G. If you could meet anyone living or dead, who would it be
and why?

Again, as with the question about describing someone that you admire, try to pick
someone who has qualities or characteristics that put them (and you) in good stead for
the job that you're being interviewed for.
If you've already picked one business leader for your question about who you
admire, make sure you have a different leader for this question.

"I'd like to meet the first Chief Executive of the National Council for Voluntary
Organisations to ask him what made him so passionate about wanting to promote
the voluntary organisation sector. Our job of getting people to donate money to
charitable causes is becoming increasingly harder work, and I'm sure that he would
be an inspirational person to meet."

H. What is your greatest fear?

Knowing exactly what kind of fear the interviewer is trying to get at is difficult.
Ask a question to check before you jump in with the wrong sort of response: Do you
mean a professional fear or a personal fear? If the interviewer leaves the choice up
to you, then talk about a professional fear.
This is quite a negative question. Try to turn the question to your advantage.
End your response on a high note by talking up some positive quality about yourself.
Some example responses:

"I wouldn't say that I have any fears as such – it's a very strong term. But I do worry
occasionally and take very seriously the threat that Internet-based retailers pose
for our industry. To me, that means that I must make even greater efforts to make
sure that the customers visiting our shops can get a positive customer experience
that will keep them coming back to us rather than buying from the Internet."

"Personally, I worry for the future of my children. Growing up nowadays seems to be
filled with so many more perils than when we were growing up 30 years ago. But I
do the best that I can – I try to instil good values in my children and make sure that
they eat well, and I play with them and get them to exercise. It's all a good parent
can do."

Part 5- Competency Based Interview Question

Go on bro, you are *mouthed*

Even more bizarre questions

Some interviewers pride themselves on devising fiendish new questions to goad candidates with.
Some more genuine questions that I've heard interviewers ask candidates include:

What five famous people would you invite to a dinner party and why?
Why are manhole covers round?

Define true happiness.

What job would you do if you weren't doing this?

Would you rather be famous or powerful?

Do you think the government should increase the national minimum wage or not?

Have a go at answering these questions. The reason the interviewer is asking these questions is to
catch you off guard. Even if you don't know the answer, you still have to come up with something
convincing. So how would you respond to these off-beat questions?

Discovering the Rules of the Game

The key to excelling at competency-based questions is to always respond by
talking about a specific incident in the past that you dealt with. Don't answer by talking
about how you would handle a situation. And don't talk about how you generally
handled those kinds of situations in the past.

Talk about a single incident that happened to you. Be ready to relate specific
details and even names of other people who were involved, approximate dates and the
locations if necessary.

Also, be ready to talk about your example in a lot of detail. The interviewers will
likely bombard you with dozens of questions to find out what the situation was, who
was involved, what you did and why you did it, how other people reacted, what you
said or did next, how other people changed their reactions and so on.

A lot of candidates exaggerate their experience to some degree. But the whole
point of competency-based interviewing is to catch out liars. Just as the police
question suspected criminals, the interviewers fire multiple questions at you in quick
succession to get at the truth. You are much more likely to trip yourself up by lying.

Dealing with skilled competency-based

If an interviewer asks you an initial question and then continues to ask perhaps
three or four further questions, you know that you are in safe hands because this is the
sign of a very competent and highly-skilled interviewer. The nearby sidebar
‘Competency-based interviewing at its best’ shows an example of the sort of
interview you should hope to find yourself in. The interviewer is likely to have been
trained in the skills of competency-based interviewing – in other words, how to dig
the information out of you. Simply follow the interviewer's lead and describe how you
handled that specific situation.

Always talk about what you did in the first-person singular by saying I did, I
spoke, I suggested and so on. Avoid describing what we did too much. After all,
whom are you trying to get a new job for – you or your entire team?

Competency-based interviewing at its best

Here's a worked example of a good competency-based interviewer speaking to a candidate. As you
can see, a skilled interviewer asks as many questions as necessary to establish exactly what happened
and how you resolved a situation.

