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Five tough interview questions

June 20, 2000
Web posted at: 12:50 p.m. EDT (1650 GMT)

By Robin Ryan

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(womenconnect.com) -- I teach a lot of seminars to hiring managers. I give them the scoop on these five questions, because you can learn a lot of about past experience and situational response with them. The job hunter often finds herself on the spot if she isn't prepared to deal with these questions.

Question 1: What's your greatest weakness?

I tell managers to ask these questions because inevitably applicants will tell you how they can't do the job! Make the applicant give you something specific. Don't let them off the hook if the applicant says "Oh, well, I'm a workaholic." This is a good question when you are trying to weed out people who aren't going to be effective.

I tell jobseekers the best way to deal with this is to talk about traits or issues that don't have a direct impact on how you would do that particular job. For instance, an accountant might say, "Well I think I need more training in doing public presentations."

Question 2: Why did you leave your last job?

Obviously, the managers want to know if the applicant was fired. The managers want to know what made the last manager decide to let them go or why the worker left? Was it a personality conflict? And what were the circumstances? That may not mean they shouldn't be hired, because if everyone ever fired or let go couldn't be hired because of personality issues, no one would work. Also it could be about money. It may be that they were underpaid or felt undervalued.

This is where I tell applicants to talk about the fact they are looking for new opportunities and chances to grow. I don't suggest asking specific salary questions in interviews. I think you learn more by asking for examples about how the applicant handles things.

Question 3: Describe the last time your boss criticized your work.

This often throws a person. They think about something big, something that upset them and they get nervous and start talking about it. This is important. If you are looking for office help and someone tells a story about how they ran a big mail merge and screwed it up, you need to know. If they were continuously late at the old job or had disagreements about time, you the manager need to ask what are they doing to correct it.

For an applicant, this can be a good opportunity to describe the way they identified a problem or issue and fixed it and made their work even better.

Question 4: Describe how you would plan an important event or how you would do this job.

What the manager is looking for is a past example of how the applicant got the job done and how they look at tasks. If the applicant says "Well, uhm, I don't know how to do major events" the manager knows they aren't on the same level. The manager wants to get a feel for how the applicant would do the job and do it in a way that is good for them. The manager is trying to find out if the person has the skills and is as productive as they say they are.

One manager who was hiring asked applicants to sit down at a computer while she described a customer complaint. Then she had them write a brief response answering a customer complaint. Most of them failed, despite the fact they had said they had experience in just that area!

Question 5: Describe to me your ideal manager.

The manager is really trying to learn from the applicant, can you work for someone like me? How can you be managed and be productive? The manager is hoping for honest answers here: If the manager feels they aren't getting honest answers, that's a bad signal.

This is a way to see if an applicant fits your style and your needs. If you, the manager, are a visionary and the applicant isn't detailed oriented, it's not going to be the right fit.

Robin Ryan is a Seattle career counselor, national speaker and author of "60 Seconds and You're Hired," "Winning Resumes," "Winning Cover Letters" and "24 Hours To Your Next Job, Raise or Promotion." She has appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "NBC Nightly News." Her columns are read in magazines and newspapers and online.

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