The general questions you ask during a job interview are a given, but are you getting all of the information you need to make an informed decision? If you’re not asking questions that specifically address the candidate’s ability to succeed on the job you may end up selecting the wrong candidate.

While each job is different, some questions work well universally, regardless of the position or industry.

1. Based on the specific goals for the job/position in question, ask questions that explore and assess the candidate’s likelihood to achieve the same for your company.  For example, if your goal is to increase revenues by 30% over the next year, you may ask for evidence of a comparable accomplishment from the candidate’s recent past.
2. Ask them to provide specifics on tough situations they met in their last position. Questions such as, “Tell me about the last time you had to manage a difficult employee — what did you do?” and “Describe one of the most stressful situations you’ve had to deal with recently,” will reveal not only the candidate’s personal management style, but also how they handle being under pressure.
3. Find out how they see themselves culturally fitting into your organization. This is a great question to find out more about their values and personality.  For example, if integrity is an important value to your company, you might ask the candidate, “Tell me about a time in your last job when you demonstrated integrity.”  Or, “What does integrity mean to you and how does it affect how you approach your job?”
4. Follow-up on questions. Digging deeper with classic questions like ‘who, what, where, why, how?’ is key to getting an accurate picture.  It’s also a good way to verify that the candidate is being truthful about his or her claims.  People who have done what they really claim to have done have loads of specific details to share about the experience.
5. Create a Scenario Question. Take a current or past business challenge you’ve seen within your company and ask candidates to describe how they would handle this event on their own. Give them a little time to think about it. Be wary of those who answer in general terms, or don’t seem able to grasp the situation appropriately. While it’s normal to be nervous during an interview, the right candidate will think on his or her feet and come up with a well-thought answer.

While these questions may take more time to explore than the standard job interview queries, you’re likely to obtain more relevant information that will ultimately help you pick the right candidate for the job.

References and additional information available at:

http://humanresources.about.com/od/selectemployees/a/hiringtips.htm

http://www.yourofficecoach.com/Topics/developinterviewquestions.htm

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/interviewquestionsanswers/a/job-specific-interview-questions.htm

It’s easy to make mistakes at work.  The good news is that in most cases, they’re minor and won’t spell disaster for your career. If you’ve already made a few of these, don’t panic. With the right damage control, you can successfully move ahead and even gain the respect of colleagues for the way you handled the problem.

Some Common Mistakes

Try to avoid telling your manager or superior that you are “too busy” if they ask you to do something. While you may have an enormous workload, you don’t want to appear unavailable. If you feel your workload is already heavy enough and are struggling to keep up, itemize the list of ‘to do’s’, take a crack at prioritizing them, and then run this plan by your manager to confirm you’re both in agreement on it.  Knowing that business circumstances and priorities can change often is key and having a flexible attitude in this regard can help tremendously.

Failing to interact with others can also hamper your career prospects. While a company always appreciates a hard worker, if you’re hiding in your cubicle and never coming up for air, you’ll make it more difficult for colleagues and management to get to know you.  The best employees are those who have a proper mix of a work ethic with socialization with others in the workplace.

Another mistake professionals can make is dressing inappropriately for work.  Many companies today have moved away from requiring formal or business attire at work.  ‘Business casual’ is the norm at most companies now – but what does it mean?  It’s open to interpretation of course and this is what makes dressing the part difficult.  Try to approach the task of dressing for work by observing how those around you dress.  Look for cues on what’s expected.     As Heather Huhman, career expert and hiring manager has written, “dress at least one step above your current position. It helps others picture you working above your current position and makes you look extremely professional.”

How to Overcome Your Mistakes

Sometimes, despite your best  efforts and intentions, mistakes will happen.  You might miss a deadline, a detail in an important report, or misspeak at a meeting.  How do you proceed? First,and most importantly, never pass the buck. If you messed up, own up to it immediately.

Next, asses the damage.  Sometimes mistakes are small enough that they are easily amended.  If that’s the case, you’re in luck.  Make the fix and move on.  If your mistake has impacted the company adversely, create an action plan to fix your mistake and share it with your boss. Your management will appreciate your earnest efforts to make amends. Even better if you make time outside of your regular work hours  to fix what went wrong.  This stepwill show that you are willing to go above and beyond.

Lastly, once you’ve acknowledged your mistake and you’ve taken steps to fix it, don’t beat yourself up over it. You are human and mistakes happen. Let it go.  If you continue to bring it up, you’ll only reinforce the memory of what happened.