harold abramowitz, writer of sin is to celebration (co-author, house press), dear dearly departed (palm press), sunday, or a summer’s day (ps books) and co-editor at eohippus labs, lets plain wrap get to know him better. this is the forty-fourth installment of plain wrap’s interview series in which plain wrap interviews all its facebook friends. thank you, harold abramowitz.
1. Tell us about yourself?
1. In brief: “During a job interview, the interviewer can ask many questions. Some of the common questions are the ‘Tell Us about Yourself’ interview questions. Your answers to these questions are crucial. Make sure that you are prepared for these types of interview questions.”
A job interview is one of the most important personal interactions that an individual conducts. It is therefore of utmost importance that a person is well prepared for every aspect of a job interview. In fact, most of the interview time schedule is spent on many aspects of the tough interview questions – “Tell Me about Yourself” and your interview answers.
4 common “Tell Me about Yourself” interview questions and answers
1. A brief summary of your personal details: You have to give your name, where you are from and a brief review of your resume. You may also provide any other personal detail that you choose to provide.
2. Education: You should tell the interviewer about your educational qualifications and any relevant miscellaneous educational qualifications that you might have amassed.
3. Professional experience: Standard questions during a job interview are “tell me about your professional experience”. Depending on whether you are a novice or an experienced professional, you should share your previous job experiences. If you are a novice, then, you could tell anything that you think would be relevant for the job. You may provide a scope of your educational capabilities and strengths or any of your hobbies, etc.
4. What are Your weaknesses and strengths: One of the tricky interview questions that you might be asked is “tell me about your weaknesses and/or strengths”. Therefore, you should prepare for such questions. A common mistake is to take strength and present it as a weakness. You should be honest. You may share one-two of your weaknesses and the way you have (successfully) corrected or handled these weaknesses. On the other hand, do not boast your strengths. Tell about some of your strengths as having a positive impact on your professional capabilities.
5 tips for “Tell Me about Yourself” interview answers
Try to be as clear, precise and frank as possible. When interviewing and answering “tell me about yourself” questions, you should avoid common mistakes and stick to the facts as follows:
1. Keep the information crisp and relevant: One of the first things to remember is to keep the information crisp and relevant. Try to speak in short sentences and moreover, try to give them as much information as possible in the least amount of time. Here is a brief idea of what you would be saying, refer to: How to Describe Yourself in an Interview.
2. Do not repeat information from the CV: You should ascertain that none of the information that you provide about yourself is repeated or duplicated from your curriculum vitae. Therefore, even your curriculum vitae should only contain the necessary and relevant information, while all other miscellaneous information should be disclosed during the ‘tell me about yourself’ answers.
3. Fabricated or false information: Another important thing that you should remember is that you should not give any fabricated or false information while answering the Tell Me about Yourself Interview question. Background checks today have become very important and strict. Companies are known to sack people even after years of working, simply on the basis of some false information provided to them during the initial interview.
4. Irrelevant and unnecessary information: It is very important that no irrelevant and unnecessary information is given out during the question. The question seems to be quite simple, but it is actually one of those make or break questions, from which an interviewee can never recover and hence loses the job opportunity.
5. Facts and figures: While telling about yourself, be prepared to be asked further questions about any facts and figures that you have provided. For example, if you have said that you have a Bachelor’s degree, make sure that you carry a copy of the same. Any information given without the relevant proof may be deemed suspicious and ambiguous.
6. Do Not Tell them about: You should not disclose too much information . You might tell the interviewer that your hobby is fishing, but telling about your last fishing trip in which you missed a big fish would be too much information, unless the interviewer is a big fishing fan and actually goads you into telling the details. Also, you should not give them too much information about your family members. Of course, you would have to inform them about the number of family members that you have, and whether they work or not, and if yes, where, those kinds of details, but telling them anything apart from that is not suggested.
These are just some of the aspects of the crucial “tell me about yourself” interview questions.
You may be interested in reading the following articles:
Examples of Strengths and Weaknesses
What is your Greatest Achievement?
Why Should We Hire You?
How to Introduce Yourself in Interviews
And other important articles listed at the frequently asked questions category.
Or Return to – job interview questions and answers.
Did you find this useful? If so, please let others know.
2. Have you read any good books lately?
2. Have you read any good books lately? What’s on your bookshelf?
Posted by Sail R’s - Roz and Russ Worrall on May 19, 2011 at 5:18pm in Hang With Friends
Back to Hang With Friends Discussions
We don’t belong to any book clubs, but we do a considerable amount of reading or listening to audio books. Since we live on a 44 foot sailboat, we don’t have a lot of room, so we have just recently purchased a Kindle, and love it! I think though we need two of them as we are wrangling over who gets to use it next. We read a wide range of fiction and non-fiction, classics, mysteries, historical novels, thrillers, adventure, etc. Nothing is out of range.
So let’s talk books. Have we read some of the same? What would you recommend to read or stay away from?
