Comments on: How to ask good questions in an interview http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/02/01/how-to-ask-good-questions-in-an-interview/ Advice at the intersection of work and life Fri, 16 May 2008 02:17:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: 面试时如何问好问题？ - One Leo http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/02/01/how-to-ask-good-questions-in-an-interview/#comment-138664 面试时如何问好问题？ - One Leo Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:42:32 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/02/01/how-to-ask-good-questions-in-an-interview/#comment-138664 [...] 原文：How to ask good questions in an interview [...] […] 原文：How to ask good questions in an interview […]

]]> By: Klaus Suglia http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/02/01/how-to-ask-good-questions-in-an-interview/#comment-138402 Klaus Suglia Thu, 13 Mar 2008 07:00:43 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/02/01/how-to-ask-good-questions-in-an-interview/#comment-138402 So here I am going after a position that I didn't even apply for, but had my resume pushed to the appropriate department and I got 3 telephone interviews. Mind you this is after a 2 year streak of sending in my resume via email and not getting any kind of response, I was beginning to think it was me that was the problem. Well two weeks ago I had two successful phone interviews back to back lasting a half an hour apiece. I was recommended to have a 3rd interview but this was going to be my first face to face with a manager, HR, and the direct supervisor for the position that I was applying for. I started researching the company 3 weeks prior to that and even had a failed interview for a different position in the same company. So I'm researching and researching and digging deep into the technical aspects of the products that would be supported. And then I thought well heck I've been to several failed interviews in the last two weeks what can I change in this interview because I really want this potential career. I came across this website and decided to change my interview tactics, and use the advice. One day prior to the interview I get a confirmation email that states they're changing the interview agenda which started at 6:00PM and would have ended at about 8:00PM with 3 back to back individual interviewers, and now was going to be one panel interview. I have never done good at panel interviews. "Oh great I'm not going to get this position" is immediately what went through my mind. 10 minutes prior to the interview I show up and I'm almost immediately ushered into the small conference room. It started out with the Manager of the department, who had flown down from Minnesota for the day to give the 3rd interview, asking the question of "So tell us a little bit about yourself and how your knowledge and skills pertain to this position." To which I stated and asked "Before I get started would you mind if I asked a question?" His response "No I don't mind, that would be fine." "Could you tell about the ideal candidate that you're looking for, so that I could tailor my answers appropriately?" Completely threw him off guard, and he gave me the ideal candidate. While he was giving me the details running through my head was "I don't meet any of the qualifications." And to take it a step further something of that nature came out of my mouth after he was done. Oh boy did I have my work cut out for me now. There was about 5 minutes that passed and I'm answering another question. After was done the manager was questioning out loud "...then why are you here?" almost as if the interview was over, then the supervisor stepped in and clarified the job posting and stated that what the job posting included was all 3 engineering levels (IE Tier one, Tier two, Tier three) of the position wrapped into one classified. He start to ask me questions, and clarified my skills, when the supervisor handed off the questioning back to the Manager, he stated "that the answers that you provided rebounded you right back into the interview, and in fact you have already answered most of the questions that I have for you." I had succeeded in having him redirect his questions into the technical aspect and throwing him for a loop. From going from almost having the interviewing process stopped to jumping right back into it, well let's just say it's not an easy task. To make a long story short, I was told that I would hear back from them as early as Friday but no later than the beginning of the following week. I kid you not I was home 8 minutes after the interview and 7 minutes later while I was telling my wife how it went I got a call from the Manager stating that they were going to recommend me for hire and they were going top me out in the salary hiring range. He paid me a complement of saying that not only was it the most entertaining interview of the four that he had during the day it was the most productive as well. I'm so glad that I came across your website and read your advice and decided to stand out of the crowd. This Worked wonders. Thank you Ms. Trunk. So here I am going after a position that I didn’t even apply for, but had my resume pushed to the appropriate department and I got 3 telephone interviews. Mind you this is after a 2 year streak of sending in my resume via email and not getting any kind of response, I was beginning to think it was me that was the problem. Well two weeks ago I had two successful phone interviews back to back lasting a half an hour apiece. I was recommended to have a 3rd interview but this was going to be my first face to face with a manager, HR, and the direct supervisor for the position that I was applying for. I started researching the company 3 weeks prior to that and even had a failed interview for a different position in the same company. So I’m researching and researching and digging deep into the technical aspects of the products that would be supported. And then I thought well heck I’ve been to several failed interviews in the last two weeks what can I change in this interview because I really want this potential career. I came across this website and decided to change my interview tactics, and use the advice. One day prior to the interview I get a confirmation email that states they’re changing the interview agenda which started at 6:00PM and would have ended at about 8:00PM with 3 back to back individual interviewers, and now was going to be one panel interview. I have never done good at panel interviews. “Oh great I’m not going to get this position” is immediately what went through my mind.
10 minutes prior to the interview I show up and I’m almost immediately ushered into the small conference room. It started out with the Manager of the department, who had flown down from Minnesota for the day to give the 3rd interview, asking the question of “So tell us a little bit about yourself and how your knowledge and skills pertain to this position.” To which I stated and asked “Before I get started would you mind if I asked a question?” His response “No I don’t mind, that would be fine.” “Could you tell about the ideal candidate that you’re looking for, so that I could tailor my answers appropriately?” Completely threw him off guard, and he gave me the ideal candidate. While he was giving me the details running through my head was “I don’t meet any of the qualifications.” And to take it a step further something of that nature came out of my mouth after he was done. Oh boy did I have my work cut out for me now. There was about 5 minutes that passed and I’m answering another question. After was done the manager was questioning out loud “…then why are you here?” almost as if the interview was over, then the supervisor stepped in and clarified the job posting and stated that what the job posting included was all 3 engineering levels (IE Tier one, Tier two, Tier three) of the position wrapped into one classified. He start to ask me questions, and clarified my skills, when the supervisor handed off the questioning back to the Manager, he stated “that the answers that you provided rebounded you right back into the interview, and in fact you have already answered most of the questions that I have for you.” I had succeeded in having him redirect his questions into the technical aspect and throwing him for a loop. From going from almost having the interviewing process stopped to jumping right back into it, well let’s just say it’s not an easy task.
To make a long story short, I was told that I would hear back from them as early as Friday but no later than the beginning of the following week. I kid you not I was home 8 minutes after the interview and 7 minutes later while I was telling my wife how it went I got a call from the Manager stating that they were going to recommend me for hire and they were going top me out in the salary hiring range. He paid me a complement of saying that not only was it the most entertaining interview of the four that he had during the day it was the most productive as well.
I’m so glad that I came across your website and read your advice and decided to stand out of the crowd. This Worked wonders. Thank you Ms. Trunk.

