Generic Questions for Entry Level Jobs

Tell me about yourself.

Why have you chosen this particular field?

What courses did you like best? Least? Why?

Why did you choose your major and other academic pursuits?

I would like to begin by having you outline for me any practical experience you have had on previous jobs or others that is related to the profession of _______________.

Being able to learn quickly on the job is important. Tell me about a situation when you had to pick up an essential skill quickly.

• What was the skill that you had to learn?
• What led to this situation?
• What did you do that helped you learn quickly?
• What was the outcome of this situation?
• When was the next time you used this skill? Tell me about it.

Sometimes, demands are placed on new employees that stretch their current knowledge. There are always times when we wish we knew more than we do. Describe an experience when you were most frustrated with your knowledge in _____________. (Tell me about the time that you most needed to know more).

• What did you need to know?
• How did you try to find it out?
• How long was it before the problem was solved?
• What did your supervisor say about this event?
• What did you do to avoid this problem in the future?
• When was the next time this type of situation came up?
• What did you do then?

When you are assigned a difficult task, organization is important. Can you think of a time when you organized your work effectively in order to meet a deadline?

• What was the task?
• Who assigned it?
• Who was working on it with you?
• What steps did you take to organize the task?
• How did the organization help get the work done?
• Was the task completed on schedule?
• Did you ever receive a comment on your organization? What?
• How often did you follow the steps mentioned when organizing your work?

Give me an example of a problem you encountered either in school or at work and explain how you solved it.

We are interested in how you show initiative to go beyond everyday requirements. Give me an example of when you showed initiative on the job

What did you do that was beyond the call of duty?

• What led you to take this initiative?
• What was the outcome of your actions?
• Did your senior say anything about your action? What?
• How often in the past year did you show this kind of initiative?
• Tell me about another time.

There are always times when things are so busy that your job can be quite hectic. There are also times when you have little to do. Tell me about the slowest period in your recent experience.

• When did this occur?
• What caused the slowdown?
• What did you do during this period?
• What were your co-workers doing during this time?
• Did your senior comment on your efforts? What was said?
• How often did this kind of slow period come up?
• Did you ever handle it differently? What did you do differently that time?

How do you spend your spare time?

What are your major strengths / weaknesses?

Sometimes, we all run into frustrating customers or clients. Tell me about the most frustrating person that you had to deal with recently.

• What specifically did the person do that was frustrating?
• What did you do to resolve the difficulties this created?
• How did the person react to what you did?

Tell me about a time when you were able to help improve a work procedure by making good suggestions to your supervisor or co-worker.

• Where did you get the idea for the suggestion?
• What suggestions did you make?
• What help did you get from your supervisor on this suggestion?
• How often were you able to offer this kind of help last year?
• What comments did you receive?

Even the best of us have disagreements with co-workers from time to time. Describe the most serious disagreement you've had with a co-worker.

• When did this happen?
• What led to the disagreement?
• How did you first approach solving the disagreement?
• How did the co-worker respond?
• What was the outcome of this disagreement?

Describe an experience in which you worked as part of a team.

Describe your best / worst boss.

In general, what do you consider to be your strengths in ___________?

What do you consider to be your weaknesses?

What have been your most satisfying and most disappointing experiences?

Explain how your past work experiences will aid you in the profession of ________?

There are many qualified individuals applying for a limited number of positions. What can you tell me that would make you stand out among the rest?

Why do you feel you would be successful in _______________?

Where do you see yourself in three years?

What are your long-term goals? Where do you hope to be in ten years?

If you were stranded on an island, what three items would you take with you and why?

If you could be an animal, which would it be and why?

What was the last book you read?


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

More Investment Banking Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself.
2. Walk me through your resume.
3. What is investment banking?
4. What will you be doing on a day-day basis?
5. What product or industry groups are you interested in?
6. Do you invest? If so, in what?
7. Who have you spoken to within our firm?
8. Why should we hire you?
9. What do you know about this group?
10. Why our company?
11. Where do you think the economy is headed?
12. Describe your ideal work environment.
13. Tell me a joke.
14. What do you do outside of school?
15. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
16. Where do you see yourself in five years?
17. How did you decide on UCLA and your major?
18. What do you think are the most important qualities an analyst should have?
19. What do you understand about the lifestyle of an analyst?
20. What are the qualities of a good leader? When have you demonstrated leadership?
21. Why should we hire you? How are you different from others?
22. What is your favorite subject in school? Tell me about it.
23. When deciding to invest in a company, what do you look at?
24. What was your role in XYZ committee?
25. What is the biggest adversity you have faced in your life?
26. Do you have any questions for me?
27. Give me a time when you have been in a team situation where people had conflicting interests?
28. What do you think you will enjoy most about investment banking and why? What will you enjoy the least?
29. What accomplishment are you most proud of?
30. When have you demonstrated leadership?

Technical Questions:

1. Walk me through a DCF.
2. What is valuation?
3. What are different methods of valuing a company?
4. Walk me through the financial statements. How do they tie together?
5. How would a change in depreciation expense flow through the financial statements?
6. How would a change in LIFO/FIFO flow through the financial statements?
7. Walk me through an increase in depreciation expense of 10mm?
8. What happens if capital expenditure increases by 10mm?
9. Walk me through the purchase of a truck for 10 mm
10. When would you issue debt and when would you issue equity?
11. How would you normalize a $20m restructuring charge?
12. Given such a change in interest rates, what will happen to bond prices?
13. What is EBITDA? EBIT? Why are they important? When would you use EBIT vs. EBITDA?
14. What is WACC? How do you calculate the growth rate for WACC?
15. Where do you get the risk free rate?
16. What are multiples? How do you know which ones to use?
17. What is 15 x 17?
18. Enterprise Value is 100, Equity value if 150, what is net debt?
19. For Acquisition vs. Public Comparables, which would be greater and why?
20. What are the drawbacks of using WACC in valuing companies?
21. What multiples would a company use?
22. When would a company issue debt? How about equity?
23. What is cheaper, debt or equity?
24. What is an LBO?
25. What are some measures of cash flow for a company?
26. How do you get FCF from EBITDA?
27. What would happen to net change in working capital if receivables went up?
28. What is our company’s stock price? Is it fairly valued or over-valued?
29. You buy an investment for $100m, you sell it for $100m, how would you make a profit?
30. What are the different types of debt? How do they differ?
31. If interest rates increase, what happens to bond prices?

