This is a tricky question, even if not exactly a trick question. The interviewer uses this question to gauge a candidate’s flexibility, their ability to get along with other people. They might have seen something on the resume that leads them to believe there might be a problem, or maybe they’ve heard it from someone. Don’t worry about what triggered the question, it might just be part of the planned interview process.

A good answer includes:

• Assurance that you get along with people
• A brief mention of a person or quality
• A specific situation
• How you handled it positively, solved it to continue a positive work environment
• What you might have learned from the situation or person

Taking credit:
“I generally don’t have problems with people, but a few years ago a co-worker kept taking credit for my work and sole credit for the team’s work. I got together with this person and explained how those actions were negatively impacting everyone. It wasn’t just the credit and possible rewards, it was morale, who wants to work if someone else takes the credit? She quickly changed her behavior, and everyone was happier. I learned that giving credit where it’s due makes for a better work environment.”

Snitch:
“I get along with people at work, but once there was a co-worker who literally kept a book on everyone. If someone did something not by the book, he’d write it down like he was a hall monitor, then report it in writing to management. A few of us got together to speak with him, but he wouldn’t listen. Eventually he was fired, most likely because of the strife he was causing. It’s important to be a little flexible, not everyone follows all the rules at all times, but the key is whether or not they get the job done.”

Really digging into someone’s negatives only makes you look bad. An answer like this one would make everyone hesitate before hiring you. “This jerk thought he was a hot shot because he made more money than others, and had a degree. I put him in his place more than once. I can’t stand people like that,”

One potential employee gave an excellent answer “There are a lot of different people and personalities in a work environment. I don’t dwell on problems they cause, but rather on how they fit together to build a strong team.”

The interviewer asks this question to determine your ability to summarize a topic. A good summary clearly conveys complex information in a few words. Variations include asking you to explain almost anything to someone who doesn’t know about it, or who can’t understand complex concepts.

Good answers to this question use simple examples the listener (in this case the 3 year old) would understand to explain the subject (in this case a database.) Another point is to do your best to exceed the requests’ expectations, in other words explain it in two sentences instead of three.

Toy Box:
“A database is like a toy box where a company keeps important secrets. When they need the secrets, they use a computer to open the toy box and get the secrets.”

Shopping List:
“A database is like a shopping list with lots of things on it – apples, bread, eggs, milk, cereal, bananas, soda, candy. When people want what’s on the list, they go aisle by aisle just like in the store. They’d find bananas and apples in the same aisle.”

Crayons:
“A database is like your crayon box, with all different crayons in there. A computer asks for a color, or a type of color. Then it takes that color from the box, maybe orange and red.”

Teddy Bear:
“Businesses have important things they know, like your teddy bear’s name. They save it in a computer, and then go get it when they need to know the name.”

Some workers feel their boss is a three year old when it comes to really understanding the job, but the question could apply to many types of people as the listener (the person to whom you must explain the concept.)

Explain marketing to a clown:
“Marketing is driving out in your silly car. People are curious about the car, so they watch to see what happens next.”

Explain computers to a primitive person:
“A computer is like a man who remembers all the names of all the people ever born in the village. He has no wife, so he has no babies, but when someone has a baby they come to him, they tell him about their baby, and he chooses a name.”

The answer doesn’t have to be 100% accurate. A 3 year old isn’t going to understand a data base completely, just as a primitive person with no understanding of electricity or machines won’t understand a computer completely. But if it’s plausible that they would understand the example and have a good idea of what you’re explaining, then you’ve answered the question in a way that shows you know how to summarize.

One man was really honest in his answer. “How would I explain a database to my three year old? Honey, that’s something at daddy’s work.”

Just when you think the interview is over, the interviewer throws in this little gem of a question. It has a shade of testing your ability to react under pressure, but take it as an opportunity to clarify what might be a weak point in the interview.

For example, if you feel a lack of experience has come through during the interview, now is the perfect time to address it.

Passion:
“You asked a few questions about my experience. While I’m fairly new to the profession, I have a great deal of energy and desire to learn, as you can see by my quick development, and achievements, at my last job.”

Entry Level:
“I know we’ve discussed that I’m new to the field, but this is an entry level position and I think you’ll find I have an aptitude for learning. I’ll grow with the position into a lot more responsibility and productivity.”

Hard Work:
“This is my first position with this much responsibility, but I’m organized and a hard worker. I can handle it.”

This question may seem tough, but it also gives you a chance to clear up any “oops” moments from earlier in the interview.

