"25 Most Difficult Questions You’ll be Asked on a Job Interview"
You've just spent four years of college in leadership positions and student organizations. You interned full-time in an office all summer while your friends spent every day at the beach. You've stressed about getting published more than studying for exams.
All so you could jam your portfolio with clips, have a top-notch resume and list a few supervisors' phone numbers as references.
But after marching through the O'Connell Center in your cap and gown, you've got the coveted interview with your dream company. You sit down at a desk opposite your (hopefully) future employer and hear the words, "Tell me about yourself. Why should I hire you?"
And you freeze.
Your resume might have gotten you in the door. But only a successful interview will you land you that job - and that paycheck. Since we spend so much time on our resumes, cover letters, portfolios and references, it's only appropriate that we prepare for sealing the deal - before going blank in an interview.
In preparation for the UF PRSSA Skill Seminar titled Presenting Yourself this Wednesday, we'd like to share an article called "25 Most Difficult Questions You’ll be Asked on a Job Interview." Written by the chairman and the president of a national outplacement firm based in New York, the article is an excerpt from the book "Parting Company: How to Survive the Loss of a Job and Find Another Successfully."
The questions range from management styles and industry trends to how long you intend to stay with the company and how much you expect to earn. Each tricky question is followed by the executives' guide to an appropriate response.
Our very own PRSSA Webmaster Shelby Powell started each of his three internship interviews last week with questions one through three. He suggests preparing intellectual questions to ask when given the opportunity.
Powell said one employer "threw a curveball and had me roleplay a scenario. I wasn't sure if I had answered their question sufficiently, but at the end of the interview I had an opportunity to ask them a question that revealed exactly what they were looking for in a good answer. At that point, I was able to dialogue with them a little more and let them know I possessed the traits they were seeking."
Dr. Kathleen Kelly has emphasized to her students never to discuss wages or salaries until after you have been offered the position. When asked about expected pay, what she calls a screening question, Dr. Kelly says to assure the employer you will both be able to agree on pay or that you're simply uncomfortable discussing pay until you have been offered the position.
Start preparing for your interview now, and unlike the guy in the video above, you won't have to ask your friend to dunk his head in a fish tank to help you get a job.
