Interview: How I Answer Basic Questions

Summary
I've been on a handful of interviews (less than 10). I think I have been pretty successful in that I have been offered the job to a majority of my interviews (declining a couple). I've been on the other side only a few times. Below are some random thoughts on certain basic questions. Sorry about the flow of information. I may clean this more in the future.

Advice
Before getting to the questions, I just wanted to state some general advice for all questions. Stay calm, speak slowly. Practice not filling in the pauses with uh, um, eh, or other non-constructive words. It is ok to take a moment in silence to construct your response. These simple practices will help you more on presentation of yourself with more confidence.

Do not be disappointed if you do not get an offer. There are many factors besides your responses like sudden hiring freeze (a friend's group hired a candidate, sent an offer, the candidate had quit, then the department enacted an immediate hiring freeze which denied the candidate).

Most importantly, learn from your interviews. Which questions did you stumble on? How can you improve on the questions? Why did the interviewer ask the question? If you believe you have lost any hope, practice some other responses but still be respectful to the interviewer.

I had a head-hunter (who thought it was an Application Development position) set me up for a DB programming position which I did not have any interest, so I knew pretty early in the interview that this was not really for me. I had explained my concerns to the interviewer which he kindly explained that I could still qualify so I spent the remainder of the interviewer how I could contribute in other ways. Unfortunately, I still did not like the position so saved the interviewer some time by saying that I still was not interested. But I found (also from other interviews) how interviewers seem to have a more positive outlook if I took more control over the interview. By control, I do not mean speaking all the time. In an odd way, it becomes more than me volunteering the basic information but interviewing the employer why I should choose them.

