Tag Archives: interview questions

Getting the best benefits out of your next job.

Posted on March 15, 2022 | Leave a comment

One of our candidates was offered six weeks of vacation and personal time per year.  It wasn’t a matter of begging, pleading and negotiations.  It was just offered. To tell you the truth, I’m not sure she did anything special in the interviews.  She was just worth it to the company that hired her.  

Put on the brakes and read that last sentence over. The way to get more vacation is to be so valuable to the company that they offer it.  I’m always pleased when a job offer comes in with three, four or five weeks of vacation. It means that the job and the candidate matched well at a highly skilled level.

A recruiter is the best person to get better benefits for you.  They can tell the company exactly what you currently have at the beginning of the process. They can suggest an extra week of vacation will sweeten the offer.

With or without a recruiter, the time to negotiate for vacation time is after the company has decided to hire you.  If you ask for an extra two weeks of vacation in the first interview, you won’t have a second interview.  A key question you may be asked is, “What is your current compensation package?”  That means they want to know the full cost of hiring you.  It is a very different question from, “What do we have to pay you?”  When the company is asking about your current full compensation you can give them the whole story including pay, vacation, personal days, car allowance, 401K matching and healthcare costs.  Telling the HR person or the hiring committee in your second or third interview your full current pay and benefits is not threatening. Telling the first person you talk to that you need 5 weeks of vacation along with a 30% pay raise and every other Friday off is a mistake.    

So, getting your recruiter to get that fourth week of vacation is the best idea.  The time for YOU to ask for more vacation is when the company already knows your current vacation time and wants to hire you.  Then you have some leverage. And the most important point is to make sure you are worth the extra vacation time.  If the company wants your skills enough, they’ll give you all the vacation you want.   

Something to do today

Find out from your HR department what your full benefits package is worth.  You need to know vacation days, personal days, sick days, pension contributions, 401K matching, their healthcare costs and what exactly is your contribution to healthcare.  You can add your salary, bonuses and expense allowances to the list.  You may be surprised at the cost of your benefits, and it will be a great thing to know when asked in your job interview. 

It is just about the end of the quarter.  Monday would be a great day to give your supervisor a list of your major accomplishments for the quarter and year so far.

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10 questions to ask during your interview

Posted on March 13, 2022 | Leave a comment

Dare to be different. Different like the cartoon roadrunner, not like the coyote. Everyone likes the roadrunner. He has an infectious smile and inventive ways of getting safely past the coyote. 

Companies hire to fill a need. By asking the right questions, you can find out what that need is. Just by finding out that need, you may get the job. When your interviewer feels they are understood, they are likely to say to themself, “This candidate will be a great team member since they understand what I need.” Then you are hired.

Phone, Business, Person, Lifestyle, Males, People, Man

You may want to consider using a variation of these questions which I got from Danny Cahill:

  • When you made the move to come here, what was the most compelling reason for YOU? 
  • What keeps you here?
  • I’m looking for a leader who I can believe in and whose coattails I can ride. Tell me your ambitions. 
  • What do I have to do to get your job? 
  • You’re not hiring because everything is wonderful. What are the problems that need solving?
  • Companies hire short term solutions to short term problems. How can I stand out in the next 60 days?
  • I’m happy to give you my references, are there people here or at some other company that I can talk to about you? 
  • Profile your top performer for me. What do they do that makes them so much better? 
  • When it comes to work, what keeps you up at night? 
  • Do I have your vote? Are you going to recommend I be considered? 

Something to do today

Make a list of questions you can read over before every interview. You will be amazed how often the right question will help you in a tough situation.

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Ask these questions to stand out in an interview

Posted on March 9, 2022 | Leave a comment

Salespeople who earn over $100,000 per year know how to ask questions. Then they ask another related question. Top salespeople get smart people to say, “He’s right, I need his help.” They do it without telling how smart they are. They do it by asking the right questions.

Your job interview is a sales meeting. You need the interviewers to “buy” you. Getting a job at McDonalds is just like getting a CEO’s job. You have to convince the interviewers that you can do the job and that you are the best person available. 

Everyone says, “I’m the best.” You will be expected to list your accomplishments. You will proclaim yourself a team player. “I’ll do whatever it takes,” will be a key phrase you will utter, just like everyone else. I’m still waiting for the candidate that says, “I hate people. I refuse to work hard. If possible, I will drive this company into the ground.”

So, be different. Ask great questions. Here is the first one:

“How will I be measured in 12 months time if I take this job?”

Or use a related comment and question:

“Everyone is hired to fill an immediate need. So, what problems do I get to resolve in my first two months?”

Are you getting the idea? Tomorrow I’ll give you a list of some more questions I have gleaned over the years.

Something to do today

Make a list of at least 3 questions or topics you should ask about in every interview. 

Now think about the exact wording. Can you make the questions show your keen interest in doing a great job and helping your team? 

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Every conversation is an interview

Posted on November 26, 2021 | Leave a comment

Our office was small, 5 desks. We always wear office casual. Our interview style is casual. We ask a lot of tough questions, but we try our best to put candidates at ease.

