Berks & Beyond Blog

You know it’s coming – that moment about three quarters of the way through your interview, when the hiring manager asks:

“So, do you have any questions for me?”

Believe it or not, the worst thing you can say at this point is “No.”  Interviewers actually want you to ask questions.  In addition to helping them provide more complete information, your questions give potential employers insights about your preparedness, personality and level of interest in their available positions.

Take advantage of this opportunity to shine.  Customize this sample list of potential interview questions to showcase your knowledge, position yourself as a leader, demonstrate your interest in the job – and learn critical information to help you make an informed decision:

1. Why is this position available? This seemingly innocuous question can provide valuable information about the company’s culture and performance.  The position may be vacant because it’s new, because someone was promoted from within (potentially good signs) or because the company is plagued by high turnover.
2. How would you describe the ideal candidate? This question is a form of transference, encouraging the hiring manager to imagine you actually performing the job as he is describing it.  Listen closely to the skills and characteristics he mentions and point out those that you possess, citing examples.
3. How would you describe the company’s culture? Your success in a position isn’t only about performing job duties; it’s also about how well you fit into the environment.  Your interviewer is certainly sizing you up for a cultural fit.  You should be doing the same of your potential employer.  When evaluating the interviewer’s response, consider whether or not the company’s culture is one that will align with your personal values and will likely support your success.
4. What are the next steps in this process? Hiring organizations vary greatly in their selection processes.  Some have multiple interviews; some require extensive skills and behavioral testing; still others conduct only one or two interviews before making an offer.  This question will help you set expectations and remove post-interview anxiety by helping you understand: timelines for making a decision; whether or not additional testing/screening will be required; when the new hire will be brought on board; whom you may hear from and when; when and how you should follow-up, should you not hear from anyone.

Other Potential Questions to Ask Your Interviewer

• Who would be my supervisor?
• Whom will I supervise?
• With whom will I be working most closely?
• What are the current plans for expansion or cutbacks?
• What are the biggest challenges this company faces?
• What do you like most about working for this company?  The least?
• What are the most challenging aspects of this position?
• Will I receive any formal training?
• Are there opportunities for advancement within the organization?

As you ask these questions, feel free to jot down a few brief notes; however, you should not let note-taking distract from the conversation.  Before you leave, be sure to thank the interviewer for his time and (if applicable) let him know that you’re sincerely interested in the job.

Berks & Beyond – Committed to Your Job Search Success

Berks & Beyond is committed to the success of your job search.  With offices throughout Central and Southern Pennsylvania, and a great team of experienced recruiting and staffing specialists, we have the resources and experience to match you with the ideal temporary, temp-to-hire or direct hire opportunity.  Contact us today or Search Jobs online.

What questions have you asked while in an interview which proved valuable?  Ever ask one you wish you hadn’t?  Please leave us a comment below.

“Thank you for your time today.  We’ll be in touch soon.”

You’ve just walked out of an interview for your dream job.  Things seem to have gone well – you were calm and poised, answered questions intelligently, made appropriate eye contact, and really put your best foot forward.

Now what?

For many job seekers, walking out of an interview marks the start of a long and sometimes anxious waiting period.  I mean, there’s not much you can do, other than sit around and passively bide your time until you find out if you landed the job, right?

Wrong.  In fact, here is a list of 7 things you can do after the interview to edge out the competition for your dream job:

1. Always, always send a “Thank You” letter. While this may seem obvious, not everybody does it.  As soon as you get home (while the interview is still fresh in your mind), compose your note.  Instead of sending a generic “one size fits all” letter, step into the interviewer’s shoes and address the points which seemed most important to him or her.  Additionally, use your “Thank You” letter to restate your qualifications and identify relevant accomplishments or experiences that you did not mention in the interview.  While you want to include these details, remember to keep the letter both brief and professional.
2. Make sure your “Thank You” note is letter-perfect and timely. Gather business cards for everyone who interviewed you, use LinkedIn, or call the company directly to ensure correct name spellings and job titles.  Have a friend proofread your letter and send the note within 24 hours of the interview.
3. Confirm the best way to follow-up. Before you leave the interview, find out from the receptionist the way (regular mail, e-mail, FAX, etc.) interviewers would prefer you to contact them.  If you contact these people via their preferred method of communication, your follow-up will be better received.
4. Contact your references. Let them know where you’ve interviewed and that they may be receiving a phone call.  This way they can be prepared to help you shine.
5. Leverage inside references.  If you know anyone who works at the company, contact him or her and describe your interview experience.  This contact may be able to provide you with inside information on the hiring process or even offer to put in a good word for you.  A word of caution:  never pressure an inside contact, or ask your contact to apply internal pressure for information – doing so could backfire.
6. Send work samples. Depending upon the position, you may be able to create an additional follow-up opportunity by sending samples of your work (collateral, proposals, project summaries, etc.).
7. Don’t pester. Rules of follow-up etiquette vary, and it’s up to you to determine the appropriate timing and frequency of follow-up.  If a hiring decision is expected to take 30 to 60 days, it’s completely inappropriate to call every day.  On the flip side, if the position needs to be filled immediately, don’t wait two weeks before following up.  Your goal should be to follow-up appropriately, consistently and using the interviewer’s preferred method of communication (see #3).

Berks & Beyond Can Help You Land Your Dream Job

As a leading Central and Southern Pennsylvania staffing and placement firm, we match job seekers like you with rewarding employment opportunities every day.  Contact us today to learn about temporary, temp-to-hire and direct hire opportunities throughout Central and Southeast Pennsylvania.