Roz’s Legend (HR - have read, IP -in progress, R -resource/reference, NY - Not Yet)
Rating (*****Loved it!, ****Liked it, ***Ok, **Not so much, * Ugh)
Here are some books currently on our bookshelf:
Good without God by Greg Epstein, HR****
Godless by Dan Barker, HR*****
Don’t Believe Everything you Think by Thomas Kida, IP-***
The Atheist’s Bible - Joan Konner - HR, R****
Asimov’s Guide to the Bible, Isaac Asimove, IP, R ***
God Made Man (Kindle) - Barbara G. Walker, IP ****
On the fiction side:
Anna Karenina (Kindle) by Tolstoy, HR** (Just finished. Know it’s a classic, but geez it was slow for me to read. All of the people are so tortured, particularly the non-believers. I could have saves a lot of time by reading the summary on Wikapedia. What did you think?)
Devine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood (Kindle), HR, ****
The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo (Kindle), Stieg Larsson, IP. (Russ has read the whole series ***** and really enjoyed them)
One for the Money, etc…..by Janet Evanovich, HR, IP ***** I love these sassy, bounty hunter stories featuring Stephanie Plum. I started with number one and am on number 8. I just started reading them on Kindle. The characters are quirky. I love Grandma Mazur. She reminds me of Sophia on the Golden Girls. I love a book that makes me laugh aloud.
Other authors we really enjoy….Robin Cook, Michael Crichton, John LesCroart, John Grisham, Ken Follett (Pillars of the Earth HR***** and World without End HR *****), Jean Auel. I just got the last of the Jean Auel Earths Children books and am looking forward to reading it. I enjoyed “reading” - listening” to the others on audio. It will be a different experience reading this next one on the Kindle. Has anyone read this yet? We have several of these authors on audio books and listen together. It’s a great way to spend the evening while on night watch. Stephen King and Dean Koontz give us nightmares!
Your turn!
3. Why did you leave your last job?
3. How to Answer, “Why Did You Leave Your Last Job?”
Along with the questions about your previous experience and accomplishments, an interviewer might ask why you left your last job (or why you’d like to leave your current job). Whether you were laid off, bored, or looking for your next big challenge, the key is to be direct, polite and to focus on the future instead of the past.
One of the most important things to keep in mind is to avoid badmouthing your previous or current employer. Your boss might act like Michael Scott or you might feel overworked and underpaid—just don’t tell them that. Instead, say something like, “I did not feel I could be most productive in the culture at my previous company. I felt there were limited opportunities for growth.” By answering that the culture was not a good fit for your work style or you are seeking new opportunities for growth, you will show the interviewer you are actively seeking a role that is more suited for you, rather than bitterly or angrily leaving your job.
It might sound odd to cover up the truth and I’m not saying you should lie, just be diplomatic in your response. Telling the interviewer that your boss “is a micro-manager who nit-picks every detail of my projects” could make the interviewer question if your previous manager does that unnecessarily, or if he has to pay close attention to you because you make a lot of mistakes. Then that raises questions about how well you will perform in the role that’s open in their company and whether you will leave their company if you become busy. You don’t want questions about you like these in the head of the interviewer—especially as they compare you to other candidates.
To give you a few examples of how to answer this question, here are potential and very acceptable responses, whether you were laid off, fired or are leaving on your own.
Laid Off:
The company was cutting back on expenses, and unfortunately, my job was one of the 600 cut.
I was laid off along with my entire department due to company restructuring.
The company hired a new manager who “updated” my team, cutting out current employees to bring on members of her old team. I understand that was her right, and it has enabled me to open myself to new and better opportunities.
Fired:
Looking back, I realize that I made some bad choices and should have done things differently. I’ve taken this as learning experience so I can avoid those mistakes in the future. I hope I can have the opportunity to prove this to you.
My talents and competencies were not a good fit with the needs of my previous company, but they seem like a perfect match for the role you have open. Would you like to hear more about my experience in graphic design?
I was dealing with a number of personal problems that led me to disconnect from work, and ultimately led to my departure. I had the time to take care of these issues and am back, focused and ready to exceed your expectations.
Left:
I’m looking for opportunities with more responsibility and potential for advancement, where I can challenge myself and use my production skills in a different capacity.
I left my previous job when my spouse was transferred and am looking for an opportunity in our new area.
The hour and a half commute I was making each day at my previous employer was wearing me down. I would prefer to work closer to home.
Honestly, I wasn’t planning to leave, but I came across this opportunity which seems like an exciting challenge that exactly matches my skill set.
Have you been asked this question before? How have you answered it in an interview? Share your stories in the comments!
Read more on the Simply Hired Blog: http://blog.simplyhired.com/2011/02/how-to-answer-why-did-you-leave-your-last-job.html#ixzz1biFpH7l9
4. What have you done to improve your knowledge in the last year?
4. What have you done to improve your knowledge in the last year?
Answer tips
• Try to include improvement activities that relate to the job. A wide variety of activities can be mentioned as positive self-improvement. Have some good ones handy to mention.
• Employers look for applicants who are goal-oriented. Show a desire for continuous learning by listing hobbies non-work related. Regardless of what hobbies you choose to showcase, remember that the goal is to prove self-sufficiency, time management, and motivation.
Answer samples
• Every should learn from his mistake. I always try to consult my mistakes with my kith and kin especially with elderly and experienced person.
• I enrolled myself into a course useful for the next version of our current project. I attended seminars on personal development and managerial skills improvement.
Related docs:
• Free 103 common interview questions and answers.
• How to face 13 types of job interview questions.
Please leave your comments for http://interviewquestionsandanswers.biz at box below.
Thanks in advance!
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