60 Toughest Interview Questions.

General Guidelines:
Everyone is nervous on interviews. If you simply allow yourself to feel nervous, you’ll do much better. In general, be upbeat and positive. Never be negative. Never talk for more than 2 minutes straight. Find out what an employer wants most in his or her ideal candidate, then show how you meet those qualifications. In other words, you must match your abilities, with the needs of the employer. Be honest and most important never lie.

Good luck!

1. Tell me about yourself.
Beware, about 80% of all interviews begin with this “innocent” question. Many candidates, unprepared for the question, skewer themselves by rambling, recapping their life story, delving into ancient work history or personal matters. Start with the present and tell why you are well qualified for the position. Remember that the key to all successful interviewing is to match your qualifications to what the interviewer is looking for. This is the single most important strategy in job hunting.

2. What are your greatest strengths?
This question seems like a softball lob, but be prepared. You don’t want to come across as egotistical or arrogant. Neither is this a time to be humble. You know that your key strategy is to first uncover your interviewer’s greatest wants and needs before you answer questions. You know how to do this from question 1. You should have a list mentally prepared of your greatest strengths. You should also have specific example or two, which illustrates each strength.
The 10 most desirable traits:
1. A proven track record as an achiever.
2. Intelligence and management capabilities.
3. Honesty and integrity.
4. Good to fit corporate culture.
5. Positive attitude.
6. Good communication skills.
7. Dedication to walk the extra mile to achieve excellence.
8. Definiteness of goals.
9. Enthusiasm.
10. Confident.

3. What are your greatest weaknesses?
This is an eliminator question, designed to shorten the candidate list. Any admission of a weakness or fault will earn you an “A” for honesty, but an “F” for the interview. Disguise a strength as a weakness. “I sometimes push my people too hard. I like to work with a sense of urgency and everyone is not always on the same wavelength.” Assure the interviewer that you can think of nothing that would stand in the way of your performing in this position with excellence. Then, quickly review you strongest qualifications.

4. Tell me about something you did – or failed to do.
There are some questions your interviewer has no business asking, and this is one. But while you may feel like answering, “none of your business,” naturally you can’t. Some interviewers ask this question on the chance you admit to something, but if not, at least they’ll see how you think on your feet. Some unprepared candidates, flustered by this question, unburden themselves of guilt from their personal life or career, perhaps expressing regrets regarding a parent, spouse, child, etc. All such answers can be disastrous. As with faults and weaknesses, never confess a regret. But don’t seem as if you’re stonewalling either. Say you harbor no regrets, then add a principle or habit you practice regularly for healthy human relations.

5. Why are you leaving your old position(If you have a job presently)?
Never badmouth your previous industry, company, board, boss, staff, employees or customers. This rule is inviolable: never be negative. Any mud you hurl will only soil your suit. Especially avoid words like “personality clash”, “didn’t get along”, or others which cast a shadow on your competence, integrity, or temperament. Since you have a job, you are in a stronger position than someone who does not. But don’t be coy either. State honestly what you’d be hoping to find in a new spot. Of course, as stated often before, you answer will all the stronger if you have already uncovered what this position is all about and you match your desires to it.

6. The “Silent Treatment”
If you are unprepared for this, you will probably not handle it right and possibly blow the interview. Thank goodness most interviewers don’t employ it. It’s normally used by those determined to see how you respond under stress. You answer an interviewer’s question and then, instead of asking another, he just stares at you in a deafening silence. Most unprepared candidates rush in to fill the void of silence, viewing prolonged, uncomfortable silences as an invitation to clear up the previous answer which has obviously caused some problem. And that’s what they do – ramble on, sputtering more and more information, sometimes irrelevant and often damaging, because they are suddenly playing the role of someone who’s goofed and is now trying to recoup. We can just say “Is there anything else I can fill in on that point?” That’s all there is to it.

7. Why should I hire you?
Believe it or not, this is a killer question because so many candidates are unprepared for it. If you stammer or adlib you’ve blown it. By now you can see how critical it is to apply the overall strategy of uncovering the employer’s needs before you answer questions. If you know the employer’s greatest needs and desires, this question will give you a big leg up over other candidates because you will give him better reasons for hiring you than anyone else is likely to…reasons tied directly to his needs. The answer would be “As I understand your needs, you are first and foremost looking for someone who can manage the sales and marketing of your book publishing division. As you’ve said you need someone with a strong background in trade book sales. This is where I’ve spent almost all of my career, so I’ve chalked up 18 years of experience exactly in this area. I believe that I know the right contacts, methods, principles, and successful management techniques as well as any person can in our industry.”

