Job Interview Tips - Responding to Inappropriate Questions

Believe it or not, there are state, federal and local laws that dictate what employers can and cannot ask in an interview. There are certain topics that are off-limits because they're not applicable to the job that you're seeking. However, some employers just don't get it or aren't aware of the rules regarding inappropriate questions in a job interview. However, there are many different things that they cannot ask, and if they do, you don't have to answer. You might think that full disclosure is best because then you appear to have nothing to hide. The reality of the situation is that if you don't want to answer a question, you don't have to when it is inappropriate.

Questions about your home life, your personal life or anything that is outside of the workplace or irrelevant to your abilities on the job are all off-limits. Some companies don't know any better, have poorly trained interviewing staff or HR departments, or are just ignorant in not knowing that these are questions that they cannot ask. Some, too, will knowingly defy the law just to see how you respond because very few people are actually aware that there are laws preventing certain topics from being discussed. If you simply deny an answer to an inappropriate question, the odds are good that you can kiss that job goodbye. Therefore, if you want the job, you can respond in a few ways.

Make sure that you fully understand the question. When you choose to answer it, make sure that you give the 'right' answer, or one that doesn't affect your current image up to this point. If you really don't want to answer, consider asking them how the question affects their job performance, in a non-confrontational manner. They'll likely either realize they asked the wrong question, or they'll explain why they ask it, allowing you to have a better idea of how to answer it. Some companies like to ask about stability in personal lives because it can directly influence stability at work in many cases.

It's your call when it comes to answering these questions. No one can tell you that you have to answer them, or how to answer them. However, you should try and figure out exactly what they're looking for, and then address that issue directly. Ultimately, if you don't feel like the interviewer has a right to ask certain questions, just apologize and tell them that you don't see the relevance of that particular question in regards to your ability to do the job. Always trust your gut, even if it costs you the job. That's probably someone you didn't want to work for, anyway.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Job Interview Tips to Be Successful During Any Interview

Building your confidence for a successful job interview. These interview tips will help you achieve your goal of mastering the interview, and to use any known techniques more effectively. If you want to be perceived as confident then you must act the part, by mimicking successful people you will have no problem in winning over any employee. But first, you must know what confidence is.

Grab a Pen and a piece of paper

• Describe what is important to your about been confident
• Describe some common elements of been confident
• Describe someone in real life who shows confident traits
• Describe that person day to day actions
• Say what you currently do that is similar
• Define how your behaviors differ
• Identify what you have to do to copy there behaviors
• List the benefits of having confidence
By knowing your weaknesses you can begin to work out ways of improving them, by looking at a successful person and mimic them.

In today's high speed world it is simply not good enough to be good at what you do. You have to be seen as good. Evaluate what your doing well, and where there is room for improvement. Maybe have a look at your behaviors and see what impact it has. Be AWARE of YOURSELF and your ACTIONS to make any changes in your life as some behaviors can have negative impacts on you. In most cases, most people are not aware they are doing these negative behaviors.

TIP: If your jacket button is undone; this suggests that your open to suggestiveness, if your jacket is buttoned up, you are showing that you have a closed point of view.

What if you could know what the other person is thinking? Would you be able to anticipate actions to make a good impression?. Reading body language is like reading a very big story of somebodies life. One word simply does not tell us the entire story and neither does one gesture. In order to read body language you need to consider three gestures from the list below.

• Facial expressions
• Posture
• Arm position
• Hand gestures
• Foot placement
• Stance

Facial expressions
• Arrogance; can be conveyed by the head tilting and the jaw thrust
• A forward tilting head indicates a critical attitude.
• The head cradle provides comfort and security and shows a sign of
dominance.
• The sideways glance shows interest (look out for this on the way out of the interview room)
• The sideways glance away from you can indicate a lack of trust (look out for this on the way out of the interview room)
• Dipping eye shows innocence

By seeing three of these gestures, you can safely be aware that the potential employee likes you.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

Interview Tips - Interviews Are a Two-Way Street

I recently looked up the definition of "job interview" online and here's what I found:

Dictionary.com said "an interview to determine whether an applicant is suitable for a position of employment";

Wikipedia defined it as "a process in which a potential employee is evaluated by an employer for prospective employment in their company, organization, or firm. During this process, the employer hopes to determine whether or not the applicant is suitable for the job."

Various other sources reaffirmed the notion that interviews are to assess candidates, suggesting the control of the process lay solely with the hiring company. This isn't really the case though, as it's as much an opportunity for candidates to assess the suitability of the position on offer. When job-seekers enter each interview with the mentality that their only responsibility is to prove their worth to the employer, they set themselves up for failure.

If you're interviewing this summer for internships or graduate positions, ensure you are forthright in your questions so the interview flows more like a natural conversation rather than an examination. If you get to the end of an interview and you're asked "So do you have any questions for me?", then you've left your run too late to ascertain the intricacies of the position. Most people would use this as an opportunity to find out more about the qualities the successful candidate should possess, and other necessary details of the position. However if you were to discover the answers to such questions earlier in the interview, you can tailor your responses to suit the requirements. Why wait until the end?

An interview should be a two-way street and thrive on engagement. In fact any meeting of people in any context succeeds only when all parties are actively communicating. Have you ever been on a date where the other person is just nodding and listening to what you say with nothing interesting to contribute to the conversation? Perhaps you might have taught a creative writing course to primary school students that never contributed to the discussion. An interview is a similar situation and asking questions throughout not only shows a keen interest in the role but demonstrates your interpersonal skills.

Here are a list of some questions you might want to consider asking in your interview. Try and segue into them also; avoid randomly dropping them in when it's inappropriate:

* What are some of the challenges associated with this position?
* How would you describe the ideal candidate for this position? What qualities should they possess?
* How do you assess if I'm doing a good job? Are there any specific appraisal metrics?
* What is the likely career progression for this position within your company?
* How would you describe the organisational culture?

I think it's of benefit to ask suitable questions that arouse a personal response from the hiring manager also. It shows you're interested in not only the job on offer but the people behind the company and their bigger picture. Here's an example:

* What do you enjoy most about working for this company? (In my previous company everyone on the interview panel was taken aback when asked this by one of the candidates. I recall us going around the room and answering it one by one, and it seemed obvious that we were all in tune with each other. We later offered the said candidate a position and he was swayed not by the job itself, but rather the people he was going to work with.)
* If you could change anything about the company, what would it be? (Some might think this is controversial [perhaps more so in Asia], but I think it's relevant and shows you have the cojones to ask what most others are afraid to. After all there are aspects of any job you aren't going to like - The Pope would probably hate responding to criticism against the Catholic Church in the media, Michael Phelps probably wishes he was in bed sleeping rather than doing laps on many an occasion, and I as a start-up founder hate doing administrative duties. These things just have to be done though!

If the interview has progressed successfully based on a healthy dialogue, then it should culminate to the interviewer asking you "So do you have any OTHER questions for me?". This is a timely opportunity to pose some wrap-up questions if they haven't been answered previously:

* Based on the screening process so far, do I possess the competencies required to excel in this role?
* Are there any qualities you feel I need to improve on in order to be successful in this role?
* Is there anything further you would like to know about me to assess my suitability for this role?
* What is the process going forward? When will candidates be notified of the outcome?

There are so many other intelligent questions that candidates can pose in interviews, that creating a definitive list would be impossible. The crux of the questioning should be to respond in a manner that illustrates you're the best person for the job.

If you found these tips useful then feel free to share them with friends and others in your network that are seeking work.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/

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