Brain Teasers:

1. What is the present value of a zero-coupon perpetuity?
2. It’s 9:45 pm, how would you go about finding the angle between the minute and hour hand?
3. Two boats are going at 10miles/hour. They are 5 miles from one another. How long before they hit?
4. What is the sum of all the numbers between one and one hundred?
5. If this table was full of pennies, do you think they could stack up to measure this building?

Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Interview Questions--Legal Intern

1. Why are you interested in this firm?

Ans: Your firm handled (insert name of case I read on their website) which I found to be exciting because it was just like another case I was reading in this class I got an A in. I've also asked some upper class-men about your office and they said it's a great work environment.

2. Why did you go to law school?

Ans: I went to law school because I want to be able to make a difference. Legal work allows me to be competitive and to work for justice, both of which are important things in my life.

3. Do you think your grades are an accurate reflection of the kind of work you will do as an attorney?

Ans: Law school has been a challenge, and I think my grades reflect that. More important than my grades, which by the way have steadily improved over my academic career, is my dedication to the work I do. My performance during my summer jobs is the best indicator of how I will work, and you will find that my previous employers were all pleased with me (or at least forgot who I am and so will not remember the fuck ups). .

4. What would you say is your greatest weakness?
Ans: My greatest weakness is that I get too personally involved with my work. For instance, when I am working on trial prep, and then the case settles favorably, I feel as though it should have gone to trial anyway, despite knowing that the settlement is what's best for our firm and our client.

5. Tell us about a recent mistake that you have made.

Ans: I accidentally misfiled a case at work that was set to go to trial the next week. As soon as I realized this, I alerted my supervisor and disaster was averted.

6. What do you do for fun?

Ans. I enjoy jogging, skydiving, and traveling to exotic countries.

7. Tell us about your style of leadership.

Ans: I lead by taking the initiative and working proactively with my peers to come up with solutions.

8. If you don't get hired by this firm, what will you do?

I will analyze what I could have done better during the interview and take that knowledge with me into my next interview with [rival firm name].

9. Do you have any questions for us?

Ans: Will I have a key so that I can come in and work on the weekends?

10. We value creativity among our associates. With that in mind, what kind of plant would you be, and why? Ans. I would be a tree, because they are tall, strong, and live a long life.

Sample Interview Questions--Lawyers

1. Why do you want to be a lawyer?
2. Why did you decide to attend law school?
3. Why did you choose this particular law firm?
4. In what school activities have you participated? Why?
   Which did you enjoy most?
5. How do you spend your spare time?
6. What jobs have you held? How were they obtained, and why did you leave?
7. What courses have you liked best in law school? Least? Why?
8. Is your GPA an accurate reflection of your abilities? Why or why not?
9. Why did you apply to our firm (or respond to our desire to interview you)?
10. What do you know about our firm?
11. Do you feel your legal education has been good?
12. What qualifications do you have that will make you successful in this field?
13. What makes you think you're a good lawyer?
14. How interested are you in sports?
15. If you were starting law school all over, would you still attend?
16. What is your rank in school? Is your GPA a good indicator of your abilities?
17. Was your involvement in school activities worth the time you devoted to them? Why?
18. What characteristics do you think a person needs to be a successful attorney?
19. Why do you think you would like practicing law?
20. What do you think you'll be doing during your first year with our firm?
21. Do you prefer working with others or by yourself?
22. Who are your best friends? Why?
23. What areas of law interest you?
24. Can you take instructions without feeling upset?
25. How did previous employers treat you?
26. What have you learned from other jobs you have held?
27. Can we get recommendations from your previous employers?
28. What interests you about our firm? Why would you want to represent our clients?
29. Have you ever had to withdraw from a class?
30. Have you ever had any difficulty getting along with fellow students or faculty?
31. What is the source of your spending money?
32. Do you like routine work?
33. Define cooperation.
34. What interests you about the legal system?
35. Are you willing to fight to get ahead?
36. What area of law interests you? Why?
37. What job with the firm would you choose if you were given the choice?
38. Which of our practice areas interest you and why?
39. What types of people seem to rub you the wrong way?
40. What are your special abilities?
41. What do you think the disadvantages of practicing law are?
42. What have you done that shows initiative and a willingness to work?
43. How many hours a day do you think a person should work?
44. What are your goals?
45. Do you have any questions for us?
46. Tell me about a professional failure and how you handled it.
47. Why should we hire you over our other applicants?
48. Tell me about a time when you had to accomplish a task under a tight deadline while working with someone who was difficult to get along with.
49. What are the three most important things that you contribute to an organization? What are the three most important things that you could contribute to our firm?
50. What are some of the most imaginative and creative things that you have done in a job?How do you deal with stress or conflict? What clues have you come to recognize as signals that you may be under too much stress?
51. How would a good friend describe you?
52. What kind of people do you find most difficult to work with?
53. What do you think are the most important characteristics and abilities for any person’s success? 
54. How do you rate yourself in these areas?
55. When have you failed?
56. Describe the circumstances and how you dealt with, and learned from, the experience.
57. Describe the work environment that you consider optimal for your personal satisfaction and best performance.
58. Scenario: You are an attorney working at our firm on a day when you are the only person in the office. An elderly woman comes into the office asking to see a lawyer right away. She does not have an appointment but says that she needs to sign some papers. She has no papers with her. What do you do?
59. Scenario: You are meeting with a 65-year-old gentleman to take will instructions. He tells you that he has three adult children who are financially well off. He advises that he is divorced, pays spousal support to his ex-wife, and is currently living common law with another woman. Although he has no problems sharing most of his personal information, he refuses to answer any questions about his assets and tells you to write down $1 as his net worth. How do you proceed?
60. Tell me about what you would consider a major accomplishment.
61. How do you manage your day?
62. What motivates you?
63. If offered this position, how long do you plan to stay with us?