8. Aren’t you overqualified for this position?
The employer may be concerned that you’ll grow dissatisfied and leave. As with any objection, don’t view this as a sign of imminent defeat. It’s an invitation to teach the interviewer a new way to think about this situation, seeing advantages instead of drawbacks. Just say “I recognize the job market for what it is – a marketplace. Like any marketplace, it’s subject to the laws of supply and demand. So ‘overqualified’ can be a relative term, depending on how tight the job market is. And right now, it’s very tight. I understand and accept that.”

9. Where do you see yourself five years from now?
One reason interviewers ask this question is to see if you’re settling for this position, using it merely as a stopover until something better comes along. Or they could be trying to gauge your level of ambition. If you’re too specific, i.e., naming the promotions you someday hope to win, you’ll sound presumptuous. If you’re too vague, you’ll seem rudderless. Reassure your interviewer that you’re looking to make a long-term commitment…that this position entails exactly what you’re looking to do and what you do extremely well. As for your future, you believe that if you perform each job at hand with excellence, future opportunities will take care of themselves.

10. Describe your ideal company, location and job.
This is often asked by an experienced interviewer who thinks you may be overqualified, but knows better than to show his hand by posing his objection directly. So he’ll use this question instead, which often gets a candidate to reveal that, indeed, he or she is looking for something other than the position at hand. The only right answer is to describe what this company is offering, being sure to make your answer believable with specific reasons, stated with sincerity, why each quality represented by this opportunity is attractive to you.

11. Why do you want to work at our company?
This question tests whether you’ve done any homework about the firm. If you haven’t, you lose. If you have, you win big. This question is your opportunity to hit the ball out of the park, thanks to the in-depth research you should do before any interview. Best sources for researching your target company: annual reports, the corporate newsletter, contacts you know at the company or its suppliers, advertisements, articles about the company in the trade press.

12. What are your career options right now?
The interviewer is trying to find out, “How desperate are you?” Prepare for this question by thinking of how you can position yourself as a desired commodity. If you are still working, describe the possibilities at your present firm and why, though you’re greatly appreciated there, you’re looking for something more (challenge, money, responsibility, etc.). Also mention that you’re seriously exploring opportunities with one or two other firms. If you’re not working, you can talk about other employment possibilities you’re actually exploring. But do this with a light touch, speaking only in general terms. You don’t want to seem manipulative or coy.

13. Why have you been out of work so long?
A tough question if you’ve been on the beach a long time. You don’t want to seem like damaged goods. You want to emphasize factors which have prolonged your job search by your own choice. This would be a good answer “After my job was terminated, I made a conscious decision not to jump on the first opportunities to come along. In my life, I’ve found out that you can always turn a negative into a positive IF you try hard enough. This is what I determined to do. I decided to take whatever time I needed to think through what I do best, what I most want to do, where I’d like to do it…and then identify those companies that could offer such an opportunity.”

14. Tell me about the strong and weak points of your old boss
Skillfull interviewers sometimes make it almost irresistible to open up and air a little dirty laundry from your previous position. DON’T do that. Remember the rule: Never be negative. Stress only the good points, no matter how charmingly you’re invited to be critical. Your interviewer doesn’t care a whit about your previous boss. He wants to find out how loyal and positive you are, and whether you’ll criticize him behind his back if pressed to do so by someone in this own company. This question is your opportunity to demonstrate your loyalty to those you work with.

15. What good books have you read lately?
As in all matters of your interview, never fake familiarity you don’t have. Yet you don’t want to seem like a dullard who hasn’t read a book since Tom Sawyer. Unless you’re up for a position in academia or as book critic for The New York Times, you’re not expected to be a literary lion. But it wouldn’t hurt to have read a handful of the most recent and influential books in your profession and on management. Consider it part of the work of your job search to read up on a few of these leading books. But make sure they are quality books that reflect favorably upon you, nothing that could even remotely be considered superficial. Finally, add a recently published bestselling work of fiction by a world-class author and you’ll pass this question with flying colors.

16. Tell me about a situation when your work was criticized.
This is a tough question because it’s a more clever and subtle way to get you to admit to a weakness. You can’t dodge it by pretending you’ve never been criticized. Everybody has been. Yet it can be quite damaging to start admitting potential faults and failures that you’d just as soon leave buried. This question is also intended to probe how well you accept criticism and direction. Begin by emphasizing the extremely positive feedback you’ve gotten throughout your career and (if it’s true) that your performance reviews have been uniformly excellent. Of course, no one is perfect and you always welcome suggestions on how to improve your performance. Then, give an example of a not-too-damaging learning experience from early in your career and relate the ways this lesson has since helped you.

