Questions for Job Interviews Greentea and others

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In a previous topic I asked Greentea about Job interviews and how to pass them. She told me to start a new topic so here I am.

These are questions and statements about interviews I said in a previous topic.

Do you have any pearls of wisdom on how to pass job interviews? I don't understand how to answer their questions. To me, they're vague. I also have a stuttering problem especially when I am really nervous.

I would love to know your pearls of wisdon on how to pass interviews.

Cube,

1. Could you give us an example of questions they ask that are vague?
2. Could you get access to a job coach? It costs money, but maybe a few sessions would be enough... They help you identify the problematic areas as well as your strong points, and rehearse the interview process with you and help you prepare for all kinds of difficult questions.

1. Show up on time.
2. Be well-groomed (showered, hair combed, etc.)
3. Wear nice clothes - better than you anticipate working in.
4. Smile & shake hands when you greet the interviewer & at the end of the interview.
5. Answer the questions you are asked - don't volunteer a lot of information.
6. Be positive - don't talk trash about your previous/current employers.
7. The questions are intentionally vague - there aren't necessarily any wrong answers. Answer as best you can, or ask for clarification. The interviewer is generally more interested in how well you can keep your composure.
8. Don't worry about the stutter - just remember to breathe. It's not an issue unless you make it an issue.

The main idea in an interview situation is to retain your composure, no matter what they ask you. If you don't understand a question, ask them to clarify or rephrase it.

1. Could you give us an example of questions they ask that are vague?

Some on the top of my head are:

a. Tell me about yourself.
b. Tell me your strengths.
c. Tell me your weaknesses.
d. Give an example you being in a leadership role. "What if I've never been in a leadership role? What if I don't know how to lead at all or have the ability to lead. I'm no leader. "
e. Can you work under pressure? "How can I work with people breathing down my neck while I'm trying to work?" How can I do coding if I have people metaphorically in my face? That is distracting. I cannot and do not know how to handle pressure at all.

2. Could you get access to a job coach? It costs money, but maybe a few sessions would be enough... They help you identify the problematic areas as well as your strong points, and rehearse the interview process with you and help you prepare for all kinds of difficult questions.

"Could they deal with an aspie like myself who becomes nervous and starts stuttering badly under an adverserial or interview thing?"

"Could another aspie be my job coach who knows what they're doing and how to get jobs?"

Maybe I do need a job coach.

I will show up 1 hour before if I have too.



How do you make sure you do not have bad breath?



Like a suit or would a tuxedo be better?



Is there a proper way to shake hands?



How do I know the correct way to answer? How do I know if I'm interpreting them right?



I will not do that at all. This is one thing I know not to do.




How do I keep my composure? I'm afraid of confrontation. It feels confrontational to me. I feel that I'm being grilled like in an interrogation.



No it's terrible. I have a difficult time describing a sequence of events that happened. I apologize for getting off of topic but I'm going to use this as an example. For example, I've been in a couple of car accidents in my past. I have had major problems recalling the sequence of events that took place. I've tried telling my parents this over the years but they didn't seem to believe me. The interviewers may ask questions like this.



So, I am truly allowed to ask them to clarify or rephrase it? I did not know this.

Coaches teach you how to answer all those questions that you mention, one by one. I took several workshops this last month at https://www.dbmcareerservices.com/Login.htm?# (paid by the last employer that fired me) where I learned all that.

Don't look for Aspie coaches in particular, it'll be too hard to find if at all. You need help fast, and if you can gather the money, you'll benefit very much from a career services institution. But before you spend the money, you have to make sure it's a prestigious firm that has top professionals working for them as specialist coaches in job-searching. If you could join workshops, it'd be wonderful, as they cost less. If you can't pay, then the internet has some good advice on how to answer difficult interview questions.

Stuttering isn't a major problem. It happens to many candidates. Just apologize for it and tell the interviewer "It only happens on interviews".

Maybe we should modify the list a little because you seem to be taking things to extremes.

Show up about 10-15 minutes early. No earlier... and NEVER Late.

Wear nice but appropriate clothes... If it's an office job, that means a suit and tie. If it's a mining job, Jeans rather than shorts.

If you're looking for an office job, remove abnormalities (you can put them back later). Cover tattoos, remove obvious piercings and wear normal hair colour.

Prepare a good portfolio... (a pretty book that contains your resume and some coloured pictures etc..) Charts you may have done, artwork, whatever is relevant. If you've got a lot, consider two folders.