Interviewer: Tell me about the last time you faced a problem and how you tackled it.

Candidate: This was about two months ago. As I mentioned earlier, I work in a team of five
accountants reporting to the accounts manager. We discovered that a computer virus had
corrupted most of the reports that we had to hand in at the end of the month. And so we had about
three days to do over a week's worth of work.

Interviewer: Going back to the beginning, how did you first discover the virus problem?

Candidate: It wasn't me who discovered it. Our accounts clerk found the problem and shouted it
around the room. She was panicking and getting really stressed out. And the first thing I did when
I saw this was to sit her down and get her to tell the rest of us exactly what the problem was.

Interviewer: So what happened next?

Candidate: I suggested that we check whether we had viable back-ups, but unfortunately the virus
had infiltrated our system before the weekly back-up had been done.

Interviewer: So what did you do next?

Candidate: We brainstormed ideas and decided to get help from the finance department of another
business unit. Doing so wasn't standard practice, but I suggested the idea to my boss, who agreed
it was the right thing to do. And so we ended up getting all of the accounts completed by the end of
the month.

Interviewer: Sorry, can I go back in time a little bit? You said ‘we’. What was your role in that
brainstorming process?

Candidate: I say ‘we’, but it was my suggestion to initiate a brainstorm. I laid down some rules for
the brainstorm – that we would come up with as many ideas as possible before critiquing them.

Interviewer: What other options did you come up with and how did you decide to get help from the
other finance department?

Candidate: The main other option was to hire temporary staf to help us with processing the data.
But that would have cost over £1,000. Someone else in the team then joked that it was a shame we
couldn't get the accounts team based at our other office to help us, and I thought it was a good
idea. No one had done it before, but I thought it may be worth giving a go, so I said that I would
suggest the proposed solution to my boss.

Interviewer: And how did your boss respond to the idea?

Candidate: He didn't like the suggestion initially. But I showed him the cost analysis of how
expensive it would be to get temporary staf in. And I said that I had already checked that our
other office wasn't busy. So eventually he let me bring their team to our office for a few days.

Interviewer: Thank you. Let's move on to the next question now . .

A. Tell me about a significant project that you managed

When asked about a significant project that you've managed, be aware that the
interviewers are not only interested in what the project was, but also in how you
organised it and made it happen. In answering this question, make sure that you tell the
interviewers how you planned the project and then subsequently delivered it.

Have a personal example to talk about. Be ready to talk about when you
managed a project, what the project was, why you were given the piece of work
initially and what actions you took in order to make it a success.
A junior candidate may talk about a less significant project, such as:

"I was asked to organise the Christmas party for our 25 staf and given a
budget of £50 per head. I started by sending out an email to everyone in the office
to check whether they preferred to have the party on a Friday night after work or
on a Saturday, and the majority favoured Saturday. I then rang up nearby hotels to
find out costs. Most were quite expensive, but I found three or four that were within
our budget. I asked them to fax over menus and I looked on their websites to check
the quality of the hotels. I eventually found two hotels that fit our criteria, so I went
to visit them both. I thought that one seemed a grander venue so negotiated a deal
with them. Then nearer the time, I sent out invitations and handled people's
requests for vegetarian options. The party was a big success, and my boss was
really please"

B. Give me an example of a dif icult decision that you have
made

Be ready to talk about a difficult decision you've had to make and why it was
difficult. For example, was the decision tough because you had to deal with many
sources of information and the right choice was unclear? Or was the decision tricky
because of the emotional impact on or consequences to yourself or other people? Example is:

