In the hiring line

There comes a time in your life when you are in search of a job and you are faced with interviews. You have no way of knowing exactly what you will be asked or how it will be asked. So, you try to get help from people who know anything about interviews. It is then that you come across approaches that have been found most effective by successful job seekers. Here are some strategies or general rules that will help you ace just about any question that comes your way.

You shouldn't go into an interview with a script of exactly what you are going to say, or with so much rehearsal under your belt that you sound like an automation. What you do need to take with you are tactics that are versatile enough to navigate any twist and turn the interview might take.

• Do answer the question, because not answering the question asked is a common - and disastrous -pitfall. Listen carefully to what is being asked, and answer that question.

• Do be candid - but do so strategically. Remember that employers want to get to know you. If they feel they are getting canned responses, they will be turned off.

• Don't ever give a yes or no answer. Realize that every chance you have to respond to a question is a chance to convince the employer of your value.

• Do review you asset statements before every interview, and adapt them as needed for each prospective employer.

• Don't get hung up on the actual wording of a question. Focus instead on what qualities and experiences are being sought.

• Don't be thrown by questions off the subject of the job. Asking about your thoughts on current events or about your hobbies can yield valuable information for the interviewer and add a human dimension to the interview.

• Do be direct. Never be evasive or hesitant. If a question makes you squirm, don't let on that you are uncomfortable. Answer it directly while presenting yourself in the best light possible.

• Do be patient, No matter how tedious the interview may be, try to stay fresh, enthusiastic and co-operative.

• Do collect you thoughts before speaking rather than blurting out a response.

• Don't ever be negative. Unless you are specially asked about such topics, never bring up heavy subjects such as death, illness, accident or failure. Also don't speak ill of any person, place or thing.

The trickiest questions

In some respects, no one interview question is any more or less difficult than the next, If you follow the above guidelines and go into an interview equipped with versatile asset statements, you should be able to handle any question with aplomb. So why single out a few questions as the toughest? It's all in the wording, the scope and the "squirm factor" - how uncomfortable the questions make you feel - that qualifies them as trickier than the rest.

# Tell me about yourself.

As the question provides no parameters to guide a response, job seekers usually find this interview-opener bewildering. More often, however, "Tell me about yourself" is a calculated way of finding out how you organize your thoughts, how you articulate them, and on which information you choose to focus.

As with "Tell me about yourself", a request for a story could be  also made, which obviously means your story. Hence, for "Tell me a story", you should respond in the same ways as you would for "Tell me about yourself".

When planning how you will respond, consider the following strategies;

• Prepare sufficiently. This question requires much more preparation than any other because there is a danger of not knowing where to begin - or of knowing where to start but not knowing when to stop talking.

• Weave your story tightly, Limit it to the highlights of your current situation and past experience, as well as a brief mention of what you have to offer.

• Focus on professional topics more than personal ones. It is appropriate to mention a couple of brief facts about your personal situation.

• Be concise. Don't let yourself ramble on to the point of being boring or incoherent. If you babble, you will not only lose the interviewer's interest and sound like you can't organize your thoughts well, but you give yourself more opportunity to put your foot in your mouth.

# What is your greatest weakness?

They key to being comfortable with this question is to remember that you will be more successful in an interview that lets the prospective employer get to you fully than in one in which you come across as too good to be true. Once that realization sinks in, you then need to craft a reply that is at once candid and positive.

• Choose a weakness that is not critical to success on the job in question.

• Discuss a weakness that relates to content knowledge as opposed to an innate personal quality or a transferable skill. Saying that your weakness is lack of knowledge of a particular computer application is preferable to saying that your problem is in managing people or following through on a task.

• Select a weakness that the interviewer is already aware of -or is likely to discover - so that you are not raising a negative that wouldn't have been noticed in the first place.

• Always talk about how you are working on the problem. Give tangible evidence of your efforts.

• Ask a question as soon as you give your answer. Say, "How important is X for success on this job?" If your deficit is a major concern, then you have the chance to address that concern then and there.

# Tell me about a time when you had a personality clash with a co-worker or boss.

In asking this question, the interviewers want to know if you have problems getting along with other people. They are also trying to find out how tactful you are - do you say negative things about others, or are you diplomatic in how you describe a situation? This question also serves as an indirect way of asking what you look for in a boss or co-workers, to see if your work style and preferred way of managing or being managed is congruent with the prospective employer's workplace.

• Your best bet here is to say as little as possible. You basically have three options for answering this question, presented here in order from safest (but most evasive) to riskiest (but most direct):

• Say that you have been very fortunate in that you have gotten along well with everyone you have ever worked with and that no personality clashes come to mind. In other words, evade the question.

• Answer the question in a seemingly direct way, but interpret the wording of the question to your advantage. Define "personality clash" (or "conflict") as a clash of values or work ethics rather than one of personality. Talk about how a boss wanted you to do something illegal or unethical, or how a co-worker never held up his or her end of the workload and that the problem led to a conflict.

• Be more candid, and talk openly (but tactfully) about the lunatic boss or psychotic co-worker you have had to deal with.

A word of caution is in order if you choose the second or third option, however. Whenever, you even venture near candour when discussing a personality conflict, do so very diplomatically. Be brief and matter-of-fact.

# What are the three words that describe you?

This is often seen as a difficult question for two reasons. - it requires that you sing your own praises in a blatant way and it is easy to become overwhelmed when you have to choose just three words to convey who you are.

To deal with the first concern, remember that your asset statements objectify the claims you are making about yourself. When you say that you possess certain positive qualities, you are not just boasting, but you are stating a fact.

