A tough question! Quite obviously you don't have to believe of idea your boss throws at you. You're expected to have a mine' own-and probably wouldn't want to work for someone who you agree with every idea he or she ever had! But the respond to your own negative reactions to a boss's ideas could make the difference in whether you get the job yes" a polite "no thank you." While there is no right answer mention, a couple of suggestions might help in telling you what you'd do in a ticklish situation like this.
In sum, your job is to let your boss know when you think he isn't on track if for no other reason than to save his neck if he's on the wrong one. At the same time, you have a responsibility to follow through on your boss's ideas or instructions after you've advised him of your concerns. The only exceptions you might suggest to your interviewer would be in situations in which you felt proceeding with your boss's ideas or direction would endanger the safety of anyone or would not be totally legal.
What's the toughest challenge you've ever faced?
This question may be asked to see what you think is the most trying kind of situation you've ever been in, and how you handled yourself in this situation. If you answer this question at face value you may no get as much mileage out of it as you'd like. The secret of making this question work hardest for you is to offer a tough challenge that is (1) relevant to the challenges inherent in the job you are applying for, and (2) demonstrates personal qualities about you that you know your interviewer seeks in hiring someone. In a word, you can answer this question a lot better if you've probed early in the interview to learn your interviewer's toughest work challenges, or the kind of person h or she thinks would best handle the job that has to be filled.
When the time comes, what do you plan to do in retirement?
This question is also asked because most leopards don't change their spots. If your interviewer asks this question, chances are that he or she is going to infer from the type of retirement you plan what type of person you are while you're working! The problem here is that most interviewees are unlikely to be thinking about retirement until they're asked about it. And, if you have to make an instantaneous decision about your retirement, your answer could paint the wrong picture of you.
Thus, this suggestion: spend a few minutes before your next interview thinking about your retirement and have a plan in mind. Hopefully, your retirement plan is an active one which includes becoming involved with some worthwhile activity-perhaps one in did you relish it? These are the kinds of things your interviewer would like to know about you and both your choice of examples, and the way you present them are important to creating the image you want to convey. A suggestion: take the time now to think of an example that not only demonstrates that you made your tough deadline (without it getting to you), but that you were creative in doing it, and got the kinds of results that you might have achieved had time been on your side.
Had you ever thought of leaving your present position before? If so, what do you think held you there?
The simplest answer to this question is "no." It preempts tough questions about prior job dissatisfaction, previously thwarted personal goals, differing points of view between yourself and a former boss, etc.
Who do you prefer to socialize with? People from work? Or people from outside of work? And why?
This question could be asked for several reasons: to determine work for your time
- Whether you keep thinking about your work after hours
- Whether you enjoy the fellowship of those you work with in an in-formal setting
- To determine the breadth of your interests, etc. (Are you a "whole person")
- Your leadership ability as suggested by elected or appointed officer ships you may hold
What do you think are the most important considerations in evaluating employees?
If you are applying for a supervisory or managerial position, you may be asked this question. If you are, there are four broad areas you may want to think about before your interview so that you feel confident in answering this question. The suggestions below are intended only to focus your thinking on an answer that can help your cause. You'll need to fill in specifics.
- Your Technical Ability.
- Your Work Orientation?
- Your People Skills
- Results Achieved by You
What is the most important element to you in job satisfaction?
You could probably answer this question in many ways. None will do your cause more good, however, than telling your interviewer that you get your greatest satisfaction from solving problems, beating the odds, successfully overcoming challenges, and getting results that others didn't achieve in similar circumstances, or which your manager thought couldn't be achieved by you. You can get tremendous mileage out of this question if you give a specific example of how good you felt when you managed to achieve the impossible. In short, prepare in advance to cite a worth point that brought you great satisfaction in its achievement.
If you could start again, what would you do differently in your present or past jobs?
The key to answering this question is to focus on how well you achieved specific goals in your past or present job. In a word, if your ideas and plans produced the results you (or management) had hoped they'd produce, let your interviewer know you'd stick with them. If, on the other hand, one or more of your ideas didn't quite achieve the goals you established prior to their implementation, it makes good sense to tell your interviewer that you'd seriously consider what you could do differently the next time to better achieve these specific objectives. If, for example, you failed to save as much as you'd anticipated by reorganizing your manufacturing or sales operation, then tell the interviewer that, recognizing the limitations of your initial approach, you'd modify your plans in such and such a way. This kind of goal-by-goal review demonstrates your objectivity, your ability to set and evaluate goals, your ability to own up to your own shortcomings, your willingness to accept responsibility for shortfalls, and your desire to take the action necessary to correct them.
One word of caution: when you deal with this inquiry, keep your focus on highly specific plans and objectives. Sweeping generalizations (e.g.: I'd have been more patient with my employees; I'd have pushed management harder to accept my ideas) can be dangerous. Your interviewer may well ask, "Why weren't you more patient (or persuasive) the first time round?" But if you only suggest changes to specific plans or ideas that didn't work, no one can fault you.
