Job Interview: Specific Questions

[BORICUAZO]

Here are some typical, standard and some other stupid questions made by recruiters and HR interviewers. We MUST be prepared to respond in an accurate manner this and other similar questions. I strongly suggest to practice with each of this questions. This is my experience!!!

Please suggests additional questions

1. Explain what's on your resume.

2. How can you handle any difference with your supervisor? Explain and provide an example.

3. How can you handle any difference with your co-worker? Explain and provide an example.

4. If you are hired, how can you visualize yourself in five years with this company?

5. Are you a team player or prefer to work alone? Why? Explain!!

6. What are your weaknesses? Explain.

7. What are your strengths?

8. Why do you want to work for this company?

9. Why do we have to hire you? (provide a diffrent answer from the previews one)

 

[roadwreck]

Please suggests additional questions

1. Explain what's on your resume.

Trumped up crap I put on their to impress you. Some of it has a grain of truth to it the rest I just made up. I'm hoping that you don't ask for references or actually do any backchecking on any of the info I provided. If you are going to do a background check or drug test we might as well end this interview now.

2. How can you handle any difference with your supervisor? Explain and provide an example.

Go to HR and claim that my supervisor sexually harassed me. Once they are no longer with the company we don't have to worry about our differences anymore. Problem solved.

3. How can you handle any difference with your co-worker? Explain and provide an example.

See my answer to question two

4. If you are hired, how can you visualize yourself in five years with this company?

Doing as little as possible. I'll sneak into work late, leave early, sleep at my desk and try to limit myself to only making scotch ramen on Friday's

5. Are you a team player or prefer to work alone? Why? Explain!!

I'm a team player all the way. If I work in a team I can pawn work off onto others. If I have to do it all myself I'm going to be in a world of hurt.

6. What are your weaknesses? Explain.

Rum gives me indigestion

7. What are your strengths?

I don't slur to much after drinking a fifth of tequila.

8. Why do you want to work for this company?

Sweet Jebus I'm desperate for money. Whores and coke don't come free you know.

9. Why do we have to hire you? (provide a diffrent answer from the previews one)

because I'm the only one who knows how to counteract the effects of the horse laxative I put in your coffee

 

[Guest]

Boricua,

I live in Florida and I note you are in PR - I am not sure how wide you have cast your net for the job search but the question I am frequently asked:

I note on your resume that your experience is entirely in Florida. Why would you want to move to our (COLD) state?

This one bothers me due to the inference that I am somehow challenged when moving to other climates. I have lived in many places in my life ...

I would be interested in hearing others' interview questions.

JR

 

[wilheldp_PE]

The one I have always hated was "So, tell us about yourself." I could give a 10 second answer or a 10 hour answer to this question, and they always just let you talk as long as you want...then leave a good 10 seconds of silence to make sure you are done before asking the next question. I don't see how this broad of a question could possibly do any good.

 

[Enginnneeer]

I live in Florida and I note you are in PR - I am not sure how wide you have cast your net for the job search but the question I am frequently asked:
I note on your resume that your experience is entirely in Florida. Why would you want to move to our (COLD) state?

This one bothers me due to the inference that I am somehow challenged when moving to other climates.

Thats funny JR....for our field I would think firms, govt or companies in other states would be 'recruiting' us to work for them. FDEP is more a state model, it has a good record for having their programs approved by EPA before the majority of the other states. Not that we dont have other issues to deal with, unexpected projects from hurricanes or heavy rains to consume our time.

In my work I have projects in other states too, so I have seen the other side.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

4. If you are hired, how can you visualize yourself in five years with this company?

I actually said this in my last interview (and got the job): I've found that I'm never where I thought I would be five years down the line, so I've come to the conclusion that it's a waste of time to even think about it.

It was quiet, then there were nods all around. My boss (at the time) later said it was the most truthful and insightful answer they had. He also said he hated that question.

 

[benbo]

I always did better on technical type questions than things like this.

I remember applying for a field service type position once, and the question went something like this -

Them - You are in New York and you get notified of five different customers who have five different problems all at once.

Me - Well, first I would call each one, tell them I was on my way at some point, and see if there were any problems I could solve immediately over the phone. THen I would try to prioritize the problems, maybe do some diagnosis over the phone and see which was the easiest fix.

Them - You can't solve anything over the phone. The are all exactly equal priority. THe problems are all exactly equal in complexity.

Me - Then I would prioritize based on who was the most important customer.

Them - THey are all of exactly the same importance.

Me - Then I would call into headquarters and see if anyone else was free to help.

Them - Nobody else is free.

Me - THen I would just pick the closest one and go.

THem - THey are all exactly the same distance away.

Me - THen I guess I'd eenie- meenie it. (or something to that effect)

THem - THank you for coming.

To this day I don't know how they expected me to answer this.

 

[Tido]

I actually said this in my last interview (and got the job): I've found that I'm never where I thought I would be five years down the line, so I've come to the conclusion that it's a waste of time to even think about it.
It was quiet, then there were nods all around. My boss (at the time) later said it was the most truthful and insightful answer they had. He also said he hated that question.

That was interesting!

My principle was always to be honest and customize all the generic questions to my specific situation so there is no doubt that what I am talking is not picked from some interview coaching or internet. That I think is very important. I actually was asked where do I see myself in the long and short term and I did provide my prepared talk where I would like to see myself in about 10 years and when I finished my boss asked me you don't want to be a P.E? And I said I thought that was short term goal and they all laughed!

