How important is self-awareness in the interview?

re: How important is self-awareness in the interview?

Wine-Oh — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 01:50:20 GMT

Interesting Stuff.... Thanks for sharing.

I want to ask your opinion about the other million dollar question that comes up in interviews and something I am struggling with... "Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" Apparently saying I want to be a department head or I want to manage people isnt a good answer.

Heather do you have any insight that you could share (if its not a trade secret) into how to best answer this, or what criteria a recruiter may be looking for in answering this question?

PS-I hope this puts me in good standing after my last post.

re: How important is self-awareness in the interview?

Kenny — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 02:17:40 GMT

Dear Heather,
I enjoy reading your articles. I've learned a lot from you.
I've had many interviews. It's very hard to find a position that perfectly fits one. I've applied for jobs that are not perfect match to my interest. I know that the interviewers would figure it out during the interview and they actually did. The problem is that how to get interview chances for the positions that really fit you.

re: How important is self-awareness in the interview?

HeatherLeigh — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 03:10:52 GMT

Wine-Oh, you are always in good standing...no worries. So the question of where you want to be in 5 years is really designed to determine how ambitious you are (which is obvious) but mostly what you are passionate about. So focus on the passion in the answer. If you want to be managing people, make your answer about managing a high-performing team, acting as a good mentor, etc. The reason why you want to be where you want to be is key. I think "managing people" is the easy, expected answer. The interviewer also wants to know that you have thought through your career plan. Highly sought after people usually have a clear answer to this question. Hope that helps.

Kenny, hmm, that is a tough one. Is there a trusted peer or maybe former manager that you could sit down and talk to about your strengths? Maybe you are targeting the wrong kinds of positions altogether. You need to find that magical cross section of what you want to do and what you are good at. Also, have someone you trust and who knows your background take a look at your resume. It's possible that maybe your resume isn't truly representing the skills you bring. Definitely get the opinion of someone you know. Also consider trying to network into jobs versus applying. It sounds like you are applying for jobs you know aren't a fit...don't do that anymore. Focus on the ones you do fit!

re: How important is self-awareness in the interview?

Paul — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 04:04:09 GMT

I'm going to be a little contrary today. I think the question "Tell me about your greatest weakness" invites self-serving answers, especially from people who aren't that self-aware or introspective. People are **so** expecting the question that the facile answer that could be perceived as a backhanded strength is virtually automatic.

Let's put this in a different context. Let's say you are out meeting people at a bar. Or, at a picnic. Or, at a church social. Are you going to volunteer a truthful answer to a question like that to someone that you barely know? Especially given that you might really have a good feeling about the person you're talking to, someone you could see having a long term friendship with, and not want to create a lasting 'unfortunate' impression.

You could say "Well, that's a different context. I need to probe for potential problem areas when thinking about hiring someone." Perhaps. But, I would say that it really isn't that different. In a social setting, we are still looking for clues that will suggest that we won't get along, that someone is a poor fit as a friend, that we don't share common interests, that our personalities don't mesh. And, we're looking for many, if not all, of the same character flaws that you would hope to discover in an interview. The difference is, we find ways to work it into the conversation subtly, and actually end up learning a lot more about the real person than I think comes out in most interviews.

Moreover, **my** greatest weakness is context-dependent. I suspect that in this way, most people are like me. We all have numerous flaws, but the situation dictates what is the greatest. If I'm trying to meet a girl, or close a deal with a new client, then shyness, reticence or inability to control my emotions may be my biggest flaw. If I'm trying to write a white paper, or I'm often expected to be on the critical path for a project, then my tendency to procrastinate might be my biggest flaw. If I'm managing people, then insensitivity and arrogance may be my biggest flaw. So, how do I answer such a question without context? (Hey, I'm not saying that any of those things are problem areas for me . . . they're just examples. "Yeah, right", you're saying).

That's why I prefer to engage someone in conversation about any subject they're passionate about, other than the job at hand. If you can get them talking and sharing about that, they are much more likely to open up and you'll see strengths and weaknesses, and you can use that to come back to the position you want to fill.

So, in an interview setting, I'd say that my own greatest weakness is an inability to express my 'best' greatest weakness. Not that I don't have a keen awareness of the pain that you get with the gain, but I do think I exude that. I'm a strong taste that you either like or you don't. Is that a good answer to the question?

In any case, I would prefer not to create situations where I am encouraging people to tell me little white lies from the first time I meet them. Very hard to build trust that way. And, when I'm on the other side, it's kind of like the doctor asking you to pull down your underwear and bend over. It's uncomfortable, and leaves a really bad feeling that takes a while to get rid of. Even if I'm absolutely blunt and forthright, I feel like I'm not totally telling the truth, like there's something you really want to know and my job is to not tell you. And, I'll squirm and grimace almost as much as with the aforementioned doctor's instruction.

Can't I be self-aware some other way?

re: How important is self-awareness in the interview?

Kenny — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 06:34:57 GMT

I'm wondering how a big company like MS search for their cadidates in the resume database. Do you have a system that you key in some criteria (like GPA and some specific skills) and the resume of the candidates pop-up?
I'm sorry for that stupid question.

re: How important is self-awareness in the interview?

Jaz — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 11:47:10 GMT

Thank you so much Heather. The blogs from Microsoft that cover this area were really useful to me when i was trying for placement year placements, and would recomend everyone to read them.

