2015年05月15日 DNC澳洲求职
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It seems like an easy interview question. It's open ended. I can talk about whatever I want from the birth canal forward. Right?
Wrong. What the hiring manager really wants is a quick, two- to three-minute snapshot of who you are and why you're the best candidate for this position.
So as you answer this question, talk about what you've done to prepare yourself to be the very best candidate for the position. Use an example or two to back it up. Then ask if they would like more details. If they do, keep giving them example after example of your background and experience. Always point back to an example when you have the opportunity.
"Tell me about yourself" does not mean tell me everything. Just tell me what makes you the best.
2. Why should I hire you?
The easy answer is that you are the best person for the job. And don't be afraid to say so. But then back it up with what specifically differentiates you.
For example: "You should hire me because I'm the best person for the job. I realize that there are likely other candidates who also have the ability to do this job. Yet I bring an additional quality that makes me the best person for the job—my passion for excellence. I am passionately committed to producing truly world class results. For example…"
Are you the best person for the job? Show it by your passionate examples.
3. What is your long-range objective?
The key is to focus on your achievable objectives and what you are doing to reach those objectives.
For example: "Within five years, I would like to become the very best accountant your company has on staff. I want to work toward becoming the expert that others rely upon. And in doing so, I feel I'll be fully prepared to take on any greater responsibilities which might be presented in the long term. For example, here is what I'm presently doing to prepare myself…"
Then go on to show by your examples what you are doing to reach your goals and objectives.
4. How has your education prepared you for your career?
This is a broad question and you need to focus on the behavioral examples in your educational background which specifically align to the required competencies for the career.
An example: "My education has focused on not only the learning the fundamentals, but also on the practical application of the information learned within those classes. For example, I played a lead role in a class project where we gathered and analyzed best practice data from this industry. Let me tell you more about the results…"
Focus on behavioral examples supporting the key competencies for the career. Then ask if they would like to hear more examples.
5. Are you a team player?
Almost everyone says yes to this question. But it is not just a yes/no question. You need to provide behavioral examples to back up your answer.
A sample answer: "Yes, I'm very much a team player. In fact, I've had opportunities in my work, school and athletics to develop my skills as a team player. For example, on a recent project…"
Emphasize teamwork behavioral examples and focus on your openness to diversity of backgrounds. Talk about the strength of the team above the individual. And note that this question may be used as a lead in to questions around how you handle conflict within a team, so be prepared.
Similar interview questions:
If I were to ask your professors to describe you, what would they say?
If I were to ask your former boss to describe you, what he/she say?
How would other people describe you？
Why the interviewer is asking this question:
The interviewer is looking for two things: 1) your ability to view yourself from an external perspective; and 2) potential insights from others who know you well as a third party objective opinion. In asking the question, the interviewer will likely also probe the source of the answer. So be ready to answer the follow-up question of "Why do you think they would say that?"
The best approach to answering this question:
This is where having written letters of recommendation can help you in the interview. Most people ask for letters of recommendation after the interviews are over, when references are being checked in prep for a potential offer. However, if you do your homework in advance, this is something you should be doing before you interview. It is also the best way to bulletproof your references in advance. If you have a professor with whom you've had a close relationship, ask for a letter of recommendation to be used with future employers. If you have had an internship, ask for a letter of recommendation from your boss and/or others with whom you have worked. If you have work experience that has generated a performance review, this may also be used as your documentation. Work awards can also be used. The best approach to answering this question is to be able to back it up with a written letter of recommendation, awards or other performance documentation. Answer the second question before it is asked.
An example of how to best answer this question for experienced candidates:
"My boss would say that I was one of the most productive individuals on the team and that I was key to helping our team achieve our goals for the year. We not only met our key goals for the year, we also delivered on two additional projects, one of which won the President's Award for outstanding achievement. I know she would say that, because that's what she wrote in my performance appraisal. I have a copy of it for your review, along with a copy of the President's Award that I received for the Afterburner Project. Would you like to see them?"
