Employers don’t just care if you can do the job—lots of people can. What they want to know is if you want to do the job (your motivation) and if you’ll fit in with the rest of the people you need to deal with (your people skills) on the job. Your people skills are what this chapter is about. Sure, interviewers have a general idea what you’re about from the questions in Chapter 3, but they crave more.

For this reason, behavioral interviewing is very common, which means the interviewer will ask lots of nosy questions about your past behavior, believing there’s no better way to predict your future actions than by hearing about your previous actions in similar situations. You may also encounter situational interviewing, in which you are asked hypothetical questions so the interviewer can see how you react in imaginary situations, which may or may not take place in this job.

Job Jargon

Behavioral interviewing asks lots of questions about your past behavior, because of the belief that past actions are the best predictors of your future actions in similar situations. Situational interviewing poses hypothetical questions like “what if” or “let’s say” to see how you’d behave in possible situations.

Job Savvy

Each bolded interview question is followed by a description of what the interviewer is trying to ascertain by asking the question. Then you will be given examples of good answers and bad answers to the question.

What is your management style? Or: Describe your leadership style or skills ....

In most industries, the ability to manage people is considered important to advancement in your career. Because of this, the interviewer wants to know how you lead, plan, organize, and control things—the four main components of management.

Good answer: Think about times when you got things done with the help of other people—if not at work, then in your volunteer, leisure, or school activities. Then think about good bosses and bad bosses you’ve had and why they were good or bad. Perhaps your bad boss used to give you deadlines and then ask a week before the due date where the project was, or yell at you without explaining what you did wrong, or hog all the credit.

You learned by negative example that a good boss gives credit where it is due, communicates clearly, and is fair. In addition, criticism of your work should be constructive, pointing out what you did wrong and what you need to do to improve without attacking you personally. Your answer should reflect some of these good traits, and be ready to give an example or two from your experience.

Bad answer: Anything that shows you haven’t managed people at all or thought about how you deal with them. Or that you display the hallmarks of a bad boss.

How do you motivate people you manage?

He or she wants to see you are generous with praise and credit for a job well done, and possess enough insight to know different people are motivated by different things, instead of following a cookie-cutter management approach.

Good answer: Show that you aim to inspire and teach the people you manage and respect their individual differences, instead of being an autocrat who issues orders with no explanation.

Bad answer: An answer that reveals you don’t bother much about motivating your underlings—and as far as trying to understand their differences, forget it.

Tell me about your track record for promoting your staff ....

The interviewer wants to know you have the “right stuff” in terms of identifying talented workers and helping develop their potential so they can contribute to the best of their ability to your organization.

Good answer: Having staffers who rise in your organization reflects well on you as a manager, so hopefully your success ratio in this area is good and you can give an example or two to prove it.

Bad answer: An answer that shows you never met an underling you liked enough to develop them, which does not reflect well on your skills as a manager.

Tell me about a time when you worked through a difficult situation with someone you managed who ultimately got promoted ....

He or she wants to see that you can spot talent and potential, and point out a flaw that can stand some improvement tactfully, without losing the employee.

Job Savvy

Did you watch The Apprentice, the hit TV reality show where job-hunters compete for a top, well-paying spot in Donald Trump’s company? Well, lessons from the series are being taught at top business schools nationwide, as MBA students study how the job-seekers learned to think on their feet, take risks, choose their team, and defend their actions. Trump was even a speaker at the American Management Association’s conference in September 2004 at a half-day forum. Some major lessons from The Apprentice from Kate Wendleton, founder of The Five O’Clock Club, a career coaching network, include:

• Bosses want to hire people who are like others on their current team.

• Pay attention to what the boss says are his or her company values.

• You’re always being interviewed.

• You have to fight to get the job.

• Show respect for your peers.

• All companies want team players who pitch in.

Good answer: Give an example that shows how you were able to smooth a diamond in the rough’s edges, or clarify how to produce good results in your organization, to enable the employee to reach his or her potential.

Bad answer: An answer that shows you are not skilled at people-problem solving, and don’t really know how to salvage a talented employee with a flaw or two.

Job Savvy

Details, details. Think about all the different actions your job requires, and the reason behind them. If you’re a secretary, you don’t file paperwork or answer the phone, for example—you file legal, medical, or public relations materials for X number of people, you make decisions on what your boss must see versus what you handle on your own, etc.

Describe a typical day at work. Or: What did you do yesterday (or Monday, etc.) at work?

The interviewer wants to know how you think on your feet, as well as how you prioritize your schedule, manage your time, and have insight into what your job entails.

Good answer: Make sure your answer shows a range of activities and accomplishments your job typically requires. They don’t literally need to have all occurred yesterday or the day in question, if it was atypical. Look at the work experience worksheet you filled out in Chapter 2 to make sure you don’t forget anything crucial.

Bad answer: Anything that shows you have a hard time explaining what you actually do all day. Or a sense that you are reactive instead of active, lurching from one task to another moment by moment, instead of managing your time to achieve preset priorities.

