If there’s a gap in your resume, be ready to explain it. Even beginning interviewers ask this question when they see a period of missing work time. The important things are to be honest, be ready, and be able to detail activities. “I decided I liked sitting around watching television” isn’t a good answer. Neither is “That’s how I roll, I work a few years, take a few years off, work a few more, just enough to pay the bills.”

Some real life situations may not seem appropriate for an answer here, but a little spin can make them a positive.

Just Didn’t Work:
You were burned out from work, so took a few years off, but you talked to a neighbor about starting a franchise. You could say “I consulted on a few projects while looking for the perfect full time position.”

Took Time for a Baby
“My wife and I decided to start our family. So after her maternity leave ended, I stayed home for a few years with the kids. But during evening I took classes and worked part time, mostly on weekends, to keep my professional skills sharp.

No matter what the reason, as long as there’s an explanation you’re OK on this question. Sometimes people lose jobs and take some time to find new ones. Sometimes people start families. If an honest answer with a good explanation disqualifies you from the job, you probably didn’t want to work there in the first place.

Keep in mind that many job gaps involve heavy emotional baggage, such as being fired from a job. Don’t bring that baggage up in the answer. Explain the gap with as little detail as possible, highlighting positive aspects of the situation.

Fired:
“My boss was a real jerk, so he fired me. I spent some time on a lawsuit, which I won.”

Any employer will think twice about hiring someone in that situation. But it can be expressed without the emotion.

Fired – No Emotional Baggage:
“It came as a shock when I lost my job, but there was a decent severance package. I used the time to enhance my education.”

Making up wild stories won’t help, as this job seeker discovered. “One day I was going home from work, the next thing I knew 3 years of my life were missing. I swear they implanted something when they abducted me.”

This question is asked to find your opinion, or to verify the interviewer’s opinion, on why you’re a fit for the job. It’s a good question to ask yourself. If you don’t know the answer, a company can’t be expected to know it, much less to give you the job. This is a question that you can easily prepare to answer by taking some time to compare the job description to your abilities.

Avoid stereotypical answers such as “I will become a valuable asset to the company in a short time on the job.” Everyone will say that, it’s not unique. It doesn’t answer the question – why should you be hired instead of someone else who will also claim to become a valuable asset in a short time? Interviewers will see through it in a heart beat. Try to find your own unique way to express:

* You hit the ground running
* You’re a valuable asset
* You’re a team player
* You can handle stress and pressure
* You think quickly on your feet

Here’s a good answer. “No matter how much preparation is made, sometimes things go wrong. I keep my head when the world around me is crumbling. All problems can’t be avoided, but the most important thing is to deal with them quickly and calmly when they arise.”

Another good answer is to give an example from your life or work experience that directly relates to the job. “When my last company wanted to market a new product they were prepared to spend a million dollars on a well known marketing firm. I found we could accomplish all the goals using a local firm for about $100,000.”

You can even end this with a joke. “I asked them to split the savings with a $450K bonus – no dice.”

You can work some personality into the answer. After all, you’re an individual not just a set of skills. “A lot of people probably have a similar skill set, but I have a great sense of humor and handle conflict well. So not only can I do the job, but I contribute to a positive work environment. That’s important.”

A truly unique answer we’ve heard was taken from the old Get Smart television series. “In this job I’ll be facing tight deadlines, pressure, and a lot of hard work to complete nearly impossible tasks – and loving it!”

An excellent answer to this job interview question includes a number of elements. It begins with research and introspection. Learn about the job and company, including their measures of success as expressed in news postings, press releases, message boards, or other publicly available information. For example, the company site may mention employees receiving an industry award. If you’ve received a similar reward, that’s gold.

The second element is knowing yourself so you can honestly match your success measures with those of the job or company. This can be pretty flexible, such as “When I make deadlines, without mistakes, that to me is success. I notice your company has a 98% on time rating with projects. I want to work to continue that, and even try to improve it.”

The third element is to tie success into home life. Interviewers look for well rounded employees, so being able to describe success criteria for other elements of your life is a plus. Don’t make this the main component of the answer, but add it as an aside. For example “When I get home and find the crock pot meal I started that morning done to perfection – that’s success in the kitchen.”

To recap, an excellent answer includes three elements:

– company measure of success

– tied to your measure of success

– with a hint of off job success added

Here are some examples.

Varying Success:

“I have a lot of different measures for success. At work it’s meeting goals while maintaining an excellent working relationship with co-workers and clients. When I spoke to some people who work here, I learned that the company rewards people who meet goals. At home success is the garden I planted growing well. We just harvested a huge batch of tomatoes.”

Benefit to Company:

“If my work has helped the company meet a goal or grow, that to me is success. I’m happy to see there are bonuses to people who meet goals here. I intend to earn those bonuses. My son just got a B average report card, which is success for him after I worked with him so he could improve from his C average last semester.”

Step by Step:

“Going step by step through a process to complete a goal, is to me, success. Plan the steps, follow the plan, achieve the goal. I saw on your web site the company lists its yearly goals. That’s a good motivator. Of course, when I play tennis on the weekends my measure of success is to win the match.”

Pride in a Job:

“To me success is in whatever I set out to do. At work that means making sure I give 100%, and help the company by performing my job tasks well. I plan to take advantage of the training you offer so I can be more of an asset. At home when my kids smile after tasting my meals, that’s success too.”

