Why to Keep Your Personal Thoughts Out of Professional Job Interview Questions

During your job interview, you will be asked a lot of questions that about your qualifications, abilities, work history, education, etc., that are asking you to provide what you believe to be your “greatest” or “best” achievement or experience. For example:

• What is your greatest achievement?
• What was your best job that you held before now?
• What was your favorite class in college?

It may seem at first glance like you should answer these accurately. For example, maybe your favorite class in college was Dance 101, because it helped you get closer to your creative side which, in turn, helped you with your career. Or perhaps your favorite job was when you worked at McDonalds in high school because you met your future husband. Or maybe your greatest achievement was when you made managed to bowl a 300 in a tournament game.

No One Cares

These may all have meaning for you, but what is meaningful for you is not necessarily meaningful for the company. Remember, your goal is to take advantage of every job interview question in order to sell yourself to the employer. Does “I met my husband working at McDonalds” sell yourself to the employer? Not at all. The employer doesn’t care that McDonalds has meaning to you, because it has no meaning to the employer.

Every answer to a job interview question should be designed to put yourself in a better position to get the job. The best way to do that is for your answers to show:

• Experience/Abilities
• Intelligence
• Relevance

Every answer should, ideally, show the interviewer that you have experience with something the interviewer values, that you are an intelligent person capable of putting thought into your actions or answers, and that what you say is relevant to the position you are applying for.

This may not always be possible, and that’s fine, but with questions like “greatest achievement,” you have a choice between talking about your greatest personal achievement or talking about your greatest professional achievement. You should choose professional every time, and ideally pick an achievement that truly impresses the interviewer.

That is how you should approach all of these questions. Make sure your answer shows that you have experience with skills related to the job, make sure the answers are intelligent, and make sure the answers are relevant to the interviewer and the job you are applying for. That is the best way to take advantage of every interview question and put yourself in the best position to get the job.

Take Away Interview Tips

• Every job interview answer should try to show your experiences/abilities, intelligence, and relevance to the position.

Introduction on How to Interview With the Big Four Auditors

Very few job interviews are particularly interesting. Microsoft and Google are known to have fairly unique interviews, and companies like Starbucks expect every employee (regardless of job) to have an understanding of coffee that they test during the interview. Otherwise, most other companies go the traditional route, asking a series of questions that are designed to assess an applicant’s ability to do their job.

Recently, we at Everyday Interview Tips noticed a string of articles related to how to interview for the “Big Four.” You would think that the Big Four have an interesting interview type of their own considering the press that they get. Apparently that is not true.

What Are “The Big Four?”

The Big Four is a term given to the four largest accounting and auditing firms in the world (PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte & Touche USA, Ernst & Young, and KPMG). These companies combine to employ a staff of 611,000, many of them professional accountants. They interview at colleges around the globe to find quality auditing experts directly out of college. They also sometimes like to pick their employees directly from internships.

What Are Big Four Interviews Like?

Even though they often interview together at colleges, they don’t interview using the same methods. In general you can expect a phone interview, followed by a first interview and second interview. In some cases there is a lunch/networking/social event that occurs before the second interview. There you will network with other applicants and recent hires.

Interviews are often a combination of behavioral interview questions and questions about your work history, including why you did (or did not, if recruited from elsewhere) decide to consider one of the Big Four firms.

Is There Anything Special to Know About the Big Four Interviews?

Again, the Big Four interviews are not tremendously different than any other type of job interview. You are being judged on your ability to answer both traditional and behavioral interview questions. You have a first and second interview. Your technical knowledge will be tested slightly, as will your job interview experience. Still, there are some tips to help you improve your chances at Big Four job interviews:

• Lunch is Still Part of the Interview – Don’t let your guard down simply because you are eating and networking with other applicants and recent hires. This is all part of your job interview. Be personable and friendly like any lunch, but answer questions with a professionalism and thought just as you would a regular job interview. You should eat as professionally as you act, with proper manners.
• Read Up on Current Events – Some of the interviewers like to ask about current events, including accounting related events. It’s a good idea to brush up on your news before the job interview so that you can engage in these conversations.
• Come Up With Brilliant Questions – These are some of the largest businesses in the world. It is impossible to not have good questions for them, since they are affected by almost literally every aspect of the current economy. Ask them great questions.
• Expect Case Interviews for MBA Positions – For some positions you may be asked case job interview questions, so be ready to provide logical, thought provoking ways of solving the problems they supply you with.
• Internships Are Common – If you don’t have an interview with the Big Four yet, see how wiling you are to intern. Internships are rampant with the Big Four, and a great way to find employment with them afterward.