Interview Questions with a Technology Law Practice

1. How does your experience and education qualify you for the position in our Technology Law Group?
   Focus on the aspects of your experience that apply to this position. Include any information technology experience, knowledge or training.
2. Tell me about a challenging situation in which you had to apply both your legal skills and technical knowledge.
3. Would you say that your strength is in drafting or in the substantive review of documents? Why?
   Regardless of where your strength is, provide examples of why drafting or substantive review is a strength. Can you tie it to technology or some aspect of this position?
4. How would your current law firm assess your drafting ability?
5. What the biggest mistake that you've made in your legal career? What did you learn from that mistake?
6. You've supervised project teams before, what steps do you take to insure that project teams work effectively and efficiently?
7. What experience do you have in negotiating technology contracts?
8. Give me an example of your ability to work under pressure and deal with deadlines in the legal environment.
9. Based on your knowledge of technology, what technological changes do you see in the next five years that will have the greatest legal impact?
10. What salary are you seeking?
    How does your experience and qualifications match up to the job? Do you know how much other companies are paying? Check Salary.com for complete salary information.
11. Do you have anything to add?

Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Sample Questions for Quantitative Roles

Statistics
How do you test whether a data sample is normal or not?

Math
Show that a set is convex if and only if its intersection with any line is convex. Show that a set is affine if and only if its intersection with any line is affine.

Bond Pricing
I don't know anything about bond pricing, but I've heard people use something called the discount rate when they price bonds. Can you explain what this "discount rate" is? Why is it important? Where do I get its value? What is the current discount rate (as of today)? When I price a 30-year bond, should I use today's discount rate or should I use a different discount rate for each of the next 30 years?

Probability Theory
Say you are on a game show [historical side note: this question was first played on the 60s American game show Let's Make a Deal, hosted by Monty Hall], and there are three closed doors. Behind one door is a car, the prize you dream of, and behind the other two are goats. You pick a door. The host, who knows what's behind each door, opens another which reveals a goat. Now, the host lets you make another choice: should you stick with you first door choice, or should you switch and pick a different door, in order to win the car?

Applied MathWhat's a Hermitian matrix? What important property does a Hermitian matrix's eigenvalues possess? What's the practical implication of this property in applications?Econometrics - Time Series
Is an AR(p) process stationary? Why or why not?
Tough question: in practice, how do you determine the order of an MA or AR model?

Statistics
Random variable X is distributed as N(a, b), and random variable Y is distributed as N(c, d). What is the distribution of (1) X+Y, (2) X-Y, (3) X*Y, (4) X/Y?
(Comment: another very popular quant interview question, regardless of whether the position itself involves statistical modeling)

Econometrics
What are some of the causes of heteroskedasticity? How do you test for the presence of heteroskedasticity? (Please name at least two tests.) Finally, what are some of the techniques for dealing with heteroskedasticity?

Options
What's put-call parity in option pricing? How does one derive this relationship? What crucial assumptions are necessary?

Tough case question: if you observe put-call parity not currently holding in the market, how do you make money off this observation? As you trade, what do you need to watch out for and what risks must you be aware of?

Math - Stochastics
Show that exp{-t/2 + W(t)} is a martingale.

Portfolio Theory
Consider the utility function U(W) = W-1/2 . What are the characteristics of this function with respect to absolute and relative risk aversion?
Explain the difference between absolute and relative risk aversion.
[First question taken from chapter 10 of Elton, et al. Modern Portfolio Theory and Investment Analysis]

C++
Is the following valid C++ code? If so, what does it print?
cout << (int *) "Home of the jolly bytes"; Taken from chapter 4 of Prata, C++ Primer Plus (5th ed.) Financial Economics-Related Case Question
When you trade stocks, what are some of the different types of cost associated with your trading? How would you mitigate each type of cost?
(Hint: a cost need not be explicit...)

Econometrics - Time Series
What's a GARCH model? Why is it an important/useful model? When would you use the GARCH model?
Can you write down its general formulation? What does the GARCH model say in plain English? What does it "try" to achieve?
How do you determine the order of the model? How do you estimate the model in practice?
Tough follow-up question: how do you implement a GARCH model in Excel?

Econometrics - Time Series
People use the GARCH model to study volatility. Can you tell me if we can use the GARCH framework to study the correlation between two assets/time series? If so, what additional assumptions and/or adjustments must we make to the original GARCH model?

Brainteaser
With an ordinary tape measure and a watch, how would you measure the exact height of the Empire State Building (or the Sears Tower, or the Big Ben Clock Tower, or the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, or any famous tall building)?

Brainteaser - Logic - Deduction
(There are many versions of this type of question. Here are some examples.)
1. How many pizzas are consumed every day in the U.S.?
2. How many gas stations are there in the U.S.?
3. How many cars are stolen every month in the U.S.?
4. How many prostitutes do you think work the streets in New York (or London, or L.A., or Shanghai, or Tokyo, or Singapore, ...)?
5. How many quants are there in the world?
6. How many people make their livings on Wall Street?
7. How many university graduates try to find a job on Wall Street each year?
8. How many tennis balls can you fit in a Boeing 747 (or Airbus A320)?
9. How many Yankees fans go to every home game each season?
10. How many people in China can speak English?

Case Question
You work for an arbitrage desk. Your model shows that if you bought stock A and simultaneously sold stock B, you have a 51.3% chance of making a profit by today's close. Should you make this trade?

