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fazz27 · Newbie Joined: 19 Dec 2007 Posts: 1 Career Advice: +0/-0

Hi,

I have come across some tough interview/application questions that I need some help with answering:

1) Please describe the most challenging problem you have faced in the last 5 years. How did your approach affect the outcome?

I think this might be testing me on what I consider to be a big problem so what kind of example are they looking for?

2) Please contrast the best and worst decisions that you have made in the last 3 years, how did your approach differ?

3) What is your main, non-academic achievement in the last 5 years? What challenges have you overcome and what did you learn along the way?

Randy · Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 6:07 pm Post subject: Re: Good Interview answers...

Be patient. There are lots of good folks here who are much better at these types of questions than me simply because I've encountered few things in any job as being particularly "challenging" and quite honestly, any decision is better than none (which is what most managers excel at doing). A decision that proves to be "bad" can be reversed easily enough.

I'm horrible in interviews. I'd have answered each of those questions relative to my "personal" life even though I know they mean in terms of occupations. One more job I'd have never gotten, right?

So be patient...

Pauloz · Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 11:11 pm Post subject:

fazz27

Those questions are part of a pattern regarding your decision making abilities and your level of experience. They're also a sort of quality control, looking for applicants with higher levels of experience.

Question 1 does refer to your level of difficulty. It's looking for problem solving abilities. Pick an answer dealing with a situation where you got a good result, and you can honestly say you achieved something.

Question 2 is much the same. Same basic response, in fact you could use the situation in Question 1 as the good decision, and come up with something harmless for the bad decision. "Difference in approach" could be something like "I didn't have all the facts for the bad decision", (which is usually why people make bad decisions) or maybe "I couldn't get enough information for the bad decision". Then say "I learned from that to go looking for more facts, and to ask for advice" in your summary of your approach, so you're putting a value on the experience.

Question 3. Pick your achievement. It should preferably be work related, but the idea is to give the best available answer to the question. Ask if you can include a non work related answer, if you'd prefer to give it, but have a backup situation which is work oriented. Just answer the question the way it's phrased, give the situation, the result, and what you learned.

Be warned: Interviews are competitive. This group of questions, if not answered adequately,can put a very large hole in your answers. If you get ten questions, and blow these three, you're not helping yourself. Irritating as this type of question can be, they're quite common.

lexa10881 · Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 4:38 am Post subject:

Those are some tough and well thought out questions. Your interviewer has either been at this game for a while now or is very intelligent and has had a good teacher who has showed him how to do a good job. Here is some advice on how to face tough interview questions, but the biggest thing you can do is think and prepare yourself to the best of your ability before any interview. And try to stay calm throughout.

http://www.cvtips.com/hard_interview_questions.html

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