Examples

• Tell me about yourself?
• This is primarily an ice-breaker
• Take this chance to find what type of person the interviewer is to determine how to answer the interview questions
• If laid-back, then you have more freedom to focus on anything important to you like your strengths or more information about the company
• If process-oriented, try not to go out of process and answer questions more directly
• If inexperienced interviewer from HR, do not spend a lot of time in details of your expertise
• If someone that you may work with if hired, go into more detail
• If the interviewer shares a story, try to tie in the story with your answers (but do not overdo it)
• Make sure to prepare items that you want to highlight about yourself
• Do not bring up any negative aspects.
• I have always enjoyed programming since high school. I studied electrical engineering to better understand the electronics behind programming, specializing in computer engineering. I also ended up with a Computer Science minor. I developed software primarily for both Application and Web development in C# and .NET for several years. I worked mostly with small-sized companies so I have a wide range of experience in the different SDLC process. I later completed my masters in Software Engineering with a thesis on Software Traceability to improve Software Documentation. Finally and for the first time a non-development role, I now do software release management which I find to be very fascinating.
• Why did you leave your last job?
• Use your discretion. The interviewers are primarily testing to see if you did something terribly wrong. On a lesser level, they are also trying to learn how you perceive your coworkers.
• Avoid any personal reasons. Examples (potential alternatives):
• I hated my boss (We did not agree on certain topics. [Provide constructive example]"
• Boss was stupid (See above)
• Could not stand coworker (See above)
• Passed on a promotion (See above)
• I did not enjoy the work (The work was not challenging. The work did not use all my potential.)
• Bored (See above)
• No money [Choose a different reason. No alternative]
• Other generic responses:
• Looking for new opportunities
• Closer to home (if true)
• Better hours (if true, but may also hurt your chances)
• (Unfortunately, I cannot share my answer publicly on this question... but for the previous job for example-sake)
• I had moved back into the area to help my family and found the job conveniently nearby. Eventually, I no longer needed to stay and there was no new job opportunities within the company. I applied for graduate school but the company did not allow part-time work so I put in a month notice basically the time I got the acceptance letter and start of class.
• What kind of salary are you looking for?
• This is just a filter question. There really is no way to spin your answer for further consideration if you are looking for something outside the employer's range. A good HR person may consider if you are worth your price, but they will almost always not offer if you are beyond their price range.
• There are a lot of opinions on this from salary range, a specific amount, and avoiding this question. I think this really depends on your situation. Ways to avoid is by saying it depends on what the responsibilities are, benefits, urgency of hire, etc.
• I have no range in mind, please make an offer if you are interested.
• I am employed, single, no family, can easily move, wide range of relevant experience, no debt, healthy, and not planning to retire early but looking for a place where my talent can be used.  
• Just an example if I was looking, I am currently happy where I am at although suburb life is quite boring. Although at the rate that I am at... it may be possible for someone to buy me away *nudge nudge* LOL
• http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20131217070749-52594-how-to-answer-the-question-what-was-your-last-salary?trk=tod-home-art-list-large_0
• How do you respond to the change in workplace?
• Provide an example if possible.
• There is always change. I try to take as much notes if time permits. For me it is important to have as much formal information as possible because many future problems come such changes especially tasks related to audit trails. Most changes are forward-looking but unfortunately audits are backward-looking. Rarely do any of the companies I worked for could actually do a backward trace on tickets.
• I've always wondered how they prove something like this. What prevents someone from just using this type of story.
• Do you like to work independently?
• Be truthful but make sure to add how you still are capable to work the other option.
• I enjoy working in teams and independently. Even independently, I am usually aware of the company direction (if one exists) and try to align the two goals together. Even without a goal, I always find things to do or resourceful to find the information needed. I rarely need to be micro-managed. 
• What do you know about our organization?
• Be truthful even if you do not know. You should do some research although I have been in interviews where head hunters just dropped me in so there is no way I would know. If you had notice, be prepared to lose some points if you did not research. Pretending to know will lose you more points.
• For IT, the question is more an ice-breaker. I did not know any of the companies I worked for prior to the interview. I researched online but rarely does it tie in with the position. One exception would be if the position is at a software firm and I was to work on that platform, then maybe a decent response would be helpful.
• What has been your biggest professional disappointment?
• This should not be difficult but make sure you choose one where it has driven you to better success.
• I was laid-off because I was made to be the scapegoat of an unpopular project that changed multiple hands and should have been completed before I started.
• Bad answer
• I was unable to fully promote a very unpopular software implementation within the entire organization. This has helped me reflect on many parts of project management and people management. This experience has helped me greatly with my current employment in handling difficult people.
• Tell me about the most fun you have had on the job.
• Make sure this is business related. This should not be a party unless it has business relevance like team building.
• The most fun I've had on the job was working on New Year's eve with coworkers to update software for the new year. Ordered pizza, watched a move, then worked on several clients into the new year. A yearly event that created a bond with coworkers that I still keep in touch with.
• On an individual level, I always enjoy creating tools or processes that assist my work. For example, I created an content management tool so that I didn't have to make updates to the website, enterprise platform, and other applications. This later became more useful when we needed new modules to a manufacturing platform which would have cost the company over $30k.
• How do you manage stress at your workplace?
• If possible, provide an example where your stress was tested. If more than one, choose one that will help with your career.
• I am rarely stressed in as a mental state. When I do have one, they are more like puzzles to be solved. Most of my stress comes more from time constraints. I think because I am capable of getting things done, I always seem to end up with tasks that no one else can do and also needs to be done immediately. I used to stress that there was not enough time in the day to fix them all. Today, I now know how to manage myself and people around me.
• Note-taking
• What plans do you have for improving your qualifications?
• I haven't had this question but you should always be thinking about this for your career.
• I am trying to find time to further the thesis I wrote for my graduate program.