Providing Big Four interview tips is a little misleading. The truth is that with the exception of the lunch meeting that occurs with candidates, the interviews themselves are only of moderate difficulty and do not really contain any unique questions or interviewing styles.

Still, there are thousands of these interviews conducted every year, and they play a significant part in the lives of auditors and support staff across the globe. The best advice is to simply study up on standard job interview tips, including dressing appropriately, preparing answers for expected questions, remaining positive, etc. if you do all of those – including while you are at the lunch – you will give yourself a good opportunity to land a job with the Big Four.

Take Away Interview Tips

• Big Four interviews are not terribly different than other job interviews.
• Be ready to impress during the lunch.
• Study standard job interview tips and strategies.

How to Successfully Interview at a Job Fair

Applying for jobs is hard. You never know how many applicants are vying for the same position as you. You do not know if the employer is someone that values what you bring to the table. You do not necessarily know if the position is even open (sometimes employers open jobs for applicants before deciding to cut the job or give it to an internal candidate).

At job fairs, however, you can be fairly certain that every opportunity presented is available for the taking. This makes job fairs an idea opportunity for you to make a good impression. Yet interviewing for job fairs can be hard, because you have very little time to impress each employer. Here are several tips for improving your interview skills at job fairs.

Job Fair Interview Tips

1.       Dress Well

First and foremost, dress in your best job interview clothes. No matter where the job fair is taking place, you must treat it like any other job interview, and thus it is important that you put extra effort into your outfit. Employers will notice that you showed them respect by dressing to impress.

2.       Be Outgoing and Friendly

Job fairs are tough on the employer. They are forced to see a number of applicants that are clearly unqualified and unready for the position. Make their day easier by being kind, outgoing, and friendly. Make them like you so that you make their entire day better and more worthwhile.

3.       Use Every Opportunity

From the moment you say hello, you should be using every opportunity to try to win them over by discussing your qualifications and knowledge. Your time is short and the employer does not know you at all. Every chance you get you should be plugging yourself, possibly by preparing a pitch ahead of time to use on every employer that highlights your best points.

4.       Ask a Lot of Questions

Try to find out every company that is going to be at the job fair and don’t be afraid to ask them question after question. These questions should display that you have knowledge about the company, in addition to interest in working there. The longer you can spend with the interviewer, the better your opportunities.

5.       Bring Props

In addition to your resume, you should bring samples of your work, business cards, or anything that helps ensure that once the interviewer leaves for the day, you are remembered. If, after seeing all of these applicants, you are able to stay fresh on the employers mind, your chances of succeeding are much better.

Take Advantage

Rarely do you have an opportunity to interview with so many different locations. Be confident and utilize your time well in order to give yourself an advantage.

Take Away Interview Tips

• Treat the interview like you would any interview.
• Be confident, outgoing, friendly and interesting.

Important Phone Interview Tips

Phone interviews are tough. The interviewer does not want to hire you. The interviewer has to interview dozens of people during the day and has a limited amount of time. They are interviewing far more people than they are going to interview in person, and they need reasons to cut that list down as much as possible before they give you the opportunity to come in to the interview.

In the last post we looked at how you can prepare for the phone interview. However, if you expect to succeed during your phone interview, you will also need to be ready for the interview itself.

How to Interview on the Phone

• Keep Answers Brief

First and foremost, remember that phone interviews have a limited window of time. In most cases the interviewer has several people they need to call during the day. They are not looking for verbose answers that will win you the position. They are looking for answers that are direct and to the point to put you into the running in the first place.

