Interviews

My Grandmother gave me a little booklet with the 101 Toughest Interview Questions.  I took it and never looked at it but now as I realize that in 65 days I will be graduating, I figured I would take a look at them and post which ones I think are the hardest.  Oh and by no means am I some career expert, I’m just some college student who has learned some of these lessons through trial and error.

1. The worst question in my opinion is “So, tell me a little about yourself?”

Such an easy questions right? WRONG, this is such a loaded question.  This is one of the questions I have always had a hard time with because I find that I go on and on about myself because I don’t know what I  should say and what I shouldn’t.  During my phone interview the other day I struggled with selling myself in 20 minutes (an impossible task, in my opinion).  I think my problem with this question stems from the the fact that I think it may be the most important question anyone could ask.  This is where your interviewers gets to know you, the real you!

2. What are some of your biggest weaknesses as an employee and what do you plan to do to correct them?

I think this question is difficult because you need to walk the line of being extremely honest but still have your best salesperson hat on.  You really can’t say “Oh, I’m never on time” because no one is going to want to hire you.  You need to decide if you’re going to list a “positive flaw” such as I’m a control freak or I’m obsessive.  You need to feel out the situation and see what would be the best answer for your interviewer and your situation.

3. “Would you consider yourself more team-orientated or an individual worker?”

This wasn’t one of the questions from the booklet but it was one I found extremely difficult to answer.  I was asked this very recently and struggled with my answer.  I find myself in the middle of this situation.  I knew my interviewer wanted a direct answer so I chose one, but I did the cowardly or possibly smart thing of mentioning that it didn’t mean that I wasn’t able to work in either situation.  I wanted to be as honest as possible but I knew there was a certain answer the interviewers was looking for.

When interviewing we must all remember to be ourselves.  The more comfortable we are the better we’ll do.  You need to be comfortable with where you work and the people you work with.  If you don’t get a good vibe during the interview, chances are it’s not the place for you.  Hopefully, I will get more practice while interviewing and I can share my knowledge with you all!