 

[wilheldp_PE]

I always did better on technical type questions than things like this.
I remember applying for a field service type position once, and the question went something like this -

Them - You are in New York and you get notified of five different customers who have five different problems all at once.

Me - Well, first I would call each one, tell them I was on my way at some point, and see if there were any problems I could solve immediately over the phone. THen I would try to prioritize the problems, maybe do some diagnosis over the phone and see which was the easiest fix.

Them - You can't solve anything over the phone. The are all exactly equal priority. THe problems are all exactly equal in complexity.

Me - Then I would prioritize based on who was the most important customer.

Them - THey are all of exactly the same importance.

Me - Then I would call into headquarters and see if anyone else was free to help.

Them - Nobody else is free.

Me - THen I would just pick the closest one and go.

THem - THey are all exactly the same distance away.

Me - THen I guess I'd eenie- meenie it. (or something to that effect)

THem - THank you for coming.

To this day I don't know how they expected me to answer this.

Alphabetically by the last name of the person that called me?

 

[IlPadrino]

I always did better on technical type questions than things like this.
I remember applying for a field service type position once, and the question went something like this -

Them - You are in New York and you get notified of five different customers who have five different problems all at once.

Me - Well, first I would call each one, tell them I was on my way at some point, and see if there were any problems I could solve immediately over the phone. THen I would try to prioritize the problems, maybe do some diagnosis over the phone and see which was the easiest fix.

Them - You can't solve anything over the phone. The are all exactly equal priority. THe problems are all exactly equal in complexity.

Me - Then I would prioritize based on who was the most important customer.

Them - THey are all of exactly the same importance.

Me - Then I would call into headquarters and see if anyone else was free to help.

Them - Nobody else is free.

Me - THen I would just pick the closest one and go.

THem - THey are all exactly the same distance away.

Me - THen I guess I'd eenie- meenie it. (or something to that effect)

THem - THank you for coming.

To this day I don't know how they expected me to answer this.

You might have answered "I'd apply Dantzig's cutting-plane method for solving a generic traveling salesman problem... but in this case, I'd calculate the distance of all permutations."

 

[benbo]

You might have answered "I'd apply Dantzig's cutting-plane method for solving a generic traveling salesman problem... but in this case, I'd calculate the distance of all permutations."

I guess I might have answered that, if I knew what the hell that was.

 

[IlPadrino]

I guess I might have answered that, if I knew what the hell that was.

Knowing isn't required... it can be fun to give a complicated answer that no one will know if you've gotten right. The above could as well have been gibberish, The danger... they ask "well, what do you think about NP-hardness?" But then you could have just referred that to his PE-ness.

 

[dagget]

The one I have always hated was "So, tell us about yourself." I could give a 10 second answer or a 10 hour answer to this question, and they always just let you talk as long as you want...then leave a good 10 seconds of silence to make sure you are done before asking the next question. I don't see how this broad of a question could possibly do any good.

I always ask that question...first thing out of the box. I think that that it does a couple of things.

First, it gets us away from short yes/no answers immediately. I get the candidate talking, expressing himself (whether well or poorly). I also start to find out what stuff he thinks is important about himself, instead of what the resume consultant put down. If he talks about his hobbies, or his family then I know something about his focus on life.

If he talks for ten minutes, instead of 60-90 seconds, that tells me something about paying attention to priorities. If he gives a decent, concise response about things that he thinks will interest me about him, thats good. He has started to sell himself. If he talks for 10 seconds and runs out of gas, I have to wonder how bad that hangover is today.

It also frequently opens up avenues for follow-up questions that are not part of the usual HR list, and don't jump off the resume.

When my wife was interviewing for her latest job, we spent some time working on an 'elevator speech' just for this question, just like we used to have an elevator speech for the times that someone asked 'so what do you do?' back when she owned her own business.

The ones that I fear are the microsoft-type questions:

There is a room with a door (closed) and three light bulbs. Outside the room there are three switches, connected to the bulbs. You may manipulate the switches as you wish, but once you open the door you can't change them. Identify each switch with its bulb.

 

[dagget]

I always did better on technical type questions than things like this.
I remember applying for a field service type position once, and the question went something like this -

Them - You are in New York and you get notified of five different customers who have five different problems all at once.

Me - Well, first I would call each one, tell them I was on my way at some point, and see if there were any problems I could solve immediately over the phone. THen I would try to prioritize the problems, maybe do some diagnosis over the phone and see which was the easiest fix.

Them - You can't solve anything over the phone. The are all exactly equal priority. THe problems are all exactly equal in complexity.

Me - Then I would prioritize based on who was the most important customer.

Them - THey are all of exactly the same importance.

Me - Then I would call into headquarters and see if anyone else was free to help.

Them - Nobody else is free.

Me - THen I would just pick the closest one and go.

THem - THey are all exactly the same distance away.

Me - THen I guess I'd eenie- meenie it. (or something to that effect)

THem - THank you for coming.

To this day I don't know how they expected me to answer this.

Me - The one with the biggest tits.

Obvious

 

[roadwreck]

Me - The one with the biggest tits.
Obvious

:appl:

 

[intech]

Me - The one with the biggest tits.
Obvious

Them - They all have 44DD's.

 

[Supe]

Them - They all have 44DD's.

Me: Can I have the customers' phone numbers? I'd like to apply for one of their positions instead.