"I was asked by my manager at head office to review options for cutting costs in
my office by £85,000 per year. I knew that it was going to be a painful process, and
I didn't want my staf to worry unduly, so I took my three supervisors and our
finance manager for an away-day session on a Saturday afternoon. We decided that
we could trim some costs – such as payment of overtime, training budgets and staf
entertainment – by a bit. But I realised that we really needed to make a handful of
redundancies to meet the target. I asked my finance manager to do a cost-benefit
analysis of which staf would need to go. The following week, when she came back
with her recommendations, I sent a copy to my area manager. Once my manager
approved the finance manager's recommendations, I discussed the final decision
with my supervisors. And then I asked for those four employees to come into my
office one at a time so I could tell them face-to-face. Of course, these employees
were upset, but I assured them that the decision wasn't personal and that we would
give them good references. Making these people redundant was one of the toughest
decisions I've ever had to make, but it was the only option given what our head
office was asking us to do."

C. Talk to me about a mistake you made and what you did to
rectify it

When asked about a mistake, pick a work-related mistake you made and then
focus your attention on describing the actions you took to resolve the situation. For
example:

"I've been part of the team manning the IT helpdesk for six months now, and
this incident happened about a month after I started. One of the team was on
maternity leave and another was of sick, so I allowed a junior trainee to fill in for
two shifts a week. Unfortunately, a couple of people in the company rang me up to
complain that they had been given bad advice that had made their computers freeze up. So, of course, I had to apologise profusely to these colleagues and sort out their
problem. Then I had to take the trainee aside and explain the error he'd made. I
made sure to explain that the mistake wasn't his fault as it had been my decision to
put someone unqualified on the helpdesk. Making sure the trainee understood the
correct way of handling that problem was more important than shouting at him."

D. Tell me about a time you inspired a team

You may think that you have never inspired anyone. But try to think of an
occasion when you motivated or encouraged others – even if it was just one person.
Check out this for an answer:

"The management team had decided to restructure the business for the second
time in 18 months, and everyone was feeling negative about the prospect of yet
more upheaval. I decided that we needed to inject some spirit into the team, so I set
up a competition. We took a Friday afternoon off from our normal work, and I told
everyone that I'd be splitting them into three teams to compete in coming up with
novel ideas for servicing our customers in the wake of the restructure. Whichever
team devised the best ideas for how to improve our performance would win a case
of wine. They came up with some really good ideas, and we had a lot of fun.
Afterwards, the team was a lot more energised than they would have been if I hadn't
initiated the team competition event."

E. Talk me through how you coached or developed a team
member

Employers want to hire people who can help others to improve their skills. Make
sure that you can share an example that shows the interviewers how you took time to
understand a member of your team's weaknesses and then set about tackling those
weaknesses together.
Here's a good example:

"When I joined my current company, I was asked to manage an existing team of
sales people. One of them wasn't hitting his sales targets, and my manager said that
we may need to let him go. I decided to give him a last chance, so sat him down and
we talked about his performance. He said that he was fine in making presentations
to clients, but wasn't very good at negotiating deals with them – and that's why he
wasn't hitting his targets. I offered to help and did a couple of customer role-plays
with him so that I could evaluate what he was doing. Next, I gave him advice on
what he could be doing better. Once I thought he had the hang of useful techniques,
I shadowed him on a couple of customer negotiations. I'm pleased to say that this
person really improved and two months later reached his sales targets."

F. Tell me about an occasion when you had to deal with a
difficult team member

If you possibly can, aim to talk about an occasion when you dealt with a difficult
member of the team and turned them around – perhaps through coaching and
development – into a productive member of the team.
This example explains a tricky situation in a positive way:

"I noticed a few months ago that a bit of conflict existed in our team of
technicians in the lab. I talked to each of them individually, and the opinion seemed to be that one of them, Taju, was shirking some of her workload. I took Taju out for
lunch and asked if everything was okay. She said that everything was fine, so I then
had to tell her that I thought the team were experiencing some problems. She got
angry and told me to leave her alone, so I did. But after a couple of weeks, I
received a complaint about her work again. So I took her aside for a second time
and we discussed the problem. She still did not recognise that a problem existed, so
I told her that I would allocate work to her on a daily basis. She wasn't happy with
my suggestion at first, but eventually she came to accept it and the problem appears
to have gone away."