17. What are your outside interests?
You want to be a well-rounded, not a drone. But your potential employer would be even more turned off if he suspects that your heavy extracurricular load will interfere with your commitment to your work duties. Try to gauge how this company’s culture would look upon your favorite outside activities and be guided accordingly.

18. The “Fatal Flaw” question
If an interviewer has read your resume carefully, he may try to zero in on a “fatal flaw” of your candidacy, perhaps that you don’t have a college degree…you’ve been out of the job market for some time…you never earned your CPA, etc. A fatal flaw question can be deadly, but usually only if you respond by being overly defensive.
Whenever you come up against a fatal flaw question:
1. Be completely honest, open and straightforward about admitting the shortcoming.
2. Do not apologize or try to explain it away. You know that this supposed flaw is nothing to be concerned about, and this is the attitude you want your interviewer to adopt as well.
3. Add that as desirable as such a qualification might be, its lack has made you work all the harder throughout your career and has not prevented you from compiling an outstanding tack record of achievements. You might even give examples of how, through a relentless commitment to excellence, you have consistently outperformed those who do have this qualification.

19. How do you feel about reporting to a younger person ?
It’s a shame that some interviewers feel the need to ask this question, but many understand the reality that prejudices still exist among some job candidates, and it’s better to try to flush them out beforehand. The trap here is that in today’s politically sensitized environment, even a well-intentioned answer can result in planting your foot neatly in your mouth. Avoid anything which smacks of a patronizing or an insensitive attitude, such as “I think they make terrific bosses” or “Hey, some of my best friends are…” You greatly admire a company that hires and promotes on merit alone and you couldn’t agree more with that philosophy. The age (gender, race, etc.) of the person you report to would certainly make no difference to you. Whoever has that position has obviously earned it and knows their job well. Both the person and the position are fully deserving of respect.

20. On confidential matters…
When an interviewer presses you to reveal confidential information about a present or former employer, you may feel it’s a no-win situation. If you cooperate, you could be judged untrustworthy. If you don’t, you may irritate the interviewer and seem obstinate, uncooperative or overly suspicious. Your interviewer may press you for this information for two reasons. First, many companies use interviews to research the competition. It’s a perfect set-up. Second, the company may be testing your integrity to see if you can be cajoled or bullied into revealing confidential data. What to do? The answer here is easy. Never reveal anything truly confidential about a present or former employer.

21. Would you lie for the company?
This another question that pits two values against one another, in this case loyalty against integrity. Try to avoid choosing between two values, giving a positive statement which covers all bases instead. “I would never do anything to hurt the company..”

22. Looking back, what would you do differently in your life?
This question is usually asked to uncover any life-influencing mistakes, regrets, disappointments or problems that may continue to affect your personality and performance. You do not want to give the interviewer anything negative to remember you by, such as some great personal or career disappointment, even long ago, that you wish could have been avoided. Indicate that you are a happy, fulfilled, optimistic person and that, in general, you wouldn’t change a thing.

23. Could you have done better in your last job?
This is no time for true confessions of major or even minor problems. Again never be negative. “I suppose with the benefit of hindsight you can always find things to do better, of course, but off the top of my head, I can’t think of anything of major consequence.”

24. Can you work under pressure?
An easy question, but you want to make your answer believable. Absolutely…(then prove it with a vivid example or two of a goal or project accomplished under severe pressure.)

25. What makes you angry?
You don’t want to come across either as a hothead or a wimp. Give an answer that’s suited to both your personality and the management style of the firm. “I’m an even-tempered and positive person by nature, and I believe this helps me a great deal in keeping my department running smoothly, harmoniously and with a genuine esprit de corps.

26. Why aren’t you earning more money at this stage of your career?
You don’t want to give the impression that money is not important to you, yet you want to explain why your salary may be a little below industry standards. You like to make money, but other factors are even more important. “Making money is very important to me, and one reason I’m here is because I’m looking to make more. Throughout my career, what’s been even more important to me is doing work I really like to do at the kind of company I like and respect.

27. Who has inspired you in your life and why?
The two traps here are unpreparedness and irrelevance. If you grope for an answer, it seems you’ve never been inspired. If you ramble about your high school basketball coach, you’ve wasted an opportunity to present qualities of great value to the company. Have a few heroes in mind, from your mental “Board of Directors” – Leaders in your industry, from history or anyone else who has been your mentor.

