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My weakness is that I tend to procrastinate--but I counter that with the fact that I work well under pressure and ahve never missed a deadline.
Why should we hire you?
How did you contribute measurably to the bottom line at your last job? Did you bring in any large accounts? Discover fraud while underwriting a large loan? How did you make or save the company money? That's what they are really looking for.
Tell me about a difficult situation/customer that you overcame.......
Make up a story if you need to. Basically you want to talk about how you turned a tough situation with an angry customer into a happy customer that you were also able to upsell in the long run.
Do you have a list of personal references?
I think sometimes they want to make sure that you've got more going on in your life than hanging out with your frat brothers drinking beer. If your personal references are the bartender at the local pool hall, a friend who works as a cashier at Wal-mart, and a deaf old lady who was your next door neighbor growing up, there are a lot of red flags. Instead they want to see people who have professional positions, people you volunteer with, etc. This isn't really a trick question, but it's certainly a way to easily allow yourself to shine, just by "birds of a feather."
What are your salary expectations?
Use salary.com as a guide, and give them a range with the midpoint being the midpoint salary based on your experience. Tell them that you are negotiable based on the total compensation package, including benefits, PTO, etc.
Interviewer to applicant: Do you have any questions?
What is the tenure of the average underwriter at the company? How many loans should I expect to see in my pipeline at any given time? How much latitude does an underwriter have when looking at loans that don't quite fit the institutions lending standards but have great compensating factors? That's a start, I'm sure you can think of others.
Annerk, I have to say that you are one of the most knowledgeable persons on these forums regarding employment. The time that you take to answer people's questions is really much appreciated, I'm sure. You obviously know a great deal about the employment sector and although I've never needed your advice I would like to think that others here really appreciate your sincere and honest help.
I just wanted to give you a BIG thumbs up Annerk. You take time to help others and I hope that you don't mind!
I used the procrastinate situation as my personal fault. And to be honmest I've used it during interviews and have gotten the job. But the point is that you need to take a fault and make a positive out of it.
I agree that salary.com isn't entirely accurate, but to use it to come up with a range, it's fine.
And when I said "make something up" I'm not referring to some elaborate story about how you invented the vaccine that prevents the common cold after years of painstaking research, but rather a customer service situation. There's really no way to "check up" on that type of thing. I was more thinking something like:
"We had a lady come into the bank, and she was very upset because she was trying to buy a car that she really couldn't afford, and no one would give her a loan. So I sat down with her and looked at her entire situation, and noticed that she had a high interest rate credit card with a balance, as well as a personal loan with a high rate from another institution. I was able to consolidate those two debts into one signature loan with a lower rate and longer term, which qualified her to buy the car. So I was able to make two loans where if I hadn't been creative I wouldn't ahve been able to make any."
There's nothing to trip over, and I'm sure that the OP has had similar situations happen in the past.
Then they should use a real story. Surely they have a scenario in their past like you mentioned, rather than trying to make one up.
- use eye contact
- don't appear nervous, or at least don't manifest nervousness in your behavior
- learn about the company, in readiness for questions they would ask you about it
- don't use slang, but proper English.
- don't be rude or abrasive.
- for the unemployed period, simply tell them the truth. Or if not, tell them you have been looking to enter the world of work again after a period to re-coup.
Dunno if it's the best approach but how I answer the "biggest weaknesses" question is by stating the obvious - those weaknesses that they can tell from your resume, demeanor, cover letter, etc.
I see this as more of a "screening" question.. there's little to win but lot to lose.
If you dance around the question and make your weaknesses sound like strengths, the interviewer will think you're lying.
At least by admitting obvious weaknesses that the interviewer probably already knows based on his/her preconceptions, you come across as honest and you don't get "negative points" for bringing up a new weakness the interviewer probably didn't already know about.
God I hate interviews. Just let me come in and give you a short little pitch showing you how enthusiastic I am about working for you company. Just let me explain to you why I should be hired.
