The Most Difficult Interview Questions (and Answers)

By NicoleWilliams.com staff
You did it! You reworked your resume, perfected your cover letter and landed the big interview. But walking
through the door is only the beginning -- especially if the interviewer throws some hard-hitting questions your
way and you don’t know how to respond. “The interview is an elimination process,” says Dr. Thomas J.
Denham, a career counselor at Careers in Transition LLC in Colonie, New York. “The employer is trying to weed
out those who are not the most worthy of the position.” Here, Denham offers some advice on how to answer
five of the toughest interview questions:

1. What is your biggest weakness?

Questions like these, says Denham, are asked so that interviewees admit a weakness that justifies their being
shown the door. He recommends responding with: “I have a tendency to say yes and get overcommitted.” Then
follow that with an example of how you are working on prioritizing and setting personal limits. Never draw
negative attention to yourself by stating a weakness that would lead an employer to think you are not the best
person for the job, Denham says. “The focus of your interview should be on your strengths,” he says.

2. What salary do you think you deserve?

“The person who states the salary is the loser,” says Denham, explaining that if you are the first to throw out a
number, the number you give could be less than what the employer was planning to pay. Wait for the employer
to give a range, and when it does ask you for a figure you expect to be making, choose a salary that is higher
than the median they provide. Use online tools and resources to find out what you can realistically expect. Also,
don’t talk salary on the first interview.

3. Why should I hire you?

For this one, Denham says it’s important to prepare before the interview. “Go back to your resume and look
through it for the three to five things that make you outstanding,” he says. These qualities should accent your
work ability, like “I’m a hard worker” or “I get things done.” You have to demonstrate a track record of results.
“The notion is that past performance is always the best predictor of future performance,” Denham says.

4. What didn’t you like about your last job?

The employer who asks this question could be looking for you to answer with something that would indicate a
weakness of yours, once again in an attempt to eliminate you. So while it may be tempting to trash your boss
or complain about the hours (they expected me to be in at 8 a.m.!), try answering with something like this: “I
did not feel my responsibilities were challenging enough.” Then the employer will feel confident that you are
ready for whatever they may throw at you.

5. Where do you see yourself in three to five years?

The worst answer you can provide to this one, Denham says, is “I have no idea,” even though that might be
the truth. “It’s basically like saying, ‘I have no idea what I’m doing with my life and I have no idea how long I’ll
stay with this job,’” Denham says. Try a response like “I’ve done a lot of self-assessment, and what I’ve
learned about myself is that I want to make a commitment to this career and I want to build my career here.”

About Nicole:

Career expert and best-selling author of Girl on Top, Nicole Williams is redefining the world of work -- making it
glamorous, entertaining and relevant to modern women. Nicole founded WORKS by Nicole Williams in 2006
with the vision of building the first media and content company focused on career development specifically for
the highly dynamic and powerful market of young professional women. Her Web site, Nicolewilliams.com, is the
go-to destination site for modern working women.
Six Interview Answers You Need to Get Hired
By Peter Vogt, Monster Senior Contributing Writer

During the typical job interview, you'll be asked a lot of questions. But do you really understand what the
interviewer needs to know?

"Most students have no idea why a recruiter asks a particular question," says Brad Karsh, a former recruiting
professional for advertising giant Leo Burnett and current president of career consulting firm Job Bound. "They
tend to think it's a competition to outwit the interviewer."

The reality is that employers have neither the time nor inclination to play games with you, especially when
hiring. Your interviewer is not trying to outguess you -- he's trying to assess your answers to six key questions:

Do You Have the Skills to Do the Job?

According to Karsh, the employer must first determine whether you have the necessary hard skills for the
position, e.g., the programming knowledge for a database administration job or the writing chops to be a
newspaper reporter. "By really probing into what the candidate has done in the past, an interviewer can tap
into hard skills."

But the interviewer is also looking for key soft skills you'll need to succeed in the job and organization, such as
the ability to work well on teams or "the requisite common sense to figure things out with some basic training,"
says Terese Corey Blanck, director of student development at internship company Student Experience and a
partner in College to Career, a consulting firm.

Do You Fit?

"Every organization's first thought is about fit and potentially fit in a certain department," Corey Blanck says.
That means the interviewer is trying to pinpoint not only whether you match up well with both the company's
and department's activities but also whether you'll complement the talents of your potential coworkers.

Do You Understand the Company and Its Purpose?