An example of how to best answer this question for entry level candidates:
"I have received personal feedback from several of my professors, who refer to me as one of the most dedicated students they have worked with along with recommending me for the Outstanding Student in Accounting Award. I won that award my Senior year and had been recommended by the Department Chair. I have his letter or recommendation along with the copy of the award, would you like to see them?"
An example of how you should not answer this question:
"Well, I'm not quite sure, since I really didn't have much of a relationship with any of my professors. I doubt any of them actually knew who I was. You see, I went to a public university and most of the classes were in big lecture halls. So it was really difficult to get to know a professor on a personal level. I met some of the TA's when I went in for help and tutoring and they would probably say I was a little bit slow to learn the material, but eventually got it."
Remember to answer each interview question behaviorally, whether it is a behavioral question or not. The easiest way to do this is to use an example from your background and experience. Then use the S-T-A-R approach to make the answer a STAR: talk about a Situation or Task (S-T), the Action you took (A) and the Results achieved (R). This is what makes your interview answer uniquely yours and will make your answer a star!
Tell me about your best boss.
Did you have a boss you liked working with in the past?
What is the best way to manage you as an employee?
The interviewer is probing your work style. And, if the question is being asked by your potential future manager, the question is probing further into how you have responded, both positively and negatively, to managers and management input in the past. Managers are wary of potential employees who may present work style issues and this question is designed to probe for potential future problem employees.
Focus on what you have done in the past to make your manager look good (or great). Even though you may want to answer the question focusing on your past manager, you should focus on what you have done in working with that manager. Even though this may seem like a subtle difference, it makes a huge difference in how your answer is presented. Focus on vision and leadership qualities as they translate into delivered results. And even though the answer is not specifically behavioral, you should answer with a behavioral example, if possible. If you had a successful manager, reference that person personally. Also, it's important to pause at the beginning of this question to give it some thought before answering.
(pause) "I believe that a successful manager should provide the team with the big picture, a view and a vision of where we are going and how our work specifically fits into the overall direction of the company. Yet focused on delivering results. As an example, I had a recent manager who was excellent at keeping our team focused on delivering results which were in full alignment with a recent change in corporate direction. Let me tell you more about it..."
(pause) "I have had two direct managers as well as a team lead in my past internships. It was actually the team lead in my last internship who had the qualities of a successful manager that I admired the most. While my overall manager was there to provide the team with overall direction, which was important, it was the team lead who translated that overall direction into how we could have a specific impact on a day-to-day basis. Many internships do not produce deliverable results, but what impressed me about my team lead is how she kept me focused on delivering results on a weekly basis. The net result is that I delivered my component of a critical project within the timeframe of my internship."
"A successful manager is one who leaves me alone and let's me just get my job done. One who doesn't ask me to report on anything. And doesn't ask me to attend the stupid, endless, boring meetings. I just like to come in, put on my earphones and block out the rest of the world. That's how I get the most work done. Everything else is just an interruption to my day."
How are you at dealing with conflict?
What do you do when you disagree with others?
Do you open up or close down in conflict situations?
How do you handle disagreements?
The interviewer is looking for information that normally would not be offered on the resume or as part of the standard interview response--how the candidate deals with conflict. Many otherwise excellent employees have seen their downfall in how they handled (or didn't handle) conflict. The interviewer knows that most candidates will not offer up true conflict situations, so the practiced interviewer will continue to drill until a real example is provided.
Talk briefly about the conflict, but focus on the resolution of the conflict. Give an actual example of a resolved conflict, walking through the situation which brought up the conflict, what actions you took to resolve the conflict and the end result.
An example of how to best answer this question for an experienced candidate:
"I recently had a conflict with an employee in another department who had a project which was dependent on work being done by myself and two other members of our team. He had sent a rather urgent e-mail acusing us of derailing his project. I had never met him before, so I asked to get together with him for coffee. I asked him to walk me through his project and the interdependency of his project with our project. I then walked him through our project and timelines. Once we had the opportunity to communicate our independent priorities, we could begin talking about our shared priorities. We agreed to a timeline that would help us both meet our goals and the conflict was resolved before it became a major incident."
