Seeking employment? Stop here for tips.

I agree, it could be a blessing in disguise.

After the dream I had last night, I suppose I should be glad
I won't have to face the commute.

My dreams are so silly. I was stuck in an enormous theater
with hundreds of little shops. Why on earth I was trying to
get a job at a cheesecake factory, I'll never know. Then I was
driving a huge truck, ran smack dab into someone, causing
the vehicle to fold in half. The occupants of the now smashed
vehicle got out and walked away. Ha!

On a lighter note, I found a very interesting list of things an interviewer
may ask. Glad I found this one, I would be so unprepared if some of
these were asked, courtesy of Monster.com:

1. Tell me about yourself.
2. What are your strengths?
3. What are your weaknesses?
4. Who was your favorite manager and why?
5. What kind of personality do you work best with and why?
6. Why do you want this job?
7. Where would you like to be in your career five years from now?
8. Tell me about your proudest achievement.
9. At a business lunch, you order a rare steak. They brought well done, what would you do?
10. If given the salary you requested but let you write your job description for the next year, what would it say?
11. Why is there fuzz on a tennis ball?
12. How would you go about establishing your credibility quickly with the team?
13. No right / wrong answer - If you could be anywhere in the world now, where would you be?
14. How would you feel about working for someone who knows less than you?
15. Was there a person in your career who really made a difference?
16. What's your ideal company?
17. What attracted you to this company?
18. What are you most proud of?
19. What are you looking for in terms of career development?
20. What do you look for in terms of culture -- structured or entrepreneurial?
21. What do you like to do?
22. Give examples of ideas you've had or implemented.
23. What are your lifelong dreams?
24. What do you ultimately want to become?
25. How would you describe your work style?
26. What kind of car do you drive?
27. Tell me about a time where you had to deal with conflict on the job.
28. What's the last book you read?
29. What magazines do you subscribe to?
30. What would be your ideal working situation?
31. Why should we hire you?
32. What did you like least about your last job?
33. What do you think of your previous boss?
34. How do you think I rate as an interviewer?
35. Do you have any questions for me?
36. When were you most satisfied in your job?
37. What can you do for us that other candidates can't?
38. What are three positive things your last boss would say about you?
39. What negative thing would your last boss say about you?
40. If you were an animal, which one would you want to be?
41. What salary are you seeking?
42. What's your salary history?
43. Do you have plans to have children in the near future?
44. What were the responsibilities of your last position?
45. What do you know about this industry?
46. What do you know about our company?
47. How long will it take for you to make a significant contribution?
48. Are you willing to relocate?
49. What was the last project you headed up, and what was its outcome?
50. What kind of goals would you have in mind if you got this job?
51. Give me an example of a time you felt you went above and beyond the call of duty at work.
52. What would you do if you won the lottery?
53. Can you describe a time when your work was criticized?
54. Have you ever been on a team where someone was not pulling their own weight? How did you handle it?
55. What is your personal mission statement?
56. Tell me about when you had to give someone difficult feedback. How did you handle it?
57. What is your greatest failure, and what did you learn from it?
58. What irritates you about other people, and how do you deal with it?
59. What is your greatest fear?
60. Who has impacted you most in your career, and how?
61. What do you see yourself doing within the first 30 days of this job?
62. What's the most important thing you've learned in school?
63. What three character traits would your friends use to describe you?
64. What will you miss about your present/last job?
65. If you were interviewing someone for this position, what traits would you look for?
66. List five words that describe your character.
67. What is your greatest achievement outside of work?
68. Sell me this pencil.
69. If a supervisor asked you to do something you disagreed with, what would you do?
70. Do you think a leader should be feared or liked?
71. What's the most difficult decision you've made in the last two years?
72. What do you like to do for fun?
73. Why are you leaving your present job?
74. What do you do in your spare time?
75. How do you feel about taking no for an answer?
76. What was the most difficult period in your life, and how did you deal with it?
77. What is your favorite memory from childhood?
78. Give me an example of a time you did something wrong. How did you handle it?
79. Tell me one thing about yourself you wouldn't want me to know.
80. Tell me the difference between good and exceptional.
81. Why did your choose your major?
82. What are the qualities of a good leader? A bad leader?
83. What is your biggest regret, and why?
84. What are three positive character traits you don't have?
85. What irritates you about other people, and how do you deal with it?
86. If you found out your company was doing something against the law, like fraud, what would you do?
87. How many times do a clock's hands overlap in a day?
88. How would you weigh a plane without scales?
89. What assignment was too difficult for you, and how did you resolve the issue?
90. If I asked your last supervisor to provide additional training, what would she suggest?
91. If you could choose one superhero power, what would it be and why?
92. What's the best movie you've seen in the last year?
93. How would you handle a situation if you were required to finish multiple tasks by the end of the day, and there was no conceivable way that you could finish them.
94. What techniques and tools do you use to keep yourself organized?
95. If you could get rid of any one of the US states, which one would you get rid of, and why?
96. With your eyes closed, tell me step-by-step how to tie my shoes.
97. if you had to choose one, would you consider yourself a big-picture person or a detail-oriented person?
98. If selected for this position, describe your strategy for the first 90 days.
99. Who are your heroes?
100. Tell me 10 ways to use a pencil other than writing.