I suppose my weakness is being put on the spot as i found i tended to panic. i did a mock interview with the head of the placement unit which went ok, but come a real interview i stuffed up badly, however the interviewers for my first real one didn't put me too much at ease and the majority of other interviews i had weren't so bad. another year and i'll have to start all this again. scaryness.

Interesting Finds

Jason Haley — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 13:28:56 GMT

re: How important is self-awareness in the interview?

Margo — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 16:48:26 GMT

Thanks for the info! I came across your site while randomly looking around, and now I am a daily reader.

I find my biggest hurdle isn't the interview, but getting it. I am moving to Boston at the end of next month. Getting someone to return my calls and continue follow-up correspondance is like pulling teeth. I get bites to my resume and then interest drops off faster than my toes in winter.

Any advice for a marketing grad?

re: How important is self-awareness in the interview?

HeatherLeigh — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 19:15:53 GMT

Paul-you aren't being contrary, you are just doing a better job explaining my point than I did.

Kenny-we usually search the darabase by keywords. These can be skills, technologies, names of companies or educational institution. I doubt people are using GPA as a keyword though. Hope that helps.

Jaz-mock interviews can help you get through that. try to anticipate interview questions and then answer them out loud to yourself or someone else. They might not be theexact questions that are asked, but the extra preparation, from a psychological standpoint, really help take the edge off.

Margo-I'd try to figure out why interest is dropping of, forst of all. It might be something you said but are completely unaware of. Try to figure that out. Second, I'd try to network into jobs. Yuo can call people you know or use something like LinkedIn. I'm probably not the best example of how to land a job (or maybe I am....I've always been referred for jobs), but I used temp work to get a foot in the door (granted it was the agency door, but same rule applies for corps).

re: How important is self-awareness in the interview?

Kenny — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 22:18:28 GMT

Heather,
Thank you for the info.
How many people can actually get their ideal jobs? A lot of times, people do their jobs because they have to but not because they like to. Especially when one has time limit to get a job, he won't care what kinds of jobs to work for. He only cares about when he can start. Another issue is that sometimes, you won't know if the job is your ideal one before working or perhaps before talking to interviewers.

re: How important is self-awareness in the interview?

HeatherLeigh — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 22:43:44 GMT

Kenny, the best people in their field can get their ideal jobs. This is because their expertise is recognized and they are in demand. If someone comes into an interview situation and only cares when he can start, that is a signal that they are not in demand and that is probably not someone we would be too interested in here. This goes for highly skilled types of careers. For other areas of the labor market, not requiring a depth of expertise, the person that is willing to take the job only because they need a paycheck is more of a reality. Unfortunately, I don't have the expertise in hiring for those kinds of roles.

re: How important is self-awareness in the interview?

Paul — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 03:07:13 GMT

I should read more carefully. Note to self: don't read and write late at nite and think you know what what was said. I hate it when we violently agree.

re: How important is self-awareness in the interview?

HeatherLeigh — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 22:34:13 GMT

Paul- I think it makes both of us sound smarter ; )

re: How important is self-awareness in the interview?

Jason — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 06:28:41 GMT

Hi Heather,

This the first time that i have read your article and found it very interesting. what actually brought me here is the interview I had with Microsoft yesterday and would like to share my views of it with you without specifically mentioning the position i was interviewed for.

First of all I do agree that when one is the "best in the business" no one can actually stop you. Probably you won't need an interview in those cases to get in. But unfortunately thats not probably the case with all people is it?

Now with the interview that I had. Now I applied to MS for positions which were different from what I was interviewed for. Now I was told that my resume was found from the database. The interview went OK but then came in the tricky question " If given a choice of a job that you applied for and one for which you are interviewed for (which again I should say, relate to 2 diff. but related fields of Computer Science), which one would you choose?". well I had to say that I would probably take up one that I applied for since thats something I have been doing atleast for last year or so. Now there are a few problems with it.
1. I haven't been called or interviewed by the team that I actually want to get into.
2. I don't know how would it be like working for the position that I was interviewed for since have no "professional" experience in it since I just have started off with my career.

The interviewer concluded that I am more passionate about the positions that have applied for. To an extent that is true but that doesnot mean that I may not be passionate about the something else.

Would like to hear your views on it

re: How important is self-awareness in the interview?

HeatherLeigh — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 21:27:18 GMT

I think they may have also been trying to assess how you feel about exploring outsid eof your comfort zone. For example, will you always default to the areas that you know best or other areas that may be more risky but where you will learn more. There could be a number of things they were trying to find out with that question. It could have just been that they were trying to figureo ut if you were interested enough to move forward in the process.

re: How important is self-awareness in the interview?

Avinash Kumar Singh — Tue, 02 May 2006 09:37:17 GMT

In my view this is the important topic in interview because if any one is aware of himself then he has knowledge of all kinds of activities surrounding him because every social ,political and all types of activities may b effect him directly or indirectly so this is to much imp[ortant.

» [Interviewing Skills #5] The ‘STAR’ Technique to Answer Behavioral Interview Questions » Right Attitudes ?? Ideas for Impact ?? by Nagesh Belludi

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:34:40 GMT

PingBack from http://www.RightAttitudes.com/2008/07/15/star-technique-answer-interview-questions/