28. What was the toughest decision you ever had to make?
Be prepared with a good example, explaining why the decision was difficult…the process you followed in reaching it…the courageous or effective way you carried it out…and the beneficial results.

29. Tell me about the most boring job you’ve ever had.
You give a very memorable description of a very boring job. Result? You become associated with this boring job in the interviewer’s mind. You have never allowed yourself to grow bored with a job and you can’t understand it when others let themselves fall into that rut. “Perhaps I’ve been fortunate, but that I’ve never found myself bored with any job I have ever held. I’ve always enjoyed hard work.”

30. Have you been absent from work more than a few days in any previous position?
If you’ve had a problem, you can’t lie. You could easily be found out. Yet admitting an attendance problem could raise many flags. If you have had no problem, emphasize your excellent and consistent attendance record throughout your career.

31. What changes would you make if you came on board?
Watch out! This question can derail your candidacy faster than a bomb on the tracks – and just as you are about to be hired. No matter how bright you are, you cannot know the right actions to take in a position before you settle in and get to know the operation’s strengths, weaknesses key people, financial condition, methods of operation, etc. If you lunge at this temptingly baited question, you will probably be seen as someone who shoots from the hip. Moreover, no matter how comfortable you may feel with your interviewer, you are still an outsider. You, of course, will want to take a good hard look at everything the company is doing before making any recommendations.

32. I’m concerned that you don’t have as much experience as we’d like in…
This could be a make-or-break question. The interviewer mostly likes what he sees, but has doubts over one key area. If you can assure him on this point, the job may be yours. This question is related to “The Fatal Flaw” (Question 18), but here the concern is not that you are totally missing some qualifications, such as CPA certification, but rather that your experience is light in one area. Before going into any interview, try to identify the weakest aspects of your candidacy from this company’s point of view. Then prepare the best answer you possible can to shore up your defenses.

33. How do you feel about working nights and weekends?
Blurt out “no way, Jose” and you can kiss the job offer goodbye. But what if you have a family and want to work a reasonably normal schedule? Is there a way to get both the job and the schedule you want? First, if you’re a confirmed workaholic, this question is a softball lob. Whack it out of the park on the first swing by saying this kind of schedule is just your style. Add that your family understands it. Indeed, they’re happy for you, as they know you get your greatest satisfaction from your work.

34. Are you willing to relocate or travel?
Answer with a flat “no” and you may slam the door shut on this opportunity. But what if you’d really prefer not to relocate or travel, yet wouldn’t want to lose the job offer over it? First find out where you may have to relocate and how much travel may be involved. Then respond to the question. If there’s no problem, say so enthusiastically.

35. Do you have the stomach to fire people? Have you had experience firing many people?
This “innocent” question could be a trap door which sends you down a chute and lands you in a heap of dust outside the front door. Why? Because its real intent is not just to see if you’ve got the stomach to fire, but also to uncover poor judgment in hiring which has caused you to fire so many. Also, if you fire so often, you could be a tyrant. So don’t rise to the bait by boasting how many you’ve fired, unless you’ve prepared to explain why it was beyond your control, and not the result of your poor hiring procedures or foul temperament. Describe the rational and sensible management process you follow in both hiring and firing.

36. Why have you had so many jobs?
Your interviewer fears you may leave this position quickly, as you have others. He’s concerned you may be unstable, or a “problem person” who can’t get along with others. First, before you even get to the interview stage, you should try to minimize your image as job hopper. If there are several entries on your resume of less than one year, consider eliminating the less important ones. Perhaps you can specify the time you spent at previous positions in rounded years not in months and years.

37. What do you see as the proper role/mission of good job, good manager?
These and other “proper role” questions are designed to test your understanding of your place in the bigger picture of your department, company, community and profession….as well as the proper role each of these entities should play in its bigger picture. Think of the most essential ingredients of success for each category above – your job title, your role as manager, your firm’s role, etc. Identify at least three but no more than six qualities you feel are most important to success in each role. Then commit your response to memory.

