Why do you want to leave your current affiliation?
There are several good answers to this question. The first and most obvious is "I want to earn more money." No one ever knocked this answer. For most people, leaving their current affiliation will net them more than they could make in their next raise. Typically, the company that hires you away will pay 20 percent more than you are making to obtain your talents. In contrast, at your own company you can count on an annual raise of between 6 and 8 percent. Of course, some executives use outside job offers as leverage to get more money from their present employers, but most of us will earn 6 to 8 percent more each year where we work.
The second, and equally good, answer to the question of why you want to leave is: "Because I've ceased to learn. I'm looking for a job where I can grow as well as contribute." This answer is in no way intended to knock your current employer. You're strongly advised never to do so. It simply means this: you're the kind of person who wants to learn while he works, and you've mastered the job at your present company to the point that it's too easy for you. You're seeking a greater challenge than is available in your current job.
A third answer to the "why-do-you-want-to-leave" question is: "My present company's growth hasn't been as fast as my personal growth. So there are fewer chances for promotion within than are required to fulfill my personal ambitions." This answer has two virtues. It suggests that you are personally ambitious. It suggests too that, were the company you are now with to grow faster, you would succeed and you would be promoted. It becomes a question of the timing being wrong.
The simplest of the three above answers is "I want to earn more money." If you can use this answer, it's probably your best bet. The other two will get you by, however. Whatever you say, don't tell your prospective boss that you want to leave because your current company is no damned good. Why? If you feel your present company is no damned good, what will you feel like after a few years with the company you are now interviewing? Your prospective boss may well get the idea that you are not satisfied for very long, and that his company will be next on your blacklist.
What are your growth prospects at your present company?
If you answer this question quickly, without giving it enough thought, you may come out with an answer that could hurt your chances of landing a job. If, for example, you answer, "Not too good; I'm boxed in; that's why I'm looking for a new job at this time," you'd be falling into a trap. An answer like this must make your interviewer think that you're not the best at your company. Otherwise you'd know how to get out of the box! What you want to do is convince your prospective boss that you're leaving in spite of the fact that you are the best person at your present company. In these examples, the candidates described themselves as people ready to be promoted, or capable of being promoted, but unable to get a promotion when they wanted because of circumstances beyond their control. If your prospective boss thinks your chances are good at your present company, he will be more inclined to think your chances are good at your next company. And he'll be more inclined to hire you.
Do you mind taking a personality test prior to joining our company?
The answer to this question should be obvious: "No, not at all."
Why should the answer to this question be so obvious? If it's asked at all, you can be absolutely sure that there's a policy stating that every new employee will take a battery of psychological tests. There's no point in saying "No" if you're at all interested in the job.
Some people rebel against personality tests. If you do, you might consider two things. First, the fact that they are given should not necessarily condemn the company you are interviewing. Frequently these are the tools used by personnel departments as a matter of record to determine for future use what kind of employees stay with a company longest and do the best. They are generally not relevant to the decision to hire you or another person. Second, if you are concerned about taking such psychological exams, you might spend a few minutes reading the appendix to William H. Whyte, Jr.'s The Organization Man, published by Simon and Schuster. It provides a brief (five-page), interesting commentary on personality testing. You'll feel better prepared and more confident when you take yours.
What do you want to be five years hence?
If you answer that you'd like to be president, you're terribly unrealistic-unless, of course, you happen to be an executive vice-president now. Very few prospective bosses are looking for ninety-day wonders, men and women in middle management who can assume the presidency in less than five years. So you look naive if you answer that way. You are being hired for your expertise at your present level. To suggest that you will rise through the ranks like a rocket, passing others by, is presumptuous to say the least. On the other hand, few prospective bosses are looking for people who expect to sit still for five years, contented doing what they're doing now. In order to avoid extremes when you answer this question, you might say, "In five years I would like to be in my boss's job, with prospects of being in his boss's job in the not too distant future." There is a good reason for answering the question this way. You should expect to be in your boss's job within five years. If you can't make it in that time, you are hardly the person your prospective boss should hire. At the same time, if you think you should be close to securing his boss's job in that period of time, you are exhibiting a reasonable amount of personal ambition.
