1. why do you want to work here?
• What the organisation actually does – the product/service it provides and what interests you about it.
• The organisation’s culture – what it’s really like to work there.
• The organisation’s recent successes and the challenges they face.
• The philosophy and mission behind the organisation.
• The training and development they offer.
2. Tell me about yourself
A brief summary of your childhood
· Your dislike of your current boss and your desire to get a new job ASAP
· The details of your current divorce proceedings
· Your passionate religious and political beliefs
· The fact that you’re probably moving in six months and are just look for a temporary job.
3. Why do you want this job?
I believe the position is well matching with my current job profile. You can also cite the accomplishments you have made in your job that have direct bearing on the job description mentioned. Tell your prospective employer about what you can do to increase the profitability.
Providing you have done your research on the company and the specific role you are applying for, it seems reasonable to say that you want this position because you are confident the skills and experience you can bring to this role will enable you to excel in this position to our mutual benefit.
4. How would your team/manager describe you?
- She would describe me as a person who leaves no loose ends. I have often been complemented on my attention to detail.
- My former supervisor would say that I work well as a part of a team, as well as being motivated on my own. At that particular company, it was important to be able to keep all the team members informed, as we worked collaboratively on many sales. It was an interesting environment, and I found it enjoyable and challenging.
5. What is your biggest achievement?
When you are applying for a retail or customer service job a typical interview question is “What has been your greatest accomplishment?” It’s important to relate what you’ve accomplished to the position you’re applying for.
example:
- One day at my last position, a young girl came in with her mother looking for a prom dress. She was a little heavy, and very self conscious. There was a lot of tension between them, trying to choose something that would be flattering. I was able to help them find a perfect dress, and the accessories to go with it, and they were both just beaming when they left.
6. What have you done to promote great customer service?
Firstly, know what you think great customer service looks like. Look for situations and examples when you had an idea, a client, or customer call, where you personally went that extra mile. Did you change a process or procedure? Or perhaps a staff member you mentored, coached or advised delivered a great customer service win or result for your team, brand or business.
7. How do you manage change?
- “Change is what makes life interesting. Monotony may be easy, but it is not exciting. Positive or negative I am happy to adapt to any situation simply for the experience.”
- “Everything, every day and everyone is different. No two tasks are ever the same, just as the same person may have different emotions, actions or responses at any given time. I don’t consider change to be a big deal because even the things that are ‘the same’ have differences.”
- “We live with change every day of our lives. I consider myself adaptable to this change and have long since grown to appreciate it as a unique part of life.”
8. What was your reason for leaving?
Career growth
You can easily say that you are looking for a change in role and wanted more growth, or even that your position was getting stagnant. This might be an acceptable reason for quitting your job, but this by no means gives you leeway to criticize your job.
Your career path
One reason is basic dissatisfaction with your career. Remember that it is not about the particular company or the department, but your career on the whole. This reason would hold true if you have a rich career profile and are currently applying for a job in a new profession.
Looking for challenges
One of the most common and simple reasons is that your job was at a standstill and you wished to seek newer avenues and greater challenges.
9. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
This can be the most difficult question put by the interviewer to check out your honesty and your confidence level. Such questions are fairly typical of those you will be presented with when applying for a job.
The purpose of asking this question is firstly to see how you handle a stress question and secondly how you actually respond to it.
Weaknesses do not exist, just challenges and solutions:
Try to tailor your responses to your specific job or task. You should always turn your weakness into a positive attribute. The trick is to talk about your weaknesses so that they can also appear to be a strength.
Focus on your strengths, but have an answer regarding a challenge you have met and overcome. Think of any trait or skill you have that pertains to the job you are applying for. Think of instances when you have shown a lot of skill in that area.
Create an honest list of what you think are your strengths or weaknesses and then select a few of them you can remember. Practice your responses so that they sound natural and you are prepared for the question.
10. Give an example of this behavior
“One of my weaknesses is that I do not quit until I get the job done. I want to make sure that everything I do is my best and in the right order”.
“My computer skills were lacking a little, but I got trained and got my skills up-to-date.”
Or, you can say that your written communication skills are not amazing, but you are currently (or planning to register) for a course in creative writing, or business communication, or professional writing, etc… 16. Can you give me an example of a particularly difficult customer you had to deal with and how you used your skills to successfully overcome the problem they had?
