how to get the job you interview for

8/7/2019 How To Get The Job You Interview For

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How To Get The Job YouInterview For


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How would you describe yourself?


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My background to date has been centered around preparingmyself to become the very best financial consultant I can become.Let me tell you specifically how I've prepared myself. I am an

undergraduate student in finance and accounting at _________University. My past experiences has been in retail and highereducation. Both aspects have prepared me well for this career.


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How has your college experience

prepared you for a businesscareer?


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I want to be working for an excellent company like yoursin a job in which I am managing information. I plan tocontribute my leadership, interpersonal, and technicalskills. My long-range career goal is to be the bestinformation systems technician I can for the company Iwork for.


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How has your college experience

prepared you for a businesscareer?


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I have prepared myself to transition into the the workforce through real-world experience involving travel

abroad, internship, and entrepreneurial opportunities.While interning with a private organization in Ecuador, Ideveloped a 15-page marketing plan composed inSpanish that recommended more effective ways the

company could promote its services. I also traveledabroad on two other occasions in which I researched theindigenous culture of the Mayan Indians in TodosSantos, Guatemala, and participate din a total language

immersion program in Costa Rica. As you can see frommy academic, extracurricular, and experientialbackground, I have unconditionally committed myself tosuccess as a marketing professional.


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Please describe the ideal job for

you following graduation.


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How do you determine or evaluate

success? Give me an example ofone of your successful

accomplishments.


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Last semester I was hired by by university's Council forStudent Activities. The group negotiates contracts ofentertainers, sets up sound equipment, markets theentertainers to students, and generally decides whatkind of programming should be done. When I got hired, I

didn't know the first thing about how fill any of thoseresponsibilities. I decided, however, that I wasn't going tofail. Four months later, I have become the Webmasterfor the group. I also write our campus newsletter and

created Game Night, a student competition of tablegames. That event yielded the biggest audience ever fora non-concert event.


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Do you have the qualifications and

personal characteristics

necessary for success in your

chosen career?


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I believe I have a combination of qualities to be

successful in this career. First, I have a strong interest,backed by a solid, well-rounded, state-of-the-arteducation, especially in a career that is technicallyoriented. This basic ingredient, backed by love of

learning, problem-solving skills, well-rounded interests,determination to succeed and excel, strongcommunication skills, and the ability to work hard, arethe most important qualities that will help me succeed in

this career.


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What has been your most

rewarding accomplishment?


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A recent satisfying accomplishment I was sent toone of our branch banks that was notorious fornot growing their loan base. The branch hadlogged $75,000 in new loans in an 18-month

period prior to my arrival. Having a reputation asa "hired gun" when it came to loan production Iwas successful in the solicitation and booking of

$700,000 in my first six months at the branch.


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How would you describe yourself

in terms of your ability to work asa member of a team?


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I have had many opportunities in both athletics andacademics to develop my skills as a team player. Mytenure as a rower with my college's crew team serves as

a good example. I learned a great deal about teamworkwhile rowing because all the rowers in the boat must actas one, which meant that we incessantly worked to keepeach movement in the boat synchronized. On an

individual basis, we still worked toward group goalsthrough weightlifting and land-rowing. My experience asa marketing research team leader also helped me tolearn the role of "team player." I viewed my position asthat of group leader and of group member. I ensured thateveryone in the group had equal opportunity tocontribute, maintained excellent communication amonggroup members, and coordinated their energies towardreaching our team's goal.


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What motivates you to put forthyou greatest effort?


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You would think that because I am interested in sales,only financial compensation would motivate me toachieve. Although monetary rewards are important tome, I am driven to succeed internally. More than

anything, I want to be respected by my friends andcoworkers for being the best at what I do. Whether I amconsidered to be the best car detailer in my hometownor the best columnist for my college newspaper, I want

to be recognized as the best.


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Given the investment our

company will make in hiring and

training you, can you give us areason to hire you?


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I sincerely believe that I'm the best person for the job. Irealize that there are many other college students who

have the ability to do this job. I also have that ability. ButI also bring an additional quality that makes me the verybest person for the job -- my attitude for excellence. Notjust giving lip service to excellence, but putting everypart of myself into achieving it. In college and at myprevious jobs, I have consistently reached for becomingthe very best I can become. I think my leadershipawards from my college, and my management positionsare the result of possessing the qualities you're lookingfor in an employee.


