Job Interview Questions and Answers

Tag: important

  • What were your three most important responsibilities in your last job?

    Once again the employer is going to be interested in finding out more about your last position because that can help them to understand how you may function and operate in the new job if they should offer it to you. As a result, it should not surprise you if you are presented with a question about your prior responsibilities. With this question, the interviewer is also likely seeking out information that will help them to understand what you deem to be important in terms of your responsibilities on the job.

    In answering any questions that relate to your prior position you should make sure that you are specific as well as positive. Do not take advantage of the opportunity to speak negatively about your former job as it will not serve you well in an interview for a new job. The best way to handle this question is to make a strong effort to describe the responsibilities which you held in your past job, going briefly into detail about those responsibilities, and then show how those responsibilities are linked to the requirements of the job you are interviewing for. Through this method you will be able to demonstrate to the employer that you definitely have the qualifications and skills that are necessary to perform the job for which you are applying.

    Of course, you should also always be honest in answering any question that relates to your prior responsibilities at your previous job. You should not embellish upon your responsibilities in order to make yourself sound more qualified. Such tactics can easily cause you problems if the employer checks references and has a talk with a former supervisor and discovers that you have been less than honest regarding your responsibilities at your last job.

    This question is one that is asked fairly frequently so it is a good idea to spend some time thinking about how you will respond and then practicing that response so that you will be prepared when you are called in for an interview. It does not matter what type of position that you are applying for or even whether you are applying for a management position or not, this is a question that is routinely asked so you should take advantage of the opportunity to prepare to answer it in an effective manner.

  • How do you go about making important decisions?

    This is another common interview question that you may encounter. The interviewer genuinely wants to understand more about the steps that you undertaken when approaching a problem and making a decision. When you answer this question you need to make sure that you demonstrate your ability to carefully analyze the problem and thoughtfully arrive at a decision that is based on relevant information and all of the choices that are possible. This will show that you do not make rash decisions and also that you take all of the information into account before making a decision.

    Actually, using models for problem solving may be able to help you in formulating a response to this question. For example, you would first need to define the problem and the type of decision that would need to be made. The next step would be to gather relevant information that is necessary in order to arrive at a decision. You would then consider all of the possible choices and consider the outcomes for each of those possible choices. You would also consider how each of those choices relate to your own personal values and priorities. Based on the possibilities you would then choose an option that is aligned with your values and priorities and commit yourself to ensuring the success of that decision. Finally, you would evaluate the decision that you have made and if necessary you might change that decision if you see that it is not effective or is not working out as you thought.

    Remember that there is no real right or wrong answer to this question. This is a behavioral type question that is designed to find out how you handle different situations, in this case how you make decisions. In providing your answer you might also give some concrete examples of prior work situations in which you had to make a decision and the process that you used for arriving at the final decision. Always make sure that your answer remains positive. When preparing your answer to this type of question you may find it helpful to make bulleted lists to ensure that everything is covered fully. This process will ensure that the interviewer receives the information they need while also demonstrating your ability to make a sound decision based on the available information and in accordance to your own values and ethics.