Tough Interview Questions (wireless engineering career) and Answers
No commentsBy Lucy Evans
Give an example of working with a team member who did not do their fair share of the work load, and explain how you addressed the situation?
This question has many potential pitfalls that need to be considered. Remember that the question is about a co-worker, and not a member of your staff, so factors you are unaware of may apply. Even if you give an answer that worked in a particular scenario, a clever interviewer can manipulate the situation to really test you. A common approach candidates take is to try to appear to be tough and dynamic giving answers like “I approached my colleague and told them that I was unwilling to do most of their work on top of mine, and their efforts improved”. A clever interviewer would counter this buy telling you how badly this approach could have gone. Your colleague could have health problems known to management but not you, and require help and support and not an aggressive approach. In answering this question, first show that you have tactfully tried to find out what the issue is. Next show an outcome where you provided support to your colleague and found a suitable resolution. It is important to show that you are proactive and diplomatic and that you did not need to involve management at any point in time.
How have you coped with working with people you didnt like?
It is possible to doge this question completely by claiming you cant remember working with anyone you had a particular dislike for. Most interviewers will not push you too hard on this point if you claim you have always got on well with colleagues, but it is unlikely that they will reward your cowardly evasion. The important thing with this question is to demonstrate how you saw through your dislike, and were able to operate in a professional manner. Try an example including someone that had a personality trait that is both positive and negative, such as a colleague that is annoyingly over critical. You could take the approach that after working with someone who is overly critical you began to realize that they did not intend to offend people by their criticisms, and that you found that their personality could be usefully used for checking important documents where everything had to be just right etc. Demonstrate how you earned respect for the person and came to accept them.
Why do you think you are suitable for this job?
This question is a golden opportunity to show you have taken the time to do research and that you have clarity of thought. Do not make assumptions about the job role and company, relate everything back to evidence. Firstly cross reference your experience with the job advert and job specifications and show how your experience fits what they have told you they want. Also try to mention as much relevant information you can about the company to show you have been interested enough to do some research.
Lucy is a freelance journalist writing for the Graduates Career graduate scheme.
Your Directory For Engineer Work
How to Make Your Resume Stand Out
By Ben Needles
Whether or not youre planning to look for a new job, you should always keep your resume updated. Get into the habit of updating your accomplishments and skills so that your resume is always ready.
Here are some tips:
1. Group your top skill sets into a summary.
2. Create a professional email address (using your name - no nicknames) to include with your contact information.
3. Use past tense - even when describing your current job.
4. If youre posting your resume online, dont encourage identity theft by including too much personal information.
5. Gear you resume towards the job you want, not the one you have now.
6. List your most recent job first.
7. Check spelling and grammar - dont depend on your spelling errors being caught by spell check.
Your resume should not include every task youve performed in every position; instead it should only include your strongest accomplishments. Though its tempting to add all the details about every job youve had, your resume is only a starting point. Use it to get your foot in the door so that you can get an interview. Once you have an opportunity to speak with the hiring manager, then you can go into more detail.
Since you have to catch the attention of the reader right away, stay away from passive-sounding words when describing your accomplishments and responsibilities. Passive sentences are indirect and dont make much of an impression.
Look at this example of a passive sentence: Participated on product development team. Compare that with this example of an active sentence: Created scripts and tested new product.
In addition to using active words and sentences in your descriptions, you also have to show results. Which description would appeal to you as a hiring manager?
Arranged new product development meetings, or Facilitated meetings for new product development team which led to cost savings due to reduced miscommunication between departments.
If you are a freelancer or temp worker, youll probably work for various companies and hold different positions. Even if you had different titles, the skills and accomplishments will show your versatility in different industries and company cultures.
Keep track of the projects youve worked on, articles and documentation youve written, etc. Set aside samples of your work so that you can include them with your resume, if requested.
When youre changing careers playing up your skills is very important. You may not have direct experience in the area youre changing to, but you can show how the skills youve acquired in the old career can be carried over to the new one. Pick accomplishments that show that you are versatile and can think out of the box. Play up training and learning experiences to show that you can adapt to new environments. The person reading your resume is focused on finding the right person for the job. They wont have the time to think about how to fit your skills into their requirements.
Not sure how to show that your skills can be transferred to a new profession? For instance, if youre a project manager and you want to become an event planner, you could play up your organization skills or your communications skills. You could also play up your ability to simultaneously manage different tasks. Look at the work youve done, then find ways to highlight your strongest accomplishments. The person reading your resume should see right away that you can perform the duties the position requires.
Of course if you know what type of job you want, itll be easier to create your resume. However, if youre not sure what you want to do next - or how to update your resume to reflect your varied skills - consider hiring a professional to help. These days you cant take a chance that your resume will be overlooked. If you present yourself to your best advantage, youll have a better chance of being hired for the job you want.
About the Author (text)
Deborah A. Bailey is a professional coach, writer and founder of Deb Bailey Coaching. She specializes in working with individuals as they move through transitions and experience a life beyond their expectations. Learn more now at http://www.dbaileycoach.com.
Tuesday, August 26th, 2008 at 10:30 am and is filed under careers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