]]> By: [每周翻译]如何回答最难的面试问题 - One Leo http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/02/01/how-to-ask-good-questions-in-an-interview/#comment-138362 [每周翻译]如何回答最难的面试问题 - One Leo Wed, 12 Mar 2008 02:06:20 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/02/01/how-to-ask-good-questions-in-an-interview/#comment-138362 [...] a lot of advice on this blog about how to interview: Tell good stories, ask good questions, be a closer. But here’s only one most important thing to remember: when it comes to discussing [...] […] a lot of advice on this blog about how to interview: Tell good stories, ask good questions, be a closer. But here’s only one most important thing to remember: when it comes to discussing […]

]]> By: Jessica Mueller http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/02/01/how-to-ask-good-questions-in-an-interview/#comment-137228 Jessica Mueller Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:45:57 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/02/01/how-to-ask-good-questions-in-an-interview/#comment-137228 A questions I recently asked that got a lot of praise was "What skills do you see missing from potential candidates today?" The interviewer loved the question and I'm still waiting to see if I get the job, but I know at least that part went well. Thanks for the great post! It helped tremendously. A questions I recently asked that got a lot of praise was “What skills do you see missing from potential candidates today?” The interviewer loved the question and I’m still waiting to see if I get the job, but I know at least that part went well. Thanks for the great post! It helped tremendously.

