How do you answer these interview questions?

ehnde

We've all heard these interview questions in almost every single interview we've had. I'd venture to say the more corporate the job, the more likely you are to see these questions.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Tell me about yourself.

Why should we hire you?


Maybe your interviewer doesn't give a crap how you answer and are thinking about what's for lunch instead. I'm just curious how you guys answer these questions. Are you brief and to the point? Do you ACTUALLY tell them your weaknesses?

Here are my answers....
Q: What are your strengths and weaknesses?
A: I don't like to dwell on weakness, pessimism is counter-productive. I can work as a team player, or contribute towards company goals working independently. My mind is geared towards troubleshooting and problem solving. There are times when I may not know the correct answer or methodology to solve a problem, but I make a point of knowing which reference to use or who to ask for help.

Q: Tell me about yourself.
<Brief job history, reminder of education listed on resume, wife and kids, most interesting hobby, what certs I have>

Q: Why should we hire you?
I want the job, and I believe you can look back a year from now and think to yourself "Man, I'm glad I hired this guy!".

RouteThisWay

I just be honest. I just answer truthfully and go from there. I think interviewers appreciate honesty instead of the typical HR mumbo. Especially other data guys who are interviewing.

This is what I used for these questions (which I was asked) in my last interview which landed me the sys admin job I was offered and I start on the 31st.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?
I feel that my greatest strength is my ability to pick up new technology. I have been told I have a strong technical aptitude (I even provided references which also stated this without coaching luckily enough). My weakness is something I think is plagued through many IT departments and is the fact that we (I specifically said we to designate how my current org is run) are a bit reactive in my opinion. I think I should take a more proactive approach to situations and handle problems before they become problems.

Tell me about yourself.
Honestly, I just explain a brief blurb about where I am from, what I have done, etc. I explained why I got into technology, what excites me about it, where I see myself etc. I felt employers wanted to find out what you know, want to know, and how you plan to get to where you want to be.

Why should we hire you?
I simply told them that I know I wasn't as experienced as other applicants, I am not naive. However, being less experienced means I am hungry. It means that my drive for learning is at a much higher level than others. It also means I don't have bad habits that would carry over that I may have developed through the years. I could learn to do it the __(insert company name)___ way and do it right. I then explained I am looking for a company to grow with. I don't want just another job, I want a career.



That's really about it. I didn't read any online articles or "how to answer interview questions" wiki pages. I didn't prepare for the interview by studying or going over notes. If you know it, you know it. If you don't, you don't. Answer the questions honestly, and you will be fine. Don't be afraid to say you don't know, but it is something you are interested in and know how to find the answer.

rsutton

I've been asked the weakness question before and I think I answered to the effect of "I don't always follow up with the client as soon as I should. I realize this a weakness and I am working on making it a strength! (which was true)". It's not a fun question because the "right" answer for one hiring manager could be the wrong answer to someone else. I hope that the person interviewing me will appreciate that I realize my weakness and that I am working on it. I think that would be the point of this question for most.

On the "Tell me about yourself question", I keep it career orientated for the most part, but there is also the fact that they want to know what type of a person you are. You could be the best system admin out there but if someone doesn't want to spend 40 hours a week next to you because you can't carry on a normal conversation, or don't have anything interesting to talk about, you may get pushed aside for someone with a more balanced personality. Soft skills weigh in big on these questions.

I liked what you wrote for the "Why should we hire you" question. Another soft skill question. Be confident yet humble at the same time.

millworx

Well for me on these interview questions depends on the position.

My strengths I usually talk a bit about my background in routing and switching and let them know that being exposed to it on a daily basis has made me strong in that area. At the same time I am unfortuantely not a robot, so I dont know everything about everything, but being a quick learner I always know how to access the resources I need to come up with an answers, and I'm not headstrong to the point where I will never accept help if I truly need it.

When I start talking about myself, I let them know how I got into this career field, start talking about how I started C++ programming when I was 8 because my father was an engineer and took the time to teach me and then in High School I signed up for the Cisco Networking Academy at age 14, and from there I really developed my passion for networking. I let them know I'm a pretty passionate person when it comes to technology and how I'm like a sponge always looking to learn more.

When they ask why I want this job. I usually start talking about what I like about the company, and how I've kind of reached a platue in my career and am looking for a new opportunity to gain more knowledge and exposure.

I dunno what do you think?

ltgenspecific

As a caveat, my original education is in Professional and Applied Ethics. This is a fancy way of saying that I have a degree in Human Resource Management, etc.

1. When asked about your weaknesses, in any form, there are a couple of schools of thought on how to answer appropriately. Most are acceptable as long as you don't fumble about. I can tell you that there is a current trend in hiring that should define exactly one thing you should NOT do:

DO NOT use this as an excuse to talk about a strength. Example - "Well, often I become too focused on the task at hand. Previous employers have noted that I have exceptional attention to detail and this can often cause me put less energy into mundane tasks." OR PERHAPS A BETTER ONE: "My greatest weakness is that I work too hard. Often I find that a 60-hour work week won't burn me out as I love what I do."

As odd as it seems, most folks try to spin this question away from weaknesses. DON'T DO THAT. If your applying for a SysAdmin job, talk about the fact that despite hours of classroom/lab experience you have yet to really configure an RODC in a real-world evironment. BE SPECIFIC, but emphasis how EXCITED you are to learn and contribute to "the continued growth of the company... blah blah blah."

Weaknesses aren't asked about because HR folks are lazy (although some are). They are asked about for two reasons.
(1) Is this person psychologically balanced enough to recognize that they aren't the greatest thing since sliced bread (aka, Every company does things differently, can we train you and will you buy into how it works here at Company XX).
(2) In a technical setting, are you honest?

The other two questions are psych-profiling questions too. But we all know that and your answers would be sufficient. Maybe on the last one, really sell yourself. Be confident and emphasize your desire to contribute to the great things Company XX is doing.

Just my 2c (Grain-of-salt though, some HR folks are just going through the formality of a 32 page interview form they have to complete for every interview).