In this competitive job climate, employers want to know that you are a go-getter. They want to see that you have taken the initiative where it counts and that you are committed to your goals. Look for questions like these that they will ask to ferret out your level of motivation. Key in on answers that will show you are a top performer and can take the bull by the horns.
Q: How long have you been looking for a job?
A: “After I was laid off from my last job, I took some time to figure out what I really wanted to do next. I decided to take the opportunity to take some classes and do some informational interviewing. While I was laid off in October of last year, I have only really begun looking for a new position in the last few weeks. I’m being very selective in what I apply for. This position and company struck me as something I could really contribute to. I am very interested in finding out more about your company and this position.”
Rationale: If the end date of your last position is more than six months in the past, this is a red flag for any employer. They are going to want to know if there is something wrong with you that has caused other employers to pass you by. If you have some reason for delaying your search or have been busy with other endeavors, now is the time to say that. If that’s not the case, try to come up with a positive spin – like how you recently revamped your resume, did some mock interviews, and are now approaching your job search differently. Whatever the case, you are now positive, and are looking for a good fit in a tough market.
Q: How do you keep current about your job and/or industry?
A: “I am big on reading the industry websites – I subscribe to a couple RSS feeds that really help me keep on top of the latest developments. I check out webinars whenever I can. I used to attend workshops on a regular basis, but I have found that now I can teach most of them. I actually do give workshops at conferences occasionally. I belong to a couple of industry groups and sometimes they ask me to do that. The main thing is to find out what’s being said, and form my own opinion. There are a couple pundits that I have found to be accurate again and again, and these I trust. The rest is just food for thought.”
Rationale: Be honest. If you don’t know an RSS feed from an ISP, then you should just stick to the tried and true. But it never hurts to let the interviewer know if you are very tech-savvy. Name names whenever possible, as long as they are names you are familiar with – websites, gurus, magazines. If the last time you looked at the Wall Street Journal, the Nasdaq was over 13,000, you should just leave that out.
Q: When have you been most satisfied in your career? And why?
A: “I was most satisfied in my most recent position. I had a great deal of responsibility, but a lot of leeway in how I was able to accomplish things. We had a good team, and I enjoyed just about everything about the job. I enjoyed working with our members and trying to find solutions to meet the challenges of marketing our different departments. And I really enjoyed doing the monthly newsletter. Unfortunately, the recession caused our membership to drop to such an extent that I was last hired, first laid off. Still, I had some great successes there, such as signing up 46 sponsors for our annual golf tournament, producing some great publications, and increasing the membership of our environmental program by 50% through a targeted marketing campaign that included recognition of the current members for the first time.”
Rationale: Include specifics about why you were satisfied. What did you most enjoy? Can you give some numbers on successful projects? Did you enjoy the work, the customers, the co-workers, the company culture? Keep it positive and toot your horn. The employer wants to see what motivates you – is it people, accomplishments, rewards, or something else?
Q: Do you consider yourself a self-starter? Can you give me an example of this?
A: “Yes, I actually do consider myself a self-starter. My motto is ‘Motivation is what you do when nobody’s looking.’ And my goal overall is to hold myself above reproach, to try to foresee problems and consider solutions, to put backups in place, and to look at my work from someone else’s perspective. I don’t generally wait to be told to do something, I try to think of things I can do to benefit the situation. I set myself deadlines for each part of a project, and I try to beat expectations whenever possible. For instance, when I was told to build the membership guide, I had to find resources to tell me how to use the template and how to download the data, because the previous person who did it had left no records of the process. I then created a process instruction sheet so that it was down in writing.”
Rationale: In most positions, being a self-starter will be a desirable trait. But keep in mind the position that you are interviewing for. You don’t want to appear that you like to go off as a loose cannon if the position is a support position. You do want to show with examples, whenever possible, that you are capable of taking initiative and getting the job done, without someone standing over your shoulder. Be as specific as you can.
Q: Describe a work-related goal that you have set for yourself.
A: “I am interested in becoming more adept at using technology to help me be more productive and efficient in my job. To do this, this year I plan to get a smartphone so that I can take advantage of little pieces of downtime, like if I’m waiting in line. I also want to learn more about RSS feeds and how they can help me keep up to date on current trends. I don’t want to work in IT, but I do want to be as up to speed as possible about the technology that will help me do my job better.”
Rationale: This could be anything. If you are not into gadgets, then just go for something else. If you are in customer service, it could be learning Spanish or another foreign language. If you are in sales, it could be a specific sales goal – besting your previous best. Your goal should reflect that you are competing against yourself to make yourself the best employee that you can be. It should be specific, measurable and ambitious.
It should not be hard to show that you are motivated and can take initiative. It’s going to be pretty difficult in this climate to land a job unless you can show that you are near the top of the heap in your given field. Start thinking of things that you really do want to improve about yourself. You’d be surprised how many of your personal goals could transfer well into career-related goals, translating into a motivated job seeker.
In this competitive job climate, employers want to know that you are a go-getter. They want to see that you have taken the initiative where it counts and that you are committed to your goals. Look for questions like these that they will ask to ferret out your level of motivation. Key in on answers that will show you are a top performer and can take the bull by the horns.