Control Theory
The latest "hot" topic in financial research is using the Kalman filter in various applications. Can you explain the basic idea behind the Kalman filter (i.e., what does the filter try to do with the data)? Can you write the basic Kalman filter model? What are some of the applications of the Kalman filter?
Tough question: How do you estimate (or implement) the Kalman filter? For example, to study stock price movement.

Asset pricing
Tell me the intuition behind CAPM. Can you write down the model? What does each of the variables stand for?

Two tough advanced questions: How do you test CAPM using real data? What are the major points of criticism against CAPM?

Econometrics
When modeling binary-choice problems, what are the advantages of using logit over probit? What are the disadvantages of logit vs. probit?

What about multiple-choice models: is logit or probit better?

Finance
What does VaR (value at risk) measure? What are some of the assumptions behind the VaR concept? Given two portfolios A and B, does the following relationship hold: VaR(A+B) = VaR(A) + VaR(B)? Why or why not (i.e., prove your previous answer)?

Stochastic Calculus
What is Ito's Lemma? What is its significance in studying stochastic processes? How is it used in finance? Can you write out the equation?

When used to model financial derivatives, what assumptions must be made of the properties of the derivatives for Ito's Lemma to be applied correctly?

Programming
I give you a text file, x.txt, which has millions of records with three columns in each record:
ID, age, income

The records are sorted by ID, and no two IDs are the same.

Now, write a short program in each of the following languages to pull out 10,000 randomly selected records from x.txt. Put these 10,000 randomly pulled records in an output file called y.txt.
C++
Visual Basic
Matlab
Perl
Python
SAS
R or S-Plus
UNIX shell script

Programming
You get the same input file x.txt with millions of records sorted by ID. However, some records are missing either age or income.

Now, your task is to write a program to pull out a random sample of 10,000 records, but only those with neither age nor income missing.

(Comment: both questions #21 and #22 test your ability to both write a working program and to produce an efficient program - but foremost you must write a program that works correctly)

Linear Algebra
In linear algebra, why are we interested in matrix decompositions? Explain each of the following:
LU decomposition

Singular value decomposition (SVD)

Cholesky decomposition

QR decomposition

When and how is each of these decomposition techniques applied?

(Comment: matrix operations, including decompositions, are extremely important in applied quantitative finance - they are often the clue between modeling and implementation)

Mathematical Brainteaser
Answer this as fast as you can, without writing anything down:

The perimeter of a right triangle is 5 inches. The two legs are each 2 inches long. What's the length of the hypotenuse?

Finance - Asset Pricing
Can you show me how the APT model is derived? What's the intuition behind APT? How does it compare to CAPM? What are some of the criticisms of APT?

Mathematics
What is Jensen's Inequality? What are some of its applications? Can you write out the inequality and provide a sketch of a proof?

(Hint: Jensen's Inequality is an important concept in probability theory; other important inequalities include Hölder's Inequality and Minkowski's Inequality)

Economics - Game Theory
What's a Nash equilibrium? Can you write down its formal definition? Can you provide an example?

SQL
In SQL, what's an inner join and what's an outer join? What's the difference between a left join and a right join?

Statistics
How do you calculate sample variance? Show me the formula and implement it in C or C++.

Finance Case Question
There are two stocks A and B. I already own A, but I'm thinking of buying B to replace A. (I can only own either A or B at the same time.) I'm a U.S.-based investor subject to all U.S. taxes. How will my tax situation affect my decision whether to keep A, or to sell A and buy B? Please explain in detail.

Probability Theory
There are 30 people in my group. What are the odds that at least two people share the same birth month and day (e.g., July 25). What are the odds that exactly two people share the same birth month and day? Finally, what are the odds that everybody was born in the same decade (where a decade is defined as any ten-year span, not necessarily "50s" or "60s" or "70s" etc.)?

Statistics
What's the difference between the t-stat and R2 in a regression? What does each measure? When you get a very large value in one but a very small value in the other, what does that tell you about the regression?

Options
Can you plot an option's delta as a function of the underlying stock's price? What does this plot tell you?

Perl
In Perl, given a hash %bonus where the key is employee ID and the value represents the employee's expected year-end bonus, sort this hash by value from highest bonus to lowest.
Bonus question: how would you do this whole ID-->bonus mapping and sorting in C++ or C#?

Brainteaser
(The interviewer writes down the following equation on the whiteboard...)
XI + I = X

This is an equation expressed in Roman numerals. Imagine this equation is actually written out using sticks. 

Without touching or adding any stick, how can you make this equation true?

Financial Time Series
What is Principal Component Analysis? Please explain in plain English as well as write down the model.
How does PCA differ from factor analysis?(Comment: PCA is used heavily in studying asset returns; it is, for instance, a backbone of statistical arbitrage models)

Probability Theory
You are offered to play a game of chance. A fair coin is tossed repeatedly until you get the first tails, at which point the game ends and you get the prize. The prize "pot" starts at $1 and doubles each time you get heads. So for instance, if you get heads the first toss, the pot becomes $2. If you get heads again the second toss, the pot becomes $4. If you get heads the third time, the pot becomes $8. If the fourth toss gives you the tail of the coin, you win and take home the $8 prize.

Before you play, you must pay a fee to enter this game. The question is, what's the maximum amount you're willing to pay in order to play this game? Explain your answer carefully.

Probability Theory
What's the expectation of a uniform(a, b) distribution? What's its variance? Please derive your answers in mathematical terms, starting with the pdf.

Derivatives
Explain the difference between a futures contract and a forward contract. How are they priced differently?

Statistics
Given a dataset, how do you determine its sample distribution? Please provide at least two methods.

Algebra
Let n be a natural number. Give the reduced expression for the following:
(1) 1+2+3+...+n
(2) 1+22+32+...+n2
(3) 1+23+33+...+n3
(4) 1+2k+3k+...+nk, where k is another natural number.

C++
What are virtual functions in C++? What are they used for? Please write down an example of a virtual function to illustrate its usage.

