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interviewer, instead of allowing you to concentrate on areas that you think are important. (The T-account exercise and a thorough understanding of the job description will give you all the clues you need.)

• Rather than asking how you would behave in a particular situation, the interviewer will ask you to describe how you did behave in a similar situation.

• The interviewer will drill you for details. You’ll have no time to speculate. (Now you know why we’ve spent so much time detailing your accomplishments.)

If you prepare reasonable answers to the following questions, you’ll be well on your way to acing your interview, no matter who is conducting it.

Strengths

• What key factors have accounted for your career success to date?

• What do you consider to be some of your most outstanding qualities?

• What is your greatest strength or asset?

• In what areas have others been particularly complimentary about your abilities? Why?

• During past performance reviews, what have been consistently cited as your major assets? Why?

• From a performance standpoint, what do you consider your major attributes?

Weaknesses

• What aspects of your current position could be better performed, and what kind of improvement could you make?

• If we asked 2 or 3 of your peers who know you well to be somewhat critical of your performance, what 2 or 3 improvement areas would they likely identify? Why?

• If you could, what 2 things would you most like to change about yourself to improve your overall effectiveness—and why?

Job Performance

• What have been your last 3 performance evaluation ratings? Why?

• In what areas does your performance excel?

• Why, in your judgment, are certain businesses successful?

• In your judgment, what factors account for most business failures?

Personal Style

• What kind of operating style do you feel is not conducive to good performance? Why?

• What basic values and beliefs do you feel are important to good performance?

• How would you categorize the traits and attributes of a good manager? Why are these important?

Management Skills

• What are some of the techniques you use to motivate poor performers?

• Give me some examples of how you have used these techniques.

• What results did you get?

• How could these have been improved?

• What is the toughest decision you have had to make as a manager?

Communication Skills

• Give me an example of a complex communications problem that you faced.

• What made it complex?

• Why was it difficult to communicate?

• How did you solve this problem? Why?

• How might you have further improved the communications?

Integrity

• If you caught one of your most valued employees doing something dishonest, what would you do?

Assertiveness

• If your boss told you that you had a “stupid idea,” but you knew it was a very good one, what would you do?

Risk

• What factors most influence your willingness to take a risk?

Analytical Skills

• What is, perhaps, the most complex business analysis you have had to make?

• What factors made it complex?

• How did you tackle this task?

• How did your result reflect the effectiveness of your analytical abilities?

Perseverance

• Describe a work situation where you knew you were right, but the odds of winning were such that you felt you had to abandon your position?

• What odds did you face?

• How great was the resistance?

• What approaches did you use?

• What factors persuaded you to abandon your position?

How did you do? I can’t overemphasize the need to practice your answers to these questions. If you can, you should rehearse with a nonjudgmental friend. If you don’t have any friends, rehearse in front of a mirror with a tape recorder. (Make a mental note to acquire some friends in the future.)

Ask and answer the questions one-by-one, and when you’re finished, watch or listen to the tape. Do you sound confident? Are your answers complete? Would you hire you? Last, did you notice your facial expressions?