• Have you ever been asked to leave a position?
• If yes, you should always have this explanation prepared.
• Yes, there were some fundamental differences between myself and the management team. I wanted to share our department information so that we can be more streamlined with the other departments. I helped promote Confluence, a free wiki solution, to help publish work completed and documentation. Management wanted to control the information so that they can manage other departments more easily. After I left, two others have also left. One of the two was the main promoter of Confluence. Now, they have implemented Confluence and replaced with more people to handle the same workload. 
• I haven't, so I just made up a story.
• What are your main achievements when you were working in your previous position?
• If more than one, choose one that strengthens where you want your career to go (which may not necessarily be your strength).
• I assisted a client with their logistics solution that they specifically requested a support contract for me to be their primary support architect for $50k which most contracts were around $2k and $10k was a big client. 
• If you had enough money to retire right now, would you?
• Yes seems like a terrible answer but be prepared to why you wouldn't. "I like to stay busy." "I enjoy being around people."
• No, I enjoy creating solutions to problems. And if there were no problems in the world, I'd like to be teacher.
• Why are you interested in this position?
• I haven't had this question. I cannot see how this is a useful question except to see if you know what the job is. A generic response would be that I am looking for new opportunities or looking for new skills and experience.
• Generic responses:
• My experience will help you in different ways, while I can learn your methods.
• I enjoy working in a team. I worked by myself in my old job.
• Or vice versa
• I am looking for an environment where I can work more effectively, and I think I can accomplish that with your resources in A, B, and C.
• Generic bad responses:
• More pay
• Less hours
• Less work
• How do you approach the problem when a customer calls you and says they cannot access the database?
•  This really depends on what type of job. Try to keep your answer in a decently ordered process like ask preliminary questions then depending. How is this a basic question?
• Posts with related questions:
• How many quarters would you need to reach the height of the Empire State building?
• How would you direct someone else on how to cook an omelet?
• How many cows are in Canada?
• What qualifications and experience do you have that make you feel that you could do this job successfully?
• Review the prerequisites for the position and cross-reference with your experience and qualifications.
• What are your strong points? Weak points?
• Spin the weak points into strong points. Generic ones are "work too hard," "too focused," etc. Better ones are real weak points added with how you deal with them. For example, I have poor memory, so I take a lot of notes. (see my post on note-taking)
• This question also becomes easier as you have more work experience. You will soon realize where you are valued and where you are not as good at.
• I am weak at flash recalling details especially details that were discussed months ago. But once I recall (usually with a few reminder keywords), I usually recall more details than most others. This is the primary reason I started taking notes.
• http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130709020109-52594-answering-the-question-what-s-your-greatest-weakness
• Do you prefer working with others or by yourself?
• You should be truthful with this or related to the position. There is a similar question above if you enjoy working independently. 
• What is your ultimate career goal? What are you doing to achieve that goal?
•  This should be business related.
• My ultimate career goal is to be at a place where I can work effectively with a team of people to produce a solution to a problem greater than what a single person can solve. Experience has shown that I work well in a lead or management role where I am trying to get my team to work as independently as possible. Similar to one of my life goals in trying to be lazy where I will do everything I can to eventually do nothing knowing that I will never reach that goal but yet somehow motivating in itself.
• What personality traits do you most admire in a person? Why?
• I have not been asked this before but I find it an interesting question. 
• Perseverance and vision. In all areas of life, I always found it odd that basically all children have these two traits yet seem very lacking in adults. And the adults that do, they appear very effective and happy in whatever they do and wherever they are.
• How would you describe the perfect job? What would be characteristic of such a position?
• Use your discretion. Make sure it has business relevance. Avoid saying "Casual attire because it is comfortable." A better option would be "Casual attire because it encourages free thinking." I would still avoid that unless you have good evidence of such statements. Although personally, semi-formal should be the minimum in my opinion for most working environments.
• Same as "What is your ultimate career goal" for me.
• What do you think determines a person’s progress in a good organization?
• I have not been asked this before. I am also not sure what the question is asking.
• I'd ask what they mean by progress and by good organization. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that determining a person's progress is difficult to define. Because everyone's collection of skills are typically very unique, certain groups of people work differently together. By this it would seem that the group's result would then determine the person's progress, but this would not identify a slacker. Thus I can only answer in general that a person's progress would be how well the person fits into the company.
• What have you learned from some of the jobs you have held? Any important lessons?
• This should be an easy question to answer. Be prepared to keep the lesson relevant to the job prospect. Choose a lesson better reflects your strengths.
• Confidence. The most important lesson from any task or job is to always have experience. To get the most experience, you need to learn. The best way to learn is to reach out, ask questions, or try things out. At the end of the day, you realize people will accept small mistakes and if you are lucky will have more respect for you as long as you learn from it.  
• What have you done which shows initiative and willingness to work?
• This is a straight-forward question. If you don't have one, you should try to find something of the sort. Volunteering work is a good place to start if you cannot find something at work. Start a new process; document a process if one does not exist; organize a get-together with coworkers; coordinate an event.
• I have started many small projects to improve the way I work. I've created a CMS solution and other modules to improve manufacturing processes. I've set new process to help the team implement new solutions more easily and more supportable. I watch out for my colleagues and help them grow into the position. Turnover at a company was about 2 weeks to 3 months. The group I trained stayed for several years. 
• Finally towards the end they normally would ask “Do you have any questions”?
• You should prepare a bunch of questions. After some experience, this question becomes easier because you have a better what you are looking for. This is your opportunity to interview your interviewer to find out if the company is a good fit for you.
• "How many people would I report to?" "What is the turnover?" "Why is this position open?" "Who do you report to?" "What is the experience of my supervisor/manager/boss?" "Who would I be working with?"