If the organization fits well with your career aspirations, you'll naturally be motivated to do good work there --
and stay more than a month or two, Corey Blanck reasons. "I don't want someone to take the position because
it's a job and it fits their skills. I want them to be excited about our mission and what we do."

How Do You Stack Up Against the Competition?

You're being evaluated in relation to other candidates for the job. In other words, this test is graded on a curve.
So the interviewer will constantly be comparing your performance with that of the other candidates'.

Do You Have the Right Mind-Set for the Job and Company?

"I'm always looking for someone who has a can-do type of attitude," Corey Blanck explains. "I want someone
who wants to be challenged and is internally motivated to do well.

Corey Blanck points out that an employer can't train for this essential trait. "But you can hire for it. And if you
don't, you'll end up with a lower-performing employee."

Do You Want the Job?

Most employers know better than to believe everyone they interview actually wants the position being offered.
They understand some candidates are exploring their options, while others are using an interview with a
company they don't care about to hone their interview skills.

So you have to prove you really want the job, says Al Pollard, senior college recruiter for Countrywide Financial.
"I use the ditch-digger analogy: Many of us can dig ditches, but few are willing to -- and even fewer want to."

Make a Great First Impression

The initial impression you make on others is, if not indelible, certainly a huge determinant in how people will
feel about you for quite some time. This judgment is only magnified at job interviews -- an activity designed to
make sure you fit within an organization both personally and professionally.

In this Monster Special Feature, we'll cover how you can make the best possible impression at the interview.
You'll learn how to prepare for the big day, send out the right nonverbal cues and develop self-awareness of
your interview image.

Last-Minute Interview Preparation

By Doug Hardy, Monster Staff Writer

Adapted from Monster Careers: Interviewing

Even if you have less than a day before your job interview, you can outshine the competition with a little
interview preparation. The following four tasks will take you about four hours (plus five minutes) to complete,
and you'll walk into the interview confident you'll be successful.

Conduct Basic Interview Research

To prepare for an interview, find out as much as you can beforehand. Call the person who scheduled your
interview and ask:

 Who will you be talking to? Will you meet the manager you'd work for, or will you just talk to HR?
What are the interviewer's expectations?
 What's the dress code? Dress better than suggested. Most times, it's best to wear a professional
suit. You'd be amazed how many candidates show up looking like they're going to class, not presenting
a professional demeanor.
 Get directions to the office. Plan to leave early. Keep a phone number to call if you get stuck on the
bus or in traffic. If you arrive late and stressed, the interview will not go well.
 If you don't have a detailed job description, ask for one.

That's a five-minute phone call.

Learn About the Company Online

Do some fast Web research, which will give you something to talk about in addition to the job description. Go to
the employer's Web site, or search the Web for information such as:

 How big is the company in terms of annual sales or employees?

 What does the company say about its products or services?
 What recent news (such as a new product, a press release, an interview with the CEO) can you
discuss?
 If the company is public, the boilerplate at the bottom of its press releases will tell you a lot.

Basic research should take you about an hour.

Think of Some Stories

Be ready to answer typical interview questions with a story about yourself. To prepare, write down and
memorize three achievement stories. Tell about times you've really felt proud of an achievement at work or
school. These stories demonstrate all those hard-to-measure qualities like judgment, initiative, teamwork or
leadership. Wherever possible, quantify what you've done, e.g., "increased sales by 20 percent," "cut customer
call waiting time in half," "streamlined delivery so that most customers had their job done in two days."

By the way, nonwork achievement stories are good too; if you volunteer for the local food pantry, write down a
time you overcame a big challenge or a crisis there.
Achievement stories make you memorable, which is what you want. There's an exercise in Monster Careers:
Interviewing called "Mastering the Freestyle Interview," which helps you develop these stories into compelling
sales points.

Take the time you need -- at least three hours on this task.

Pick Your Outfit, and Go to Bed Early

Lay out your interview outfit the night before, get a good night's rest, and always get an early start. The last
thing you want is to waste all of your interview preparation by arriving flustered and panicked because you
couldn't find a parking space.

100 Potential Interview Questions

By Thad Peterson, Monster Staff Writer

While there are as many different possible interview questions as there are interviewers, it always helps to be
ready for anything. So we've prepared a list of 100 potential interview questions. Will you face them all? We
pray no interviewer would be that cruel. Will you face a few? Probably. Will you be well-served by being ready
even if you're not asked these exact questions? Absolutely.

Basic Interview Questions:

 Tell me about yourself.