One of the most clever answers we’ve ever heard? “Success is, to me, making an impact on others. Maybe you can take a minute to think of people who have motivated you. I’ll keep the time.”

Knowing about the job, the company, and maybe even some of the interests of those in charge can help frame this answer. The purpose of the question is to determine if you’re a well rounded individual. It’s OK if your hobbies aren’t the same as the interviewer or the boss. But if you learn you share some interests, now is the time to exploit that.

Be honest. It’s OK to exaggerate how often you participate, a little bit, but if you make up an interest just to impress the boss, it could spell trouble in the future. Made up interests often turn out to be the passion of the interviewer or boss and can lead to some sticky situations. Trying to ride a horse, or sky dive, or run 10 miles when you’ve never done those things is the first step to disaster.

Running:
“I enjoy running every day, usually I do 10 miles.” That’s a good answer even if you only do a 10 mile run every week. It’s a bad answer if you’ve never run more than a few steps, or even a mile.

Golf:
“I enjoy walking in the sunshine. I golf every week – usually shoot a 90 on my weekly 18.” That’s fine if you’re a good golfer, but it might be best to avoid mentioning the score.

Reading:
“I try to read a book a week.” It shows you do more with your off time than watch television, and that you’re willing to learn new things. Don’t mention that the book is a comic book.

It’s best to mention hobbies that show both a cerebral side and a physical side, unless it’s a complete fabrication. This can include two hobbies – a sport and a thinking hobby – or a hobby that combines both.

Sport and Thinking:
“I enjoy writing poetry and playing softball, sometimes I write about the game.”

Combination – Carpentry:
“I like to build things, from the planning stage to the hands on work. Watching something I’ve designed come to life by my own hand is exhilarating.”

If you don’t have hobbies, don’t lie. The interview isn’t the time to pretend, but it’s a good idea to participate in some hobbies to improve yourself in general.

Avoid the transparent “My hobby is work.” It makes a person seem like a real dud, and employers know that if people work all the time they burn out in a short time.

When answering this job interview question it’s important to refer to the position and the company. For example if the company sells clothing and the job is on the line making clothes, it’s best not to mention a goal of becoming a top salesman. That is, unless it’s an entry level position to learn the business. “I’m going to start on the line, learn the business, then I want to move into sales so I can help the company from that end. What I learn on the line will really come in handy.”

Avoid mentioning goals that refer to non-career related issues. Talking about family is fine, as long as you relate career and job success to family success such as “I want to raise a family, which means a successful career to support that family. I intend to work hard so I grow with the company in order to provide stability for my family.”

One of the worst answers to this question is “My goal is to be in your job in a few years.” Worded that way it sounds like you’ll undermine the interviewer to steal their position. This same sentiment can be worded in a positive manner “I want to work hard to help your group become successful, so after you get a promotion I can sit in that chair asking the questions to the person who might fill my old position.”

Preparation helps for this question, as well as for others. Know your goals before the interview, write them as a list, then compare that list to the job description and to information about the company you’ve learned through research. An answer that includes methods for reaching the goals is even stronger. Preparation leads to a number of excellent answers.

Learn and grow with the company:
“This is an excellent place to learn more about the profession and grow as I work with the team to make the company a success.”

Become management:
“When I’ve gained enough experience I’d like to move into a management position.”

Competitive:
“I envision myself as a top performing employee in a company like this. To achieve this I will work hard, listen to the experience of others, and keep involved in professional organizations such as X (related to the business of the company.)

The following answer, given to one interviewer, probably won’t help land the job. “I’m writing a novel that will make me rich. Since this job is at night, I’ll have plenty of unsupervised time to write.”

This is a tricky job interview question. Go too low and you’ll have a job with low pay, go too high and you might price yourself out of the job. Keep in mind at this point it’s an interview question, not a salary negotiation. But be aware that this answer may influence the later salary negotiation stage.

Research the market, both for the job and for a person of your skills and experience, to determine a reasonable salary expectation. A great way to answer the question is to provide a salary range based on the research you’ve done, and on the range given for the job or of other employees at the company.

Another tack to take is to wait for a job offer and salary negotiation to discuss salary. At this point, the interview, put off the question:

“My salary expectations are open based on the position, responsibilities, and total compensation package.”

Or even the direct route. “I expect when we discuss salary it will be within the range of salaries for this type of position in the industry. But that’s really all I want to say about it right now.”

Once salary negotiations do begin, that research you’ve done will come in handy. If you’re desperate for a job, take the first offer. But if you have some time and flexibility, and money in the bank, don’t jump at the first offer. It’s not the highest they’re willing to go.

“That’s a good offer, let me take some time to consider it.”

Consider too that sometimes a flat no can result in a higher compensation offer. A tried and true negotiation tactic is to feign disinterest. “Well, at that salary at this point, I’ll just have to say no.” The best time to look for a job can be when you don’t really need one. Without trying you’ll be saying no, looking for excuses not to take the new job. Some people have received their highest salary when they didn’t even want the job. Eventually the company made the offer too good to refuse.

The bottom line is the interview is not the best time to discuss salary. The interviewer knows that, and won’t push for more information. Answer this interview question wisely. Wisdom in this case is no direct answer.

One job seeker came up with a clever answer to this question. “How much have you got?”