Travel is a problem:
“I know I said it’s a long commute from where I now live, and that might lead to being late, but I didn’t mention that I plan to relocate if I’m offered the position. I’m not tied to where I currently live.”

Weekend Work:
“You said the job involves some weekend work, and I do take classes on weekends, but there are makeup classes Tuesday evenings, so if I do have to work on weekends, it’s not a problem.”

This isn’t a time to change earlier answers, but it is a time to provide additional information or clarification.

Boss you couldn’t get along with:
“You didn’t say anything, but I was concerned that my answer about troubles with a past boss might have been taken as a negative. We moved on quickly, but I want to add that the problem I described was a minor incident, overall we maintained a very positive and professional working relationship.”

Don’t change or clarify too much. That may make you seem weak or indecisive.

The right light hearted tone, even with an answer like this, ends the interview on a positive note. It did for one candidate who received the job. “You haven’t said “welcome to the company.””

If ever there was a trick interview question, this is it.

“Liked” may be a positive sounding answer, but in a business setting it can sound weak without the right spin. Managers, for example, may have to push people to work, or even fire people who aren’t doing the job. If this is your answer, it’s a good idea to qualify it.

“Of the two I’d rather be liked, but at work being liked isn’t the only concern. The job has to get done, and if getting the job done means someone may not like me, I’ll do my best to resolve the situation but not worry about it too much.”

“Feared” is nothing but a negative. Usually this pertains to bosses or managers, but it can pertain to co-workers too – the lady nobody wants to talk to because she always criticizes, or the guy people don’t question because he carries a grudge and reports the smallest thing to the boss. No matter the spin, feared carries negative connotations and should not be the answer.

Task Master:
“People in my department know better than to fool around. Some people don’t understand work isn’t supposed to be fun, that’s why it’s called work. I’m always watching, ready to pounce if they aren’t keeping their nose to the grindstone. If I don’t yell at someone at least once a day, I’m not doing my job.”

The Scrooge management method went out of style a long time ago, Employers don’t want this type of manager, because it makes it hard to keep employees. Constant turnover costs money.

Snitch:
“Do your job and you’re fine around me. But people know I carry a notebook, ready to jot down whatever infraction they commit.”

This type of employee creates conflict in the work force, and overall a negative working environment. Companies and managers don’t want conflict and strife, they want goals met and people happy at work.

The best answer combines shades of “liked” and “feared” with other positive, desirable qualities. Memorize this question and answer – it’s the most set in stone answer of all the interview question answers.

“I don’t want to be liked or feared, I want to be respected.”

One young man gave perhaps the worst answer ever given for this question. “Why, do you have a problem with me?”

Interviewers often begin with this question in order to break the ice, and also to get an initial understanding of you as a candidate and potential employee. Make this answer short and honest, touching on details you want to highlight such as skills or attributes that would help with the particular job. Some research helps here – know the company and the job.

“I always loved drawing, the land around New England where I grew up was beautiful, so I drew that. When it was time for college I decided on art instruction. The New England Art Institute had a great reputation, so that was my choice. My goal from that time was to become a professional artist, and that’s why I’ve chosen advertising art – pay the bills and do what I love. I love skiing, my wife and I try to ski at least twice a year, so when this opportunity near Denver arose, here I am.”

Don’t worry about too many details. They can ask for more information if needed, and throughout the interview they’ll ask a lot of questions that delve into your background and career. A good answer includes:

• Where you were raised
• Where you attended school
• A hobby
• One detail about your life, or recent event
• Recent prominent career choice or move

This answer sets the tone for the remainder of the interview, so be prepared for it. When mentioning details, avoid negatives. Even if you’re talking about a bad employer or co-worker, mentioning it reflects badly on you, not them.

Another good answer:

“There wasn’t much to do in Wisconsin in winters, so I spent a lot of time at the computer, that’s where I learned programming. I was in the computer club in HS, so an IT degree was a natural. I served an internship at IBM when I was in HS, and learned there that experience was more important than a degree from a fancy college – so I took night classes at the local community college while I kept working. I was more of an at home person, but my husband likes adventure, so when I saw this job with travel I thought once in awhile we could spend some extra personal time in other places.”

This man gave what he thought was a clever answer, but he didn’t get the job. “I’m Batman!”

A worker’s success, no matter the job, is measured in two scales – behavior and results. The results are the amount of work done and the quality of that work. Behavior is how the results are accomplished. Keep in mind that interviewers want to measure a candidate on both scales, and you want to score highly on both. A good candidate has the skills to accomplish the job, but must also go about obtaining results in a positive manner.

