1. "What can you tell me about yourself?" This is not an invitation togive your life history. The interviewer is looking for clues about yourcharacter, qualifications, ambitions, and motivations.
The following is a good example of a positive response. "In high schoolI was involved in competitive sports and I always tried to improve ineach sport I participated in. As a college student, I worked in aclothing store part-time and found that I could sell things easily. Thesale was important, but for me, it was even more important to make surethat the customer was satisfied. It was not long before customers cameback to the store and specifically asked for me to help them. I’m verycompetitive and it means a lot to me to be the best."
2. "Why do you want to work for us?This is an obvious question and, if you have done your research on thecompany, you should be able to give a good reason. 0rganize yourreasons into several short sentences that clearly spell out yourinterest.
"You are a leader in the field of electronics.Your company is a Fortune 5O0 company. Your management is veryprogressive."
3. "Why should I hire you?" Once again, you should not be longwinded, but you should provide a summary of your qualifications. Bepositive and show that you are capable of doing the job.
Based on the internships that I have participated in and the related part-time experiences I have had, I can do the job.
4. "How do you feel about your progress to date?" Never apologize for what you have done.
"I think I did well in school. In fact, in a number of courses Ireceived the highest exam scores in the class." "As an intern for the XCompany, I received some of the highest evaluations that had been givenin years.
5. "What would you like to be doing five years from now?" Know whatyou can realistically accomplish. You can find out by talking to othersabout what they accomplished in their first five years with aparticular company.
"I hope to be the best I can be at myjob and because many in this line of work are promoted to area manager,I am planning on that also."
6. "What is your greatest weakness?" You cannot avoid this questionby saying that you do not have any, everyone has weaknesses.
The best approach is to admit your weakness but show that you areworking on it and have a plan to overcome it. If possible, cite aweakness that will work to the company’s advantage. "I’ m such aperfectionist that I won’t stop until a job is well done.
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