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What do you expect to be doing infive years?


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Although it is hard to predict the future, I sincerely

believe that I will become a very good financialconsultant. I believe that my abilities will allow meto excel to the point that I can seek other

opportunities as a portfolio manager (the nextstep) and possibly even higher. My ultimate goalcontinues to be -- and will always be -- to be thebest at whatever level I am working.


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What do you see yourself doing in

ten years?


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Ten years from now I see myself as a successfulconsultant for a world-class firm like yours. I wantto have developed a wonderful bond with myemployer I will have proven myself a highly

competent systems analyst and will represent mycompany in helping others find solutions to theirinformation-systems needs in a professional and

timely manner.


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How would you evaluate your

ability to deal with conflict?


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I believe I am quite good at handling conflict. Working in

retail and in the residence halls required that I makemany unpopular decisions at times, whether it wasterminating an associate or taking judicial action on aresident. Often the person in conflict with me would be

upset and sometimes physically outraged. I wouldalways make sure that I fully explained the situation, thepolicies behind my decision, and why those policiesexist. Usually by the end of the conversation, the person

could see the other side of the situation.


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Tell me about a major problem you

recently handled.Were yousuccessful in resolving it?


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While working at K-mart, I was one of three people to work in theelectronics department. One day upon arriving at work, I was told thedistrict manager was coming the next day to do a store inspection.The two other people who worked in electronics were both over 55.Neither could lift heavy objects, and one refused to work at all. As aresult, the electronics department was usually left to me to keepstocked with product and kept in order. I had about five hours of worktime to get the entire department in order. Those five hours passed

around, and there was still a substantial amount of work to be done. Iasked the store manager if I could stay and work after hours whilethe overnight stockers were there. He said that because of theemployment budget, he could not let me. I was faced with bringingthe entire store's rating down, so I suggested a creative staffing

solution, allowing me to work the extra hours while temporarilyreducing the hours of the other two members of the department.Because of this solution, in a matter of hours, the department was intip-top shape -- and still under budget. And the results? Theelectronics department got a score of 95 out of 100.


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If you could change or improve

anything about your college, what

would it be?


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My major department had a wonderful internship

program, and I was able to complete threevaluable internships with my department'sguidance. Some other departments in the

business school don't have internship programsthat are as strong as my department's. I'd like tosee all the departments have strong internshipprograms so all my school's business grads

would have the same opportunities that I had.


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I have focused much of my energy on work andobtaining real-world experience. I commend myclassmates who have earned high GPAs, but I also feelit's important to be well-rounded. In addition to workexperience, I participated in sports and extracurricularactivities in school.These activities taught me leadership, communication,and teamwork skills. Sometimes my heavy load has notallowed me to keep up with some of my studies, but I

have learned an enormous amount that I can apply inmy future industry. As you will discover if you talk to mysupervisors, my ability to work effectively is much morereflective of my future potential than is my GPA.


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Why did you decide to seek a

position in this company?


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I am convinced that there would be no better place towork than Accenture. You are the top consulting firm inthe United States. You provide your employees with thetools they need to stay competitive and sharpen their

skills while working in an open, team-basedenvironment. I am also aware that you provide a mentorfor all new employees, and I would embrace anyopportunity to work with a mentor and eventually

become one myself.


38/45

Which is more important to you,

the job itself or your salary?


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What level of compensation would

it take to make you happy?


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I am not depending on money to make me happy.What makes me happy is having a satisfying jobthat provides challenge and new situations daily.


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How do you determine priorities in

scheduling your time? Give

examples.


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I took a time-management course in which I learned to

prioritize all tasks on A, B, or C lists. I always try to tacklethe A list first. In every working situation, co-workershave always complimented me on how well I managemy time. I enjoy the social atmosphere of the office, but I

make it a point not to waste much time on chitchat withcolleagues. I've also learned that the average officeworker spends about an hour a day handling e-mail. Imake it a point not to deal with my e-mail more than

once or twice a day, and I filter my messages into foldersso I can prioritize the way I deal with them.

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