Stochastics
A random walk process starts at the point 0. What is the probability that this random walk hits -2 before it hits 3? What if the process is a Brownian motion instead?

Options
What is the lower bound for the price of a European call option on a non-dividend-paying stock? Can you derive this lower bound in a formal fashion?
Now, what if the call option is American? What if the stock pays a dividend every quarter?

Excel
There are at least two ways in Excel to perform an OLS regression. What are they? What are some of the limitations of doing OLS in Excel (as opposed to using a real statistical package like EViews, Stata, R, S-Plus, or SAS)?

Capital Markets
Why do price spreads exist in asset-trading markets? Can spreads ever be negative? If so, under what conditions?
Tougher: what are some examples of markets where price spreads do not necessarily exist?


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008, 2014 all rights reserved.

Investment Banking Questions

• Tell me about yourself.
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• How would your friends describe you?
• Are you entrepreneurial?
• What are the most important things to you in a job?
  
• Give me an example of a situation where you demonstrated leadership.
• Give an example of how you worked on a team.
• How creative are you? Give an example.
• Why are you interested in the industry?
• Why did you choose to interview with us?
  
• Who have you met from our Firm? What did you learn from him/her?
• Describe the ideal position for you within our Firm.
• What qualities do you think make someone successful in business?
• Why do you think you are qualified for this position?
  
• Why did you select your college or business school?
• What courses have you liked most? Least? Why?
• What are you learning that will help you in your work with us?
• What do you do in your spare time?
• What would you like me to know most that is not in your resume?
  
• What are the most important things to you in a job?
• Give me an example of a situation where you motivated others.
• Tell me about a time when you worked as part of a team.
• What attracts you to a career in this industry?
• Why did you select your university?
• What courses have you liked most? Least? Why?
  
• What are you learning that will help you in your work with us?
• Tell me about a time when you had to develop relationships with others.
• Describe a situation in which it was difficult to obtain information you needed, and how you managed to be successful.
• Describe an instance in which you had a significant impact on a situation.

Tough Interview Questions #52: Describe the most difficult problem you’ve had to deal with

The best way to answer this question would be to say that you follow the five-step format every time you encounter a difficult problem:
1. Stand back and examine the problem.
2. Recognize the problem as the symptom of other, perhaps hidden, factors.
3. draw up a list of possible solutions to the problem.
4. Weigh up both the consequences and cost of each solution and determine the best solution.
5. Go to your CEO/director/manager, outline the problem, make your recommendation and ask for advice and approval.
Conclude your response by giving a real example of a problem you have encountered and your solution.
This question is designed to probe your professional profile, specifically your analytical skills and your ability to identify a creative solution.
It also looks to assess potential based on past behavior. Firms want candidates to demonstrate what they actually did and the choices they made when faced with a difficult problem.

Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Question #51: Describe a time when you have solved a problem with an unconventional solution

This question also allows you to show your logical thinking process, alongside other abilities such as communication and persuasion skills, as well as drive.

The best candidates will relate their answer with an example of their past experience and talk you through what the problem was, what creative solution they came up with, what steps they took to implement the solution, and the outcome.

The interviewer is not just looking for someone who is capable of doing the job, but one who could also think out of the box and bring in new perspective to the team and the firm.


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Questions: #50: The Price of Fruit

There are four groups of Mangoes, Apples and Bananas as follows:
Group I : 1 Mango, 1 Apples and 1 Banana
Group II : 1 Mango, 5 Apples and 7 Bananas
Group III : 1 Mango, 7 Apples and 10 Bananas
Group IV : 9 Mango, 23 Apples and 30 Bananas

Group II costs Rs 300 and Group III costs Rs 390.

Can you tell how much does Group I and Group IV cost?

Group I costs Rs 120 and Group IV costs Rs 1710

Assume that the values of one mango, one apple and one banana are M, A and B respectively.

From Group II : M + 5A + 7B = 300
From Group III : M + 7A + 10B = 390

Subtracting above to equations : 2A + 3B = 90

For Group I :
= M + A + B
= (M + 5A + 7B) - (4A + 6B)
= (M + 5A + 7B) - 2(2A + 3B)
= 300 - 2(90)
= 300 - 180
= 120

Similarly, for Group IV :
= 9M + 23A + 30B
= 9(M + 5A + 7B) - (22A + 33B)
= 9(M + 5A + 7B) - 11(2A + 3B)
= 9(300) - 11(90)
= 2700 - 990
= 1710

Thus, Group I costs Rs 120 and Group IV costs Rs 1710.

Jeff Altman

The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He is a practicing psychotherapist and is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search job openings, use his free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe. to subscribe Jeff’s free job search ezines, Head Hunt Your Next Job and/or Natural Selection (his free recruiting ezine), or to find out about his VIP Personal Search Agent service, go to http://www.jeffaltman.com.

If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff or locating consultants, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at thebiggamehunter@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).

Tough Interview Questions: #50: The Price of Fruit

There are four groups of Mangoes, Apples and Bananas as follows:
Group I : 1 Mango, 1 Apples and 1 Banana
Group II : 1 Mango, 5 Apples and 7 Bananas
Group III : 1 Mango, 7 Apples and 10 Bananas
Group IV : 9 Mango, 23 Apples and 30 Bananas
Group II costs Rs 300 and Group III costs Rs 390.
Can you tell how much does Group I and Group IV cost?

Group I costs Rs 120 and Group IV costs Rs 1710
Assume that the values of one mango, one apple and one banana are M, A and B respectively.
From Group II : M + 5A + 7B = 300
From Group III : M + 7A + 10B = 390
Subtracting above to equations : 2A + 3B = 90
For Group I :
= M + A + B
= (M + 5A + 7B) - (4A + 6B)
= (M + 5A + 7B) - 2(2A + 3B)
= 300 - 2(90)
= 300 - 180
= 120
Similarly, for Group IV :
= 9M + 23A + 30B
= 9(M + 5A + 7B) - (22A + 33B)
= 9(M + 5A + 7B) - 11(2A + 3B)
= 9(300) - 11(90)
= 2700 - 990
= 1710
Thus, Group I costs Rs 120 and Group IV costs Rs 1710.


