What was a question in an interview that through you for a loop?

Anonymous

May 19,2022 at 6:41PM UTC

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What was a question in an interview that through you for a loop?

I have my second round interview for a job I would really like tomorrow! I am used to preparing for the basics but this is also only my first Data Analyst interview as I am switching from the social science to the tech industry. Any tough questions that you have gotten in a similar field?

A tough question (for a more research less tech job) that through me was what would you say are your 3 defining characteristics as a human being? It was for a nonprofit and I was like *mind blown who am i??* lol.

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Lesa Edwards, Career Coach & Master Resume WriterMay 19,2022 at 7:16PM UTC
The toughest questions are always going to be of the type you mentioned, rather than technical questions (e.g. "How would you build XXX or execute YYY?")
My best advice: Read the job description for the competencies they will be looking for, then think of stories you can tell that show evidence of those competencies.
I teach my clients the CARL method of answering behavioral questions:
Challenge (What was the situation)
Action (What steps did you take)
Result (How did it turn out)
Lessons Learned (What did you learn)
AnonymousMay 19,2022 at 9:29PM UTC
What I typically do is pick apart the job announcement itself. Separate out every detail of responsibility they point out and on a word document I generate interview questions from those details. I put in answers I do not know and research ones I do and rehearse.
If the first interview focused on all the job duties and responsibilities, normally a second phase interview focuses on you as a person to see if you are a fit.
1) What is your strongest quality in terms of leading people/projects/programs and why
2) Tell me about your most challenging assignment/personal conflict at work (typically they tend to ask this question 10 different ways, but have atleast 5 instances that relate back to this question and you should be good
3) Give us an example of how you took criticism or gave constructive criticism at work. What was the outcome or what did you do with that criticism
4) Why do you want to come work for us? Make sure you research the company's mission/values etc, org chart structure, speak to details about the company. And any information that describes their culture/environment
Good Luck!
AnonymousMay 19,2022 at 11:38PM UTC
Love this and perfect timing as I'm interviewing. Thank you for sharing!
AnonymousMay 20,2022 at 7:35PM UTC
No problem and best of luck to you! You got this!
Julie Chatman, MBA, CISMMay 21,2022 at 4:46PM UTC
One of the interview panelists accused me of not looking at his LinkedIn profile ahead of the interview because he did not see me in his “who viewed your profile list.”
He asked me why.
This made the other panelists uncomfortable but I didn’t let it rattle me.
I explained that I have LinkedIn Premium and viewed his profile in Private mode.