Hi dreamer, thanks for ur feedback, really appreciate it

in my experience, another tricky question that always bugged me is:
"why do u want this job? it is not much different from the job you are doing now?"

i reckon, answers like "looking for new challenge",or "...new work environment" doesnt really impress right?

Hi,

Go back further on this thread. This question is to test whether you have done your home work and waht you knwo about this new company. This is where you put your home work to work.. The correct answer will be like

From my research, I found that your company is one of the best in marketing and has an excellence progrm to groom and train people.. and so on..

Your answer has to be specific to this company and it needs to be unique and true...

This is the kind of question will separate the well prepared candidate from other normal people.. I use this kind of question to interview people..

The other question I like to use is "why do you think we should hire you instead of other equal or more qualified conadidates??"

Dreamer

Hi,

It will usually takes me less than 5 minutes of interviewing to find out about a person and whether I want to work with a person. And, the toughest and best test is the "Orange Juice Test". Let me run this as quiz and see how many do know what it is and why it works..

Dreamer

yeah... that's another tough question, for me....

"...i work hard, always ready to learn new stuff and adapt to my working environemt so that i am more productive and efficient.." is this the kind of answer you are looking for?

Hi,

Wrong answer.. Try again...

Dreamer

i dun think thank-you letter will help if they really find u not suitble. well, so far in my case lar.

Hi,

BTW, you may be a hard working person but your post show that you are not a hard working or careful person. If you do, you would have written this:

"...I work hard, always ready to learn new stuff and adapt to my working environemt so that I am more productive and efficient.."

Instead of this

"...i work hard, always ready to learn new stuff and adapt to my working environemt so that i am more productive and efficient.."

If person is not even hard working enough to use a shift key so the "i" is capitalize correctly, then, what can you tell about that person. This is just an advice from me. People had learned that the easiest way to find out about a person is to look at how a person handle the little stuff..

Dreamer

I was also asked this question, my response was "I have been involved in a lot of engineering activities, like performing some RF measurements, test bench setup, data analysis and generating reports. These skills can be applied in this position."

Not sure it sounds persuasive enough.

Hi,

You got the right answer. Now, can someone tell me why this answer is correct and why the previous answer is wrong??

Dreamer

It sounds a bit arrogant or naive the way you wrote your statement "These skills can be applied in this position". Chances are very good you know very little about the position being offered. I would suggest saying "I believe these skills may be essential in the position you are trying to fill". It may appear to be a small change from your previous statement but often these little things can appear as an "arrogant" attitude to the interviewer.

got this from a forum that i manage. i think it is just as important for potential employers to evaluate you based on selective questions that you ask. these questions are apt at the end of the interview session where they will open a forum for you. unless you are that desperate, these questions can help you gauge the viability of the company to your career.

---
1. What do you find most frustrating about your position? (Ask this if the job interviewer is in the IT department.)
2. Why is this position open?
3. Can you describe a typical day in this role?
4. Where do you see this position in three to five years?
5. What is the company's policy regarding training?
6. Would the job description assigned to me be based on my interest areas?
7. What are the company's financial stability and future growth possibilities?
8. Could you describe the work culture (do people work overtime, etc.)?
9. What are the personal growth opportunities (such as leadership training, company-supported community work, mentoring, and so on)?
10. What is the training budget for the IT staff?
11. How many IT employees do you have?
12. How many people are supported by the IT staff?
13. What technologies have you implemented?
14. What are your major IT initiatives for the year?

from my experience, if i think i done well in an interview, i won't get the job. if i ans like normal I got the job. i been to so many interviews last year that I develop phobia for interview expecially the fill up the form part. why they need u to fill up when they have ur CV unless they want to see ur handwriting.

1 thing very funny, when my frd went for interview at IBM, he was so honest with the interviewers that the interviewers said "I think u r not suitble for the job"(something like that). My frd ans "how would u knw if u dun give me a chance". most of his answer r surprisingly something against the 'interview law'. and he is not extra ordinary smart or very special experience or good looking. but he got the job!!!! luck is important

Hi,

If you are sincere in believing in thanking someone, by all the means, send a thank you letter. If not, do not do it. If all you cares about is getting this particular job, then, do not send the thank you letter. But, you are very short sighted.

1 ) Just because you are not suitable for a job now, it does not mean they may not have a job in future.

2 ) It is a very small world, the interviewer may know someone or some company that may have position that is suitable for you..

3 ) The interviewer may be abled to give you some advice..

By the way, I am sorry to say that most Malaysians are very bad mannered. They do not say "please" and "thank you" regularly. So, if someone comes along behave in a well mannered fashion, I am more inclined to do what I can to help the person..

Dreamer

Noted.


Emphasize more on the job scope we applied to? Not just in general?
I reckon play "hard-to-get" is dangerous and too arrogant. Is being humble and optimistic persuasive enough?

Hi sk41,

You got it.. The whole point of having a job interview is to find out whether you can do the job. So, you need to find out what the job is, what is required, and provide as many specific details as possible as why you can do the job. That means provide examples of stuff that you had learnt and done that show you can do the job..

I do not know what do you mean by "hard-to-get"?? Just focus on the job and job requirement and you will be fine. Everyone has his/her own style. I am very Americanized and am a very straight forward person. So, some times, it may come across as arrogant to some people that do not appreciate direct honesty. But, that is the risk that I am taking and it is my style. I may delight American companies and piss of some other companies. But, a very important thign about working is compatibility of company culture and your style. It is better to find out during interview as opposed working later...

Dreamer

This post has been edited by dreamer101: Jul 21 2005, 11:17 AM

Hi,

Just to add to what ihsan posted. I prefer to ask open ended question to the interviewer. Answer to those questions tend to give you more information. The questions that I used are like

1) What is the most important attribute that a person must have to work in this company??

2) What is the best attribute of this company??

3) What do you like most about this company??

4) What and where is the most profitable part of this company??

5) Who/what is the most important division/department of this company??

6) This company is successful because of ???

Dreamer

Normally, when we come across job advertisements, there are job responsibilities and requirements listed. With these information we can know what kind of tasks are to be handled by this position and what kind of knowledge and skill sets are needed.

So, during interview for that particular position, we emphasize our achievements or activities that are directly related to the job responsibilities and requirements.

This post has been edited by TYK: Jul 21 2005, 05:59 PM

Yes you should highlight what you think are required or useful for the job, but don't be arrogant. Even if the job posting indicated a certain set of requirements, that posting may not actually be precise. It is always better to say "I think I would be ideal for this position because...." than to say " I know I am best for this position because....".

Hi,

I agree with jsm.. You can be assertive without being arrogant..

Dreamer

Acknowledged, thanks a lot for the advice.