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Question #49: The 50m long army platoon

There is a 50m long army platoon marching ahead. The last person in the platoon wants to give a letter to the first person leading the platoon. So while the platoon is marching he runs ahead, reaches the first person and hands over the letter to him and without stopping he runs and comes back to his original position.
In the mean time the whole platoon has moved ahead by 50m.
The question is how much distance did the last person cover in that time. Assuming that he ran the whole distance with uniform speed.

The last person covered 120.71 meters.
It is given that the platoon and the last person moved with uniform speed. Also, they both moved for the identical amount of time. Hence, the ratio of the distance they covered - while person moving forward and backword - are equal.
Let's assume that when the last person reached the first person, the platoon moved X meters forward.
Thus, while moving forward the last person moved (50+X) meters whereas the platoon moved X meters.
Similarly, while moving back the last person moved [50-(50-X)] X meters whereas the platoon moved (50-X) meters.
Now, as the ratios are equal,
(50+X)/X = X/(50-X)
(50+X)*(50-X) = X*X
Solving, X=35.355 meters
Thus, total distance covered by the last person
= (50+X) + X
= 2*X + 50
= 2*(35.355) + 50
= 120.71 meters
Note that at first glance, one might think that the total distance covered by the last person is 100 meters, as he ran the total lenght of the platoon (50 meters) twice. TRUE, but that's the relative distance covered by the last person i.e. assuming that the platoon is stationary.


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Question #48: Move A Safe

To move a Safe, two cylindrical steel bars 7 inches in diameter are used as rollers.
How far will the safe have moved forward when the rollers have made one revolution?


The safe must have moved 22 inches forward.
If the rollers make one revolution, the safe will move the distance equal to the circumference of the roller. Hence, the distance covered by the safe is
= PI * Diameter (or 2 * PI * Radius)
= PI * 7
= 3.14159265 * 7
= 21.99115
= 22 inches approx

Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Question #47: Who Is Married to Cam

Three men - Sam, Cam and Laurie - are married to Carrie, Billy and Tina, but not necessarily in the same order.
Sam's wife and Billy's Husband play Carrie and Tina's husband at bridge. No wife partners her husband and Cam does not play bridge.
Who is married to Cam?

Carrie is married to Cam.
"Sam's wife and Billy's Husband play Carrie and Tina's husband at bridge."
It means that Sam is not married to either Billy or Carrie. Thus, Sam is married to Tina.
As Cam does not play bridge, Billy's husband must be Laurie.
Hence, Carrie is married to Cam.


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Question #46: The Cricket Match

The cricket match between India and Pakistan was over.
• Harbhajan scored more runs than Ganguly.
• Sachin scored more runs than Laxman but less than Dravid
• Badani scored as much runs as Agarkar but less than Dravid and more than Sachin.
• Ganguly scored more runs than either Agarkar or Dravid.
Each batsman scored 10 runs more than his immediate batsman. The lowest score was 10 runs. How much did each one of them score

A simple one. Use the given facts and put down all the players in order. The order is as follow with Harbhajan, the highest scorer and Laxman, the lowest scorer.
1. Harbhajan
2. Ganguly
3. Dravid
4. Badani, Agarkar
5. Sachin
6. Laxman
Also, as the lowest score was 10 runs. Laxman must have scored 10, Sachin 20, Badani & Agarkar 30 and so on.
1. Harbhajan - 60 runs
2. Ganguly - 50 runs
3. Dravid - 40 runs
4. Badani, Agarkar - 30 runs each
5. Sachin - 20 runs
Laxman - 10 runs


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Question #45: The Orange Glass

An orange colored glass has Orange juice and white colored glass has Apple juice both of equal volumes. 50ml of the orange juice is taken and poured into the white glass. After that similarly, 50ml from the white glass is poured into the orange glass.

Of the two quantities, the amount of apple juice in the orange glass and the amount of orange juice in the white glass, which one is greater and by how much?

Answer:

The two quantities are equal.

Solve it by taking example. Let's assume that both glasses contain 450 ml of juice each.

Now, 50ml of the orange juice is taken and poured into the White glass. Hence, orange colored glass contains 400 ml of Orange juice and white glass contains 450 ml of Apple juice and 50 ml of Orange juice i.e. total of 500 ml from white glass contains 450 ml of Apple juice and 50 ml of Orange juice. It means that every 50 ml from white glass contains 45 ml of Apple juice and 5 ml of Orange juice.

Similary, 50 ml of juice from white glass is poured into orange glass. Now this 50 ml is not a pure apple juice. It contains 45 ml of Apple juice and 5 ml of Orange juice.

Hence, Orange glass contains 405 ml of Orange juice and 45 ml of Apple juice. Similary, white glass contains 405 ml of Apple juice and 45 ml of Orange juice.

Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Investment Banking Questions to Prepare For

* Why investment banking versus sales and trading? What is the difference?

* In what area of investment banking do you want to work? Can you tell us 3 differences between a generalist and someone in a sponsor group?

* Tell me about the time you worked the hardest in your life.

* On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the hard working and 10 being smart, which one are you? (hint: they want you to, ideally, say 1. They want people who are hard working given the long nights involved).

* Tell me about a time you had to develop relationships with others.

* Do you follow the market? For how long? Do you invest?

* Describe a situation in which it was difficult to obtain information you needed, and how you managed to be successful.

* Do you follow any stocks? Which ones and why?

* What was our firm's stock price yesterday?

* Describe an instance in which you've had a significant impact on a situation, either inside or outside your job.

Give concise answers.


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Question #44: Do Your Socks Match?

