ed a new process which reduces the baking time of a loaf by 20 per cent.

This will also make

them tough to compete against. I would say in order to secure the long-term success of your
business you will need to ensure that you are keeping up with technological advances in the
manufacture of your product. You will also have to tie your suppliers down to deals that secure
your supply of raw material, with minimal fluctuations in price, and you will need to ensure that
your distribution system is at least as good as your competitors to enable you to keep abreast of
them in terms of getting goods to market as fresh as is possible. This answer demonstrates your
commercial and business acumen by offering the employer a chance to see that you can develop
an opinion based on various sources of information and not just regurgitate the corporate blurb.
COMMON INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND HOW TO ANSWER THEM 7 1
QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP BUILDING In the vast majority of working
environments, people are required to interact with others on some level or other. Your potential
new employer is looking to reassure themselves that you will fit in. Is that strictly necessary?
I hear you ask in a fiendishly clever, Devils advocate sort of way. Look at it this way: how do
you feel about new people coming to spend time with you? Be truthful, would you more expect
them to fit into you and your groups social norms, or feel that its more you and your groups
responsibility to fit in with the new person? Hmmm, call me psychic, but Im betting its the
former. The employer is using these questions in a two-pronged approach. Firstly, he or she may
be exploring whether or not you can build relationships as that is part of the job requirement, or
he/she might be seeking confirmation that you are of a similar personal disposition to the team
where the vacancy lies. My advice to you is, once again, to be true to yourself. If you try to adopt
a persona that you feel is the type suited to the team in question and you get the job, it will not be
that long before your true self comes out and that may be in conflict with others. There are not
many people, actors excepted, that can carry off displaying behavioural characteristics that are
different from their own for any length of time. You may also find that you have talked yourself
into the job and regret it because your new colleagues are not your kind of people either! Tell
me about a recent situation when you had to build a relationship with a new colleague. Why was
the relationship important? This question can be answered equally well from the point of view of
a subordinate or a manager. As a manager your relationship with your Q direct reports will often
influence how well your department performs, therefore its imperative you get your team
pulling for you as much as they are pulling for themselves. A typical answer might be: When I
took over as Team Leader in my last job, I realised that Id have to gain credibility really quickly.
I decided not to trot out the old platitudes about my door always being open etc., but rather
tried to make myself seem grounded and definitely on their side. I knew that one of the team had
applied for my job and had the potential to undermine me from within, so one of my first tasks
was to take him aside (I did 1-2-1 meetings with all of my staff in my first week) and shared with
him my views on being new in the role. I told him I needed someone whom I could trust, to be
my guide to office politics and to steer me through the minefield of the organisations policies
and procedures. He was delighted to be separated out from the rest of the team like that, to be
treated like a trusted aide so quickly. However, I knew this was a high-risk strategy as he might
have reacted negatively in a fit of pique, but thankfully it turned out well. From a subordinates
position, a good answer might be: When I first joined the team I realised that I had to fit in really
quickly. I made sure I asked lots and lots of questions relating to my job, but I took an interest in
peoples personal lives too without prying of course. I made sure that I remembered peoples
partners names etc., and to ask how their children had got on at sports day, for example, if a
colleague happened to mention she was excited about her son taking part. I was scrupulous in

meeting deadlines or getting back to people when I said I would and I was always honest enough
to admit when I didnt know something or couldnt help someone. That way people would trust
me and I would be seen as credible and reliable. 7 2 HOW TO ANSWER HARD INTERVIEW
QUESTIONS COMMON INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND HOW TO ANSWER THEM 7
3 Think of someone whos particularly effective at building and maintaining relationships with
others. What do they do exactly? This question is not only about you having self-awareness, but
also the ability to spot such traits in others. You can use a bit of poetic licence here if you wish.
After all, if you describe this person in the correct way, it could be Hamish McTavish from
Glasgow (who might not even exist) to Sir Richard Branson (who may or may not be as you
describe him). Either way, the crux of the matter here is for you to describe this person, ficticious
or otherwise, using the right type of adjectives. I used to work with this chap called Ewan. Ive
never seen someone who could get so many people to do things for him when he needed them to
or to be so readily accepted in any company. From my observations of him I saw that he always
communicated in the same relaxed and friendly manner with everyone, no matter what their
position in the company. Hed occasionally work late in order to get things completed for other
people. He genuinely seemed to care about others and always made a point of being extra helpful
to new people. I once asked him what he thought he did that made people trust him, and he
simply told me that he always treated others like he expected to be treated: he was truthful, kept
his promises, didnt make excessive demands on others, and acted on the basis that people are
intrinsically good and would rather do you a good turn than a bad one. I suppose you might say
that some couldve thought him nave, but I didnt. He lived up to his own ideals which made
people round about him live up to them too. How do you behave when you meet new people?
The reality might be that you might behave differently each time you meet new people.
However, they really wouldnt ask you a question like Q Q 7 4 HOW TO ANSWER HARD
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS this to get such a bland answer as that would they? No. If you didnt
answer no at this point, go stand in the corner and come and see me at home time. What they
are getting at here is are you self-aware enough of your own behaviours and how they affect
others? Can you adapt depending on the character or nature of who you are with? Im conscious
that I dont dominate the conversation when I meet new people. I genuinely like people, so I ask
a lot of questions not enough to be accused of prying, but I always try and remember the details
of what they say to me. Maybe its their interests, or things theyve said about their family. I then
drop it into conversation and the response is usually positive