Quit asking me to give you specifics to your broad, dumb, and cliche questions. I don't rehearse and I don't 'can' my answers. Look at me as someone who is honest and authentic and not a phony who rehearses canned (and sometimes make-believe) answers just so he/she can get a job.
I can't remember what I ate yesterday, let alone a "specific time where I faced a challenge and overcame it." I'm a goddamn college graduate who has successfully held many jobs and internships in the past. I faced and overcame challenges all the time. JUST GIVE ME THE FREAKIN' JOB.
"Can you give me an example of a time where you just missed the obvious and what you did to make up for that mistake?"
JUST HIRE ME ALREADY!!!! AHHHHH!!!!!!
My resume, education, and references should speak for themselves. HR reps are worthless and contribute nothing to society.
Interesting rant, but sometimes those questions aren't posed to see how you answer the question specifically, but rather to judge your poise, body language, and demeanor when faced with a challange.
My interview with the company I work for now was with the president of the company. I didn't meet the p/t HR person until I had been working for almost two weeks. He asked me what I felt my biggest weakness was. Do you think he's "worthless?" He signs my paycheck, so I certainly don't think so.
Interesting rant, but sometimes those questions aren't posed to see how you answer the question specifically, but rather to judge your poise, body language, and demeanor when faced with a challange.
My interview with the company I work for now was with the president of the company. I didn't meet the p/t HR person until I had been working for almost two weeks. He asked me what I felt my biggest weakness was. Do you think he's "worthless?" He signs my paycheck, so I certainly don't think so.
No but managers and company presidents should have more important things to do. A resume should speak for itself. Granted, people lie on their resumes, just like people lie in interviews. But maybe HR people should stop spending their days googling interview questions--If there was a newspaper article about your life, what would the headline be? Hmm?-- and start performing background checks and reference checks BEFORE calling someone in for an interview, an interview that should basically be an interactive presentation about the specifics of the position and of company procedures.
Congratulations on getting the job. I'm happy for you. But I guarantee you that the other 5 people who were turned down after interviewing would be just as productive and capable as you are.
It's all about appearances, and that's unfortunate.
My point is that the whole interview and hiring process is overblown and too long. They generally ask too many of those cliche and inane interview questions. I've heard of people coming in for 2 or 3 interviews for the same company and end up not getting the job.
No but managers and company presidents should have more important things to do. A resume should speak for itself. Granted, people lie on their resumes, just like people lie in interviews. But maybe HR people should stop spending their days googling interview questions--If there was a newspaper article about your life, what would the headline be? Hmm?-- and start performing background checks and reference checks BEFORE calling someone in for an interview, an interview that should basically be an interactive presentation about the specifics of the position and of company procedures.
You can have a great resume, but if you aren't going to fit the company culture, that's not going to show on paper, only in person.
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Congratulations on getting the job. I'm happy for you. But I guarantee you that the other 5 people who were turned down after interviewing would be just as productive and capable as you are.
Wrong. I was able to bring a LOT more in technical skills to the table than the TWO other people that were interviewed. That's why I not only got the job, but was able to negotiate a higher salary than what they were originally planning on paying.
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It's all about appearances, and that's unfortunate.
Wrong again. It's about competencies, how you handle yourself in a difficult situation, and how you'll fit into the company culture.
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My point is that the whole interview and hiring process is overblown and too long. They generally ask too many of those cliche and inane interview questions. I've heard of people coming in for 2 or 3 interviews for the same company and end up not getting the job.
I sent my resume on Wednesday, interviwed Thursday, got a firm offer and completed salary negotiations Friday, and started Monday. Not typical, but I've got no problem with going to several interviews if need be. A few jobs ago I went to a first interview with an I/T HR person , a second with a hiring manager, and a third with the two people I'd be working closely with in the department. I saw the point of each of those interviews. The first was to weed out the idiots that knew how to put together a good resume but in real life couldn't put three words together to communicate, the second was more of a technical interview, the third was to make sure I'd mesh with the people I'd be working with. Not getting the job is the chance you take.
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