From Interview
to Offer
Key Job Interview Tactics
STC Interview Workshop
Mercer University School of Engineering
March 30, 2005
Preparation is the Key

Be ready to answer recruiters’ questions by
doing company research.
 Product
lines, services offered
 Locations
 Current events
 Mission and goals
 Corporate culture
Set the right tone
for your interview

Stress your best qualities through:
 Appearance
 Demeanor
 Eye
contact
 Word choice
 Tone of voice
 Body language
Know your rights
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Illegal questions probe into your private life or
personal background.
Forbidden by federal law.
Can’t discriminate based on these things:
 Sex
or sexual preference
 Religion
 Age
 Marital Status
 Whether you have or plan to have children
Recruiters seek
12 types of information
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Your passion for their
business
Motivation, purpose
Skills, experience
Diligence,
professionalism
Creativity, leadership
Compatibility with job
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Personality, cultural
compatibility
Management style,
interpersonal skills
Problem-solving ability
Career aspirations
Accomplishments
Personal interests, hobbies
Your passion for their business

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Recruiter needs to know you’re a good match for
their company.
Examples:
 Why
are you interested in working in this field in this
industry?
 Why would you be particularly good at this business?
 How do you stay current?
 Why do you think this industry would sustain your
interest over time?
 Where do you want to be in five years?
Motivation, purpose