An example of how to best answer this question for an entry level candidate:
"I recently had a disagreement with one of my professors over the wording of a question on one of the key exams, which was missed by several members of the class due to the ambiguity. I brought it up to the professor privately and personally, but he was dismissive of my request. After discussing it with several classmates, we went to him together to discuss it further. At that point, he agreed that there was a level of ambiguity in the question, but still would not change the grade of the test. However, he did appreciate us bringing it to his attention and gave us the opportunity to work on a separate project for extra credit to make up for the shortfall on the test. We completed the extra credit and we were all happy with the end result. It wasn't necessarily the solution we were seeking, but it was a compromise that was acceptable."
"I've always found that I need to show the other person, in detail, the error of their ways, then they will eventually come around to seeing my way being the best way to do things. Do I have conflict? Sure. But having conflict is a healthy thing. I actually welcome conflict. In fact, I grew up in a family where conflict was a way of life. I got battered and bruised growing up that way, but I learned how to come out swinging and make my way in the world."
What areas are your weakest?
What are the areas where you need to improve your skills?
Are there areas where you need to develop your skills further?
What would your boss say is the area where you need improvement?
The interviewer is exploring three things: 1) whether you are self-aware; 2) whether you are honest; and 3) whether you seek to improve. This is the question where many interviewees somehow think it is permissible to lie, yet an experienced interviewer can nail someone in their lie pretty quickly. Most interview books say to give a strength, but present it as a weakness, such as: "I work too much. I just work and work and work and don't know when to stop." Here's how a practiced interviewer will pierce through that lie: "So you think working too much is a weakness? So you want to be working less?" There is no good response when you are caught in a lie.
Be truthful. That doesn't mean you need to present your greatest life weakness or something personal about you. Keep the interview focused on your education and experience. Choose a true weakness, yet choose one which you are actively working to change and improve.
"I have had problems in the past with taking on too much work and then not delivering a quality and timely product because I was stretched too thin in too many areas. I know it's a weakness, because it reflects negatively on my end deliverables. I want to deliver quality in everything I do, but I have not always been able to do so when multiple priorities stack up. Part of the difficulty is that work was coming from outside groups and my boss did not have visibility into the requests being made. So I developed a project prioritization spreadsheet that I would review with my boss whenever a new request came in for additional work. My boss would review and approve moving projects up and down in priority based on the new requests. That way it allowed me to focus on completing what is most important to my boss with the highest quality, while moving the less important projects off to the side until time is available for completion. This is still a work in progress for me and I still need to get better at this, but it's an area where I am focused on continuously improving."
"I have had problems in the past with taking on too many projects and then not delivering quality and, in some cases, not delivering on time. I was simply stretched too thin in too many areas with not enough time to deliver in a quality manner. I think that's the opportunity that is there as a new college student, you want to do everything and be involved in everything. However, I've learned that I'm not at my best when I have too many conflicting priorities. I've had to cut back on some of the less important extracurricular activities to focus on delivering my academic projects with the highest quality. This prioritization of my work has carried over to my work life with my recent internship. I had several key deliverables that were due the same week, so I met with my boss to prioritize the delivery schedule. She helped me focus on both the timing and the quality of the delivery. In the end, all three projects were delivered with high quality results. Would you like me to tell you more about them?"
"My greatest weakness is that I'm a workaholic. I don't have any balance in my life and tend to stay late at work to complete all of my projects, often until 3 in the morning. I'm usually the first one in and the last one to leave. I know I should probably address my workaholic tendencies, but I know they help me to get everything completed. So I just keep on working, even when I'm not at work. As a result, my personal life has suffered, I'm recently divorced, my kids say they never get to see me, which is true. My life is a train wreck due to working all of these crazy hours. I just keep working and working."
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留学生什么专业最累最忙？最新报告出炉，真相让人大吃一惊！ 
澳洲本科毕业是求职，还是继续读研？如何选择适合自己的路。 
