Questions That Blatantly Ask You to Sell Yourself
To some extent, you are always being asked to sell yourself on a job interview.
This is important to remember when certain questions appear to yank you away from your primary
goal. What makes the following questions a bit easier than most is that there is no agenda on the
interviewer’s part, other than learning why you feel like you’re the ideal candidate. Some common,
winning themes that you will want to bring out in your answers are:
1. The ability to bounce back from career setbacks (if you’ve had any).
2. Results, results, results. Never hold back on good strong results!
3. What you do in your spare time (or during working hours) to make you an A-player rather than a
B-player.
4. Your ability to handle pressure, including adversity.
5. Your desirability. Remember this always: YOU are your strongest advocate!
11. What is the most difficult thing that you’ve ever accomplished?
A. I changed the corporate culture of the company where I was working. When I first arrived, there
was a poisonous atmosphere. Everyone kept their doors closed all day long. To put it mildly, there
was no esprit de corps. I decided to do something fairly radical. I sent out a memo to the entire staff
saying that, effectively immediately, the company had an open-door policy. For about a month
afterwards, I would case the halls. If I discovered that someone’s door was closed, I would take it as
an invitation to enter that office without knocking. Inevitably, there would be at least two people
inside gossiping. I would ask them to talk to me about whatever the problem was, and they were very
forthcoming! There were two great results of the open door policy. The first was that I had a chance
to find out what people’s issues were with the company. And the second was that everyone started
leaving their doors open, and morale definitely improved 100 percent.
12. Can you tell me about a recent achievement that you’re proud of?
A. The “Ireland NOW!” program that I implemented boosted package tours by 30 percent. The
program encouraged Americans to rediscover James Joyce, and other local Irish legends, by making a
pilgrimage to Ireland on Bloomsday, which is June 16. Thousands of travelers wrote letters
complimenting the program, and telling us how much they had learned from their journeys. And the
positive word-of-mouth that the “Ireland NOW!” program received boosted advance bookings for the
following summer by 50 percent.
When you are asked this type of question, talk about results. Use hard numbers
wherever possible. This is your opportunity to shine.
13. What do you like to do on the weekends?
A. I spend one full afternoon every weekend catching up on general interest publications, such as
the New York Times Arts & Leisure section, Business Week, Esquire, GQ, and Vogue. I find that
doing so keeps my finger on the pulse of popular culture, and helps me come up with marketing ideas
for our line of home décor products. I also read the trades, of course, but I find that once a trend is
reported there, it’s already played, and I’d rather spot trends on the upswing.
For example, a couple of years ago, I detected a trend towards minimalism, and, as a result,
recommended a whole line of “white on white” paints, furniture, and accessories for the home office
that boosted our brand sales by 30 percent. I also scour yard sales during the weekends, because I can
often tell what’s about to be “in” by the stuff from the attic that people are throwing out.
Read everything. Even dry research reports may contain pearls of wisdom. Ignorance is
inexcusable.
14. What special traits do you have that make you well-suited to this job?
A. I’m punctual, organized, get along well with people, and am supremely diligent. I also pore over
every word of the research reports that we receive. There is so much information, all around us, that
can help us do our jobs so much better, if we simply bother to read it. You would be amazed at how
many times I have been able to sell through an idea simply by referring to some fact, or little gem of
knowledge, that I unearthed about one of our products or one of our competitor’s.
15. Can you describe a time when you felt under pressure to perform? What was the
outcome?
A. Certainly, Marcia. As an associate at DHK, I used to travel to board meetings with my boss,
Cara Gordon. One day, Cara couldn’t attend an important meeting, and she sent me to cover for her. I
sat in a board meeting of an electronics company, and became very concerned that they weren’t
following best practices. There were a number of accounting discrepancies that I noticed, and so I
practically assaulted the CFO with question after question!
To some extent, you are always being asked to sell yourself on a job interview.
This is important to remember when certain questions appear to yank you away from your primary
goal. What makes the following questions a bit easier than most is that there is no agenda on the
interviewer’s part, other than learning why you feel like you’re the ideal candidate. Some common,
winning themes that you will want to bring out in your answers are:
1. The ability to bounce back from career setbacks (if you’ve had any).
2. Results, results, results. Never hold back on good strong results!
3. What you do in your spare time (or during working hours) to make you an A-player rather than a
B-player.
4. Your ability to handle pressure, including adversity.
5. Your desirability. Remember this always: YOU are your strongest advocate!
11. What is the most difficult thing that you’ve ever accomplished?
A. I changed the corporate culture of the company where I was working. When I first arrived, there
was a poisonous atmosphere. Everyone kept their doors closed all day long. To put it mildly, there
was no esprit de corps. I decided to do something fairly radical. I sent out a memo to the entire staff
saying that, effectively immediately, the company had an open-door policy. For about a month
afterwards, I would case the halls. If I discovered that someone’s door was closed, I would take it as
an invitation to enter that office without knocking. Inevitably, there would be at least two people
inside gossiping. I would ask them to talk to me about whatever the problem was, and they were very
forthcoming! There were two great results of the open door policy. The first was that I had a chance
to find out what people’s issues were with the company. And the second was that everyone started
leaving their doors open, and morale definitely improved 100 percent.
12. Can you tell me about a recent achievement that you’re proud of?
A. The “Ireland NOW!” program that I implemented boosted package tours by 30 percent. The
program encouraged Americans to rediscover James Joyce, and other local Irish legends, by making a
pilgrimage to Ireland on Bloomsday, which is June 16. Thousands of travelers wrote letters
complimenting the program, and telling us how much they had learned from their journeys. And the
positive word-of-mouth that the “Ireland NOW!” program received boosted advance bookings for the
following summer by 50 percent.
When you are asked this type of question, talk about results. Use hard numbers
wherever possible. This is your opportunity to shine.
13. What do you like to do on the weekends?
A. I spend one full afternoon every weekend catching up on general interest publications, such as
the New York Times Arts & Leisure section, Business Week, Esquire, GQ, and Vogue. I find that
doing so keeps my finger on the pulse of popular culture, and helps me come up with marketing ideas
for our line of home décor products. I also read the trades, of course, but I find that once a trend is
reported there, it’s already played, and I’d rather spot trends on the upswing.
For example, a couple of years ago, I detected a trend towards minimalism, and, as a result,
recommended a whole line of “white on white” paints, furniture, and accessories for the home office
that boosted our brand sales by 30 percent. I also scour yard sales during the weekends, because I can
often tell what’s about to be “in” by the stuff from the attic that people are throwing out.
Read everything. Even dry research reports may contain pearls of wisdom. Ignorance is
inexcusable.
14. What special traits do you have that make you well-suited to this job?
A. I’m punctual, organized, get along well with people, and am supremely diligent. I also pore over
every word of the research reports that we receive. There is so much information, all around us, that
can help us do our jobs so much better, if we simply bother to read it. You would be amazed at how
many times I have been able to sell through an idea simply by referring to some fact, or little gem of
knowledge, that I unearthed about one of our products or one of our competitor’s.
15. Can you describe a time when you felt under pressure to perform? What was the
outcome?
A. Certainly, Marcia. As an associate at DHK, I used to travel to board meetings with my boss,
Cara Gordon. One day, Cara couldn’t attend an important meeting, and she sent me to cover for her. I
sat in a board meeting of an electronics company, and became very concerned that they weren’t
following best practices. There were a number of accounting discrepancies that I noticed, and so I
practically assaulted the CFO with question after question!
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