Q: Let’s say you need to get up very early for an interview - in fact, before sunrise. You don’t want to wake your spouse, so you need to select your socks in the dark. In your drawer you have 8 red socks and 11 blue socks that are otherwise identical. What is the minimum number of socks you will need to take out of your drawer and carry into the other room to ensure you have a matching pair?


A: An oldie but goodie, this question is commonly asked and the solution is quite simple. The answer is you need to take three socks, that’s it. Two socks can be different, but a third must match one of the first two.


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

Tough Interview Question #43: The Macro Cube

Q: Picture a 10×10x10 “macro-cube” on the table. This big cube is made up of 1×1x1 “micro-cubes”. Your dog walks by and knocks the macro cube off with his tail, causing it to crash to the ground. When it hits, the impact causes the entire outer layer of micro-cubes to fall off. How many micro-cubes are on the floor?


A: First, don’t beat the dog, he was just happy to see you. This is a popular question and you should be ready for it. There are a couple ways to solve this. The first (not the best), is to count the number of cubes on each face and add them up. This math is confusing for most people.
The better solution is to focus on the structure of the problem. The original macro-cube and new smaller macro-cube hold the answer. The difference between their volumes is how many micro-cubes fell off. The volume of a cube is n cubed. The answer is, therefore, 10 cubed - 8 cubed. So, 1,000 - 512 = 488.

Note: A common mistake is for people to think because only one layer fell off, the solution is 10 cubed - 9 cubed.



Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

Tough Interview Question #42: Hats and a Blind Man

Let's hear it for hedge finds to ask fun questions.

Q: Inside of a dark closet are five hats: three blue and two red. Three smart men go into the closet, and each selects a hat in the dark and places it unseen upon his head. Each man knows both that the closet contains three blue hats and two red and that the other two men have the same knowledge.

Once outside the closet, no man can see his own hat. The first man looks at the other two, thinks, and says, “I cannot tell what color my hat is.” The second man hears this, looks at the other two and says, “I too cannot tell the color of my hat.” The third man is blind. The blind man says, “Well, I know what color my hat is!”

What color is the blind man’s hat and how do you know?

A: If the first man saw the other two both wearing red hats, he would know his own hat was blue. Since he says he does not know its color, the second and third both know that between them, they are wearing both blue, or else one red and one blue.

Therefore if the second man could see a red hat on the first or third, he would know his own hat was blue.

So, when the second announces that he cannot determine his own hat color, he effectively tells the third that his hat is blue.


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Question #41: Give Me An Example of a Time Where You Failed.

The rest of the question is, "Were you disturbed by this? What actions did you take?"

I often think of questions like this coming in sales jobs--I failed to make quota for a quarter. Sometimes, it I asked in an operations job--I was given certain performance objectives and failed to meet them.

I think of the answer to this question as requiring an actor to really deliver the answer. The theme to it is the same no matter what the failure is you decide to reference. I'll use sales as an example.

"Frankly, I wasn't disturbed by it (pause) . . . I was angry with myself! Look, failing to meet targets has never happened to me before and has never happened since. Part of it involved not having sufficient time to ramp up . . . but that's an excuse, I needed to manage my tie and effort better and deliver what I was responsible for.

"And that's what I did. I came in $4 million below my $13 million quota and I was determined to make up what I missed and then some and made sure my boss knew. And that is what I did--$18.5 million the next quarter, $22 million the quarter after that and I haven;t looked back since."


Jeff Altman
The Big Game Hunter Concepts in Staffing thebiggamehunter@cisny.com © 2008 all rights reserved. Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

He is the author of “Get Yourself Hired NOW! The Big Game Hunter’s Guide to Head Hunting Your Next Job and Every Job After That” (in ebook and audio formats) and “Get Your Job Search Organized NOW!” (ebook) Both are available at www.getyourselfhiredNOW.com Register at the site and you will receive free copies of The International Job Board List and a Guide to Resume Writing. To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com.
Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series
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Indian Job Network: Network for Work in India

Tough Interview Question #40: What Motivates You To Go The Extra Mile (on a Project or A Job)

In my thinking, there is a suggestion in this question . . . mjost people do average work and need motivation or crisis to extend themselves. I believe the way to answer this is to acknowledge the suggestion and flip it.

You need to look the interview square in the eye and speak with sincerity.


"It's unfortunate that so many people are unwilling to go the extra mile all the time as part of their job. That they do see the the value of caring enough about their job or their employer to be busting a gut to do excellent work, to see problems, offer solutions or ideas to management . . .Its unfortunate that you have to ask questions like this because so many people most face crisis or be motivated to go the extra mile."

"That problem is not a part of my make up."


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us
And then you sit quietly and wait for the next question.



© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Quetion #39: How Have You Improved Your Knowledge Over The Past Year or So?

Few employers will care if you have read Tolstoy or Dostoevsky over the past year or became involved with chanting.

What they care about is work related knowledge you have obtained. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't mention reading "War and Peace," but contextualize it.

For example, "I returned to school and have been attending a graduate program in literature because I have always been fascinated by great works. So, this semester, I needed to read 'War and Peace' and 'The Brothers Karamazov' in 4 weeks. Keeping to a schedule like that has helped me with time management techniques, managing resources and asking for help that I found difficult to do before."

Now your answer is always easiest if you reference a professional class you attended or certification training you obtained.


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Questions #38: What Do You Worry About?

Worrying is for losers. Admit to worrying and you are seen as a "Nervous Nelly".

Instead, redefine the word and change the perception.

Re-define it as being achievement-oriented and that you mull things over from different angles.

For example, "
I am a goal-oriented person. What I tend to do to keep turning things over in my mind that keeps me from achieving those goals until I find a solution. That’s part of my tenacity,”

Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Questions #37: Behavioral Interviewing: Ambition

1. How many hours a day do you put in at work (or what were your study habits like in school)?

2. Who is the greatest influence in your self-development?

3. Describe the ideal organization that you would like to work for.

4. Describe a project that was implemented primarily because of your efforts. What was your role and what was the outcome?

