theatre, like for example, “How would you deal with a difficult director?” However, I think a lot of the strategies for answering these questions are very smart and valid. There was one answering strategy for a question that I found kind of inappropriate though. One of the options for “What is your greatest weakness?” was to say you’re bad at something that is completely unrelated. I think if an interviewer asked me what my biggest weakness was and I said something like “Hm well you know I never really was good at jumping rope” I think they would hang up the phone. The second option for the question is the much more logical strategy, which is to state a real weakness that isn’t a dealbreaker weakness, and discuss how you’re planning to improve it.
This is a great article that everyone should read, most importantly if you are looking for jobs anytime soon. Far too often, these are the types of questions I and many others like to ask, and they help inform a lot about a person. From how they think, work under pressure, treat others, react to problems, and what they want. Usually, in these times we catch people up because they haven't really given any pre-thought out an answer or thought to them. There is also the danger of becoming too formulaic in one's response which then makes the question worthless and is often seen through no matter how clever you think you are at the moment. Overall, I think that this is a great article that every person should print a copy of and have around when preparing for any type of interview. These questions are intended ot make you think on your feet and see how you react hence most all though pointless have a reason.
This article had some really tough questions in it that I hadn't yet considered. Since so many interviews take place online now rather than in person, I love taking advantage of writing out these tough interview questions, thinking about the answers in advance, and then having them with me during a Skype interview or phone interview. Even if you are doing an in person interview, the most important tip I can give is to definitely write out these tougher questions and memorize an outline of what you would want your answers to sound like. The thing about these "tough" questions is that the answer can't necessarily be something you just come up with on the spot and expect to nail it. These types of questions all take a bit more thought and careful consideration to really impress the interviewer. I'm definitely book marking this page so I can add all of these questions and answer suggestions to my interview prep sheet.
I do wonder about question 3 “What is the one question you were hoping I wouldn’t ask” I don’t see the point of this question and I would probably feel weird about the interviewers if they ask this because it makes me feel like they are trying to sound smart and superior. Despite that, this article is pretty helpful and most of the questions listed are indeed the frequently asked tricky questions. As an applicant to a position, the least one hopes is to be caught off guard so getting oneself prepared beforehand for both standard questions that everyone asks and some of these tough questions will definitely help you present calmness and thoughtfulness during the interview. Most of these questions are tough because you can’t be 100% honest or telling the complete story. Interviewers are looking for some quality they values from the answer you give them and so it is really important to craft your answer so that you sound not only genuine but also smart.
I always like it when I can find an article with tough questions for job interviews, as they really help to prepare for the fast-approaching internship application season. This article actually had some questions that I hadn’t seen before, which is great because I can prepare for them ahead of time. Like Brennan said, I find it very helpful to go into an interview with at least a basic idea of what I would answer to every generic question I think they would ask. I then go through them and generally practice what I would say, but not to the point where it sounds too rehearsed. Another good strategy for interviews I’ve found is to do as much research about to company itself. Find out what their past and upcoming seasons are, look up their mission statement and work it into your answers, and make sure you know who your potential future coworkers are. This not only makes you stand out, but will also give you an idea of whether or not you’ll fit in with this company.
The hardest interview question I have ever been asked was "What are your thoughts on Obamacare?" To me, this seems like an outrageous question to ask a seventeen year old at an interview for a college scholarship, but that is really besides the point, because someone did. I honestly had no way of answering the question in a cohesive way. I knew the school was much more conservative than I was (as were my interviewers), and even though they said it did not matter which side I was on, I still felt uncomfortable expressing my opinion on the matter. I pulled together some half assed answer that they basically just nodded at and moved on, but I could tell they did not like it. Needless to say I did not get the scholarship. What I should have done was say that I really did not know enough about the matter to have a cohesive answer, which albeit unsatisfying was more accurate than what I ended up saying. And I think that would have come across better. Admitting that you do not have an answer shows that you know yourself and you are not simply going to lie to try to get the position or whatever you are applying for.
This article was a great read, especially as I begin looking for work or internships over the summer. In the past I have been asked questions like these and struggled to come up with a strong response on the spot, and I would have loved to had something like this to give me guidance ahead of time. It is one of the worst feelings to be in an interview for a job and feel like you do not know how to truthfully, accurately respond to a tricky, yet frequently asked question. I think it is good to have these pre-thought out for both the interviewer and the applicant, but also understand that no answer should be so formulaic and robotic that it doesn't flow with the natural conversation being had. It is incredibly important to go into interviews with a general idea of what you want, where you want to go, and your overall strengths and weaknesses, but not have everything to planned out, and I think this article does a good job of establishing that feel.
I found this infographic to be very helpful to me, as I have never been very good at public speaking and presentation, and have been constantly trying to improve on these weaknesses. I am now entering a time in my life in which interview skills and self presentation are critically important (Job interviews, Internships, end of semester critiques, e.t.c.) , so having helpful advice in any form on this topic is definitely welcome to me. Specifically, I liked how the infographic advised how to answer the question by framing it through what the interviewer wants to find out about you when they ask it. I know that I often get caught up in overthinking my answers to questions that catch me off guard, so being able to focus down my response is a particularly useful tidbit.
This article really touches upon interesting aspects of a job interview. In fact, some of these questions I have yet to be asked, so it is really helpful to know that these are the sorts of curveballs interviewers will throw at you. I definitely agree with the idea of practicing in front of a mirror or doing a video recording. I did some competitive debate in high school and my coach would always press me to record myself. Not only did I pick up on subconscious gestures and mistakes that I was making, but I actually gained some confidence from seeing myself speak and seeing some of the positive aspects of my public speaking. I would not recommend people ever go in blind. Overconfidence in an interview can be deadly when you come off as cocky, or you get wrongfooted by a tricky question.
I agree with some people above that 'what is the one question you were hoping I wouldn't ask?' question probably is not the best one. To me it comes across as not prepared, pushing the interviewer's work to the interviewee. But also in a way it is understandable because it certainly will throw off most kinds of interviewees, except for the people who read this article. So, this article is very useful because these are indeed tricky questions to answer. Although I'm sure people do prepare for important interviews, these are the questions that you really have to think and be prepared to answer properly. Also, since some of the questions touch on your personal values and beliefs, you don't want to reveal too much and dig your own grave. And I especially like the other little tips the author sneaked in: practicing in front of the mirror or doing a video recording. It is nerve wrecking, but if you are a control freak like me, knowing how I look to others boosts confidence at least a little bit.
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