| 16. What do you think of the last company
you worked for? |
| You should stress the positive aspects of your last company saying that
they were a good company to work for. Tell them about the training you received
or the work related experience you gained. |
| |
| 17. Why did you join your previous company?
Did they live up to your expectations? Why are you leaving now? |
| Always be positive about your reasons for joining and leaving a company.
Be very careful that you do not say anything negative about your present
employer. If you do, the new company will wonder what you will say about
them when you leave. You might want to stress that you are looking for a
new challenge and that you feel that the company who is interviewing you
fits the bill! |
| |
| 18. Explain the organisational structure
in your last company and how you fitted into it? |
| This sort of question may be used to find out whether your old job is
at a comparable level to your new job. If the new job being discussed would
be a step up the ladder you will need to show that you are ready for a more
demanding position. You may be able to show that you have already had many
of the responsibilities and the necessary skills which would be required
for the next step. |
| |
| 19. How long have you been looking for a
new job? |
| If you have been unemployed for a long time this may be a rather tricky
question to answer. But be honest. If you have been away on holiday or done
some voluntary work you could mention this. |
| |
| 20. Do you prefer to work in a small, medium
or large company? |
| Remember where you are! If the company interviewing you is a small to
medium sized company say that you enjoy a close atmosphere with a good team
spirit. At a large company say that you enjoy the stability of working for
a large and established company |
| |
| 21. What are you looking for in a new job? |
| Make sure your answer fits in with the company who is interviewing you.
A suitable reply would be that you are looking for a new job where you can
apply your existing skills and learn new ones. |
| |
| 22. What would your ideal job be? |
| Again, remember where you are! Describe the job in terms of the criteria
they have used to describe their job. An ideal job might include things
like challenging work, a fair rate of pay for the job, nice colleagues,
good career prospects, good team atmosphere, opportunity to learn new skills,
apply old skills, etc. |
| |
| 23. Are you considering any other positions
at the moment? |
| If you are say so, but do not give too many details away - it will weaken
your negotiating position later. If you do not have any other job offers
at the moment just say that you have a few irons in the fire. |
| |
| 24. What did you think of your manager/supervisor? |
| Say that he/she was the sort of person you could learn from and you communicated
well, which meant that the task in hand was completed on time. |
| |
| 25. What did you do on a day to day basis? |
| This question is only relevant for senior managers or sales people. If
you have increased sales and/or profit then do not be afraid to shout about
it. If you have not increased sales say why not, e.g. general downturn in
the market, etc. It might then be a good idea to mention an achievement
in a previous job if your performance was better there. |
| |
| 26. Have you reduced costs at your last
company? |
| If you have reduced costs say so - companies are always looking for ways
to reduce costs. |
| |
| 27. How would you describe yourself? / How
would others describe you? |
| Pick your best attributes and achievements from your career. |
| |
| 28. Do you consider yourself successful? |
| You should say you do. Pick some work related achievements that are in
line with the position that you are discussing. |
| |
| 29. What was your greatest success? How
did you achieve it? |
| You should pick an achievement which is related to their needs. |
| |
| 30. What has been your biggest failure? |
| Try to pick a failure which you were later able to correct or something
that is not really important. |