5. How do you feel about working for a company of this size? What do you see as the benefits and drawbacks?

6. Why should we hire you?

7. Tell us about a time when you had to go above and beyond the call of duty to get something done professionally.

8. Tell me about a time where you made a suggestion that went beyond the call of duty.

9. Who is or was the greatest influence in your self-development?

10. Describe a time that you pushed through something you believed in.


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Questions #36: Behavioral Interviewing: Attention to Detail

Behavioral interviewing is a relatively new style of interviewing that was developed in the 1970's by industrial psychologists. Behavioral interviewing asserts that "the most accurate predictor of future performance is past performance in a similar situation."

It is one of the current fashions in human resource and management interviewing because it is designed to focus on behaviors and attributes that would allow a new employee to be successful in a new position.

Although I believe that it is often misused, because it is part of the current fashion (much like some of the other questions I have been coaching you for that reflects a previous style of interviewing), it must be paid attention to and prepared for.

In this section, we focus on offering you attention to detail questions that will allow you to be prepared when this line of inquiry begins.

Please give me some examples of things you have done on previous jobs that have demonstrated your ability to pay attention to detail. What resulted from your actions?

Please give me an example of where you may have found an error in some aspect of work that others may have overlooked. What was the error, how did you find out, what actions did you take, and what resulted from your actions?
Do you notice the quality of detailed thought they are looking for in the questioning? it goes beyond that to seeing how you interact with others. Do you create conflict or solutions? Are you cooperative or argumentative?

Here are a few more:

Tell about a time when you needed to develop and use a detailed procedure to successfully complete a project.
Tell us about a job or setting where great precision to detail was required to complete a task. How did you handle that situation?

How did you go about making the changes (step by step)? Please answer in depth or detail such as “What were you thinking at that point?” or “Tell me more about meeting with that person”, or “Lead me through your decision process”.
Please describe your experience in past jobs that required you to be especially alert to details while doing the task involved.

Some people consider themselves to be “big picture people” and others are “detail oriented”. Which are you? Give an example of a time when you displayed this.
This has danger associate with it because you need to understand the nature of the job and the corporate culture to answer it to the interviewer's satisfaction.
Here are a few more to prepare for:
Describe a situation where you had the option to leave the details to others or you could take care of them yourself.

Tell us about a situation where attention to detail was either important or unimportant in accomplishing an assigned task.
Tell us about a difficult experience you had in working with details.

These are all questions that require you to dig a little deeper and reveal facets of your personality as it pertains to attention to detail.

REMEMBER: What does your potential answer tell them about you in the context of the job being discussed?

Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Question #35: Why Should I Hire You Instead of an Internal Candidate?

When answering this question, you need to understand that they have already made that decision by interviewing you and other external candidates. They have already considered internal candidates and found them deficient in some way. That should ease some pressure from you and offer you a gateway to answering the question powerfully, yet kindly.

Acknowledge the situation.

"It is a great organization that wants to acknowledge give its internal staff opportunities for promotion and advancement. It's a wise one that evaluates all of its options to decide what serves the organization best."

"After interviewing me and, perhaps other internal candidates, you may decide that an internal candidate offers the best choice for serving the needs of the organization. At the same time, it is critical to make a decision that best serves the organization and its needs, instead of being loyal to someone who may not be capable of delivering what is needed."

"Now, I don't know the experience and capabilities of the internal candidates, but you have given me an idea of what you are looking for in someone to fill this position."

You have spoken of . . . .

Now review the job description and how your experience fits the role so that you can help them see what an easy decision it is to choose you.



Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Question #34: Tell Me About a Typical Day

This is a fascinatingly simple question that so many people do a terrible job with by going through the minutiae of heir day.

Arrive at work at 9AM
Hang up coat
Pour coffee

I won't go through everything; I think you get the idea just from those three.

But if you think about the job and what the interviewer cares about and illustrate how your work relates to what they care about, then the focus is something positive.

Even if there is no "typical day," you can say that there is no typical day because on some days you do this, and others you do that.

If your work is such that you maintain or preserve certain types of work during some periods and at other times, you do projects where you are doing something completely different, you can say that, too.

Just spend time talking about your daily work in the contxt of the job they are trying to fill.


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Question #33: Tell Me Five Words That Describe Your Character

This is one of the few questions for which I will not offer a specific answer, but instead the thinking about the questions.

For a second think of what your answer would be--honestly. No influence from me.

Once you have it, what is the message you convey about yourself with your answer and how would it appeal or repel a potential employer?

For example, answering

Leader
Hardworking
Honest
Caring
Generous

Might evoke follow questions asking you to talk about what you mean by "caring" and "generous". Do you notice how leader, hardworking and honest might be overlooked and the curiosity takes the interviewer to the other, more "sincere" character items?


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Question #32: What Qualities Do You Believe a Successful Manager Should Have?

I believe that there are three qualities you should highlight.

Leadership.
Vision.
Knowledge.

Leadership and vision are intertwined.

So, the idea is to say that there are two qualities that are intertwined--leadership and vision and then, ideally, the manager also has knowledge of the function they are managing.

You continue by saying that the ideal leader is one who can set the vision for the staff of where they are going (set the course), provide direction to them along the way based upon their experience and then inspire the staff to achieve it.

Then, offer an example of someone who was such a leader.

Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.

Tough Interview Question #31: Have You Ever Had to Fire Someone? How did it feel?

Never.

Never.

NEVERNever make it seem like you enjoy firing people. Never seem like you detest firing people.

Just answer that sometimes, it is the right thing to do given business circumstances. Sometimes, that circumstance involves a reduction in staff to help a company survive; sometimes, it is releasing an employee whose behavior does not support the group's objectives, mission or requirements.

Whatever the circumstance, never speak of a responsibility you undertake lightly.


Jeff Altman 
The Big Game Hunter
www.TheBigGameHunter.us

JeffAltman@TheBigGameHunter.us

© 2008 all rights reserved.