“The Salary Question” – How much money do you want? :Best Answer for Job Interview Question

May also be phrases as, “What salary are you worth?”…or, “How much are you making now?”  This is your most important negotiation.
Handle it wrong and you can blow the job offer or go to work at far less than
you might have gotten.

BEST ANSWER:  For maximum salary
negotiating power, remember these five guidelines:

1.    Never bring up salary.  Let the interviewer do it first.  Good salespeople sell their products
thoroughly before talking price.  So should you.  Make the interviewer want you first, and your
bargaining position will be much stronger.

2.   
If your interviewer raises the salary question too early,
before you’ve had a chance to create desire for your qualifications, postpone the question, saying something
like, “Money is important to me, but is not
my main concern.  Opportunity and
growth are far more important.  What I’d
rather do, if you don’t mind, is explore if I’m right for the position, and
then talk about money. Would that be okay?”

3.   
The #1 rule of any negotiation is:  the
side with more information wins. 
After you’ve done a thorough job of selling the interviewer and it’s
time to talk salary, the secret is to get the employer talking about what he’s
willing to pay before you reveal what
you’re willing to accept.  So, when asked about salary, respond by
asking, “I’m sure the company has already established a salary range for this
position.  Could you tell me what that
is?”  Or, “I want an income commensurate
with my ability and qualifications.  I
trust you’ll be fair with me.  What does
the position pay?” Or, more simply, “What does this position pay?”

4.   
Know beforehand what you’d accept.  To know what’s reasonable, research the job
market and this position for any relevant salary information.  Remember that most executives look for a
20-25%$ pay boost when they switch jobs. If you’re grossly underpaid, you may
want more.

5.   
Never lie about what you currently make, but feel free to
include the estimated cost of all your fringes, which could well tack on 25-50%
more to your present “cash-only” salary.

Where do you see yourself five (5) years from now? :Best Answer for Job Interview Question

One
reason interviewers ask this question is to see if you’re settling for this
position, using it merely as a stopover until something better comes
along.  Or they could be trying to gauge
your level of ambition.

If
you’re too specific, i.e., naming the promotions you someday hope to win,
you’ll sound presumptuous.  If you’re too
vague, you’ll seem rudderless.

BEST ANSWER:   Reassure your interviewer that you’re looking
to make a long-term commitment…that this position entails exactly what you’re
looking to do and what you do extremely well. 
As for your future, you believe that if you perform each job at hand
with excellence, future opportunities will take care of themselves.

Example:  “I am definitely
interested in making a long-term commitment to my next position.  Judging by what you’ve told me about this
position, it’s exactly what I’m looking for and what I am very well qualified
to do.  In terms of my future career
path, I’m confident that if I do my work with excellence, opportunities will
inevitable open up for me.  It’s always
been that way in my career, and I’m confident I’ll have similar opportunities
here.”

Why should I hire you? :Best Answer for Job Interview Question

This
is a killer question because so many candidates are unprepared for it.  If you stammer or adlib you’ve blown it.

BEST ANSWER:  By now you can see
how critical it is to apply the overall strategy of uncovering the employer’s
needs before you answer
questions.  If you know the employer’s
greatest needs and desires, this question will give you a big leg up over other
candidates because you will give him better reasons for hiring you than anyone
else is likely to…reasons tied directly to his needs.

Whether
your interviewer asks you this question explicitly
or not, this is the most important question of your interview because he must answer this question favorably in
is own mind before you will be hired.  So help him out!  Walk through each of the position’s
requirements as you understand them, and follow each with a reason why you meet
that requirement so well.

Example:  “As I understand
your needs, you are first and foremost looking for someone who can manage the
sales and marketing of your book publishing division.  As you’ve said you need someone with a strong
background in trade book sales.  This is
where I’ve spent almost all of my career, so I’ve chalked up 18 years of
experience exactly in this area.  I
believe that I know the right contacts, methods, principles, and successful
management techniques as well as any person can in our industry.”

“You
also need someone who can expand your book distribution channels. In my prior
post, my innovative promotional ideas doubled, then tripled, the number of
outlets selling our books.  I’m confident
I can do the same for you.”

“You
need someone to give a new shot in the arm to your mail order sales, someone
who knows how to sell in space and direct mail media.  Here, too, I believe I have exactly the
experience you need.  In the last five
years, I’ve increased our mail order book sales from $600,000 to $2,800,000,
and now we’re the country’s second leading marketer of scientific and medical
books by mail.”  Etc., etc., etc.,

Every
one of these selling “couplets” (his need matched by your qualifications) is a touchdown
that runs up your score.  IT is your best
opportunity to outsell your competition.

Why are you leaving (or did you leave) your previous Company? ? :Best Answer for Job Interview Question

Never
badmouth your previous industry, company, board, boss, staff, employees or
customers.  This rule is inviolable:  never
be negative.  Any mud you hurl will
only soil your suit.

Especially
avoid words like “personality clash”, “didn’t get along”, or others which cast
a shadow on your competence, integrity, or temperament.

BEST ANSWER:

(If you have a job presently)

If
you’re not yet 100% committed to leaving your present post, don’t be afraid to
say so.  Since you have a job, you are in
a stronger position than someone who does not. 
But don’t be coy either.  State
honestly what you’d be hoping to find in a new spot.  Of course, as stated often before, you answer
will all the stronger if you have already uncovered what this position is all
about and you match your desires to it.

(If you do not presently have a job.)

Never
lie about having been fired.  It’s
unethical – and too easily checked.  But
do try to deflect the reason from you personally.  If your firing was the result of a takeover,
merger, division wide layoff, etc., so much the better.

