Interview Question Responses: Frequently Asked Questions

A. No. You cannot pick any interview questions. You must answer the six specific interview questions below:

• What makes you think you’re qualified for this position at this company?
• Tell me about a time that you had a lot of work to do in a short time. How did you manage the situation?
• Describe a work or school situation where you had to interact with an irate person (customer, supervisor, group member) and describe how you handled it.
• Why are you interested in this position at this company/organization?
• What is your greatest weakness?
• How has college prepared you for this career?

(These questions are written on the Job Search Portfolio project outline page and on the Job Interviews & STAR Method page.)

A. First, you CANNOT respond by saying “I’ve never dealt with an irate person.” That is not a good response.

Second, whenever you can’t really answer the question you’re asked, just answer a slightly different question. Just make sure to be clear that you’re shifting the question before your answer.

So, if you’ve never dealt with an irate person, perhaps you could describe how you handled a situation with a difficult person, or a frustrated person. Your response might start like this: While I’ve never dealt with an irate person, a few months ago, my manager asked me to respond to one of our most difficult clients… [ …rest of the response ]

Some other shifted-answer response examples:

Interviewer: Tell me about a time when a supervisor criticized you unfairly. How did you respond?

Interviewee (who hasn’t had any formal jobs, and so, no supervisors): A few semesters ago, one of my Computer Science professors gave me some criticism I felt was unfair… [ …rest of the response ]

Or, another example:

Interviewer: Tell me about a time when you missed an important deadline. How did you handle it?

Interviewee (who can’t recall a time they’ve ever missed a deadline): I can’t recall a time I’ve ever missed a deadline, but at my last job, there was a time where a misunderstanding caused me to deliver a product that wasn’t what the client asked for… [ …rest of the response ]

A. No. There are six specific questions you must answer.

The six specific questions you must answer on the Job Search Portfolio project outline page and on the Job Interviews & STAR Method page. For your convenience, I’m copying the six questions below:

• What makes you think you’re qualified for this position at this company?
• Tell me about a time that you had a lot of work to do in a short time. How did you manage the situation?
• Describe a work or school situation where you had to interact with an irate person (customer, supervisor, group member) and describe how you handled it.
• Why are you interested in this position at this company/organization?
• What is your greatest weakness?
• How has college prepared you for this career?

A. As it says in the yellow box at the top of the Job Interviews & STAR Method page (under the second heading, “JSP Project Specific Guidelines”), “responses should be between 100-300 words.” I won’t actually be counting your words, though—100–300 is just a general guideline. I won’t take points off if you go over by a few words.

Also, In general, you should write using the tenets of good professional writing—clarity, correctness, conciseness—and frequent paragraph breaks.

While your written interview responses may be less polished and less edited than, say, your cover letter, be sure that you’re writing is clear, easily read and easily understood, and proofread for obvious spelling, grammar, and typographical errors. (Need editing tools? See my list here—I personally recommend Slick Write, Expresso, and the Hemingway Editor.)