by Jerome Espinosa Baladad

Created on: September 02, 2009   Last Updated: August 06, 2010

Interviewers usually have their set of ready questions whenever they conduct interviews.  Consistently not being able to answer more than adequately several of these questions may expectantly cost the interviewee the job offer if [s]he answered incompletely and least satisfyingly according to how the interviewer would like to get the real answers. However, the conduct of job interviews can be very dynamic and free flowing, such that questions may come from all parties involved in the interview (as some job interviews being conducted may be "group interview"). The level of difficulty of the questions will then vary accordingly, given the situation.

As it were, these "difficult" questions may come in the following forms, one way or another:

1) Can you share me ideas about your weaknesses (or strengths), and discuss them?

2) Why did you resign from your previous (or most recent) job?

3) What have you been doing lately (like asking what makes the candidate productive with his / her life while in search of a job)?

4) Please discuss your most notable accomplishments in your previous job(s)? Can you give me details about them?

5) What kind of people at work do you usually get along with really well?

6) Can we consider you for another job vacancy we have around here?

7) Will you be willing to do the job even without pay (or even with much reduced pay)?

These are a few samples of dreadful questions that a job applicant would rather not hear, depending on his / her circumstances in life, or even the state of mind while being grilled in a job interview. Of course, certain questions may not be asked, because of laws that keep interviewers from ever asking them. They would then have to ask more "creatively," as they would rather not ask directly. They will then venture into sending out questions formed ambiguously, as there is an art in conducting interviews that one learns on the job. Based on their experiences, interviewers will have many ways of sending out these relatively ambiguously formatted questions which they expect the interviewee will understand, and perhaps rephrase in his / her own words, so that an answer may be forthcoming. Failure to do so in "reading between the lines" may actually cost losing any job offer.

This writer shares his observation that, in general, interviewees dread being asked one targeted question "Why do you think you're qualified for this job?" A variation of this sounds like "Why should we hire you, instead of the other candidates

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>