]]> By: Constantinos http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/02/01/how-to-ask-good-questions-in-an-interview/#comment-135717 Constantinos Wed, 13 Feb 2008 21:39:40 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/02/01/how-to-ask-good-questions-in-an-interview/#comment-135717 Nice... Nice…

]]> By: Kimon http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/02/01/how-to-ask-good-questions-in-an-interview/#comment-113632 Kimon Thu, 29 Nov 2007 20:29:01 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/02/01/how-to-ask-good-questions-in-an-interview/#comment-113632 interesting interesting

]]> By: Tips for phone interviews « centsprout http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/02/01/how-to-ask-good-questions-in-an-interview/#comment-112391 Tips for phone interviews « centsprout Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:49:31 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/02/01/how-to-ask-good-questions-in-an-interview/#comment-112391 [...] Y I find a lot of her posts relevant. And while not specific to phone interviews, her article on How to ask good questions in an interview was really interesting and I’m going to try and give that strategy of asking questions at the [...] […] Y I find a lot of her posts relevant. And while not specific to phone interviews, her article on How to ask good questions in an interview was really interesting and I’m going to try and give that strategy of asking questions at the […]

]]> By: Absolut 360° » How to ask Good Questions in an Interview http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/02/01/how-to-ask-good-questions-in-an-interview/#comment-108013 Absolut 360° » How to ask Good Questions in an Interview Sun, 16 Sep 2007 13:19:11 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/02/01/how-to-ask-good-questions-in-an-interview/#comment-108013 [...] How to ask Good Questions in an Interview Here’s the structure of an interview: The interviewer asks you a lot of questions about you, figures out what you like, what you’re good at, and customizes as he pitches the company and the job to you.  [...] […] How to ask Good Questions in an Interview Here’s the structure of an interview: The interviewer asks you a lot of questions about you, figures out what you like, what you’re good at, and customizes as he pitches the company and the job to you.  […]

]]> By: akhil http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/02/01/how-to-ask-good-questions-in-an-interview/#comment-107363 akhil Thu, 06 Sep 2007 12:17:50 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/02/01/how-to-ask-good-questions-in-an-interview/#comment-107363 <p>ohhh what a million dollar advice---this will definately portray assertiveness----but i feel it has to be said in a very respectful way--or it may sound rude * * * * * * <I>Yes, good advice for any conversation - to be respectful. -Penelope</I> ohhh what a million dollar advice—this will definately portray assertiveness—-but i feel it has to be said in a very respectful way–or it may sound rude

* * * * * *
Yes, good advice for any conversation - to be respectful.

-Penelope

]]> By: Damon http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/02/01/how-to-ask-good-questions-in-an-interview/#comment-88991 Damon Wed, 13 Jun 2007 21:05:08 +0000 http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/02/01/how-to-ask-good-questions-in-an-interview/#comment-88991 I think it is also important to ask questions at the beginning of the interview because these questions give you the opportunity to add to the conversation with additional information about yourself and your qualifications and expertise. Some of the easiest questions to ask have to do directly with your potential position with the company. These would include such things as what your major areas of responsibility would be, if you would be supervising a staff and what types of projects would be typical. At the same time I think it's important to make sure that you prepare questions that are not easily answered by looking on the company website. This is a true giveaway that you have not properly prepared for the interview. I think it is also important to ask questions at the beginning of the interview because these questions give you the opportunity to add to the conversation with additional information about yourself and your qualifications and expertise.

Some of the easiest questions to ask have to do directly with your potential position with the company. These would include such things as what your major areas of responsibility would be, if you would be supervising a staff and what types of projects would be typical.

At the same time I think it’s important to make sure that you prepare questions that are not easily answered by looking on the company website. This is a true giveaway that you have not properly prepared for the interview.

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