Three years ago I wrote a book about interviewing. Actually it was more of a scathing report from the field of my living room where I sat in my pajamas, smarting from another week of interviewing for positions I was:
a) not interested in because I had fallen out of love with my career path and,
b) overqualified for

It’s mostly a bunch of angry observations, written while unemployed and on the job hunt.The other night I came across it on my old computer and figured that while most of it won’t suit Unlimited’s daily blog, I could still offer a potentially endless amount of blog entries around the topic of interviews based on what I learned from writing a 160-page rant on the subject.

I figured I’d start out with providing:
1) An overview of some of the interview questions one might encounter, 2) What a question like it might look like, 3) A smattering of do’s and don’ts around each.

Let’s begin.

1. The Straightforward Question
a.k.a.The Let’s-Cut-The-Bullsh*t-Can-You-Do-The-Job-Or-Not? Question
A no nonsense question asked to learn more about your skill set to determine if you’re the right fit for the job/your skill set is strong enough for the job
Ex. “Tell me about yourself” or “Why do you think you’re the right person for this job?”
Do: Spend some time prepping answers to standard questions like this – practice makes perfect.
Don’t: Wing it. The best offense is a good defence – be prepared.

2. The Trick Question
a.k.a The Are-You-A-Nutcase Question
A question designed to eliminate certain types of people, like liars. Also used to determine anger issues, negative nancys, etc.
Ex. “What are your pet peeves at work?” or “What do you consider your greatest weakness?”
Do: Be positive – show how you can turn a weakness into a strength. Underscore your strong work ethic.
Don’t: Lie. Be negative – show you think you’re not capable of public speaking just because you bombed huge at that conference last year.

3. The Stress Question
a.k.a The I’m-Going-To-Mess-With-You-A-Little-Bit Question
Designed to test how you react under pressure
Ex. “How would you react if I told you your interview so far was terrible?
Do: Employ diplomacy. Think on your feet. Be articulate.
Don’t: Start crying.

4. The Illegal Question
a.k.a The It’s-Time-To-Get-Up-And-Leave Question
This is a discriminatory question posed to you by a prospective employer. Here’s a nice summary from About.com, “In a nutshell, employers should not be asking about your race, gender, religion, marital status, age, disabilities, ethnic background, country of origin, sexual preferences or age.”
Ex. “What religion do you practice?” or “Can you, after employment, provide proof of age?”
Do: Ask them what the question has to do with the job you’re being interviewed for. Report them. Move on to the next opportunity.
Don’t: Answer.

NEXT TIME @ THE DAILY BLOG INTERVIEWS:

+ The Dumb Question
a.k.a. the Dumb Question
+The Nontraditional Question
a.k.a. The Think-on-Your-Feet Question
+The Group Question
a.k.a. The How-Well-Can-You-Engage-With-X-Number-Of-People
-At-Once Question
+The Question to Ask the Employer
a.k.a The It’s-Your-Turn-To-Impress-Me-
While-I-Continue-To-Impress-You-With-My-Questions Question