G. Tell me about a time that you persuaded someone to change
their mind

Explain to the interviewers a situation when a person – such as a colleague, a
customer, your boss or perhaps a supplier – initially disagreed with your point of
view. Then tell them exactly what you said or did to bring the other person round to
your viewpoint.

"Our department was badly understaffed and a couple of us in the team tried to
persuade our editor that we needed to take on a junior staff writer. Jackie, the
editor, was against the idea because she said that we didn't have the budget. I knew
that she would never listen to a member of her team, so I mentioned the idea to one
of the other editors and persuaded this other editor to talk to Jackie. The other
editor managed to persuade Jackie because Jackie tends to respect her peers more
than her team."

Another common variant on this question is for interviewers to ask: Can you give
me an example of a time that you had to adapt your communication style to meet
someone else's needs? Your response would still follow the approach taken in this
example.

Please I was at an interview last week. I was asked about Notice period of which I told dem 1week... and I haven't heard frm dem now..
Also I was asked if I could relocate anywhere , and I replied yes.. den dey asked wat of Borno and I said except dea...
Hope I m safe o, because I really want ds Job...

crixtex:
Please I was at an interview last week. I was asked about Notice period of which I told dem 1week... and I haven't heard frm dem now..
Also I was asked if I could relocate anywhere , and I replied yes.. den dey asked wat of Borno and I said except dea...
Hope I m safe o, because I really want ds Job...

First of all-congratulations on your interview. That said, about your 1 week notice period doesn't mean they will get back to you exactly 1 week from the time you had your interview; sometimes it may take 1 month or more. About your relocation, yes you made the right call. Employers want a person that is honest, and that you showed.

Finally, be expectant. Hope you have the HR number? After some days, if you still not comfortable with the delay, just call or send a message (email). Hope this helps.

AMZYMAYO:

First of all-congratulations on your interview. That said, about your 1 week notice period doesn't mean they will get back to you exactly 1 week from the time you had your interview; sometimes it may take 1 month or more. About your relocation, yes you made the right call. Employers want a person that is honest, and that you showed.

Finally, be expectant. Hope you have the HR number? After some days, if you still not comfortable with the delay, just call or send a message (email). Hope this helps.

Thank you sir... it helped... my soul is rekindled a bit now... thanks again

crixtex:

Thank you sir... it helped... my soul is rekindled a bit now... thanks again

You are welcome sir

H. Talk to me about a difficult colleague you've worked with

Talk about how you turned an initially bad relationship into a more amicable one.
Organisations want employees who can use their communication skills to foster
effective working relationships – by asking tactful questions, listening, demonstrating empathy and being assertive when necessary.
Here's an example of a suitable answer:

"Four other administrators work in our office, and the most senior of them has
always had a bit of a temper. Even trivial matters annoy him, and he tends to blame
others for his own mistakes. I've tried to have a decent discussion with him about
his work or projects that have gone wrong, but he refuses to accept responsibility.
His attitude was beginning to affect the quality of our work, so eventually I decided
to talk to our manager. I explained to the manager that I didn't want to get this
administrator into trouble, but that his behaviour was affecting our work. My
manager had a few words with him, and this other administrator has been a lot
better since then."

If you can't honestly talk about having turned a relationship around, then make
sure that you can at least demonstrate how you managed to work effectively with a
difficult colleague.