38. What would you say to your boss if he’s crazy about an idea, but you think it stinks?
This is another question that pits two values, in this case loyalty and honesty, against one another. Remember the rule stated earlier: In any conflict between values, always choose integrity. Say “I believe that when evaluating anything, it’s important to emphasize the positive. What do I like about this idea? After all, the most important thing I owe my boss is honesty. If he can’t count on me for that, then everything else I may do or say could be questionable in his eyes. But I also want to express my thoughts in a constructive way. So my goal in this case would be to see if my boss and I could make his idea even stronger and more appealing, so that it effectively overcomes any initial reservation I or others may have about it. Of course, if he overrules me and says, ‘no, let’s do it my way,’ then I owe him my full and enthusiastic support to make it work as best it can.”

39. How could you have improved your career progress?
This is another variation on the question, “If you could, how would you live your life over?” Remember, you’re not going to fall for any such invitations to rewrite person history. You can’t win if you do. You’re generally quite happy with your career progress. Maybe, if you had known something earlier in life, you might have moved in a certain direction sooner. But all things considered, you take responsibility for where you are, how you’ve gotten there, where you are going…and you harbor no regrets.

40. What would you do if a fellow executive on your own corporate level wasn’t pulling his/her weight…and this was hurting your department?
This question and other hypothetical ones test your sense of human relations and how you might handle office politics. Try to gauge the political style of the firm and be guided accordingly. In general, fall back on universal principles of effective human relations – which in the end, embody the way you would like to be treated in a similar circumstance.

41. You’ve been with your firm a long time. Won’t it be hard switching to a new company?
Your interviewer is worried that this old dog will find it hard to learn new tricks. To overcome this objection, you must point to the many ways you have grown and adapted to changing conditions at your present firm. It has not been a static situation. Highlight the different responsibilities you’ve held, the wide array of new situations you’ve faced and conquered.

42. May I contact your present employer for a reference?
If you’re trying to keep your job search private, this is the last thing you want. But if you don’t cooperate, won’t you seem as if you’re trying to hide something? Express your concern that you’d like to keep your job search private, but that in time, it will be perfectly okay.

43. Give me an example of your creativity
The worst offense here is simply being unprepared. Your hesitation may seem as if you’re having a hard time remembering the last time you were creative, analytical, etc. Remember from Question 2 that you should commit to memory a list of your greatest and most recent achievements, ever ready on the tip of your tongue.

44. Where could you use some improvement?
Another tricky way to get you to admit weaknesses. Don’t fall for it. Keep this answer, like all your answers, positive. A good way to answer this question is to identify a cutting-edge branch of your profession (one that’s not essential to your employer’s needs) as an area you’re very excited about and want to explore more fully over the next six months.

45. What do you worry about?
Admit to worrying and you could sound like a loser. Saying you never worry doesn’t sound credible. Redefine the word ‘worry’ so that it does not reflect negatively on you.

46. How many hours a week do you normally work?
You don’t want to give a specific number. Make it to low, and you may not measure up. Too high, and you’ll forever feel guilty about sneaking out the door at 5:15. If you are in fact a workaholic and you sense this company would like that: Say you are a confirmed workaholic, that you often work nights and weekends. Your family accepts this because it makes you fulfilled. If you are not a workaholic: Say you have always worked hard and put in long hours.

47. What’s the most difficult part of remaining at a position?
Unless you phrase your answer properly, your interviewer may conclude that whatever you identify as “difficult” is where you are weak. First, redefine “difficult” to be “challenging” which is more positive. Then, identify an area everyone in your profession considers challenging and in which you excel. Describe the process you follow that enables you to get splendid results…and be specific about those results.

48. The “Hypothetical Problem”
Sometimes an interviewer will describe a difficult situation and ask, “How would you handle this?” Since it is virtually impossible to have all the facts in front of you from such a short presentation, don’t fall into the trap of trying to solve this problem and giving your verdict on the spot. It will make your decision-making process seem woefully inadequate. Instead, describe the rational, methodical process you would follow in analyzing this problem, who you would consult with, generating possible solutions, choosing the best course of action, and monitoring the results.

49. What was the toughest challenge you’ve ever faced?
Being unprepared or citing an example from so early in your life that it doesn’t score many points for you at this stage of your career. This is an easy question if you’re prepared. Have a recent example ready that demonstrates either:
1. A quality most important to the job at hand
2. A quality that is always in demand, such as leadership, initiative, managerial skill, persuasiveness, courage, persistence, intelligence, etc.
50. Have you consider starting your own business?
If you say “yes” and elaborate enthusiastically, you could be perceived as a loose cannon in a larger company, too entrepreneurial to make a good team player…or someone who had to settle for the corporate life because you couldn’t make a go of your own business. On the other hand, if you answer “no, never” you could be perceived as a security-minded drone who never dreamed a big dream. Again it’s best to:
1. Gauge this company’s corporate culture before answering.
2. Be honest.

