Practice the imaginary conditional
pattern. It is a favorite type of question. Examples:
¡°If
you became president of IBM today, what would you do first?¡±
or: ¡°If you
were told to sell 1,000 computers in one day, what method would you use?¡±
Before
an interview, research the company thoroughly.
(The easiest
way to do this is search the company¡¯s web site.) Thorough research will provide
you with information to use as support of a point you want to make in your
interview, and will also help you to avoid making foolish mistakes.
¡°What
distinguishes IBM computers from others?¡±
¡°IBM
computers are for young people.¡±
A
couple weeks ago I discovered that personal computers are only a very small
fraction of the products and services that IBM provides; a couple days ago
I happened to look for a computer accessory on IBM¡¯s web site and found it
quite difficult in fact, impossible to locate the specific item. Both of
these discoveries would be very helpful in an interview.
Know
the industry that the company belongs to.
¡°If
you became president of IBM today, what would you do first?¡±
¡°IBM
should focus on personal computers for individuals.¡±
This
answer shows that the applicant knows nothing about the general computing
industry or the personal computers industry. A few days ago I heard on TV
that the market for personal computers is going to die out with the advent
of smaller computers dedicated to specific tasks.
When you encounter a very
general, vague question¡¦
If you answer
such a question generally and vaguely your answer will usually be unsatisfactory.
Try to make the question more specific by establishing a few parameters; either
ask for more specific details or use the imaginary conditional pattern to
define them yourself. (In the example here, the applicant has taken the initiative
to define parameters for the question. I have underlined terms that you can
use to specify.)
¡°What
do you think of IBM?¡±
¡°In
terms of whether I would buy an IBM product say, a personal computer
I think IBM is one of the best, if not the
best. IBM has a strong reputation of providing quality and helpful after-sales
support. In terms of whether I would buy stock in IBM, it is a good
investment because the management has its eye on the future and
because IBM has a management policy of aggressive participation in a lot of
other areas in the computer industry.¡±
If
you find that you have nothing more to say but you don¡¯t think that you have
answered the question satisfactorily¡¦
Don¡¯t
hem and haw. Don¡¯t show the interviewer that you are groping because you have
nothing substantial to say. If you are in the middle of an answer and don¡¯t
know what to do, stop, and then say something like, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t
have the details to give you a decent answer, and I don¡¯t want to waste your
time. That is all I have to say in answer to your question.¡± The interviewers
will appreciate your frankness and
the fact that you said something that other interviewees don¡¯t say.
An
unfair or ridiculous question
Sometimes
interviewers ask such questions with the sole purpose of seeing how an applicant
will react in an unexpected and difficult situation. One way out of this is
to point out that the question cannot be answered. Another way to answer is
to ask the interviewer to rephrase the question, and subtly point out that
the question cannot be answered as it was stated. If you do this politely
and respectfully, the interviewer will probably not be offended and will probably
appreciate your courage and frankness.
CAUTION:
However, you should carefully consider the personality of your interviewer,
because some interviewers might not
appreciate your rejection of the question. Another consideration: it might
not actually be an unfair or ridiculous question.
The
best general method of preparing for interviews is to research thoroughly
and get lots of practice in quickly considering ideas and then organizing
them. After researching, write up lots of possible questions, then get someone
who has been interviewed before to ask you the questions you made and give
you some additional questions.