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15 Toughest Interview Questions (and Answers!)
Monster Evolutions
May 19, 2009
1. Why do you want to work in this industry?
Bad answer:
“I love to shop. Even as a kid, I spent hours flipping through catalogues.”
Don’t just say you like it. Anyone can do that. Focus instead on your history with that particular industry, and if you can, tell a success story.
Good answer:
“I’ve always loved shopping, but my interest in retail marketing really started when I worked at a neighborhood boutique. I knew our clothes were amazing, but that we weren’t marketing them properly. So I worked with management to come up with a marketing strategy that increased our sales by 25% in a year. It was great to be able to contribute positively to an industry I feel so passionate about, and to help promote a product I really believed in.”
“I love to shop. Even as a kid, I spent hours flipping through catalogues.”
Don’t just say you like it. Anyone can do that. Focus instead on your history with that particular industry, and if you can, tell a success story.
Good answer:
“I’ve always loved shopping, but my interest in retail marketing really started when I worked at a neighborhood boutique. I knew our clothes were amazing, but that we weren’t marketing them properly. So I worked with management to come up with a marketing strategy that increased our sales by 25% in a year. It was great to be able to contribute positively to an industry I feel so passionate about, and to help promote a product I really believed in.”
josiejat
about 1 month ago
16 comments
Great article, the problem is that in my country most interviewers are not professionals. hope they will lay there hands on this work.
WithaY
2 months ago
6 comments
I prefer; "I did some research on (internet website names) and they say the range for this type of position is $ to $$$, with the midpoint being $$. That salary range meets my needs and would allow me to accept an offer. I am very interested in the content of this job and the opportunities it brings. I'm certain that you will make a fair offer and I would look forward to it."
ddmakombe
2 months ago
2 comments
Very helpful for future interviews and will also share with the candidates that come to our office preparing to go for interviews
akinoladiran
2 months ago
2 comments
Very good article. It has thrown more lights on how to aswer some tricky interview questions. I am aware that it may be difficult to include technical questions to test competencies in some areas, but if possible, it will help a great deal.
Akinyemi
jjslevin
2 months ago
8 comments
Great article that really gets to the core of general get to know you type questions. Usually you will face a few of these and some companies now have some questions like these spread amongst team members who are interviewing you. I did not like paging through 15 pages of questions though. Not sure why this is done this way.
msmeadowlark
2 months ago
2 comments
FYI
hawkeye
2 months ago
424 comments
I agree that these questions do not appear connected with core competencies. However, they are questions which are still being asked at some interviews I have been on. In that way, I felt this article was helpful in knowing the kind of response which could be used for subjective questions. Enjoyed the article for giving wrong and model answers. Article was easy to read and digest. I liked it!
buckmeister2
2 months ago
2 comments
All of these are canned HR questions that do not divulge anything of real merit in the candidate. As you have indicated, they are often asked, and answers can be easily rehearsed. The interviewer is learning nothing of substance with these questions. All these questions do is allow the interviewer to have a "good feeling", or a "bad feeling" about the candidate. They do not determine qualifications. A sharp interviewer may ask two or three of these, then will ask 5-10 serious questions.
Where are the questions dealing with core and secondary competencies?
gustavo
2 months ago
4 comments
I jjust want to let you know, that I 've been through different professional placement workshops in the past months, and on the week before I was going to be interviewed for a state job, I reviewed and took notes of this section and ended up being hired. Thanks for the advise on difficult interview questions.
riyakulshrestha
2 months ago
10 comments
love to see few more questions for beginners :)
shwe
2 months ago
48 comments
Great article. Its really helpfull..
ira
2 months ago
6 comments
15 tough interviews and answers? that's great that's amazing! I learned a lot from it.
puneetsingla27
2 months ago
4 comments
thanks for posting this article.. its really going to be very helpful.. great work
emmalee
2 months ago
6 comments
Great article with lots of helpful information.
SAROJ
2 months ago
2 comments
quite good and helpful. Can I also get updation about hr activities in India