Standard (read: "fluffy") interview questions

Dinomania

Dinomania

Dinomania

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Well, I've just landed myself a job interview, which is great.

And I'm fairly confident and happy in terms of talking tech, no problems.

BUT what often flummoxes me are all those standard flowery irrelevant personality-based interview questions which are not specific to the job. Most people have been through enough interviews by now to have recorded responses to them all in their head, but I haven't and have forgotten the majority of them.

So please, throw me the best/worst ones you've been asked!


For example (to get you going):

"How would your friends describe you?"
"What would you most like to change about yourself?"
"What are your best and worst qualities?"
"Please give an example of when you have overcome a difficult situation?"
 
I really really hate the vague questions they ask that they know you're going to make something up about but they big fat go and ask anyway!

"give an example of a time you solved a problem"
"give an example of when you really excelled yourself"

I mean, how do they expect you to answer that seriously. It normally takes all my willpower to not give some stupid answer about sexually assaulting homeless people.
 
Exactly the type, Sic - they drive me nuts!

Plus these questions are usually asked by some HR type who has no idea what the job is going to involve anyway, nnrrrgghhh...

..I've been told I will first be interviewed by the HR manager, and then the managers of the two roles I'm being interviewed for, one after the other. I bet there'll be lots of repetition. Sigh.
 
It's worrying that you think that these questions are irrelevant. Having a sense of self-awareness, good and bad qualities and an idea of how you project yourself to others are all pretty important parts of a person's make up, certainly to an interviewer trying to judge how well you'll fit into the workplace.

Sure you can make stuff up and you might, maybe, get away with it (unlikely with a skilled interviewer) but don't think that the interviewer treats them as irrelevant. Far from it.

best of luck, anyhoo.
 
sara said:
"How would your friends describe you?"
"What would you most like to change about yourself?"
"What are your best and worst qualities?"
"Please give an example of when you have overcome a difficult situation?"
Click to expand...

1. Pick say three postive elements about yourself, e.g. loyal, honest, considerate, etc. and elaborate.

2. Be honest and pick a quality about you which isn't perfect. Explain how you are continously striving to improve yourself in this area.

3. Similar to 2. but ensure that when you mention your "worst" qualities, turn it around positively by explaining what measures you've taken to overcome them, e.g. "I lack confidence at times, so I make a particular effort get my points across in group discussion..."

4. These are annoying, I agree. But just focus on a recent occasion where you have done something like this and be confident in your answer, even thought the questions sounds kinda lame. Lying is bad. Stretching the truth a bit is better. :)

I'm going to be applying to some fairly "big" jobs soon, and I'm worried about interviews. One which a friend of mine was asked was: "Give an example of a time when you organized an event."
 
Thanks mks - I generally know how to answer the things but a reminder doesn't hurt!

In engineering though - most of the importance lies in what you can do, and your experience thus far. Communicative abilities are usually evident through the course of the interview itself.

I won't make things up - I am fortunate that I've had some very wide experiences of a lot of things which fit these kinds of questions perfectly - like teamwork and difficult people in watches on tallships, being stuck in a factory in Malaysia at 3am surrounded by technicians asking you why things aren't working, picking up the organisation of a ball and trying to make it all run smoothly at the last minute, etc... All fun & games!
 
This is what is known as a competancy based interview. It can give the interviewer a small insight in how a person will react to a given situation. I dislike these types too, but many companies are employing them these days. It is best to have some examples worked out in your mind before you go. Its no good saying "I always give good customer service" for example, they want specific details.
 
I've got an interview next week, hoping I don't get some questions like that. I'll start thinking of some answers now. It's worse than revising for an exam!
 
Check out Huddy's Interview Guide from the archive. Some really useful advice in there, including how to answer these types of questions. They certainly helped me in my last interview a couple of months ago, even if I didnt get the job (but that wasn't because of the interview).

PK!
 
clv101 said:
Wong attitude TBH. These are important questions.
Click to expand...
Hee, 'wong'.

Well yes and no - I suppose they are - but they're almost always asked by someone in HR and rarely by the people who you'll actually be working with, that gets my goat. I know they're busy but you can find out so much more about someone face-to-face than you can via their answers to these questions.

The best interviews start with questions and job-specific stuff but then become a conversation, they tell you about the job and you tell them about yourself.
 
My friend had one in a TFL interview:

Describe a situation in which you have had to defuse a racially motivated argument (or something to that effect).
 
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