Interview Question

[mehstg]

I have an interview at 2pm today at the IT department of a well known Japanese light truck manufacturer.

Just wondering what sort of questions people tend to ask when given the "Do you have any questions" bit at the end of the interview.

So far I have thought of.

• What does this company value the most, and how do you think my work for you will further these values.
• Some kind of question about the structure of the organisation.
• The company position in the economic downturn. - Could possibly be seen as confrontational.
• And one regarding the inclusion of "Willing to travel" in the job spec - basically asking what is meant by this, and whether the travel would be in my own vehicle or company vehicle.

Any pointers/ideas?

P

 

[Ffoxy]

Go armed with info about the Company Mehstg, show them you have researched them.

Ask them about Self Improvement and promotion possibilities.

They are looking at you, you are looking at them, show them you are a worthwhile investment with potential to help them develop.

Oh and listen twice as much as you speak, avoid rambling, wacth out for those "pregnant pauses..." they can force you to talk.

 

[Captain Mike]

IMO dont work in IT. (that's just my opinion though)

 

[Hellcat]

I didn't even spot that you mentioned IT - I must be trying to avoid it at a sub-concious level.

Maybe ask if there are any projects on the go - upgrades to new systems etc - and see if your skills could be helpful to them with that.

 

[Kier]

When I went for my interview at Tesco I asked about what training there was, and about promotions.

When I went for my police interview, I asked them if they had any opinons on the pros and cons of working at a station near to where you live, got to relax a bit as well, as one of them talked for about 5 miniutes lol.

 

[Garree001]

Having interviewed a number of people in the past, the one thing that gets to me most is having people ask questions about stuff that they should know about, or be able to find out about. If it is a well known large company, they will have information about themselves out there - look at it

You should also look carefully at the person specification. Companies will often leave one or two things off of this and ask you about them at interviews. Is there anything that you would have expected to be in there that is not? There may be a chance that they'll dig down a bit about it when you are there.

Don't go smelling like a branch of the Frangrance Shop either. If you smell like a wh0re out to score, they'll try and distance themselves from you and that'll be all they remember of you.

And the last thing I would add - always try to back up what you say. If you are showing that you are drawing on your previous experiences, they'll like that a lot more. It shows that you have a potential to offer them a wealth of knowledge and in order to tap into that - they will need to appoint you. And if you do any volunteer work, try to link in on that experience too. It shows you thinking outside the box and that you are willing to work towards your personal development. Companies like this as they'll be investing in you - at least while you are settling in...

Also, be confident and good luck

 

[mehstg]

Cheers guys, all of your posts were really useful!

Interview went blinding, although the company weren't quite what they made out to be. I asked how many people were in the IT team and was told that I was looking at him!

On the plus side, I got an interview today for another job doing exactly what I want to go into, on more money!

 

[Ffoxy]

Cheers guys, all of your posts were really useful!

Interview went blinding, although the company weren't quite what they made out to be. I asked how many people were in the IT team and was told that I was looking at him!
On the plus side, I got an interview today for another job doing exactly what I want to go into, on more money!

Precisely why it is wise to research a company beforhand dude!

 

[mehstg]

Precisely why it is wise to research a company beforhand dude!

Lol - They are a large multinational organisation. Just only have a team of 40 in the UK - Most of their presence in the UK is franchised out, so the central team is very small.

As you say, should have done a little more research!

P

 

[Lolita]

i always (carefully) ask about staff turnover... gives a lot of clues to how happy people are there.

 

[Ffoxy]

i always (carefully) ask about staff turnover... gives a lot of clues to how happy people are there.

And you are?

WB Lolz....

 

[Lolita]

And you are?

WB Lolz....

hello Mr Ffoxy :wave:

 

[Ffoxy]

hello Mr Ffoxy :wave:

The Forum just regained some momentum!

We've missed our Smut-dar vixen donchaknow...

 

[Lolita]

the booby thread is still going strong i see. not much booby tho. more of a sossidge fest

 

[mehstg]

Another interview

Although this one has a test. Quick question for Chris, or any others working in IT.

What sort of thing would you expect on a test for a Graduate Network Engineer. All I have been told by the recruitment agency putting me forward for the job is that it is on Cisco and Linux.

I have done my CCNA so, the cisco questions shouldnt be too hard. Probably basic network setup and proficiency with IOS.

I wonder what will be involved with the linux part of the test though. Tbh, I haven't done Linux in over a year. Could do with some pointers!!

P

 

[Hellcat]

How to switch them off and build a windows server?

 

[mehstg]

How to switch them off and build a windows server?

And then restart it daily as it becomes unstable

 

[Hellcat]

And then restart it daily as it becomes unstable

An unstable windows box is usually the result of an incompetent IT bod. Our 1000+ windows boxes don't have issues between the quarterly security patching.