Job Interivews: What Can You Tell Me about Yourself? - The Questions

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Readers of previous editions of this book tell me that they need more help with two other questions: What is your greatest weakness? Why should I hire you? This edition elaborates on those puzzlers.

For the following questions in this chapter, ShowStoppers are answers that work for you; Clunkers and Bloopers are answers that work against you.

What is your most memorable accomplishment?

ShowStoppers

• Relate an accomplishment directly to the job for which you're interviewing.
• Give details about the accomplishment, as if you're telling a story.
• Describe results.

Clunkers and Bloopers

• Give a vague or unfocused answer.
• Discuss an accomplishment with no connection to the job you want.
• Discuss responsibilities instead of results.

Where do you see yourself five years from now? How does this position fit with your long-term career objectives?

ShowStoppers

• Say you hope your hard work has moved you appropriately forward on your career track.
• Answer realistically: In a changed business world where a long-term job may mean three years, speak of lifelong education to keep abreast of changes in your field and self-reliance for your own career.
• Describe short-term, achievable goals and discuss how they will help you reach your long-term goals.
• Explain how the position you want will help you to reach your goals.
• Strive to look ambitious, but not too much so that you threaten the hiring manager.

Clunkers and Bloopers

• Say that you want the interviewer's job.
• Describe unrealistic goals.
• State goals that aren't consistent with the company's needs or ability to satisfy.

What is your greatest strength?

ShowStoppers

• Anticipate and prepare to discuss up to five strengths, such as
• Skill in managing your work schedule
• Willingness to do extra
• Ability to learn quickly
• Proactivity in solving problems
• Team-building
• Leadership
• Cool-headed temperament under pressure
• Discuss only strengths related to the position you want.
• Use specific examples to illustrate. Include statistics and testimonials.

Clunkers and Bloopers

• Discuss strengths unrelated to the job you want.
• Fumble around, saying that you don't feel comfortable bragging on yourself.
• For women only: Bring up the fact that you're president of your child's PTA, (unless you're interviewing for a job selling school supplies). Discriminatory? Yes, but studies show that moms may be seen as less committed to jobs than childless women or men with or without kids.

Expert contrarian discusses strengths

Virginia Beach, Virginia placement pro Neil P. McNulty notes that placement experts advise you to have at least two or three significant achievements to describe, preferably in mini-story format.

"That is good information," McNulty says. "What they leave out is the fact that most of the entire job-hunting populace consists simply of average, hardworking, everyday people - most of whom have not done anything of tremendous importance. I teach such candidates that I place to answer this way: