[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
a colleague happened to mention she was excited about her son
taking part. I was scrupulous in meeting deadlines or getting back to
people when I said I would and I was always honest enough to admit
when I didn t know something or couldn t help someone. That way
people would trust me and I would be seen as credible and reliable.
"
COMMON INTERVIEW QUESTIONS & AND HOW TO ANSWER THEM 71
Think of someone who s particularly effective at
Q
building and maintaining relationships with
others. What do they do exactly?
This question is not only about you having self-awareness, but also the
ability to spot such traits in others. You can use a bit of poetic licence
here if you wish. After all, if you describe this person in the correct way,
it could be Hamish McTavish from Glasgow (who might not even exist)
to Sir Richard Branson (who may or may not be as you describe him).
Either way, the crux of the matter here is for you to describe this person,
ficticious or otherwise, using the right type of adjectives.
I used to work with this chap called Ewan. I ve never seen someone
who could get so many people to do things for him when he needed
them to or to be so readily accepted in any company. From my
observations of him I saw that he always communicated in the same
relaxed and friendly manner with everyone, no matter what their
position in the company. He d occasionally work late in order to get
things completed for other people. He genuinely seemed to care about
others and always made a point of being extra helpful to new people. I
once asked him what he thought he did that made people trust him,
and he simply told me that he always treated others like he expected to
be treated: he was truthful, kept his promises, didn t make excessive
demands on others, and acted on the basis that people are intrinsically
good and would rather do you a good turn than a bad one. I suppose
you might say that some could ve thought him naïve, but I didn t. He
lived up to his own ideals which made people round about him live up
to them too.
Q
How do you behave when you meet new people?
The reality might be that you might behave differently each time you
meet new people. However, they really wouldn t ask you a question like
"
72 HOW TO ANSWER HARD INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
this to get such a bland answer as that would they? No. If you didn t
answer no at this point, go stand in the corner and come and see me at
home time.
What they are getting at here is are you self-aware enough of your
own behaviours and how they affect others? Can you adapt depending
on the character or nature of who you are with?
I m conscious that I don t dominate the conversation when I meet new
people. I genuinely like people, so I ask a lot of questions not enough
to be accused of prying, but I always try and remember the details of
what they say to me. Maybe it s their interests, or things they ve said
about their family. I then drop it into conversation and the response is
usually positive.
"
COMMON INTERVIEW QUESTIONS & AND HOW TO ANSWER THEM 73
QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR COMMERCIAL
AWARENESS
Your initial reaction to seeing a section devoted to commercial awareness
might be Well, I don t really have to be that commercially aware do I?
There are loads of people for that such as accountants, finance controllers
etc.
The truth is, you really SHOULD have a commercial awareness no
matter what line of business your employer is in. After all, if the enterprise
is not successful, it won t be in existence for very long. Be aware that each
and every employee, some way or another affects the bottom line of a
business s balance sheet and you should be prepared to demonstrate how
you contribute and your awareness of the bigger picture
. You may be
looking to work for a non-profit-making organization. In this context,
look at ways of minimising expenditure, which makes the money that
does come in go that much farther.
Why, in your opinion, do customers choose our
Q
products and services?
The initial question here is almost designed for anyone who ever took a
marketing course in the past or has a basic grasp of common sense (I
know, I know, it s in short supply).
Well I think first and foremost your organisation has built up its brand
to a point where people automatically think of you when they think of
(their product/service here). My view is that people regard Company
XYZ as one of the leaders in their field supplying this particular market
in such a way that people know what to expect: a good product at a
good price at the right time.
How could we make them more competitive?
Q
It is a basic fact of business that you can only make more profit by
either (a) selling more product at the same margin, or (b) increasing
"
74 HOW TO ANSWER HARD INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
your margin, and you can only increase your margin by either raising
selling prices or reducing selling costs. I don t really know enough
about your particular business model to offer a serious opinion on
what I think you should do. Do we have time to explore this further?
Here again we have used honesty in admitting we don t have all the
facts. The candidate who makes bold statements on how the people
interviewing him have actually got it all wrong thus far is not brave,
merely foolish! Again, you have shown good time awareness by asking if
there is enough time to go deeper into this question.
What are the market trends that affect us?
Q
Here is a chance for you to shine. You NEED to know the factors that
affect your prospective employer s business.
For example, if they make items which are not considered to be good for
us or the environment cigarettes, sweets, 4 × 4 cars, nuclear reactors,
etc. then you should be aware of the mood of the country at that
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]