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Recruiter needs to know why this interview is
important to you.
Examples:
 Tell
me what you know about this company.
 What‘s your favorite product made by our company?
 Why do you want to work here?
 What particular aspect of this company interests you
most?
 Tell me what you think our distinctive advantage is
within the industry.
Skills, experience
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Recruiter needs to know why you’re the best
candidate.
Examples:
 What
are your key skills?
 How will you use your key skills in this job?
 How is your experience relevant to this job?
 What skills do you think are most critical to this job?
 If you needed to stay at your current job, what would
you spend more time on? Why?
Diligence, professionalism
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Your professional character: thoroughness,
diligence, accountability
Examples:
 Give
an example of how you saw a project through,
despite obstacles.
 Describe a time when you tackled a tough or
unpopular assignment.
 Describe a professional skill you’ve developed in your
most recent job.
 What personal skill or work habit have you struggled
to improve?
Creativity, leadership
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Give examples of your initiative,
resourcefulness, leadership abilities.
Examples:
 What
color is your brain?
 Consider the following scenario . . .
 Describe the situations in which you are most
comfortable as a leader.
 Describe your comfort level working with people of
higher rank and people of lower rank.
Compatibility with this job
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Interviewer needs to know your qualifications,
skills, related experiences.
How you fit position requirements.
Examples:
 What
interests you most about this job?
 What interests you least about this job?
 What concerns you most about performing this job?
 What is your most productive or ideal work setting?
Personality, cultural compatibility
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Recruiter needs to know how you work with
others personality types and how clients will
relate to you.
Examples:
 What
would your friends tell me about you?
 Describe your personality beneath the professional
image.
 How will you complement this department?
 Tell me what you learned from a recent book.
 Are you most productive working alone or in a group?
Management style, interpersonal skills
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What kind of colleague will you be?
Examples:
 Tell
me about an effective manager, supervisor or
other person in a leading role you’ve known.
 What type of people do you work with most
effectively?
 How do you organize and plan for major projects?
 Describe a time when you’ve worked under intense
pressure.
 What aspect of your management style would you like
to change?
Problem-solving ability
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Recruiter needs to learn how you resolve difficult
or challenging issues.
Examples:
 How
do your technical skills, combined with other
skills, add to your effectiveness on the job?
 How do you usually go about solving a problem?
 How do you measure the success of your work?
 Tell me about the most difficult problem you’ve ever
dealt with?
Accomplishments
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Recruiter needs to see what you can contribute
to the organization.
Examples:
 Talk
about a contribution you’ve made to a team.
 What accomplishment is your greatest source of
pride?
 Tell me about a need you fulfilled within a group.
 What situations do your colleagues rely on you to
handle?
Career Aspirations
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Do your goals match the company’s goals?
Examples:
 Where
do you hope that your career will have
progressed to in the next few years?
 Since this will be your first career position, how do you
know you’ll like the career path?
 Why is this the right job for you at this time in your
career?
 What new challenges would you enjoy?
 Tell me about your salary expectations.
Personal interests, hobbies
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Recruiter needs to know that your personal and
career goals are compatible.
Examples:
 What
outside activities complement your work
interests?
 What do you do to relax?
 Our company believes that employees should give
time back to the community. How do you feel about it?
Questions you might ask
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Never leave without asking questions.
Examples:
 Assuming
I were hired and performed well, what
additional opportunities might be open to me?
 Your firm has a terrific reputation in marketing. What
are the major insights into the marketing process that I
might gain from this position?
 I’d really like to work for your firm. I think it’s a great
company and I’m confident I can do this job well.
What’s the next step in the selection process?
Zingers!
Interview questions
you may not want to hear
Tell me about a project in which you
were disappointed with your personal
performance.
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Describe roadblocks and what you did to get
around them.
How have your skills come into play?
In hindsight, what could you have done
differently?
What lessons have you learned?
What would you do if I told you that I
think you are giving a poor interview
today?
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This is a stress question meant to see how well
you hold up under pressure.
Stay calm and relaxed.
Don’t allow your confidence to be shaken.
Tell me about your most difficult work or
personal experience.
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Shows how you hold up under pressure.
Describe a situation (personal or professional)
that involved a great deal of conflict and
challenge and placed you under an unusual
amount of stress.
 Don’t
reveal anything that would be covered by an
“illegal question.”
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What specific problems did you face?
How did you resolve them?
If this were your first annual review with
our company, what would I be telling you
right now?
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Present a positive impression.
Don’t say something like, “I wish you’d show up
on time more often.”
Focus on one or two of your key strengths.
How have you handled criticism of your
work?
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Shows your accountability and professional
character.
Describe a specific project or work habit that
caused you a problem until you faced up to it
and overcame it.
Or describe a time you responded objectively
and professionally to particularly harsh criticism
of your work.
What aspects of your work are most
often criticized?
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Recruiter is trying find your weaknesses.
Give an example from an early job.
Tell what you did to overcome the situation and
improve your work.
Discuss how failure inspired you to pay more
careful attention to detail in your work.
Tell me about a problem you’ve had
getting along with a work associate.
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Avoid talking about a personality clash.
Focus on differences in work ethics or culture
between you and associate.
Focus on something with which the interviewer
may empathize.
Describe someone whose standards of
excellence were lower than yours.
Why weren’t your grades better?
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Relax. You already match their basic criteria,
including education requirements.
Helps interviewer judge how you handle
adversity.
Don’t be defensive or place blame.
Put a positive spin on question.
Was there a course that you found
particularly challenging?
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Question shows how well you respond to difficult
situations.
Demonstrate that you won’t fold in the face of
difficulty.
Show that you’re willing to put in the extra effort
to meet a challenge.
Why didn’t you participate in more
extracurricular activities?
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Interviewer needs to know you have interests
outside school or work so you won’t suffer
burnout.
Talk about less formal activities like reading,
physical fitness, running, hiking that aren’t team
sports.
Focus on volunteerism, community service.
After Your
Interview
Follow up
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Ask yourself these key questions:
 What
does the position entail?
 What do like and dislike about the job and the
company?
 Did I make any mistakes or have trouble answering
interview questions?
 Do I feel that I was well prepared?
 If not, what can I do to improve on future interviews?
Write A Thank-You Letter
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Express appreciation for interview time.
Express continued enthusiasm for position and
company.
Recap strengths as they relate to job
requirements.
Answer any questions you couldn’t answer
during interview.
Request a follow-up interview.
After the Offer . . .
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Consider start date
Job title and associated responsibilities
Work environment
Salary, overtime, compensation
Bonus structure
Tuition reimbursement
Vacation, parental leave policy
Pension plan
Travel requirements
Office of Career Services
Mercer University
478.301.2863
www.mercer.edu/career
Information for this presentation from taken from
The 250 Job Interview Questions You’ll Most Likely be
Asked and the Answers That Will Get You Hired!
by Peter Veruki
Director of Career Planning and Placement at the
Owen Graduate School of Management
Vanderbilt University.
(Adams Media Corp. 1999)