• Stand Straight

When you speak on the phone, make sure you are standing with your back straight. Our voices can give away our posture. If you are sitting and slouching, your voice will not have the presence that it would if you were standing.

• Keep Noise and Distractions Away

It is vital that your interviewer can only here you on the phone, and that you have nothing on that can lead to distractions. Turn the TV off, turn down the radio, put the dog outside and make sure that the only sound you hear is the interviewer, and the only voice they hear is you.

• Smile Throughout

Like standing, smiling also comes through during your job interview. You can hear someone smiling even if you do not realize it. If you keep a frown all throughout your interview, your voice will sound unenthusiastic and unhappy. Remember, they can’t see you, but they can get an impression of what you are like by the way you sound.

Keep Your Spirits High

Phone interviews can be exceedingly difficult with the rate that applicants are dropped before the first in person interview. If you thoroughly prepare for the job interview and do your best, chances are you will be successful. If not, note that phone interviews are still about narrowing down the candidate pool, and sometimes even if you do everything right, a grumpy interviewer can harm your chances.

Take Away Interview Tips

• Smile and Stand Straight.
• Remove Distractions.
• Supply Only Brief Answers.

How to Interview for a Job in a New Career Path

Your job sucks.

Or maybe it doesn’t. Still, a lot of people find that when they break into the corporate world, the things that they used to be passionate about lose their excitement. To have a successful career you must love what you do, and if you don’t you may find that there is another career path that is more attractive to you.

Interviewing for a New Type of Job

When you are interviewing for a new field, you need to approach the interview differently. You will not have the same types of experience that other candidates have. You will have your own unique experiences from a different field altogether.

This can be to your advantage. The answers you give will be more unique and interesting. They will help you stand out from your competition. However, to be effective, you need to display two things:

• Knowledge
• Relevance

Displaying Knowledge

More than other applicants, you need to show that you have knowledge in the field. You must use the terminology, understand the software, etc. If you do not prove your knowledge of the field, any doubts about how well you can switch fields will be brought into the spotlight. Don’t simply wait for opportunities to show you have knowledge – try your best to drop evidence of knowledge into the conversation as often as possible.

Displaying Relevance

As you prepare for the interview, look back at your previous work experience and find ways to make them appear relevant for the new field. The more you can make it appear as though your past work experience has prepared you for the new role, the better job you will do showing employers you deserve it.

If you display knowledge of the field and make your previous work history experiences seem more relevant, you should have no trouble negating any doubts about your candidacy and winning over your interviewers.

Take Away Interview Tips

• When applying for a job in a new field, do your best to show you understand the field and that your previous work experiences have prepared you for the new role, despite being unrelated.

How to Interview for a Job You are Overqualified for

Times have changed. With layoffs and cutbacks around the globe, many professionals have been forced to look for work that would generally be considered below their pay scale. In some cases they are changing careers. In other cases they are simply looking for any work in their field. No matter your reason, there will be times that you are called back for a job interview that you are overqualified for.

What is the Problem?

Employers often worry about hiring someone overqualified, because they fear that the individual may:

• Expect to be placed into a leadership role.
• Demand more money or faster promotions.
• Order others or poorly take orders.
• Leave the position in the future for a better paying job.

This works against you during your job interview. If they discover you are overqualified for the role, chances are you will not get the job.

Job Interview Tips for Overqualified Applicants

• Downplay Numbers

One of the best ways to impress employers is to talk yourself up with facts and figures. “I saved the company four hundred billion dollars” or “I managed a staff of just over nine thousand.” You never want to pretend you do not have experiences or that you are somehow worse than you look on paper. Instead, you want to simply not mention the numbers as often. Instead of “managed staff of 9,000” you would say “I have management experience.” This allows you to continue to talk up your candidacy without letting the interviewer know the gravity of your work history.

• Keep the Focus on the Skills for the Job

When an employer asks you questions about your work history, focus on the experiences you have that relate to the job you applied for. If the job does not require management experience, don’t mention your management experience. If the job does require that you know how to alphabetize folders, then you mention your experience alphabetizing folders.

