Black Collegian Career Center

Tell me a little about yourself.

This is most often an attempt to put the candidate at ease and start the interview off on a more conversational note.  An open-ended question like this is a great opportunity to set the tone for the rest of the interview, but you need to be careful to stay focused and on track.  Don’t ramble on about things that are unrelated to the interview.  You may want to talk about why this position is ideally suited for your career goals.

What made you select this school (major)?

Again, this is an opportunity for you to offer a response that will present you as the ideal candidate for the job.  The decision-making process you used to choose your school or major tells volumes about your analytical skills.

What would you consider to be your major strength/weakness?

Be careful with this question.  Be thoughtful about responding to both your strengths and weaknesses.  Describe a strength that is in some way related to the position or your work style in general.  Always present any perceived weakness in a positive manner.  For instance, “I tend to have a difficult time saying “no”, and when I get too much on my plate, I can get a little stressed.  Recently, I’ve asked my roommate to help me monitor this and it’s working out fine.  I’m proud to say, I have been able to say “no” a lot lately.”

Why did you decide to interview with us?

This is your opportunity to show your stuff about how well you researched the company.  You should indicate what specifically about your research caused you to be interested in working for the company and in the industry.  This is a great chance to show how your career goals are related to working for the company.

Tell me about your best/worst work experience.

Again, this is an area where you will need to be careful and tactful.  You should always start off with the positive and only deal with a negative situation if pressed to do so.  If you do relate a negative situation, put a positive spin on it.  Here is an example of how you might answer that question:  “One summer, I was interning at a dot com that was targeted for acquisition. As a result, I ended up having three different supervisors during the course of the summer.  While it was a bit unsettling, I had a real dose of reality and learned to work with different supervisory styles and handle adversity.”

Tell me about a time when you had to use diplomacy to overcome a difficult situation.

This is a behavior-based question to determine our people and problem solving skills.  Be sure to state the situation clearly, then indicate what action you took to resolve the situation.  Be precise and be sure to state the results of your action.

Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

You will want to use this question to show the recruiter you want to advance within the company.  This is a good opportunity to show that you have some clear career goals and the goals are tied to helping the company with its mission.  Let them know that you plan to make a significant contribution to the company as you develop skills and experience.

Give me an example of a time you worked as part of a team.

The ability to work effectively with a team is considered very important to most organizations.  Try to offer a response where you have had to lead a team as well as contribute as a member of a team.  Important dynamics of a team such as negotiation and collaboration should be key elements of your response.

Describe your ideal work environment/supervisor.

Don’t blow this chance to be upfront and honest about what your expectations are for your work environment and/or supervisor.  If your research of the company was complete, you should be able to provide a response that will be consistent with the work environment and values of the company you are interviewing with.

A. Tariq Shakoor is the director of the Career Center at Emory University, Atlanta, GA..