51. What are your goals?
Not having any…or having only vague generalities, not highly specific goals. Many executives in a position to hire you are strong believers in goal-setting. (It’s one of the reason they’ve achieved so much). They like to hire in kind. If you’re vague about your career and personal goals, it could be a big turnoff to may people you will encounter in your job search.

52. What do you for when you hire people?
Speak your own thoughts here, but for the best answer weave them around the three most important qualifications for any position.
1. Can the person do the work (qualifications)?
2. Will the person do the work (motivation)?
3. Will the person fit in (“our kind of team player”)?

53. “The Salary Question” – How much money do you want?
May also be phrases as, “What salary are you worth?”…or, “How much are you making now?” This is your most important negotiation. Handle it wrong and you can blow the job offer or go to work at far less than you might have gotten. For maximum salary negotiating power, remember these five guidelines:
1. Never bring up salary. Let the interviewer do it first.
2. If your interviewer raises the salary question too early, before you’ve had a chance to create desire for your qualifications, postpone the question, saying something like, “Money is important to me, but is not my main concern. Opportunity and growth are far more important.
3. The #1 rule of any negotiation is: the side with more information wins. After you’ve done a thorough job of selling the interviewer and it’s time to talk salary, the secret is to get the employer talking about what he’s willing to pay before you reveal what you’re willing to accept. So, when asked about salary, respond by asking, “I’m sure the company has already established a salary range for this position. Could you tell me what that is?” Or, “I want an income commensurate with my ability and qualifications. I trust you’ll be fair with me. What does the position pay?” Or, more simply, “What does this position pay?”
4. Know beforehand what you’d accept. To know what’s reasonable, research the job market and this position for any relevant salary information.
5. Never lie about what you currently make, but feel free to include the estimated cost of all your fringes, which could well tack on 25-50% more to your present “cash-only” salary.

54. What was the toughest part of your last job?
This is slightly different from the question raised earlier, “What’s the most difficult part of being at a position because this asks what you personally have found most difficult in your last position. This question is more difficult to redefine into something positive. Your interviewer will assume that whatever you found toughest may give you a problem in your new position. State that there was nothing in your prior position that you found overly difficult, and let your answer go at that.

55. How do you define success…and how do you measure up to your own definition?
Seems like an obvious enough question. Yet many executives, unprepared for it, fumble the ball. Give a well-accepted definition of success that leads right into your own stellar collection of achievements.

56. If you won $10 million lottery, would you still work?
Your totally honest response might be, “Hell, no, are you serious?” That might be so, but any answer which shows you as fleeing work if given the chance could make you seem lazy. On the other hand, if you answer, “Oh, I’d want to keep doing exactly what I am doing, only doing it for your firm,” you could easily inspire your interviewer to silently mutter to himself, “Yeah, sure. Gimme a break.” This type of question is aimed at getting at your bedrock attitude about work and how you feel about what you do. Your best answer will focus on your positive feelings.

57. Looking back on your last position, have you done your best work?
Tricky question. Answer “absolutely” and it can seem like your best work is behind you. Answer, “no, my best work is ahead of me,” and it can seem as if you didn’t give it your all. To cover both possible paths this question can take, your answer should state that you always try to do your best, and the best of your career is right now. Like an athlete at the top of his game, you are just hitting your career stride thanks to several factors. Then, recap those factors, highlighting your strongest qualifications.

58. Why should I hire you from the outside when I could promote someone from within?
This question isn’t as aggressive as it sounds. It represents the interviewer’s own dilemma over this common problem. He’s probably leaning toward you already and for reassurance, wants to hear what you have to say on the matter. Help him see the qualifications that only you can offer.

59. Tell me something negative you’ve heard about our company
This is a common fishing expedition to see what the industry grapevine may be saying about the company. But it’s also a trap because as an outsider, you never want to be the bearer of unflattering news or gossip about the firm. It can only hurt your chances and sidetrack the interviewer from getting sold on you. Just remember the rule – never be negative – and you’ll handle this one just fine.

60. On a scale of one to ten, rate me as an interviewer.
Give a perfect “10,” and you’ll seem too easy to please. Give anything less than a perfect 10, and he could press you as to where you’re being critical, and that road leads downhill for you. Once again, never be negative. The interviewer will only resent criticism coming from you. This is the time to show your positivism. However, don’t give a numerical rating. Simply praise whatever interview style he’s been using.

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