Task 8 : Interviewing

List of 20 Questions That We Can Ask In an Interview

1. Telling about yourself. 
Asking about you is a way to break the ice at an interview and make you feel more comfortable. It's also a way for the interviewer to determine if you're a good fit for the job. 

2. What were your responsibilities?
Know what's on your resume, so you can discuss what you did at the other jobs you've held. When you're describing your responsibilities, try to mention those that match the new job's requirements.

3. What did you like or dislike about your previous job?        

What you liked and what you didn't like about your last job or the company you worked for is an indicator of how you might feel about this position if you were to be hired.

4. What were your starting and final levels of compensation?        

Hiring Managers will want to learn how much you earned to see if you're a competitive candidate for the company from a salary perspective. Be honest when discussing how much you were paid because employers can ask about salary when checking your background.

5. What major challenges and problems did you face? 

How did you handle them? With this question, the interviewer is trying to understand how you handle issues and problems. 

6. What is your greatest strength?
When answering questions about your strengths, focus on the abilities you have that are key to success in the job for which you're interviewing. Don't be too humble. It's important to make the hiring manager aware of your qualifications.

7. What is your greatest weakness?

8. How do you handle stress and pressure?        

What you do when work gets stressful? Do you stay calm under pressure? Or do you have a difficult time in stressful situations?

9. Describe a difficult work situation or project and how you overcome it. When you're responding to questions about what you did on the job, be prepared to share an actual example of a challenging situation at work, what the issue was, and how you helped resolve it.

10. What was the biggest accomplishment (failure) in this position?         

Let the hiring manager know what you achieved, again sharing examples from your most recent job.

11. How do you evaluate success?      Your answer to this question will give the interviewer a sense of your work ethic, your career goals, and your life goals. Tailor your response to fit what you expect to achieve if you were to be hired by this employer.

12. Why are you leaving or have left your job?         

There are many different reasons for leaving a job. You could be moving on because you want more opportunities for growth, you may be looking for a salary increase, perhaps you're relocating, or you have another reason you're leaving your job. Be consistent in your answer when meeting with representatives of a prospective employer, because they may compare notes.

13. Why do you want this job?           

Why did you apply for this position? What do you find most interesting about the job and the organization? With this question, the employer wants to know why you think this job is a match for your career objectives.

14. Why should we hire you?            

The best way to answer this question is to discuss what you can do for the company. What do you bring to the table? What will you achieve if you were to be hired? This is an opportunity to sell yourself to the hiring manager.

15. What are your goals for the future?

When you respond to questions about your future goals, it's a good idea to mesh your  objectives with what the company might offer as a career path. At the least, make sure your goals involve staying with this company for more than a short-term basis.

16. What are your salary requirements? 

Questions about salary can be tricky, especially if you don't know what the job pays. One approach to answering this question is to say you're flexible, based upon the entire compensation package including benefits.

17. Who was your best boss and who was the worst?          

This question is designed to discover what type of leadership and management style works best for you. 

18. What are you passionate about?          What's most important to you? What do you love doing? The answers to this question don't have to be all bout work. 

19. Questions about your supervisors and co-workers.          Did you get along with your manager? Have you worked with difficult colleagues? How you interact with supervisors and co-workers will provide the interviewer with insight into your interpersonal and communication skills.

20. Do you have any questions for us? 

The last question at a job interview is usually one about what you want to know about the job and the company. Be ready with a list of questions to ask.

Source: https://www.thebalance.com/top-job-interview-questions-and-answers-2061226

List of Illegal Questions

1. Do you have any physical or mental disabilities?

Why it’s illegal: The Americans with Disability Act (ADA) says it is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a qualified applicant or employee with a disability. Private employers with 15 or more employees, as well as state and local government employers, must abide by the ADA.

2. When are you planning to have children?

Why it’s illegal: Sex is a federally protected class, which means an employer cannot discriminate against a male or female job applicant. A hiring manager simply may have concerns about the applicant’s ability to perform the job duties (such as travel or work overtime), says Lisa Schmid, employment law attorney at Nilan Johnson Lewis. If that’s the case, the interviewer needs to ask the candidate directly about job-related responsibilities (e.g. “This job requires five days of travel per month. Do you have any restrictions that would prevent you from doing that?”).

3. Will you need time off for religious holidays?”

Why it’s illegal: Religious discrimination is prohibited, so employers are barred from basing hiring decisions on a person’s religious beliefs, observances, or practices.

4. What country are you from, or what is your nationally?

Why it’s illegal: National origin is a federally protected class. Consequently, employers cannot base hiring decisions on whether an applicant is from a different country or of a specific ethnicity.

5. How often are you deployed for Army Reserve training?

Why it’s illegal: Because military status is a federally protected class, companies cannot make employment decisions based on a job candidate’s past, current, or future military membership or service.

Similar off-limit questions:

1.Will you be deployed any time soon?

2.What type of discharge did you receive from the military?

If you happen to be in a situation where an interviewer asks you an illegal question, how you respond is entirely based on your comfort level. You could simply state, “That doesn’t affect my ability to perform the duties of this job,” and leave it at that. Or, if you feel the potential employer has crossed a line, you have every right to end the interview and leave. Granted, this is a difficult thing to do if you really want or need the job, but on the flipside, would you really want to work for someone who indicates a bias?