 What are your strengths?
 What are your weaknesses?
 Why do you want this job?
 Where would you like to be in your career five years from now?
 What's your ideal company?
 What attracted you to this company?
 Why should we hire you?
 What did you like least about your last job?
 When were you most satisfied in your job?
 What can you do for us that other candidates can't?
 What were the responsibilities of your last position?
 Why are you leaving your present job?
 What do you know about this industry?
 What do you know about our company?
 Are you willing to relocate?
 Do you have any questions for me?

Behavioral Interview Questions:

 What was the last project you headed up, and what was its outcome?
 Give me an example of a time that you felt you went above and beyond the call of duty at work.
 Can you describe a time when your work was criticized?
 Have you ever been on a team where someone was not pulling their own weight? How did you
handle it?
 Tell me about a time when you had to give someone difficult feedback. How did you handle it?
 What is your greatest failure, and what did you learn from it?
 What irritates you about other people, and how do you deal with it?
 If I were your supervisor and asked you to do something that you disagreed with, what would you
do?
 What was the most difficult period in your life, and how did you deal with it?
 Give me an example of a time you did something wrong. How did you handle it?
 What irritates you about other people, and how do you deal with it?
 Tell me about a time where you had to deal with conflict on the job.
 If you were at a business lunch and you ordered a rare steak and they brought it to you well done,
what would you do?
  If you found out your company was doing something against the law, like fraud, what would you
do?
 What assignment was too difficult for you, and how did you resolve the issue?
 What's the most difficult decision you've made in the last two years and how did you come to that
decision?
 Describe how you would handle a situation if you were required to finish multiple tasks by the end
of the day, and there was no conceivable way that you could finish them.

Salary Questions:

 What salary are you seeking?

 What's your salary history?
 If I were to give you this salary you requested but let you write your job description for the next
year, what would it say?

Career Development Questions:

 What are you looking for in terms of career development?

 How do you want to improve yourself in the next year?
 What kind of goals would you have in mind if you got this job?
 If I were to ask your last supervisor to provide you additional training or exposure, what would she
suggest?

Getting Started Questions:

 How would you go about establishing your credibility quickly with the team?
 How long will it take for you to make a significant contribution?
 What do you see yourself doing within the first 30 days of this job?
 If selected for this position, can you describe your strategy for the first 90 days?

More About You:

 How would you describe your work style?
 What would be your ideal working situation?
 What do you look for in terms of culture -- structured or entrepreneurial?
 Give examples of ideas you've had or implemented.
 What techniques and tools do you use to keep yourself organized?
 If you had to choose one, would you consider yourself a big-picture person or a detail-oriented
person?
 Tell me about your proudest achievement.
 Who was your favorite manager and why?
 What do you think of your previous boss?
 Was there a person in your career who really made a difference?
 What kind of personality do you work best with and why?
 What are you most proud of?
 What do you like to do?
 What are your lifelong dreams?
 What do you ultimately want to become?
 What is your personal mission statement?
 What are three positive things your last boss would say about you?
 What negative thing would your last boss say about you?
 What three character traits would your friends use to describe you?
 What are three positive character traits you don't have?
 If you were interviewing someone for this position, what traits would you look for?
 List five words that describe your character.
 Who has impacted you most in your career and how?
 What is your greatest fear?
 What is your biggest regret and why?
 What's the most important thing you learned in school?
  Why did you choose your major?
 What will you miss about your present/last job?
 What is your greatest achievement outside of work?
 What are the qualities of a good leader? A bad leader?
 Do you think a leader should be feared or liked?
 How do you feel about taking no for an answer?
 How would you feel about working for someone who knows less than you?
 How do you think I rate as an interviewer?
 Tell me one thing about yourself you wouldn't want me to know.
 Tell me the difference between good and exceptional.
 What kind of car do you drive?
 There's no right or wrong answer, but if you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would
you be?
 What's the last book you read?
 What magazines do you subscribe to?
 What's the best movie you've seen in the last year?
 What would you do if you won the lottery?
 Who are your heroes?
 What do you like to do for fun?
 What do you do in your spare time?
 What is your favorite memory from childhood?

Brainteaser Questions:

 How many times do a clock's hands overlap in a day?

 How would you weigh a plane without scales?
 Tell me 10 ways to use a pencil other than writing.
 Sell me this pencil.
 If you were an animal, which one would you want to be?
 Why is there fuzz on a tennis ball?
 If you could choose one superhero power, what would it be and why?
 If you could get rid of any one of the US states, which one would you get rid of and why?
 With your eyes closed, tell me step-by-step how to tie my shoes.