Here’s an example:

As a manager you can push people who work for you hard, keep on top of them, look over their shoulders, yell and punish bad behavior. On a single project basis that works well to get results, but over a long period of time people won’t be happy, and the quality of their work will diminish.

So interviewers spend a lot of time on behavioral questions that reveal how you’ve handled or will handle common work situations. These questions don’t require expression of a great deal of experience, but they do require expressing positive behaviors from either work or private life.

One way to answer this question, and other behavioral questions, well is to use the STAR (SAR) method. This method describes, and helps you remember, the elements of an excellent answer.

• Situation – Recall and describe, in accurate detail, the situation, including the task that had to be accomplished.
• Action – Don’t talk about what could have been done, describe the actions you took in the specific situation. If it was a group effort, describe exactly what you contributed to the group.
• Result – Describe how the situation ended, either by describing the success or what you, personally, learned from the situation.

“Our new boss didn’t understand the work we did, and as a result demanded procedures that were outdated. Everyone in the department complained about the problem, so one day I suggested we explain things to the new boss. We did it as a group, but I drew up flow charts of the outdated procedures as well as the new ones, showing how those saved time and gave better results. Our boss thanked us for the explanation but still insisted we do things his way – he said the new procedures missed some important reporting that could come in handy in the future. I still think we were right, but I understood his point of view – those reports could come in handy.”

Some answers can be too honest. “A co-worker kept butting in front of me in line in the cafeteria, so I threw the dessert in her face.”

The key to answering questions like this, questions that seek to determine your motivations, is to know the answers. The time to choose a career or to determine why you’ve chosen a career is long before the interview. Be prepared. That also helps you find a job that you can enjoy.

In tough economic times, or for certain people and certain jobs, the answer may be a simple one. “I’ve chosen this career because it matches my skills.” Good communicators may choose sales or marketing, math geniuses may choose engineering, people good with their hands may choose carpentry. This is a perfectly good answer – it’s honest, and it shows a dedication to the job because it’s something you love, at least as far as work life is concerned.

Make sure you understand the job requirements and know something about the company. Responding “I love solving problems on my own, without worrying about being bothered by people” doesn’t really work for a customer service job.

Even if your job is jack of all trades, moving between industries as a contractor or consultant, you have a career. In this case it might be expressed as “I really enjoy the challenge of learning new things, meeting new people and solving new problems. I don’t like long routine. This job let’s me jump in, get the job done, then move on to the next one.”

Other good answers include:

Family Field:
“My father did this, and his father before him did it. I was raised to work in this field. I don’t know any other kind of work, and more importantly this work satisfies me. I wouldn’t want to work in any other field.”

Matches Skills:
“I loved math as long as I can remember. I was always way ahead of my grade level in school. When someone told me I could earn a living with numbers, I couldn’t believe it. There are challenges all the time, something I really enjoy as a problem solver.”

Tried Many Things:
“My parents told me to try different things to see what I liked. After all, work is somewhere you spend most of your week, so it should be something you like. I tried all kinds of different jobs through my late teens and 20’s. I liked this the best, I’ve been motivated to work hard at it, so here I am.”

There’s often a follow up question like “What steps have you taken to follow this career.” So be prepared to give concrete examples of where you’ve been, and where you’re going in the career.

Leaving it to chance usually doesn’t cut it. “I wrote down a bunch of careers on a paper stuck to the wall. This is where the dart landed.”

The first reaction to this question is to mention a pace that’s fast, really fast. But beware, because that’s not necessarily the answer interviewers want to hear. While a slow worker who can’t meet deadlines isn’t desirable, neither is someone who works in a rush all day every day. Most employers want workers who maintain an even, steady, reasonable pace.

Another element of pace is quality vs. quantity. When employers are faced with workers who work too quickly, they wonder who pays the price.

The best answers to this question involve a number of elements.

• Mention a steady pace with an emphasis on quality
• Discuss managing tasks and completing them on or ahead of schedule
• Give examples, if they exist, from previous jobs

Emphasize Care:
“I think of myself as diligent about my job. That means not only getting things done on time, but doing them right. If something isn’t done well it doesn’t much matter if it’s on schedule. At my last job we had a big holiday project that had to be done by December 1, on time for the Christmas push. I knew we wouldn’t make it without sacrificing quality, so I requested more resources. With a few temporary hires, we made it, and quality didn’t suffer.”

