Dealing With How Would You...? Questions
|
I'm always preaching about proper preparation prior to interviews. If you research the position and company carefully, you can anticipate likely questions and prepare excellent answers.
But something I also tell job seekers is that you can never anticipate every single question.
I once had to respond to a "How would you...?" question about exhuming a dead duck. I am not making this up. The position involved community affairs work for a sewer treatment plant. How could I have anticipated such a strange question? It took me totally by surprise.
But I got the job.
Often with problem-solving questions, the interviewer isn't looking for a "right" or "wrong" answer. He or she is more interested in the thought processes you demonstrate to come up with your answer.
The dead-duck question was based on an actual incident, and the person who asked it is the person who had to deal with it. My response showed that I would have handled the situation differently than she had, but it also showed that I knew about problem solving. I didn't panic at the unexpected question; I didn't answer before thinking about it for a few seconds; and I didn't blow it by giving a lame response like, "Gosh, that's a really tough question! I honestly don't know what I would do in that situation."
Here are a few tips to help you deal with "How would you...?" problem-solving questions:
1. Ask questions to determine exactly what the interviewer is looking for. (This will also give you a bit more time to think.)
2. Explain how you would gather the information and data necessary to develop a solution to the problem.
3. Tell how you'd use the information you gathered to develop and analyze alternative courses of action.
4. And finally, tell them your solution or recommendation, explaining how you feel it's the best option based on the info you were given.
The "How would you...?" type of problem-solving questions are popular in interviews these days. You must not let them scare you. Don't rush your response and don't stress yourself out wondering what answer they're looking for.
Remember, the answer itself isn't as important as showing your ability to think logically and demonstrate problem-solving capabilities.
Bonnie Lowe is author of the popular Job Interview Success System and free information-packed ezine, "Career-Life Times." Find those and other powerful career-building resources and tips at her website: http://www.best-interview-strategies.com.
|
|
|
Goal Setting - Road Map To Achieving Your Career Goals
Goal Setting & ResearchYou can only set informed career goals if you acquire plenty of information about the career choices open to you. This will require research which can be conducted online or through a local library. You can also visit professional career planning offices to find out about the services they offer.While goal setting, you should consider all possible alternatives available to you
Your Goals Must Be Within Your Reach
FIRST STEP --
Set short-term, incremental goals. Work up to larger plans later. Never put yourself under the gun right from the get-go. If you do... discouragement will be right at your doorstep. You'll quit! Remember your New Year's resolutions?
Set incremental time frames. Short-range goals are very important. Begin the first month and increase a little bit each succeeding month. Don't give up too early in the game.... give yourself a c...(related: Employment)
Your Job Search Is A Marketing Campaign (part 2)
Here's a continuation of my article from a few months back on how the successful job search is really just a personal marketing campaign.To recap, the same marketing techniques that have sell billions of dollars worth of products and services on TV, in print and via direct mail can also help you find a job.All you have to do is look at the advertisements you see with an eye toward borrowing their best ideas for your job search.<...(related: Employment)
Sample Resume Objectives: Read, Dont Copy
The resume objective statement is typically something that trips people up.Confronted by the silent challenge of the blank page, most folks Google for "sample resume objectives". They hope that'll help.Probably not.I say that because sample resume objectives often are l...(related: Employment)
Importance Of Your Job Search
So that you can decide just how critical your job hunt is in your total life scheme, let's put a kind of frame around the importance of the effort ahead.Reflect on it.A job is not just a job. Half of you waking hours are devoted to it. Its quality ramifies through all other aspects of your life. It determines your productivity and how far you will go in achieving full self-realization. It governs your happiness, the happiness of your family, where you live, and how well. The quality o...(related: Employment)
The Pros And Cons Of Telecommuting - As Seen Through The Eyes Of A Seasoned Telecommuter
Janelle Delacorte has been happily answering calls for the Home Shopping Network and various infomercials since November 2004.Several nights out of the week she tucks the kids in to bed, turns around, takes 20 or so odd steps, and arrives at the office. In her pajama's, no less.Janelle is a telecommuter.According to the 2004 ITAC American Interactive Consumer Survey, she's one of 24.1 million people who is employed by a company, and works from home. And as you can imagine, she loves her job.In a recent interview she confided with me about the pro's and con's of telecommuting.Pro's:
Be Prepared For The Unexpected
How long has it been since you last had to search for a new job? These days it's not at all unusual to change careers or jobs several times in a lifetime. The idea of retiring from the same company after a lifetime of service is much less a reality in today's world than it was a couple of decades ago. The likelihood of unexpectedly losing your job is greatly increased today due to a number of different factors such as corporate downsizing, technological evolution, and globalization just to name a few. Being thrust i...(related: Employment)
Shades Of Grey
A paperweight sits on my desk, etched in silver the message: Life isn't always black and white. It serves as a reminder there are few absolutes at work (or in life). Yet, it would be easier if there were; if good ideas from bad, trustworthy people from non-trustworthy, and right paths from the wrong ones could easily be discerned. I've learned in twenty years in management that increasing one's perspective increases the grey, as words like always and never become obsolete for describing most situations and most people.
But early in my career, I was convinced there were right ways and wrong ways to do things at work. Of course, my way being right and someone else's wrong. Dug-in positions that at the time seemed immensely important strike me now as limit...(related: Employment)
Job Interview Mistakes To Avoid
By avoiding these 8 simple mistakes, you can improve your chances ofhaving a successful interview and landing the job of your dreams.1. DON'T SHOW UP LATE. There is no easier way to lose points with a prospective employer than to sho...(related: Employment)
How To Really Look For A Job
Are you looking for a job -- really looking? Or are you simply waiting for employment to fall into your lap?If you're like about 75% of the job seekers I've met over the past nine years, you're probably doing too much waiting and not enough searching.Stop.Now.Instead, here are two ways to be more proactive -- and much more effective -- in your job search.1) Stop waiting for job leads to appear. Start making your own.Here's a real estate analogy that directly relates to your job search. (Trust me.)Where would you rather buy a 3-bedroom house, in Japan or the United States?Considerin...(related: Employment)
How To Work Effectively With Recruiters
"R-E-S-P-E-C-T / find out what it means to me" is a line made famous by Aretha Franklin, and one that recruiters have adopted as their mantra. This is probably because there is a love-hate relationship between candidates and recruiters. Specifically, candidates love what recruiters can do for them, but at the same time, aren't fond of the fact that they need their services.One can hardly blame candidates, since over the years recruiters have been branded as uncaring, money-hungr...(related: Employment)
Avoiding Tire Kickers As Job Seekers
With the economy heating up and employment prospects opening up after years of dormancy, it is more critical than ever for employers to understand that unfortunately, career "tire kickers" still exist in the marketplace. Demand for quality talent, especially at the senior executive level, still outweighs supply. Tire kickers' waste valuable time and resources for both professional recruiters and busy hiring managers. They sap the strength of well designed recruiting efforts and can wreak havoc on organizations that fall for their deception....(related: Employment)
site-map - Copyright © 2007 | Contact Webmaster | All Rights Reserved | Free Articles and Information | Employment