So you’ve got the call, you’ve prepared for it, and here you are.

Your Job Interview.

Now what?

Here are some more typical questions you may get asked during the interview. Hopefully you’ve practiced answers to these questions a long time ago and now you’re ready.

Question: What do you know about this company?

The interviewer is both asking a question and looking for free marketing info. You want to describe an encounter with the company if you’ve had one before. Don’t focus on shooting out all the info you’ve got about the company, they know that already. Talk about why that company is different and better than others in the industry, and why you want to work there.

Short example: I’ve heard about your company while working at my previous job as salesman. I think you’ve done a superior job at promoting technological advancements and innovation, which led you to become a leader in this field. I’m particularly impressed by your new product, and I’m very excited at the opportunity to be working on it in such a great company.

Question: What would be your ideal job?

Ouch, trick question. Talking directly about the company you’re applying for makes you stand as a liar, talking about anything else is a missed opportunity. But if you’ve done your homework about the company, you can come up with a way around this- talk about the company in secret. For example, talk about how your ideal job is in a friendly, relaxed environment if the company values their social atmosphere, or else talk about how your ideal job involved lots of responsibility and opportunities to grow and display initiative.

oLahav’s no-no: “My dream job would be an airplane pilot. Travel around the world, see places, how cool would that be? Yes, that was my answer to this question in an interview once, clearly not for a pilot position. It had absolutely nothing to do with the position I was applying for, so the interviewer couldn’t care less. He probably thought I’m likely to be missing for long periods of time going abroad on vacation or something too…”

Critical thinking question: How many Mars Bars can fit in a truck?

This question, and many similar ones (How many purple cars are in the US? If all the people in world sat on each other’s shoulders making a tower, how high would they reach? etc.) get asked often to try and see your critical thinking process in action. It’s vital that you don’t just think for a bit and throw out a number- the trick is to think out loud and show your reasoning. You can make reasonable estimations, they’re not really looking for an accurate answer.

Example: A Mars Bar is about 8 cm by 3 cm with a height of 2 cm. The volume is then something like 48 cubed cm, almost 50. A truck is much bigger, say 7×5x1 m, so that’s 350 cubed meters and 350000000 cubed cm. That gives 70,000,000 bars. However, I’ll have to check for any restrictions on the cargo weight. Also, the bars may melt if it’s a long trip on a hot day, which may require a refrigerated truck, and that would change the volume and weight… so I’ll guess on average it should be about 50 million bars.

Job test question: What sort of tax discount can I receive for conducting business in Canada using American funding in a sole proprietorship?

This type of question is a test of your knowledge that’s required for your position. If you know the answer, be sure to be as clear and confident as you can while answering the question directly. You can add a bit of off-topic info to show off your knowledge, but don’t get carried away, focus on this question. If you don’t know the answer, don’t guess- confess you don’t know it but add that being a fast learner, you’re eager to learn more and expand your horizons while working at this position.

oLahav-s no-no: “I was applying for an international tax firm and they asked me this question. So I said, I’m guessing a 20% tax cut since it’s American money? I had no idea what I was talking about, it was a complete guess, so of course I got it wrong. The interviewer instantly decided I’m an idiot who doesn’t know anything about taxes, and I didn’t get the job”.

Thanks for reading!

Good Luck Landing the Job!