Reference:
Most Common Questions 2013 (Thanks to Thiep)
http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/10-ways-you-should-never-describe-yourself.html

Work Life: Working with a Difficult Person (Take 6 of infinite)

No matter where I work or which client's I go to, there always seem to be a difficult person we have to deal with. There are all sorts of difficult people, so I do not have a simple method on how to deal with each different kind. What I have learned is that covering their short-comings by doing their work is not a good long-term solution. Instead, I focused on how I can change myself more effectively.

The more I covered for other people, the more management thinks that things are going well even if I have reported such pain-points. This has two outcomes. They do not hire more people thus leaving the rest of us stressed. With smaller companies, this slowed growth. The other is that they continue to hire other poor options which compounds the original problem. The pain-point is even more difficult when your boss is also a difficult person because a lot of time is spent to explain things on their behalf.

At some point, I realized that I have put myself into the cruel cycle. So, I started to refocus on my responsibilities and started to delegate work properly. Unfortunately, I had to learn to put up with management complaints that things are not getting done, starting saying no, and leaving things tasks alone not within my responsibilities. Because of these changes, I began to be manage my work better and manage my bosses better.

One key change was the way I kept my notes. My notes began to be more prioritized with tasks and amount of time spent on these tasks. The reason is because I had to start saying no to requests. I do this by explaining the tasks I had to do. Most times the requester will realize that their request is not a high priority. With bosses, they may re-prioritize my work. The other is to have my list of responsibilities at hand. Although odd why my boss wouldn't know what those are, the list has been very useful. I had to be prepared to explain why I should not be a candidate for the task. By having the list available, I am prepared if someone tries to reword what they are. Lastly, I also keep a list of tasks that were not part of my responsibilities. This list is when managers from other departments or higher up the ladder complains about the lack of attention. This helps my bosses have the needed information to explain why certain tasks are delayed. In most cases, this information will also discover process gaps with other groups.

Sadly, this does not quite get things done quickly nor does this change difficult people. This change focuses on redirecting attention to other people (hopefully, the proper resources). I have tried many other strategies but none seems to impact anyone. I have found that difficult people cannot be easily removed from the team because there is a reason they are there so is not worth pursuing like tracking what they do or do not do.

Although these practices are a bit political, it is still important to connect with other good people. This helps in many levels in that they will also be more willing to assist me [I was surprised on how many "processes" have been created just to avoid certain people]. Good employees are hard to come by but people recognize them. They may be future people you want to hire when you have such opportunity or need recommendations.
On top of all that, discretion is still required. Because I trust my bosses and I have always wanted to be a good proponent to the team, I am not afraid to push-back and make my statements. But I still keep a contingency for each time I push-back. I am always prepared to be looking for new work. My current team is the best thus far in my career, so there may be some leniency in the extra work. If my employment was important to me, I may do more of the extra work. If I had more control or a clear vision that my extra work will help the group grow, I will also do extra work. Until then, I will do what I am hired to do because it is currently the best for the team with an eye out for any changes in management.

Related Links:
Difficult person who doesn't live up to their potential - Star Trek (TNG) - Hollow Pursuits
- Started watching TNG. This episode inspired this post.

Work Life: Note taking (Take 5 of infinite)

If there was one-skill in the professional world that all workers should have, that skill would be note-taking. It is a skill that practically everyone is capable of doing and helps you live to your potential. It also has additional benefits in the workplace.

Note-taking gives a good first impression to other people. It shows that you are attentive so you keep yourself on their good side. If it is from an virtual meeting, you can "share" your notes with your supervisor, your immediate team, or other people. Although most people won't read it, they will mentally note that you were attentive.

Although I like to share my information with the team, you can also choose to keep your notes private. Personally, I do not like these types of people but the practice has its uses. There are plenty of opportunities that arises where someone needs historical information. If this request is coming from a higher level management, this opportunity could be even more "profitable" for you if you have that information. Even just a reference information like a date or key topic would be beneficial to your status. This practice prevents your managers from taking credit for your work.

Another common activity is the blame-game. Typically, the finger pointing ends up at a low ranking employee. Taking notes could help prevent this activity especially if the other party does not have notes. Even better is if you share the notes or if the notes were in a formal document (i.e. work email, memo, etc.), there is little anyone can refute... unless you actually did make the mistake.

I own up to my mistake and note-taking also helps in that too. Now, I do not have to stress over the blame that I am not responsible for. Second, my notes help define why the mistake happen (note: this does not work very well if you are slacking although possible). Once the mistake is identified, the problem can be corrected if possible. Of course, there are some mistakes that cannot be fully corrected like forgetting to do a task which can be mitigated in other ways that I will not cover here. With this, I command more respect from my coworkers.

Besides the corporate politics, there are also many personal benefits. The more information you know, the easier it is to remember new information. For example, it is easier to remember one new name than two new names. When I invite a new person to our team, remembering the new person's name is easier than the new person remember all of the names in the team. Likewise, I can remember more names if the names are familiar names like Bob, John, or Mary. But names like Vera, Anjie, or Cui will be more difficult. Once I become familiar with the new names, recalling another Vera, Anjie, or Cui will also be easier.

