1.Tellmeaboutyourself.Whatthehiringmanagerreallywantsisaquick,two-tothree-minutesnapshotofwhoyouareandwhyyou’rethebestcandidateforthisposition.Soasyouanswerthisquestion,talkaboutwhatyou’vedonetoprepareyourselftobetheverybestcandidatefortheposition.Useanexampleortwotobackitup.Thenaskiftheywouldlikemoredetails.Iftheydo,keepgivingthemexampleafterexampleofyourbackgroundandexperience.Alwayspointbacktoanexamplewhenyouhavetheopportunity.“Tellmeaboutyourself”doesnotmeantellmeeverything.Justtellmewhatmakesyouthebest.sampleanswer:Ihavebeenworkinginthefieldofcivilengineeringforthepast6years.MymostrecentexperiencehasbeenwithanengineeringconsultingfirmwhereI’veworkedforthelast2years.Ienjoymyjobbecauseit’schallengingandIlikeinteractingwithavarietyofpeople.InmymostrecentassignmentIwasonaprojectthatlastedninemonths.Imadeasignificantcontributiontotheprojectbecauseofmyexpertiseinsanitaryengineering.Oneofmystrengthsismyattentiontodetail.Iamknownforbeingextremelythoroughandmeetingorexceedingdeadlinesandgoals.MybossknowsthatIworkwellunderminimalsupervision,thatIamveryconscientiousandthatthejobwillbedonerightthefirsttime.I’mlookingforanewopportunitywhereIcancontributetothegrowthofthecompanybyhelpingeducatecustomersonthebenefitsofusingourconsultingservices.Mybackgroundtodatehasbeencenteredonpreparingmyselftobecometheverybest_____Icanbecome.LetmetellyouspecificallyhowI'vepreparedmyself...Tellaboutyourmajor,whatyouplanondoingwhenyougetoutofcollege,whatotherjobsyouhavehad.Answerinabouttwominutes.Avoiddetails,don’tramble.Touchonthesefourareas:Howmanyyears,doingwhatfunctionEducation–credentialsMajorresponsibilityandaccomplishmentsPersonalsummaryofworkstyle(pluscareergoalsifapplicable)2.Didyoubringyourresume?Yes.Bepreparedwithtwoorthreeextracopies.Donotofferthemunlessyou’reaskedforone.3.Whatisyourlong-rangeobjective?Thekeyistofocusonyourachievableobjectivesandwhatyouaredoingtoreachthoseobjectives.Forexample:“Withinfiveyears,Iwouldliketobecometheverybestaccountantyourcompanyhasonstaff.Iwanttoworktowardbecomingtheexpertthatothersrelyupon.Andindoingso,IfeelI’llbefullypreparedtotakeonanygreaterresponsibilitieswhichmightbepresentedinthelongterm.Forexample,hereiswhatI’mpresentlydoingtopreparemyself...”Thengoontoshowbyyourexampleswhatyouaredoingtoreachyourgoalsandobjectives.Althoughit'scertainlydifficulttopredictthingsfarintothefuture,IknowwhatdirectionIwanttodeveloptoward.Withinfiveyears,Iwouldliketobecometheverybest_____yourcompanyhas.Iwouldliketobecometheexpertthatothersrelyupon.Andindoingso,IfeelIwillbefullypreparedtotakeonanygreaterresponsibilitiesthatmightbepresentedinthelongterm.4.Areyouateamplayer?Describewhatwouldbeanidealworkingenvironment?Teamworkisthekey.Almosteveryonesaysyestothisquestion.Butitisnotjustayes/noquestion.Youneedtoprovidebehavioralexamplestobackupyouranswer.Asampleanswer:“Yes,I’mverymuchateamplayer.Infact,I’vehadopportunitiesinmywork,schoolandathleticstodevelopmyskillsasateamplayer.Forexample,onarecentproject...”Emphasizeteamworkbehavioralexamplesandfocusonyouropennesstodiversityofbackgrounds.Talkaboutthestrengthoftheteamabovetheindividual.Andnotethatthisquestionmaybeusedasaleadintoquestionsaroundhowyouhandleconflictwithinateam,sobepreparedYouare,ofcourse,ateamplayer.Besuretohaveexamplesready.Specificsthatshowyouoftenperformforthegoodoftheteamratherthanforyourse...