A candidate was making some rather crude remarks about former coworkers. He shoveled up some really inappropriate dirt on some characters he knew. Finally he was told, “Saying things like that in an interview is going to keep everyone from wanting to have anything to do with you.”

He replied, “But this isn’t an interview.”

His mistake

You are in an interview anytime you talk with someone who can help you get a job. Use your interview manners when you talk to friends, acquaintances, recruiters, people in Human Resources and when you talk to a company President. Your friend who knows a manager in another company is interviewing you when you ask him to submit your resume. A recruiter is always interviewing people.

Some interviewers, like recruiters, require more in-depth information than others. Give it to them, but don’t show hatred. Don’t viciously gossip.

That doesn’t mean you should hide things, it means you should get over them. Let them go. Forgive. Forget. At the very least stop bringing horrible things up. 

A way to measure what to say

The measure of what you should say now, is what you imagine yourself saying about the situation in 5 or 10 years.

When you are looking for a job in 5 or 10 years you will not say much about the SOB’s at your last job. They won’t be worth the time. You may have to say why you left, but it will only take 20 seconds. 

When you paint someone with a hateful brush, you expose your hate. Your hatred, loathing or disgust is never pretty. Those who see it will always wonder when you will say the same things about them. A rabid vicious dog is never welcome in any neighborhood. So, why would someone want you, a vengeful, spiteful, nasty mouthed person, working on their team? 

Get on with your life. Forgive, forget. Concentrate on the good things you do. Remember, you are always in an interview.

Something to do today

Think about the negatives that come out of your mouth in an interview. Figure out a way to clinically describe bad things that happened without emotion. Figure out how to do it in 20 seconds. 

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Turn your weakness into a strength to get the job

Posted on November 22, 2021 | Leave a comment

What is one of your weaknesses?

The candidate gave one weakness. He was prepared for that question.

The interviewer paused and frowned. He couldn’t remember what he had planned for the next question.

The candidate got nervous. Why did the interviewer pause? He blurted out another weakness. This one was a little more serious. He hadn’t prepared to offer more than one weakness. 

This caught the interviewer so off guard that he blinked a couple of times and furrowed his brow. 

The candidate couldn’t hold back. There was another weakness. 

The candidate fell apart. He added even more weaknesses. He talked himself out of a job.

Be prepared to talk about one weakness. For good measure, make it something that could be a strength, but that you take too far. It could be working late or being a perfectionist. Tell how you correct the weakness.

Then shut up.

Never give more than one weakness. Otherwise YOU will ruin your chance.

Something to do today

Prepare for the question, “What is one of your weaknesses.” Make sure you also include in your answer how you compensate for that weakness..

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How to distract an interviewer with a red herring

Posted on October 29, 2021 | Leave a comment

Is a red herring good or bad? Obviously it can be either. A red herring distracts from an important point. Here is how it works.

Do you have something to hide? If it is a minor disqualifier, be prepared to talk around it. Let’s say you were five years in accounting, but only the last year of it in audit. They ask about how much time you actually spent in audits. You answer precisely, “I’ve been with Bolger & Smith CPA’s for five years. In the last year alone, I have done full audits of 12 companies in addition to my other duties.” The phrase, “In the last year alone,” is a red herring. Skillfully placed it diverts attention to the last year.

Were you fired for refusing to work any more overtime? First off, make sure there will be no overtime in the new job. When they ask, “Why did you leave,” 

you can reply, “My manager and I disagreed on a matter of service, which I will not go into.” Don’t say, “I was fired.” Don’t give a full explanation. When they press for details you can say, “My last manager was well qualified. We disagreed on a matter of service. I won’t go into it any further.” 

The red herring is your nobility in not tearing down your old manager. Make sure they see your loyalty and refusal to gossip. It makes you look good and distracts them from the issue of you being fired.

A red herring is not a lie. It is a distraction. If your distraction doesn’t work, either refuse to answer or tell the unvarnished truth. In the end, distraction is acceptable. A lie will get you fired.

Something to do today

If you have something to hide, write out tough questions. Write out three red herrings for each question. Practice them.

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How to show personality and quality to get a job

Posted on October 27, 2021 | Leave a comment

Reading off of a sheet of questions, each interviewer takes a turn asking set questions. There are technical questions, motivation questions and team related questions. Which are the most important ones? Which are the red herrings?

If you interview with 5 people at a company, you will have to deal with 5 agendas. Each will have a different set of core values and competencies they are looking for. So how do you win?

Be yourself, but avoid dwelling on yourself.

Be yourself

Make sure your interviewers know one or two endearing things that make you different. For instance, I have ten kids and I am a Boy Scouts leader. That will set Bryan Dilts apart from other candidates and give me a personality. Do you have a computer network in your basement? Were you the top salesman of Girl Scout cookies as a kid? Mention one or two things that make you unique. Make sure NOT to mention politics.

Avoid dwelling on yourself

A quick mention of your one or two endearing qualities is all that is needed. Then it is time to mention past job performance. 