During the interview, you may find that you need to distract people (ie: when you've got two interviewers pouncing on you). The way to do this is to answer a question by showing them where it is in the portfolio and then pushing it over for them to look at. While one interviewer is looking at it, you can deal with the other one.

I've got some sheets in mine which talk about qualities; eg: Innovation - They have a heading and then they talk about one or more examples where I've been innovative.

It works everytime.

I understand. My thinking though was that things could go wrong along the way to the interview. Have you ever heard of Murphy's law which anything that can go wrong will eventually and does go wrong? This includes murphy's law. The only thing I want to go wrong is murphy's law. This means things will go right. For instance, while I'm driving I could hit a nail and get a flat tire.

What if something really unusual happens? I could be in a gas station getting breath spray or something else. A metorite hits my car rendering my car inoperable somehow. I have to prepare for these things. I have to expect the unexpected. The best case I want to happen is I arrive at the location 1 hour early even if I have to wait 40-45 minutes in my car listening to music to calm my nerves. The worst case I want to happen is I show up 10-15 min early like you suggest.




Thanks for the advice.



I don't have a piercings or tattos. They serve no purpose for me.




I agree.



I didn't know this.



I see.

I have another problem. I have to start not at square 1 but square 0.1. How do I even know what the correct position is that I should apply for?

Read the Job Adverts carefully.

Look for how much experience they ask for; 1-2 years usually means, "you can fake it" - more than that, and they expect real experience.

Look carefully at the skills; You won't get a 100% match. They always advertise for better than they expect. If there's something in the skills that you don't have but think you could learn quickly - eg: MS Word or Excel, then just tell them that you've got it. You can learn it on or before the job.

Remember; the worst they can do is fire you - which is a blow to the ego but better than never hiring you in the first place.

Sure you are allowed to ask for clarification or rephrasing. It does a couple of positive things for you: an employee who first does the research and asks the questions necessary to get the job done right will be more desirable than one who just wants to "wing it" and collect a paycheck whether the job gets done right or not; it shows that you are interested; if they're good questions, they demonstrate your intelligence and insight; it helps to keep you away from embarrassing mis-understandings; it gives the interviewer a chance to show off how much he/she knows about the subject, which the interviewer tends to enjoy whether the interviewer realizes it or not, and buttering the interviewer up a little bit can't hurt you too much. My experience with job interviews and with training has been that most people lack curiosity to a degree that seriously causes their interview and job performance to suffer - it's the people who are curious and who ask good questions who stand out to me as the best candidates.


The handshake should be firm, warm, and solid, but usually not aggressive, especially if you are a male shaking hands with a woman. Smile briefly but warmly, and make eye contact for at least a fraction of a second during the handshake (a little longer if you or the person you are shaking hands with is saying something important - meeting someone for the first time is always important); whenever possible, try to stand when you shake hands, and break the handshake as the other person relaxes his/her grip. Even I pay close attention to the handshakes I receive; a handshake seems to suggest a lot to me about a person's personality, and whether it's fair or not I tend to take an instant dislike to anyone with a quick, cold, limp, "dead fish" handshake. (Likewise for someone who squeezes my hand too tightly, maintains eye contact for too long, or who won't let my hand go after a second or two - there's something weird about someone who is being just a bit too aggressive with the handshake, but this is far rarer than the "insert cold fish in your hand and drop it" variety of unpleasant handshake.)

If the interviewer asks/tells you to sit down, sit up and generally keep your shoulders square (but lean forward slightly as the interviewer talks), avoid folding or knotting your hands or "stimming"/playing with things, and make eye contact periodically through the interview. Perhaps the best moments to make eye contact would be during the final few words of a question, as the interviewer's tone of voice goes into question mode (listen for words like who, what, when, where, why, how, or which), or near the "bottom line" of your response... "as a potential candidate for this position, suppose one of your subordinates says or does this... how [make eye contact] would you react?" [start relaxing] Well, of course a lot would depend on the situation, but... [make eye contact] if that action seemed especially disruptive, I would certainly pull the subordinate aside and tell him not to do that again, and the next time it happens I would have to take corrective action. "So, tell me a little bit about yourself." [Make eye contact] I'm not sure what you mean... what would you like to know about me? [start relaxing] "Well, I mean your hobbies and interests... what [make eye contact] do you like to do with your free time?" These are usually points in a conversation where some verbal emphasis is given and the speaker may start looking for the listener's reaction to make sure the listener is paying attention and following alright, so listening for the points where the speaker's voice stresses something will usually indicate the best moments to make eye contact.