Job Interview Tips

Get Advice and Insight from Waggener Edstrom's Staffing Partner
By Thad Peterson, Monster Staff Writer

Like many career advice experts, Steve Fogarty, staffing partner at Waggener Edstrom, says candidates should
research a company thoroughly before an interview. And if the company is a private firm, that's not an excuse
to skip doing your homework.

Where there's a will, there's a way, and finding a way to gather information on a company "distinguishes the
great candidates from the good candidates," says Fogarty.

Consider Fogarty's company, a large independent public relations agency. He says that if someone were trying
to find out about Waggener Edstrom, the candidate could take a number of steps. In addition to simply visiting
the company's Web site, joining a trade organization like the Public Relations Society of America would almost
certainly give someone interested in his company exposure to people who work there.

Fogarty offers a less conventional method as well: "People might be able to find a press release that one of our
PR people has written and contact that person and say, ‘I saw your press release. It looks really good. Would
you be open to me asking a few questions? I'm doing research on your company.' That's a way to get
information."
What else can you do to improve your chances at the interview? Try these tips from Fogarty:

Be Concise

Interviewees rambling on is one of the most common blunders Fogarty sees. "You really have to listen to the
question, and answer the question, and answer it concisely," he says. "So many people can't get this basic
thing down. You ask them a question, and they go off on a tangent. They might think you want to hear what
they're saying, but they didn't answer your question."

Provide Examples

It's one thing to say you can do something; it's another to give examples of things you have done. "Come with
a toolbox of examples of the work you've done," advises Fogarty. "You should come and anticipate the
questions a recruiter's going to ask based on the requirement of the role. Think of recent strong strategic
examples of work you've done, then when the question is asked, answer with specifics, not in generalities. You
should say, ‘Yes, I've done that before. Here's an example of a time I did that…,' and then come back and ask
the recruiter, ‘Did that answer your question?'"

Be Honest

Somehow, candidates get the impression that a good technique is to dance around difficult interview questions.
"If you don't have a skill, just state it. Don't try to cover it up by talking and giving examples that aren't
relevant. You're much better off saying you don't have that skill but perhaps you do have some related skills,
and you're happy to tell them about that if they like."

Keep Your Guard Up

According to Fogarty, you can split recruiters into two schools. There are those who are very straight-laced and
serious, and candidates had better take the process seriously as well when dealing with them.

"Then you have recruiters like me," he says, chuckling. "I'm going to be that candidate's best friend when they
call me. My technique is to put them at ease, because I want them to tell me everything, and a lot of
candidates mess up in this area. They start to think, ‘Oh, this guy is cool. I can tell him anything.' And then
they cross the line." And that can take a candidate out of contention. Remember: Always maintain your
professionalism.

Ask Great Questions

Another of Fogarty's interview tips is to come ready with good questions. He says nothing impresses him more
than a really good question that not only shows you've researched the company in general, but also the specific
job you're hoping to land in particular. "That makes me go, ‘Wow, this person has really done their homework.
They not only know the company, but they know the role.'"

Do Your Homework Before the Big Interview

By John Rossheim, Monster Senior Contributing Writer

Once upon a time, a job seeker landed an interview, skimmed the prospective employer's annual report, wowed
the hiring manager with a few company facts and strolled into his dream job.

That late-'90s fairy tale rarely comes true these days. With employers in more control of the labor market,
candidates feel compelled to give it their all in their interview preparation. And that includes mounting a broad,
deep search for relevant information about the position, the company, the industry and even the interviewer.

Luckily for you, diverse resources, many of them free or cheap and available on the Internet, enable you to
achieve that competitive edge if you're willing to put your nose to the grindstone -- or computer monitor.

Employers' Web Sites

Your prospective employer's corporate Web site is the best place to see the company as it wants to be seen. Do
check out that annual report, but also look for a "press room" or "company news" page that links to recent
news releases. As you mull all this information, consider how the open position, as detailed in the job posting,
relates to the company's mission.

But don't stop there. Use the company site's search facility to query the names of the hiring manager and any
others on your interview dance card. You may retrieve bio pages or press releases that give you insight into
their most visible activities at the company. "Learning about the interviewer is probably the most valuable thing
you can do," says Ron Fry, author of 101 Great Answers to the Toughest Interview Questions.

Research Employers

Next, get some vital statistics and independent perspectives on your prospective employer. Hoover's Online, for
one, provides capsule descriptions, financial data and a list of competitors for thousands of large corporations.