When asked about what you did, mention specific projects. You can say, “I was in charge of the budget,” or you can say, “While I was in charge of the budget we increased productivity 60% while increasing the budget only 20%.” That will catch their attention. As a salesperson you can say, “I sold to companies with over 2000 employees,” or you can get bonus points by saying, “In the last year I opened new accounts at 14 companies, each with over 2000 employees.” 

Don’t dwell on yourself. Dwell on the facts. Facts that demonstrate your value to your last company and the company you are interviewing with.

Their red herrings

You really have no hope of knowing which of their questions are red herrings. All you can do is refocus each question they ask on what you have accomplished in the past. Given a choice, most people would rather work with someone who will get things done rather than someone who answers the questions just like they are supposed to.

Ignore their red herrings and show them you are a big fish. They’ll want to reel you in and hire you.

Something to do today

Ask if you can help do interviews at your current company. You may be surprised what you learn about being interviewed by watching others in the hot seat and talking with your boss about them afterwards.

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The salary question is illegal in MA

Posted on August 5, 2016 | Leave a comment

MA just passed a law making it illegal to ask your current or past salary before they have made you a job offer!

Here is the article.

I have to admit, I did not see that one coming.

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Should you answer, “Where else are you interviewing?”

Posted on June 29, 2016 | Leave a comment

Spy asking Spying or helping?

Are they going to use the information to hurt you or to help you?

Who is asking you, “Where else are you interviewing?” That should change your answer.

During a police interrogation you answer questions differently than you do when you are talking to your spouse.  For example, “Where have you been?” can be more dangerous coming from one of those two sources.

There are two correct responses to the question, “Where else are you interviewing?”  If you are talking to a hiring manager or HR person, tell them.  Let them know what is going on. Give them details if they ask. It will most likely increase your desirability if they know others are talking to you.

If you are talking to a recruiter at an agency, you need to decide if you trust the recruiter.  Ask the recruiter, “Why do you want to know?”  After the recruiter acts defensive or offended, ask your real question, “Do you ever submit resumes to jobs you find out about from candidates?”

The recruiter should answer, “I will only submit a resume to a job you mention if I am already working on it, or if you tell me you are out of contention there.  I will never reduce your chances of getting a job by submitting competition unless I was already working on the job.”

Do you trust the recruiter?  If so, give him the details of your interviews. He can help you much better in your job search if he knows everything. All the recruiting trainers and over half the recruiters will play fair with you. They will not ruin your chances where you are already interviewing. If you have serious doubts about the recruiter, tell them you are interviewing, but not precisely where.

Basically, if someone will hurt you with the information, protect yourself.  If the information works to your advantage, tell them.

Something To Do Today

Evaluate every recruiter you work with.   Which ones do you trust?  Which ones are questionable?  Why? Trust your instincts.

I am going on vacation the week of the 4th of July.  I’ll be at a family reunion in Gila, NM and totally unavailable.

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Later:                          Why don’t they give you an answer, Yes or No?

The company’s reputation

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Will you do anything we ask? – the interview question

Posted on June 28, 2016 | Leave a comment

waist deep in water

Will you really do “whatever it takes” ??

“Will you do whatever it takes to get the job done?” is a common interview question.

In “The Firm” a new lawyer finds the perfect job: great pay, wonderful benefits and  a really high flying lifestyle.  Then he finds out he is a part of the mafia and can’t get out unless he is the guest of honor at his own funeral.

Let’s get realistic.  Even in high flying corporate scandals no one is murdered.  If you feel you have to blow the whistle you can go to newspaper reporters and the police.  You will be safe physically.  Your only real worries are social and financial.  The company’s risk is to its very existence.  It can be destroyed just by bad press.  Also, legal action can take away any profit the company has had for years.

There is no reason to suspect that your employer wants you to do something illegal.  It is much more likely he wants you to work late.

Go ahead and be enthusiastic when they ask the question, “Will you do whatever it takes?”  The proper answer is to give examples of how you have gone the extra mile in previous jobs.  Tell when you worked late to finish projects or help a teammate.  Carrying a pager is a great example of doing “whatever it takes.”  Mention the inconvenient business trips.  The support you had from your family when you had to work late or travel is a valuable story.

I hate to go back to it, but, don’t mention when you did something borderline illegal.  Don’t assume they want you to do something immoral.  If they ask you to do something that is wrong, ask them to clarify.  Ask for examples.  If you are sure they are asking you to do something illegal, immoral, or fattening, refuse the second interview or the job offer. You can even bring it up with the CEO or the SEC.

Some people have been burned by a previous bad employer.  You may have been hired by a place with dubious morals. You are out now, or in the process of getting out.  Assume the best of the companies you are visiting.  Give examples of how hard you are willing to work to succeed. Focus on what you can do for the company.

Something To Do Today

Assume the best.  Ask for examples.

The intelligent man finds almost everything ridiculous, the sensible man hardly anything. (J. W. von Goethe)

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Tomorrow:     Where else are you interviewing?

Later:              Why don’t they give you an answer, Yes or No?

The company’s reputation

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Posted in Attitude, Interviews

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