Describe a time when a personal commitment interfered with a business crisis or last-minute meeting ....

He or she wants to know if, when the going gets tough, you’ll be running off to a personal appointment, or you can be counted on when your employer really needs you.

Good answer: Give an example of how you rescheduled your personal commitment, or arranged to have someone else handle it, to show how loyal you are when your employer is in a crunch.

Bad answer: A remark or nonverbal cue that shows resentment and/or incredulity that your employer may ever expect to come above your personal life in your list of priorities.

How did you get along with your last work team?

Trust me, the interviewer does not want to hear the gory details about the ghastly co-workers you are forced to put up with, any more than hearing about your boss, the head ogre.

Good answer: Take the high road, saying that you worked well with your team and their different personalities, and perhaps give an example of how the team pulled together to achieve a goal. Show that you are cooperative and pleasant as well as a good worker.

Bad answer: A litany of how lazy, incompetent, or mean-spirited your team members were, in contrast to you, a saint.

Job Savvy

Lace your answers with “we” and “our,” not just “I,” to signify you are a team player who has the employer’s interests at heart, not just your own.

Can you give an example of how you increased sales, saved money, saved time, or improved efficiency at your job?

These are an employer’s major goals, so the interviewer wants to know if you’ve ever brought “added value” by making a meaningful contribution in any of these crucial areas.

Good answer: Tell the interviewer about any time you brought in new business or made a suggestion your employer acted on—a potential client to pitch, an advertising or publicity campaign you dreamed up that increased a client’s sales and led to more business with your firm, an employee you referred, researching a cheaper way to deliver a product you worked on. Or how you handle your workload more efficiently by holding calls and returning them at a certain time of day to give you uninterrupted working time. Look at your Chapter 2 work experience worksheet for ideas.

Bad answer: You can’t think of any time you demonstrated “added value” to your employer. Isn’t it enough you come in 9 to 5 five days a week?

Job Savvy

Substance versus style: Most employers want both. They want to know you can do the job well (substance) as well as act appropriately with people you have to deal with (style).

What would you describe as a good work environment?

He or she wants to feel a work atmosphere you can thrive in mirrors their own, and is eager to avoid a bad fit like a very laid-back person in a pressure-cooker environment, which you will feel impelled to quit at the first opportunity.

Good answer: If you have any idea from your research what the work environment is like at this employer, try to reflect it in your answer. If not, say something like an atmosphere where people are motivated to pull together to produce a quality product or service, and where talent is recognized and rewarded. Who can argue with you?

Bad answer: An environment that bears no resemblance whatsoever to the employer in question, which means your days there will probably be numbered or you will do your work perpetually disgruntled.

Job Savvy

Constructive criticism points out what you did wrong and what you need to do to improve without attacking you personally (for example, by berating you as stupid or incompetent).

How do you handle rejection?

Because rejection is a crucial part of any job in sales, which includes public relations, customer service, and telemarketing, the interviewer wants to make sure you are secure enough to bounce back after being rejected, instead of taking it personally and feeling miserable.

Good answer: You don’t take rejection personally, but as an abstract turn-down of a product or service you are representing. In fact, rejection often gives you helpful information about how to convince your next sales prospect or overcome the objection of your current prospect, thus increasing your success ratio.

Bad answer: Any clue that you are insecure and will act devastated, defensive, or nasty after rejection, which will interfere with doing your job well.

How would your co-workers describe you? Or: How would your supervisor describe you?

This is a cagey way for the interviewer to find out what you’re really like at work, in the words of co-workers and bosses.

Good answer: Hopefully they will have recognized some of your greatest strengths, which you listed on your worksheets in Chapter 2. Cite some strengths employers tend to admire, such as enthusiasm, reliability, integrity, and being a team player.

Bad answer: Blurting out how co-workers and your supervisor see you unfairly, and how they are wrong.

How far do you want to rise (or see yourself rising) in our organization?

He or she wants to gauge your level of ambition and future orientation. Giving them a sense of how motivated and goal-directed you are is more important than naming a specific job title.

Good answer: Obviously, your advancement will hinge both on your doing well and your accomplishments being recognized and rewarded by the employer, so try something noncommittal like “as far as my skills and the employer will allow.” If your goal is to head the department you would be joining, or become sales manager for a larger territory, say so.

Bad answer: Anything that shows you have given no thought to your future beyond the job you are applying for. On the other hand, saying “I want your job” generally is a bit too bold for most interviewers.

“People skills” are important, and by now the interviewer has a pretty good sense of how you get along with people, manage people, and cope with people when they’re difficult. You’ve now described your style with examples of how you’ve acted in the past, while he or she already knows your substance or qualifications. He or she also has a sense of what you think is a good work environment, if you’ve ever brought added value by increasing sales or saving money (which is dear to any employer’s heart), as well as how far you want to go.