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Well I have done enough interviews at this point to know most of the standard questions but I was completing an application online and haven't even gotten to the interview stage yet and these were some of the questions that were asked:
Name your 3 greatest strengths (ok, not too hard)
Name your 3 greatest weaknesses (3 - really???)
Describe a time where you did the right thing by being honest and fair.
So is this a trend now, conducting part of the interview during the application?
I just interviewed for a position at work and it was mostly behavior based questions like that . It's the latest thing that some consultant sold them I'm sure .
Buy the book "Knock 'em Dead". Lots of good answers to these questions. When answering weaknesses questions, I use that I don't like clock-watchers are people who are not as dedicated to solving problems as I am. Or I will use answers that everyone can relate to. In my case, coming from a health insurance background, I say that keeping up with all of the Health Care Reform changes as been a challenge. Everyone in my industry understands this and laughs.
Other times, I say that my Microsoft Excel skills could be better but I always give the interviewer my plan to improve such as I'm taking an on-line class or have been watching YouTube tutorials to improve my skills. This shows that you are a fixer and are taking steps on your own to improve.
Well I have done enough interviews at this point to know most of the standard questions but I was completing an application online and haven't even gotten to the interview stage yet and these were some of the questions that were asked:
Name your 3 greatest strengths (ok, not too hard)
Name your 3 greatest weaknesses (3 - really???)
Describe a time where you did the right thing by being honest and fair.
So is this a trend now, conducting part of the interview during the application?
I encountered stupid questions like that in a phone interview about 2 months ago...
The job offer I ended up getting a couple weeks later consisted of a 5 min tour followed by a "When can you start?"
Then about 2 weeks into the new job I got a call from the other asking if I wanted to come in for a face to face...
Coming from the other side of the table - I asked this question because you'd be amazed at what some people say. I would ask "what's your greatest weakness" - this is NOT the time to tell the interviewer that you're habitually late/call in sick frequently/drink too much on the weekends/have an anger management problem. (Yes, all real answers. ) And please don't answer with "I don't have any weaknesses" - this shows a lack of accountability and that everything you do incorrectly is always someone else's fault.
Good/acceptable answers:
I feel that I'm weak in {insert technical skill here} and would love to learn more about it.
I get a little annoyed when people don't pull their weight on a project - and I've learned proper ways to deal with this, such as escalating to my boss if I've tried to engage that person and they still don't seem interested.
Sometimes, I take on too much responsibility - but I've learned how to ask others for help when I'm feeling overwhelmed.
Basically - state a weakness, and what you're doing to improve it.
Neutral answer:
I'm a perfectionist. Too cliche, too "Interview Book"ish. I'm not thrilled about this answer, but I'll take it.
I usually say that I have trouble saying no. Which is true... I overwhelm myself.
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