But
you should also do something totally unnatural that will demonstrate consummate
professionalism.  Even if it hurts , describe your own firing –
candidly, succinctly and without a trace of bitterness – from the company’s point-of-view, indicating that
you could understand why it happened and you might have made the same decision
yourself.

Your
stature will rise immensely and, most important of all, you will show you are
healed from the wounds inflicted by the firing. 
You will enhance your image as first-class management material and stand
head and shoulders above the legions of firing victims who, at the slightest
provocation, zip open their shirts to expose their battle scars and decry the
unfairness of it all.

For all prior positions:

Make
sure you’ve prepared a brief reason for leaving.  Best
reasons:  more money, opportunity,
responsibility or growth.

What are your greatest weaknesses ? :Best Answer for Job Interview Question

This is an eliminator question,
designed to shorten the candidate list. Any admission of a weakness or fault
will earn you an “A” for honesty, but an “F” for the interview.

PASSABLE ANSWER: 
Disguise a strength as a weakness.

Example: “I sometimes push my people too hard.  I like to work with a sense of urgency and
everyone is not always on the same wavelength.”

Drawback:  This strategy is
better than admitting a flaw, but it's so widely used, it is transparent to any
experienced interviewer.

BEST ANSWER:  (and another reason
it's so important to get a thorough description of your interviewer's needs before you answer questions): Assure the
interviewer that you can think of nothing that would stand in the way of your
performing in this position with excellence. Then, quickly review you strongest
qualifications.

Example:  “Nobody's perfect,
but based on what you've told me about this position, I believe I' d make an
outstanding match. I know that when I hire people, I look for two things most
of all. Do they have the qualifications
to do the job well, and the motivation
to do it well?  Everything in my
background shows I have both the qualifications and a strong desire to achieve
excellence in whatever I take on. So I can say in all honesty that I see
nothing that would cause you even a small concern about my ability or my strong
desire to perform this job with excellence.”

Alternate strategy (if you don't yet know enough about
the position to talk about such a perfect fit):

Instead of confessing a weakness, describe what you like most and like least,
making sure that what you like most matches up with the most important
qualification for success in the position, and what you like least is not
essential.

Example:  Let's say you're
applying for a teaching position. “If given a choice, I like to spend as much
time as possible in front of my prospects selling, as opposed to shuffling
paperwork back at the office.  Of course,
I long ago learned the importance of filing paperwork properly, and I do it
conscientiously. But what I really love to do is sell (if your interviewer were
a sales manager, this should be music to his ears.)

What are your greatest strengths? :Best Answer for Job Interview Question

This question seems like a softball
lob, but be prepared. You don't want to come across as egotistical or arrogant.
Neither is this a time to be humble.

BEST ANSWER:  You know that your
key strategy is to first uncover your interviewer's greatest wants and needs
before you answer questions. And from Question 1, you know how to do this.

Prior
to any interview, you should have a list mentally prepared of your greatest
strengths. You should also have, a specific example or two, which illustrates
each strength, an example chosen from your most recent and most impressive
achievements.

You
should, have this list of your greatest strengths and corresponding examples
from your achievements so well committed to memory that you can recite them
cold after being shaken awake at 2:30AM.

Then,
once you uncover your interviewer's greatest wants and needs, you can choose
those achievements from your list that best match up.

As a
general guideline, the 10 most desirable traits that all employers love to see
in their employees are:

1.           
A proven track record as an achiever...especially if your achievements match up with the employer's greatest
wants and needs.

2.           
Intelligence...management "savvy".

3.           
Honesty...integrity...a decent human being.

4.           
Good fit with corporate culture...someone to feel
comfortable with...a team player who meshes well with interviewer's team.

5.           
Likeability...positive attitude...sense of humor.

6.           
Good communication skills.

7.           
Dedication...willingness to walk the extra mile to achieve
excellence.

8.           
Definiteness of purpose...clear goals.

9.           
Enthusiasm...high level of motivation.

10.         
Confident...healthy...a leader.

Best Answer for Job Interview Question : Tell me about yourself ?

About 80% of all interviews begin with
this “innocent” question. Many candidates, unprepared for the question, skewer
themselves by rambling, recapping their life story, delving into ancient work
history or personal matters.

BEST ANSWER:  Start with the
present and tell why you are well qualified for the position. Remember that the
key to all successful interviewing is to match your qualifications to what the
interviewer is looking for. In other words you
must sell what the buyer is buying. This is the single most important strategy
in job hunting.

So,
before you answer this or any
question it's imperative that you try to uncover your interviewer's greatest
need, want, problem or goal.

To do
so, make you take these two steps:

1.   
Do all the homework you can before the interview to uncover this person's wants and needs (not the
generalized needs of the industry or company)

2.   
As early as you can in the interview, ask for a more
complete description of what the position entails.  You might say: “I have a number of
accomplishments I'd like to tell you about, but I want to make the best use of
our time together and talk directly to your needs. To help me do, that, could
you tell me more about the most important priorities of this position?  All I know is what I (heard from the
recruiter, read in the classified ad, etc.)”

 Then, ALWAYS
follow-up with a second and possibly, third question, to draw out his needs
even more. Surprisingly, it's usually this second
or third question that unearths what
the interviewer is most looking for.

You
might ask simply, "And in addition to that?..." or, "Is there
anything else you see as essential to success in this position?:

This
process will not feel easy or natural at first, because it is easier simply to
answer questions, but only if you uncover the employer's wants and needs will
your answers make the most sense. Practice asking these key questions before
giving your answers, the process will feel more natural and you will be light years ahead of the other job candidates you're
competing with.

After
uncovering what the employer is looking for, describe why the needs of this job
bear striking parallels to tasks you've succeeded at before. Be sure to
illustrate with specific examples of your responsibilities and especially your
achievements, all of which are geared to present yourself as a perfect match
for the needs he has just described.