If you’ve ever been on an interview, you’ve probably heard this one:

“Tell me a little bit about yourself.”

Sounds innocuous enough, but in reality this is an extremely important question.  Interviewers ask it for a number of reasons:

• to get a sense of what you feel is most important about yourself;
• to see how well you’ve prepared for the interview;
• to find out why you think you’re the best candidate for the job;
• to see how you handle yourself in an unstructured situation;
• to see how articulate you are;
• to find out what type of first impression you make.

There is a lot riding on your response to this question, so make sure you knock it out of the park.  Here are a few quick tips for answering the “tell me about yourself” interview question the right way:

• Be brief.  Keep the answer short – no more than two to three minutes.
• Develop and include your USP.  Your Unique Selling Proposition, also known as a personal branding statement, is a one-sentence description of who you are, what you greatest strength is and the major benefit that a potential employer will derive from this strength.  Plenty of help for developing your USP is available online.
• Practice, practice, practice.  Write your answer out, then rehearse it until it’s second nature.  The better you know your pitch, the more poised and confident you’ll sound.
• Cite examples.  When you develop your answer, include one or two examples that best demonstrate why you’re well-qualified for the available postition, or highlight your most important accomplishments.
• Stay focused.  When an interviewer asks you about yourself, he or she doesn’t necessarily want to know where you were born, what your hobbies are or a laundry list of your job skills.  Make sure your response clearly focuses on the experiences and accomplishments most relevant to the available position.

The “tell me about yourself” interview question offers a great opportunity to set yourself apart from your job competitors.  So don’t waste it.  Take advantage of your time in the driver’s seat by selling yourself, creating a great first impression and setting a positive tone for the rest of the interview.

Berks & Beyond is committed to the success of your job search.  With offices throughout Central and Southern Pennsylvania, and a great team of experienced recruiting and staffing specialists, we have the resources and experience to match you with the ideal temporary, temp-to-hire or direct hire opportunity.  Contact us today or Search Jobs online.

It’s like a bad dream.

You’re in an interview, dressed to impress and feeling totally in control of the situation, when the unthinkable happens – the interviewer asks a question that completely stumps you: 

“If you could have dinner with anyone from history, whom would it be and why?”

“Why is a manhole cover round?”

“Which fictional character would you say best describes you?”

If just reading these questions makes beads of sweat pop out on your forehead, you’re not alone.  In an interview situation, most of us would be stopped in our tracks by off-the-wall questions like these.  But that’s the point:  interviewers ask odd questions intentionally, to see how well job candidates thinks on their feet and respond to stress.

Because unusual interview questions can be about virutally any topic, they’re nearly impossible to prepare for.  Still, here are a few quick tips to help you handle them more effectively:

• Keep your composure.  The question was meant to throw you off your game – so don’t let it rattle you.  Keep your face neutral and recognize that this is the wacky question you’ve been anticipating.
• Take your time.  Smile, take a deep breath and avoid the temptation to blurt out an answer.  Don’t panic – if you have to take a moment to gather your thoughts, it merely demonstrates that you think carefully through a situation before responding.
• Relax.  When it comes to unusual interview questions, your answer is not as important as how you handle the situation.  In fact, most don’t have right or wrong answers.  So take the pressure off yourself.  You don’t have to be brilliant, you just need to answer honestly.

If you’d like some practice answering off-the-wall questions, consider the following popular ones:

• If you could be any character in fiction, whom would you be?
• If you had only six months left to live, what would you do with the time?
• If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?
• If you were a _________ (insert:  car, animal, salad dressing – you get the picture), what kind would you be and why?
• If you won $50 million in the lottery, what would you do with the money?
• How would you rate me as an interviewer?

Be Prepared for Your Next Interview

Register with Berks & Beyond today.  Our team of staffing professionals will listen to your needs, match you with a perfect direct placement opportunity, and then prepare you to ace the interview.

Congratulations – you’ve been invited in for an interview with a great employer.  This opportunity really has potential, and you want to nail the interview.  Now what?  Review this list of tips to make sure you have all your bases covered:

• Revisit your resume.  Make sure you know dates of employment, responsibilities, professional accomplishments, etc. for each position.
• Practice your answers to common interview questions, enlisting a friend’s help if necessary.  Common questions include:

        – How would you describe yourself?

        – What is your greatest strength/weakness?

        – How do you define success?

        – Why do you want to work here?

        – Why should we hire you?

• Conduct a self-assessment.  Make sure you can clearly communicate your current skills, strengths, weaknesses, motivations, interests and work values.
• Go online or visit the local library to learn all you can about the company’s mission statement, financials, organizational structure, products and services – so you can speak intelligently about them during the interview.
• Bring along extra digital and paper copies of your resume.
• Select an appropriate outfit, bearing in mind both the position and corporate culture – then dress one notch above what would be expected.  When in doubt, go with a business suit.
• Call a day or two ahead of time to confirm directions, parking, interview time and interviewers’ names.
• Do a practice run to make sure you know the route.  See how long it takes to drive there, factoring in rush hour traffic if applicable.
• Prepare a list of professional and personal references.
• Bring along breath mints, a small note pad and a pen – just in case.
• A day or two after the interview, drop off hand-written thank you notes to each person who interviewed you, thanking them for their time and emphasizing your specific qualifications for the position.

Share Your Experience

What interview questions have stumped you?  We’d like to know.  Leave your comment below, or contact us via e-mail.

Need More Interviewing Help?

We at Berks & Beyond want to do all we can to help you land the perfect opportunity.  If you need assistance or would like additional resources to help hone your interviewing skills, please contact us directly.