Basically by note-taking and reviewing the notes occasionally, I also indirectly reiterate other information that I have collected. Even when I skim through the notes for a particular information, I reinforce other older information that I came across before. This not only helps me remember the information, this also helps me find the information that I need because I start to remember where information is in my notes. Back to one of the points above, I can now provide information on the spot which is even better than getting back to the person later.

Today, there is nothing particularly wrong with not taking notes because almost no one does. Also, this does not help you against naturally talented people. But good, hard-working people are still hard to come by. Anyone with experience even for the naturally talented people will try to keep you in your team. In the grander scheme (in my opinion), it is more satisfying that I meet my potential than having a higher undeserved status. For example, I want to be promoted because my vision and management skills are greater than my team. At the same time, I have absolutely no problem working under a manager that has a grander vision and better management skills.

The reason that I started was because I was tired of getting blamed or having my team blamed (usually the latter). The team could be my immediate group, the department, or even our company. Customers and clients will try to always blame the vendor because it is most cost effective for the vendor to defend valid and invalid claims. My clients rarely did this because I would often turn around with an email where we discussed that particular term. In many cases, they complained less and more willing to accept our quotes. I even had a client who initiated an offer to my employer just to have me as their primary contact for $30k/year which I barely spent a tenth of my time on. Most clients were around $2k/year, and I've heard they eventually dropped the contract and later changed vendors after I've left that company.

Sorry for the above inflation of my ego but I thought showed the value of having and tracking information. The other reason for taking notes was that I thought my memory was below par, but overtime I found that I just know different kinds of information than most. I find that I retain broader information better than refined information. For example, I can remember processes like SDLC but have difficulty on recalling the last time I watched a movie.

At first, taking notes seemed very tedious. I had to consciously remember to bring a pad and pen then remember to actually take notes. After a certain point, this just becomes second nature. The next difficult part was catching all the information. I like my notes to be complete so this was a personal irritation. Eventually, I found that some information is better than none. It was important though that I noted that the information is not complete (or assume information is not complete in which case mark that information is complete). One reason is that I started to notice that we discuss many of the same topics. Sometimes with different teams so it needs to be iterated. So, I slowly compiled a completed list over several meetings. If not and the information seemed important enough, I will ask a coworker, my boss, or the person who provided the information. I found this to be a great way to create a good friendly relationship too.

Over time, I have found it easier to take notes because I did not have to write everything down because I already knew the topic and already had it in my notes. This then gave me more time to note the things I did not know. So back to the store on remembering names, remember information also became easier as I continued to take notes. 

Oftentimes, people discuss the same topics every other day or every week. We never seem to make any progress because we use the entire time just reiterating the same things we discuss the previous time. I have used my notes to direct meetings to better results by having the information we had from the previous meeting. Also as a result of when I host meetings, my meetings run much smoother and shorter. For example, my current group has a rotation so each of us hosts a meeting every cycle. One of those meetings, I cover in 10-15 minutes while everyone else runs over 30 minutes. The second meeting, I cover within 45 minutes while everyone else does not even complete the list within the allotted 60 minutes.

A phrase that one of my boss uses is, "we need to drive the behavior, not the process." Although we still use process to drive the behavior, the meaning resonates with me where the focus should be that we change why they do it rather than how they do it. What I have noticed is that more people join my meetings and more people are prepared for my meetings. So not only do I save them time, they save me time.

I do still run into some difficulties with taking notes. I have not put much thought into it yet, but I am currently running into the problem that I cannot recall things as quickly as I used to or that I completed missed some information. My current guess is that I am being overloaded. I have much more responsibilities than my coworkers and suddenly was given many new tasks. Although I am coping, the quality is not as good as it was before the changes.

I am not exactly sure why people do not take notes. I think it is because practically no one takes notes so everyone has become "lazy" because the corporate ladder scheme remains the same if everyone takes notes compared to no one takes notes. Especially in the corporate world (as opposed to small/medium sized companies), employees have other priorities outside the workplace like family, friends, etc. Thus, changing behavior causes disruptions that they do not care for because the status quo is sufficient.

Whatever the reason may be, I found that taking notes really helped me personally and professionally. There is probably a saturation point to the amount of notes to take, but I have benefited a lot even just for taking down some information. There are other skills that I have adopted to review and organize my notes which I think are tailored to the way I think so I did not think it was appropriate for this blog. I think this is useful for any profession particularly ones that have audits at any level and jobs that you are constantly being blamed for.