Wow, heard plenty of those. But some were new to me, and #43 is illegal to ask. I have had some illegal questions asked me, and I am not sure how to respond to them.
You don't want to say, you can't ask me that question, yet...?

A few of them are a bit touchy, indeed.

#28 for example. If I were to mention which book
I actually read, I would not get the job.

Too bad they didn't have "If I hire you, what can you guarantee?"
To which I would respond "I can guarantee I won't steal from the company
or be sleeping with the boss." Ha!

;-)

Instead of these questions, I would much rather take one of the personality tests, that would be a much more accurate picture, than giving a person a chance to lie, and that is very possible, with some of the questions.

Def, so true. Say, if you happen to still be there, a quick
question.

When the application or interviewer asks what the lowest
pay rate you will accept, let's say the applicant provides a
figure the company can not or will not meet. Is a counter
offer ever made? I'm always afraid I'll sell myself too cheap,
but concerned the job will not be available if I ask too much.

What to do? :-)

great question!!!

Sorry WUVIE, took a break and read awhile. I don't know about industry, as all of my experience was with government, and in interviewing for jobs there, there were job classifications, and a pay scale that went with the classifications. Most all new hires were started at the minimum of the pay scale for that classification, but if they had prior experience in the same field,they could start at mid point,meaning about a 20% increase over the minimum. Most companies, have a range they pay for a certain job. And I would hope that you would have an idea what those ranges were. If you know somebody at that place, maybe you could get a general idea from them what the beginning rates are, and then, maybe say to the interviewer, that you would be willing to start at a lower salary, with an agreement for a review in 30-60 days, and if you have proven yourself as a competent, reliable good worker, than you would assume that they would raise the compensation according to your performance.

Public employment is so different from government work, in that, government employees usually recieve lower salaries, because of the multiple benefits that are offered. I had fully paid medical insurance, for myself, and low cost for covering my family, and a retirement package that is/was phenominal, with an option to participate in a 401K, generous sick, and vacation pay, plus opportunity for overtime, which was compensated not by pay, but with paid time off. My retirement package pays based on years of service, but after 20 years, you have full retirement benefits. It is calculated on your years of service, plus the average of your salary over those 20 years. Considering that I retired with 32 years, my retirement is very good, plus, I will draw Social Security benefits when I am at that age.

So my advice, is salary is not everything, look closely at the benefits that are being offered with the position. You may be able to take a lower salary, in anticipation of a good retirement, or good medical benefits.

Hope that ramble didn't absolutely confuse you.

Hi Def,

Actually, it helped quite a bit, and I do appreciate your time. :-)

One of the applications this afternoon was for a government job,
but I just discovered, if I read it correctly, the ten point preference for
veteran's wives applies only if the veteran was wounded or is receiving
disability.

I remember working with a girl who once had a government job, she
spoke very highly of the position, but didn't say why she left.

Many thanks for all of your help! KM

WUVIE, government jobs are somewhat frustrating, but if you can get one, and can hang on, they are usually very secure. In Ky, State goverment employees are protected by a merit system. Which esentially says that you cannot be discriminated against, cannot be harrased by political candidates for contributions, and have certain job entitlements, like promotions, which are based on seniority, etc. This doesn't completly eliminate someone being promoted ahead of you, but it sure lessens the chances of that happening. You will have to learn the ropes and deal with "red tape", but it is about the same in private employment.

Is Ok a "right to work" state, or is the goverment employees unionized? Ky. is neither, and I understand that those states that are unionized or a right to work state, present a different "ball of wax". I have nothing against unions, DH worked over 30 years under a union, and had no problems, but he was in industry instead of government.

Here, In Ky. Government jobs, who had satellite offices in the counties were usually better jobs than the ones in the capitol. Just because of a smaller staff, and the distance from the beauracacy.

WUVIE, and cparts, if I had a business, and needed employees, I would hire you in a New York minute. Your interest in asking questions, and doing research on the prospective jobs, shows that you are willing to go the extra mile to do whatever it takes to be given an opportunity to be given a chance.

Keep up the good work, I will stand by to offer advice, if needed, and you both are in my thoughts and prayers for good jobs to land in your laps.