Why Are You Looking?

and other difficult interview questions

-by Kate Wendleton

Sometimes you'll be surprised by the questions you are asked in an interview. But many questions are entirely predictable. Make sure you have these down pat. Do not go into long discussions. Briefly and politely handle those questions that might take you off course, then smoothly move the conversation back to the company's needs or your abilities-the things on your 3X5 card that you had planned to cover. Give your answer, and then say, for example, "but I really wanted to tell you about a special project I worked on." It is your responsibility to get the conversation back on track.

Many questions are

predictable. Make sure you have the answers down pat.

Why are you looking?

Why are you leaving?

You can count on being asked this because it's their job to ask it. Have your answer ready and then move back to the topics on your 3" X 5" card. They're just checking off items on a list to make sure there are no problems. Keep it brief. You are the only one who cares about the gory details.

Some job hunters have very solid reasons for being out of a job. One Five O'Clock Clubber, a PR executive in his mid-fifties, lost the best job of his life when his boss died and the new president brought in her own person. He was out through no fault of his own, and there was no better answer than what really happened to him.

Other than a story like that one, the best strategy is to describe your job loss as something you were proactive about-as if you had some say in the matter-and are also glad about. At the very least, do not describe your job loss as having to do with your own performance. Here are a few examples of positive responses:

"My company is going through a reorganization. I had the option of taking another job internally, but I decided to look elsewhere."

Or

"X company has been great for me, but the career possibilities in the areas that interest me are extremely limited."

Or

"Perhaps you heard that the _______ industry has been going through a major restructuring. I was caught along with three thousand others."

* If you're still employed, or if you're in outplacement and are allowed to look for a job back in your old firm:

"I don't know that I am leaving. My company sure would like me to take another job inside, but I feel like I want to look outside as well."

* If you lost your job and received even a little severance, you can say:

"I had the opportunity to grab a package and I took it. I'm lucky. I was not growing as much as I would have liked and now I can move my career along. That's why I'm glad to be talking to you today. I understand that your department is very involved in the new technologies."

They'll rarely ask how long you will be getting paid, and it's none of their business anyway.

Do what's appropriate for you and for your comfort level. Talk it over with your counselor or with those in your small group. Maybe there's a variation of these answers that's right for you.

* If you had been working long hours:

"I decided I couldn't work 75 hours a week and also look for a job. I couldn't do justice to my staff or to my former employer. I left the company so I could conduct a proper search."

* If you didn't get along with your boss.

Generally speaking, it's not a good idea to say that you left because of personality conflict. People may suspect that you are a difficult person. Sometimes those at very senior levels can get away with the "personality clash" excuse, but even them it's better to say, "We have differences on strategic issues."

When you're tempted to talk about conflict with a boss, it's better to say:

"I want to move my career in a different direction. My expertise is not the most important thing at my present company, and I want to move to a company where my skills will be put to better use."

What are you looking for?

It takes a lot of thinking to be ready for this question. Nothing turns off interviewers more than candidates who don't know what they want. So don't speak in generalities, "I'm looking for a job that excites me" or, even worse, "I'm not sure." This amounts to asking the interviewer to come up with ideas for you! You shouldn't be going on job interviews if you're not hungry and focused.

Be prepared to name the kinds of positions you think would be appropriate for you. Talk persuasively about the kind of things you can do for the company.

What questions do you have for us?

I go into the interview with an 8-1/2 X 11 pad. At the top of the pad, I put the four or five questions that I want to ask, and I integrate those questions into the conversation. I also take notes during the interview because I want to remember the details for the follow-up letters. If I meet with five people in one day, I cannot possibly remember what each person said. The notes are crucial even if you talk with only one person.

At the end of the meeting, when the interviewer asks, "Do you have any questions?" I make a point of looking at my questions (even though I've already asked them all) and say, "No thanks, we've covered them." But because the questions were written on the pad, I look prepared.

That's what consultants do. They go into a meeting with pen and paper in hand, try to figure out how things work and create an assignment for themselves.

What do you need to know? If they were going to offer you a job that started a week from Monday, what is the gap between what you know now and what you need to know to get started there on Monday? Ask those questions.

For example:

* "I'd like to talk to the head of operations so I can get an idea of what they do."

* "I'd like to talk to some of my prospective peers so I can figure out exactly how I would interface with them."

* "I need to give this some thought, come up with a few ideas, and then meet with you again." (Then do some research and find out more about this industry.)

* "What are some of the problems that keep you up at night?"

* "What are the most important things that need attention right now?"

And then a consultant will ask:

"Where are you in the hiring process?"

"How many others are you talking to?"

"How do you see me compared with them?"

If you ask questions like these-as if you were going to start working there a week from Monday, you will be much more proactive in the interview process. You will be thinking like a consultant.

Level the playing field

Job hunters feel as though they are at a disadvantage. After all, the organization is meeting with lots of candidates and will pick only one. It seems as though the hiring team has all the power.

But you can have power too. Get six to ten things in the works. They're talking to other people. Why shouldn't you? Then you can walk away from an abusive company just as easily as a company gets rids of candidates that are not up to the job.

Having six to ten things in the works is also the reason why Five O'Clock Clubbers who have been unemployed a long time still get jobs at market rates. Employers are likely to focus on what you have been doing for the last eighteen months or on what you were making in your last job. Instead, the emphasis shifts to the fact that you're talking to a host of other companies about jobs in the $40,000 to $50,000 range, or whatever.

Get six to ten things going-not all good ones.

When you have your six to ten things in the works, they're not all going to be brilliant possibilities. A good number will be with organizations you don't ever want to work for.

But getting offers serves a purpose: It boosts your ego, helps you to better compare one situation with another, and increases your chances of getting offers from the companies that are of most interest to you. You will be able to say, "I've got four offers right now but I don't want to work for the others. I want to work for you." Prospective employers will see you as more marketable. So get some offers-even ones that are not right for you.

Stop Standing in Your Own Way

If you tell the interviewer, even in subtle ways, that there is something wrong with you, they'll think, "Well it doesn't seem as though there is anything wrong with that, but if you tell me there is, then I trust you." And they'll stay away from you.

I was doing a workshop for lower level workers at a major retailer. Richard, the head of the mailroom, had supervised about 30 people-a responsible job. For some reason he was sensitive to the fact that he had only been head of the mailroom for "only" two years.

When we practiced the Two-Minute Pitch, he himself brought up what he considered a weakness: "Well, I'm head of the mailroom at Bloomingdale's, where I have 30 to 50 people reporting to me and it's going very well despite the fact that I've been on the job for only two years."

When Richard positions himself that way, the hiring manager is going to think there's something wrong with his having been in the job two years. If you feel that something is a handicap for you, don't bring it up! If you think your age is a problem, you may inadvertently say, "Despite the fact that I'm older" or "Despite the fact I'm only recently out of school." Remember, positioning is everything.

Your attitude should be, "Problem? What problem?" Be sensitive to your own sensitivities and get over them.

Remember the following:

* Be prepared.

* Have six to ten things in the works.

* The first interview should not lead to an offer but to a second interview.

*  Half of the interview process is being prepared, but the other half is having the right attitude. They'll sense your self confidence and you are less likely to buckle under when they ask you idiotic questions-often they don't care about the answers anyway.