• Change Titles, Names

A common tactic often seen in resumes that have been edited to help qualify applicants for lower positions is to change your title. Instead of “Executive of Awesome Things” you would be “Awesome Things Lead” or some other title that downplays your role. Employ these same tactics in your interview.

• Discuss Why You’ll Stay

If you can find a good answer, try to point to a reason that you will not be leaving the job or demanding more salary. For example, if you are an executive that is applying to something more entry level, you can say something along the lines of “I fully appreciated my experience as executive of TechManagement. Yet throughout my career my favorite job was when I was working as marketing support staff. I have had my chance to be in the limelight and I am ready to change to a career that makes me truly happy.” This type of answer should ease some doubts about your candidacy.

• Answer the Salary Question Early

One risk you may want to take, especially if the interview appears to be going south due to your over-qualifications, is to answer the salary question early. Most employers choose to ask questions about salary early on, and in general it is recommended that you avoid answering them until the end. However, if you notice that you appear to be slipping in the interview as employers doubt your willingness to work for less income, ease their concerns by asking for a perfectly reasonable salary for the job.

It’s a Tough Market

It is hard enough finding a job in today’s economy. Finding out that you cannot get a job because you are too good for the role makes it even worse. Follow the tips above in order to improve your job interview chances and do not get discouraged – your qualifications may make it hard for the company to hire you, but you are far more likely to find other companies interested in your services in the future.

Take Away Interview Tips

• Focus on the experiences related to the job requirements.
• Downplay your roles without downplaying your competency.
• Share reasons with the interviewer why this lesser job is more to your liking.

How to Interview for a Job You are Underqualified for

When you are unemployed, you try anything to find employment. You will apply to jobs you have no interest in, you will apply to jobs where you are a perfect fit, and you will apply to jobs that you have no chance of winning.

What happens, though, when you get asked to interview for the job you thought there was no chance you could win? You still want the job, and though you are underqualified on paper it is clear that the employer felt that you had something to bring, otherwise you would not have been called in for the interview. Below are some interview tips for job interviews you are underqualified for.

Job Interview Tips

• Prepare Like Crazy

The reason you are underqualfiied is because you do not have the experience that you believe is necessary to fill the role. You cannot gain those experiences before the interview, so your best bet is to wow them with your ability to answer interview questions. Practice answering every question with the best answer possible and try to wow them with your interview skills.

• Study Up On Skills

If you are underqualified for the role, chances are there are a lot of skills that you do not yet have. For example, perhaps they are looking for someone with a great deal of leadership experience, and you have never held more than an entry level job. There is not a lot you can do. What you can do is make sure that you are as up to date as possible with the knowledge that you do have. Refresh yourself in programs you have used, remind yourself of relevant terminology, etc. The stronger you can be on the knowledge you do know, the more what you are missing will be ignored.

• Act Like You Deserve the Job

Never give the impression that you are somehow not worthy of the position, or the interviewer might realize that you do not have the qualifications and you will immediately ruin your employment chances. You should always act like the job was made for you. This includes asking for a salary commensurate with the work involved. Don’t undersell your services simply because you really want the job.

• Don’t Look for Excuses

When people are not qualified for a position, they often try to overstate irrelevant experience as a way to make it sound as though they have more experience than they do. Don’t fall into that trap. If you don’t have knowledge in an area then you don’t have knowledge. That’s okay. If you try to relate experiences that are barely related, if at all, you will only look like you are reaching.

• Bring a Portfolio

Nothing says professional like a portfolio of documents relevant to the position. If you can prove that you have the knowledge and abilities to succeed in the position, your shortcomings are far more likely to be overlooked and you will be able to establish greater credibility.

Take Things in Stride

If you know you are not qualified for the position, do everything in your power to win the job but understand that things may not be meant to be. Also, once you get the job, do your best to learn. If the same things that made you underqualified make it hard for you to do your role, try your best to learn these skills and know that it impact your employment.

Take Away Interview Tips

• Act like you are qualified for all jobs you interview for.
• Practice like crazy for the interview to impress employers.