The key to completing projects on time is planning, not a break neck pace. That doesn’t mean a good worker can’t turn on the jets when its needed.

Not Slow, But Steady:
“I’ve learned that most big projects aren’t a sprint, they’re a marathon. Planning is like my training, so I can work at a pace that reaches the goal while not burning me, or others, out. I find that with myself, and with people who work for me, if we find a pace and stick to it, when a little more is required we can do it. Constant impossible deadlines mean constant turnover. I had a job once with a boss that constantly pushed people to work faster, then complained when there were mistakes. We were always replacing people that quit. I talked with her about it, and she toned it down a little. She went from near bankruptcy to pretty decent success.”

Well Managed:
“I am well known for coming in ahead of deadlines without having to rush. In fact, someone once asked me how I could take vacation time during a big holiday push. I told them I work hard to plan, and I hire good people who can do the job. Then I don’t have to sweat at crunch time.”

Remember – steady pace, meet goals, give examples.

Too bad the person who gave this answer didn’t know these things. “When I work somewhere you better get out of my way, I’m always running.”

The purpose of this question is threefold. It is to discover what abilities and experience you bring to the company to help it while at the same time zeroing in on why you should be chosen over someone else. Finally, it is designed to make you a little nervous. After all, you don’t know what qualifications other candidates bring to the table.

To handle the third part, checking your demeanor when nervous, remain calm. Try a little humor to begin the answer such as “Can I meet the other candidates first?” But make sure it’s clear that’s not the whole answer.

Knowing something about the company and its goals, and how those goals match yours, is important. Give specific examples of how your education, experience, skills and accomplishments make you an asset. And make sure to add something that sets you apart from the crowd. A pairing of skills that are unusual together can make for a very strong answer. Such combinations include:

• technically minded AND a great communicator
• good with numbers AND speak several languages
• an engineering whiz AND jog 10 miles a day
• a good organizer AND have a great sense of humor

Make sure the combination are skills that apply to the job in some way. Be honest. But also keep in mind that many skills can apply to almost any job.

Software Engineer:
“I am an excellent organizer and project planner, even for complex applications. AND I work out daily – exercise makes the mind sharper.”

Nurse:
“I have a photographic memory, so little details won’t escape me. I’m also very patient with people, no matter what the demands.”

Construction Worker:
“I’m a master carpenter, and a great communicator. If you need someone to talk to other contractors or clients, I’m the go to guy.”

Some stereotypical answers that do no good for this question include:

“I’m a workaholic.” – Very transparent.

“I work hard to be an asset to the company.” – So does everyone.

“I’m uniquely qualified for the job.” – The question was how, give details.

“I’ll give 110% to this position.” – This isn’t high school football.

One of the strangest combinations of skills ever revealed in an interview? “I can ride a bull, and I’m a gourmet pastry chef.” But can she make a soufflé while riding a bull?

What’s more important to you — the work itself or how much you’re paid for doing it?

The answer to this one is a balancing act. You don’t want to come across as someone running to the biggest pay check, but you don’t want to come across as phony either. It’s best to skew towards loving the work, but to recognize the importance of money too. “I’d do this work for free” is fine if you’re independently wealthy, but interviewers know people have to pay bills.

The answer also depends on the job. For example, if they ask the question at a summer job that involves shoveling manure, they’ll know you’re shoveling onto them if you try to play it as job satisfaction. That isn’t to say you can’t mention satisfaction with a job well done, such as “Let’s face it, this is a menial summer job, not a career. But I’m hard working and there’s a certain satisfaction in an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.”

Knowing the job and company can help with this question. That, of course, means a little research.

Great Offer:
“There’s no doubt I really love this work, so that’s the most important thing. But I know your company pays near the top of the industry, for top people of course. I love the field, which has made it a lot easier to become an expert who can help an organization.”

Opportunity:
“I have bills to pay just like the next guy. As long as the salary is in range with the position and my experience, that kind of takes care of itself. I’m more excited about the opportunities to grow here. This company has quite a reputation for molding the top people in this industry. I’m ready to work hard to get there.”

Pay is More Than Salary
“I tend to look at the whole package. Sure, salary is a part of that. But if there’s a choice between a great paying job with a rotten environment and an average paying job with a great environment, I’ll go with a little less money. I can’t sit in an office day after day doing what I don’t like, in a negative environment. That’s why I’m here. You have a great reputation for treating employees well, and the job is exactly what I enjoy doing, and I do it well.”

Avoid this answer, related by a woman who no doubt didn’t land the job. “If I can get paid for doing nothing, wow!”