I. Have you ever had to give someone negative feedback at
work? How did it go?

This question is very similar to Talk to me about a difficult colleague you've
worked with (dealt with in the preceding question). However, in answering this
question, you must demonstrate that you gave the colleague a piece of advice that
changed their subsequent behaviour.
This response does just that:

"We work in an open-plan office, and focusing on your work when other people
are talking loudly on the phone or to each other can be quite difficult. One of my
colleagues has a loud voice and tends to laugh quite loudly too. He also bellows on
the phone, and given that his job is to call clients, it was really getting on the
nerves of the rest of the team. So one day I took him out for a coffee and said really
politely that he had a very loud voice and that it was annoying quite a few of us. He
was really mortified and said he didn't realise he was being such a nuisance. Since
then he's made a huge effort to keep his voice down."

J. Tell me about a time you used your personal network to
business advantage

Interviewers are most likely to ask this question when the job involves selling or
business development. But networking is also a useful skill in many jobs for keeping
tabs on what competitors are up to and finding out what customers want.
Here's an example showing how you've networked successfully:

"My job is to set up service contracts with corporate clients, and it helps to
have a good network. I used my personal network last week, actually – I was putting
together a proposal for one client and did not know how low I should price our
offering in order to win the bid. Luckily, the operations director of the organisation
seeking the quote used to work at another company with whom I've done business,
so I gave him a ring. He hinted that the purchasing director was more interested in
the quality of service than price. So I really focused on quality in our presentation,
and as a result we've been shortlisted for the next round of bidding"

AMZYMAYO:

You are welcome sir

Pls bro.. I m sorry wanted to add ds... last Friday during d interview, I told dem a notice period of 1week wen dey requested for it... does ds mean I ve to wait for a week b4 getting a feedback. . tnxx?

Sir how does one tackle the question tell me about yourself for an entry level candidate who does not have any experience at all.

crixtex:

Pls bro.. I m sorry wanted to add ds... last Friday during d interview, I told dem a notice period of 1week wen dey requested for it... does ds mean I ve to wait for a week b4 getting a feedback. . tnxx?

Like I explained earlier sir, you may be lucky to hear from them after 1 week, or you may hear from them, say, 1 month or more. You know the recruitment process may take a lengthy time.

What I will advice is that: you communicate from time to time, after the 1 week you told them, with the HR personal. Just a greeting and reminder of your top skills will do just fine. I wish you the best sir.

ujay77:
Sir how does one tackle the question tell me about yourself for an entry level candidate who does not have any experience at all.

Wonderful question sir. I believe as an entry level, you have some skills that you think makes you stand out from others. Skills like: problem-solving, great interpersonal, efficient communication, etc. Outside that, I believe as an entry level, you have witness a lot of personal experiences, served (NYSC), Internship/IT, and others. In addition, I believe you are proficient the in one or two softwares.

So, about answering your question, remember to note all the skills the job will entail before found for the interview. This you can know from the job invite or advert.

Let's say, for example, you applied for the post of marketing. You may say something like this:

"I am a vibrant person who possess a strong interpersonal skill and communication skill. Those skills enabled me to increase the revenue of my last organization (or where you served or did your it) by 50%."

Note, questions will still come later about how you achieved such impressive sales. Just explain those steps you took. I hope it helps.

Thank you so much Sir...You've blessed me richly!

AMZYMAYO:

Like I explained earlier sir, you may be lucky to hear from them after 1 week, or you may hear from them, say, 1 month or more. You know the recruitment process may take a lengthy time.

What I will advice is that: you communicate from time to time, after the 1 week you told them, with the HR personal. Just a greeting and reminder of your top skills will do just fine. I wish you the best sir.

Thanks for granting me an audience. . really appreciate it....

Great thread op..God bless you!

Thanks A lot bro. but can you help me out with a cover Letter pls

twokilo:
Thanks A lot bro. but can you help me out with a cover Letter pls

Please drop your email address

AMZYMAYO:
Hope you are learning one or two things? Am always glad to help. This is the end of this part, the next part will start tomorrow.

Why not try to do your own work: make those work your own by editing your profile into them. Answer them as if you have been invited to work for shell company.

bros God will really bless you for this, I doubt if anybody willl fail any job interview with this guideline,
Thanks once again.