Your 401k or mutual fund account with a major broker likely provides more detailed research on publicly traded
companies and industries, free of charge. "You may be able to go to competitors for the prospective employer's
financials," says Joyce Lain Kennedy, Los Angeles Times career columnist and author of Job Interviews for
Dummies.

News Sources

Now broaden your perspective and see what general-interest and business publications and Web sites are
writing about the employer and its industry. You can find a wide range of media outlets at NewsLink, notes
Kennedy. Search national publications for news on major corporations; use hometown newspapers to learn
about small businesses and how big businesses interact with their local communities. Refdesk and
bizjournals.com also offer gateways to journalism on companies and industries.

Trade Journals

Taking cues from your research so far, drill down into your target company and its place in the industry by
looking at trade journals and other specialized publications. "Get a few months of the relevant trade journal,"
advises Fry. "You're going to find out about new products and what the trade is saying about the company."

You may find hard copies of trade journals at university or public libraries. Some journals are available for free
or by subscription through their own Web sites; the full text of thousands more is available through periodical
databases like ProQuest and InfoTrac. You may even be able to access InfoTrac for free via the Web, using just
the membership number on your public library card. Contact your local library for details.

Industry Directories

By now, you've probably got some very specific questions regarding the employer and your potential role there.
Go directly to the grapevine by making contact with other workers at your target company or elsewhere in the
industry. "If you belong to a professional organization, go to its directory," says Marilyn Pincus, author of
Interview Strategies that Lead to Job Offers. If you don't belong, consider joining; check out the American
Society of Association Executives' Gateway to Associations Directory.

Of course, you can also use networking services to get in touch with people inside the company.

Google

Finally, if you hope to have a company ogling you, try Googling them first. You just might come up with a
nugget you would have missed otherwise.

While you're at it, Google yourself to make sure you and the interviewer are on the same page. Because if he's
savvy, he's doing unto you as you've just done unto him and his company.

Assessing Your Skills

What Makes You Different from All the Others?
By Carole Martin, Monster Contributing Writer

Gina had recently been laid off after working as a marketing manager in a high tech company for the past five
years. She was distracted as she walked through the aisles of the supermarket. She was thinking about ways to
market herself into a new job. She stood in front of the cereal selection, overwhelmed by the number of brands
to choose from -- more than 100 varieties.

Suddenly, it dawned on her: This must be what it's like for hiring managers to look at all those resumes
received in answer to ads and postings. How do they choose? What do they look for? How does one get
selected? How can I make my product stand out?

The Packaging

The packaging on the cereal box is certainly the start. Eye-catching colors and descriptive words will draw
attention -- low fat, energy boosting, added vitamins -- all the things consumers are looking for. But what are
employers looking for? The words you choose will be key. Using words that will interest the companies will grab
their attention.

The Ingredients

The list of ingredients -- the skills you have to offer -- is also important. Gina couldn't wait to get home and
write down her skills and what made her unique to the position. She had a new slant to explore.

She remembered reading in a book that skills can be grouped into three categories:

 Skills learned through past experience and education (knowledge-based skills).

 Skills you bring with you to any job (transferable or portable skills).
 Personal traits, the things that make you who you are.

The Assessment Tool

Gina divided a piece of paper into three columns and labeled them with "previous experience," "portable skills"
and "personality," the three P's of marketing.

In the "previous experience" column she wrote:

 Marketing knowledge
 Communications skills
 Vendor management
 Press and industry relations
 Web channel marketing
 Product development
 Computer skills

Under "portable skills" she wrote:

 Customer focus
 Communications
 Writing skills
 Very organized
 Good at coordinating
 Team leader
 Problem solving
 Project management
 Excellent follow-through
 Good with budgets and numbers
 Time management

In the "personality column" she wrote:

 Self-starter
 Independent
 Friendly
  Well-organized
 Quick learner
 Good judgment
 Good attitude
 Creative
 Analytical
 Flexible
 Good sense of humor
 Goal-directed

When she was finished, she sat back and checked the list over. She was surprised at how easily the list had
come together. By dividing the skills, the task became manageable. Trying to look at everything at once is like
looking at those cereal boxes.

Getting words on paper is one of the most difficult steps of putting your "ingredients" list together. This is a
good exercise for anyone beginning the search process, or as a periodic check or inventory. Gina can now use
the list to put together her resume, write a summary statement or compose a personal statement. The skills
will be the foundation of the strategy she will use to sell herself. She still has some work to do before she can
take her product to market, but she certainly has made a good start.