Success to me means completing a task and when looking back, thinking I couldn’t have done it better. To succeed is to complete a task or assignment on time in an excellent manner. But that’s only half of it. The results should be good and the people involved should gain a valuable lesson or experience. For example, if it was a group project, and only two people out of four really did the work, I wouldn’t call that success. If everyone participated and worked together providing a valuable deliverable then it’s a success. So I think both the result and the process should be great to call something a success.   There are many things you can say. This type of question doesn’t have a wrong answer. All answers will be correct. So the best answer is how good you can make the answer. A mediocre answer will be something like completing a project on time. You can say this, but add another twist to make the answer a little better. Here is an example. Short Answers "To me, success means to have a goal, plan the steps to achieve the goal, implement the plan, and finally achieve the goal." "Success means to achieve a goal I have set for myself." "Success means to produce high quality work before the deadline." "Success to me is knowing that my contributions positively impacted my company." Long Answer "Success to me means completing a task and when looking back, thinking I couldn’t have done it better. To succeed is to complete a task or assignment on time in...

This also depends on the position. But in most cases, I believe someone who likes to take risks is a better candidate. If you choose to answer saying you are a risk taker, you should include why and how you take risks. Short Answers "I consider myself to be in the middle, but if I were to choose from my past experience, I would think I would call myself a careful risk taker." "I’m reliable and believe in stability and guarantees. My work will be based on facts without assumptions or guesses, so I tend to stay away from risks." "I think it’s important to take some risks. I keep the options open and if the reward justifies the risks, I would definitely try. So I’m more of a risk taker." "I take risks because through planning and working smart, it’s possible to reduce some of the risk. So if there’s a reasonable chance of success, I would take the opportunity." Long Answer "I see myself as a risk taker. But before taking the risk, I always evaluate all other options, weigh the pro’s and con’s of success and failure, and after careful consideration, I would definitely take a risk if the rewards were high enough. I view staying away from risks similar to staying away from a gold mine surrounded by dynamite. Of course if you don’t know what triggers the dynamite, it would be unwise to take that risk. But if you study the situation and know the location of all dynamite and the way they are triggered, then the risk is minimized. Some people would not explore the options to reduce the risk, but I would definitely study each situation and take a risk that would improve my personal or company’s situation."

Tell me about…’ type of questions are very popular. It is more effective because it is asking for an answer that comes from experience. If you don’t have a particular experience in one of the questions below, make one up. You should prepare ahead of time because you don’t want to make up a story during the interview. It will be too hard to sound believable. Finally, you should know that some questions will not be asked to certain job types. For example, if you are not in a management position, you probably won’t be asked how you saved the company money. Or if you are not in sales, you won’t be asked about making a great sale. These types of answers are usually long because it is explaining an experience. If you want the interviewer to understand the significance of your story, they will need to understand it. So all my examples will be a little longer than regular interview questions. Finally, a lot of these are my own experiences. I encourage you to think back to your experience and create one. I’m providing my answers so you can see the structure and learn from my answers. Tell me about a time you made a mistake. The best answer for this question involves learning something from a mistake. If you are having difficulty thinking about a mistake you made that will be an effective answer, try to think of a lesson you learned that improved a good trait. Making a mistake is not good, but since you have to tell them something, you should tell them something that makes you look good. For an example, let’s create a scenario where you learned how to be someone who anticipates problems. Short Answer "I was given a project to complete in a week. I understood the project, but I misinterpreted one section. After completing the project, I was told by my manager that it was done incorrectly. I really made a mistake by assuming incorrectly in one of the sections instead of asking for clarification. I learned not to assume through the mistake I made." Long...

This is another variation to the previous question. This question is a little better because the question wants you to identify an area you are disorganized. Make sure to emphasize the organized portion of the answer. If you are truly an organized person, then it is really tough thinking about an area you are disorganized. So thinking ahead of time will allow you to make a good impression with a solid answer. Short Answers "I’m very organized with my time and work, but my desk is a little disorganized." "Since I work with many files, I like to keep my desk organized. I always have everything in a certain place so I can find things easier. The area I’m disorganized is probably my computer desktop. I usually have so many icons everywhere. I should organize it a little, but I’ve never needed to." "I organize my schedule the best. I’m used to many meetings so it’s important for me to be organized with my schedule and time. The area I need to improve is probably my file cabinet. I started to sort things alphabetically, but when I’m busy, I start putting things in there. It started getting hard to find things, but this is something I’m going to fix." Long Answer "Oh… that’s a good question. Well, I’m organized in almost everything I do. I’m very organized with my schedule and time. I like to work efficiently, and being organized with my time helps me. The area I feel I’m disorganized is probably my desk. I like to work fast and don’t keep my desk area as tidy as some people I know. This however doesn’t prevent me from doing my job well. You know some people can have files and paper all over their desk but some how know exactly where everything is located. I think I’m one of those people. However, if I know I’m having a client or a guest, then I would definitely make things more tidy."

I get easily frustrated at people who don’t work very hard. But I know people have different work styles and different work habits. So if I could change something, I would like to be more understanding.   This question is another variation to the weakness question. You can provide a similar type of question unless it is the same person asking them. To answer this question, think of a person you respect and the trait they have that you really like. I used to have a manager that was very patient and explained things very carefully. I really liked this trait, so I’m going to provide the long answer by using this example. But first, let’s look at some short answers. Short Answers   "I get easily frustrated at people who don’t work very hard. But I know people have different work styles and different work habits. So if I could change something, I would like to be more understanding." "I have high expectations and I have these expectations on others. I think if I was more understanding, I could help other workers improve instead of being disappointed." "I would like to be more of a risk taker. I always do my work and complete it at an exceptional level, but sometimes taking a risk can make the work even better. I’m working on this by thinking the issue through and weighing the pros and cons." "I would like to be more of an extrovert. I’m a little quiet and a little closer to the introvert side. I would like to change this because I would appear more friendly." Long Answer