To tackle the second problem, plan in advance which three words you will use instead of trying to come up with them on the spot - and make sure you choose ones that represent three different aspects of yourself.

# Why should we hire you?

What you have to do to ace this question is to be aware of the employer's needs, to assess what  you have to offer related to those needs, and to give an example of how you have met similar needs in the past.

The worst answer you can give to this question is one that is completely undistinguished, such as "You should hire me because I am a hard worker with excellent skills and experience." So what? Anyone can say that.

You have to zero in on the two or three qualifications the employer cares most about, and the one or two problems that need to be solved. Then deliver a powerful punch of a reply, such as this: "From what we have discussed this afternoon, sounds like your department needs someone who can hit the ground running to get your operations streamlined, reduce your production costs, and boost the staff's morale. I have done that before, and I can do it for you."

# Tell me about an ethical dilemma you have faced.

This request is typical of behavioural interviews in which your integirty and work ethics are assessed through real-life examples you provide. The interviewer wants to know what sorts of ethical issues you have had to deal with, how you handled the, and what you learned from them. In describing an ethical dilemma you have faced, consider the following:

• Choose one in which you were involved only as an observer or secondary participant. You might describe witnessing someone violating a company policy, cheating or stealing.

• Be tactful and diplomatic in the way you describe the situation.

• Don't reveal confidential information that violates the civil rights of past co-workers or the proprietary rights of your employer.

• Say that you first defined the problem to make sure that there was indeed a breach of ethics.

• Show that you dealt directly with the parties involved to let them know of your concern and to give them a chance to explain their position before reporting them to any relevant authorities.

• Conclude with a discussion of what you learned from the incident.

# Where do you see yourself 5/10/15 years from now?

The best way to answer this question is to balance specific information with broad brush strokes. Talk in terms of function, level and areas of contribution.

You might say, "Well of course, I can't say exactly where I want to be five years from now, but I know that I will be involved in desktop publishing and will be continually learning and applying cutting-edge technologies. I also know that I would like to move into more of a supervisory role while still having my hands in actual production. And, I would like to be able to say that I have contributed to a dramatic revamping and revitalization of a company's image through its print and online materials. I would like to do those things here with (company name), if that sounds like someone you are looking for."

# Where else are you interviewing?

You might feel that if you mention other organizations, you will sound less interested in the one where you are interviewing. On the contrary, interviewers know that a smart jobseekers is going to investigate every possibility and will rarely approach only one place at a time.

A direct approach to this question is usually the best approach. It will also have the added benefit of getting the employer's competitive juices flowing when you sound like you are in demand.

One decision you will have to make when replying is whether to mention specific company names or just to speak of them in generic terms. If you do mention the actual name of another organization, do so only if you have a definite interview scheduled or have already been there.

If you have no other interviews scheduled-or likely to be scheduled-but don't want to sound like you are not in demand, you can speak euphemistically. "I am in the early stages of discussing opportunities at two other firms" is a handy euphemism for saying that you have placed preliminary calls to a human resources representative who told you that some opening might exist and that you should send in your resume and they will call you - may be. Of course, if you are not interviewing anywhere else because you are not in an active search, you can simply say so.

# How much money are you looking for?

You probably know not to bring up the issue of salary in a first interview, and also not in subsequent interviews until an offer is not on the table (or nearly there). Interviewers don't always live by the same rules, however, so you might find yourself asked point blank what salary you are seeking.

Avoid stating any precise amount, but don't avoid the question entirely. Say something like, "I know that my salary needs are in line with typical compensation for (type of position) in an organization this size. And, I am confident we will be able to come to an agreement on an appropriate compensation package, but I would rather not discuss specifics until I have a chance to know more about the position and until you know more about what I have to offer."

Most employers will expect a fairly pat answer like this, but they ask the question anyway, on the off-chance that you will give a reply that actually mentions specific figures. If that were to happen, they would then have the upper hand in subsequent negotiations.

# What do you think about (controversial topic)....?

You might come across an interviewer who would rather discuss the day's headline news than your skills and experience. He or she may want to know what you think about a recent Supreme Court decision, an international conflict, or some other major issue, which inevitably raises some tricky issues.

To handle these situations diplomatically, use the following strategies:

• Consider the nature of the organization in which you are interviewing.

• Similarly, take into account the style and philosophy of the organizations. It is conservative or liberal, traditional or progressive? Then decide how much of a maverick you can be. If you feel strongly about being able to voice your own opinions, then go ahead and do so. But if you want to play it safe, make sure that any opinions by you express are likely to be shared by the interviewer.

• If you want to take the safest course of action, express no opinion at all or one that is entirely neutral. If the interviewer asks, "What did you make of that mandate the Pope announced this morning?" reply with something innocuous like "That was really something, wasn't it? I am interested in seeing how the words reacts." With this tactic, you deflect the query and put the dialogue ball back into the interviewer's court. A downside to this approach is that you might come across as someone without convictions or sharp analytical skills.

• Subtly change the subject. If, for example, the question is about a matter being hotly debated in Parliament, compare the issue to a debate that went on at your last company and discuss how you helped to resolve the disagreement.

Just the facts

While it is important to be prepared for specific questions, you shouldn't expect an interview to conform to a text-book style format.

You can't predict exactly which questions will be asked or how they will be worded, so arm yourself with versatile strategies rather than detailed scripts.

[Excerpted from 'The Unofficial Guide to: Acing the Interview' By Michelle Tullier]