Difficult Interview Questions and Winning Answers (part II)

[leela1025]

first thread here:

http://www.femalenetwork.com/girltalk/index.php/topic,178998.0.html

[krispie]

What will be the most appropriate answer when the interviewer tell you the you seem to be "overqualified" for the job?

[blooming]

ibalik mo sa kanya - why and what makes him think that way?

[sardonyx]

if you're newly married and the interviewer is asking you if you have any plans of having a baby soon, if the answer is yes, how should you say it so as not to get a minus point on your side?

[clueless]

^ are you looking to move up? does the job you're applying for involve a lot of traveling? shifting?

[sardonyx]

^ hi clueless   i'm new here in singapore because my husband is working here.  i'm a cpa in the philippines and i'm not looking for a job that involves a lot of traveling. 

if you're new in the company and bigla kang mabuntis, syempre disadvantageous on their part kasi mag maternity leave ka kahit bagong pasok ka pa lang.

[clueless]

^ ay singapore... different market altogether.

but if it were me, and i think i might have mentioned this at the old thread na...

my priorities changed when i got married. yes, i still want to work but the drive to get to the top is not as strong as before because now i want to maybe start a family. that's why i'm looking for a stable job that will give me work-life balance, leave me with enough time to spend with family.

and yes, getting pregnant right after you get the job may be disadvantageous to the company because of maternity leave but they cannot discriminate against pregnant women. at least here. not sure there.

not sure if that'll work. good luck.

[krispie]

^ Thanks sis blooming for your reply.

Medyo stress ako right now because I applied for a job and came to know that I was one of those lucky few who was chosen to be a part of a panel interview. Eh never pa ko naka experience ng panel or if i did, that was a looong time ako.

Any tips? And do you have any hints to know if you did a good job and medyo positive ang result?

[mikelly]

^ ay singapore... different market altogether.

but if it were me, and i think i might have mentioned this at the old thread na...

my priorities changed when i got married. yes, i still want to work but the drive to get to the top is not as strong as before because now i want to maybe start a family. that's why i'm looking for a stable job that will give me work-life balance, leave me with enough time to spend with family.

and yes, getting pregnant right after you get the job may be disadvantageous to the company because of maternity leave but they cannot discriminate against pregnant women. at least here. not sure there.

not sure if that'll work. good luck.

[blooming]

if you're newly married and the interviewer is asking you if you have any plans of having a baby soon, if the answer is yes, how should you say it so as not to get a minus point on your side?

hmmm... sadly there's no other way to say it but to avoid the question.

I also ask this question to the applicants I interview, what their plans are.  Kahit sa further studies, etc.  And kung may balak magbaby, normally, hindi ko na i-consider, unless, magaling talaga.

[clueless]

^ hindi ba some form of discrimination yan? yan kasi lagi sinasabi ng HR namin sakin when i do interviews eh. 

[blooming]

sis, yes. definitely. a discrimination. but that's reality.

bakit naman ako kukuha ng tao na magm-maternity leave. eh di ako nahirapan.  kaya nga ako kukuha ng tao para mabawasan ang work load ko.

or maybe baka may ibang job functions na ok lang mag-maternity leave?  sa SG kasi ang maternity leave, parang 6 months if I am not mistaken. 

[sardonyx]

^ 2 months lang ang maternity leave sis.  additional 1 month if you're already a singapore citizen.

thanks anyway sis clueless and blooming.  so how do you answer this kind of question if you actually plan to have a kid (not necessarily soon) if you don't intend to lie?

[clueless]

^ wala bang sense yung earlier reply ko? i actually gave that same answer once and i got the job. but i wasn't looking to move up, i just wanted a different environment. maybe some of it is applicable to you?

^^ i do get your point. OT na sa thread nato pero imo, mabuntis man siya bukas (and ano naman probability non?), i will have about 8-9 months with her and sa 2 months na mawawala siya for maternity leave, kaya ko nang paghandaan yon. but that's just my opinion.

and meron din naman na walang balak mag-baby na biglang nabubuntis ng wala sa plano minsan. it's a risk worth taking, imo. but like you said, siguro nga kung magaling talaga siya, the risk could be worth taking.

but i try to be as objective as i can when doing interviews eh so if ever ganyan, maybe i would make it a plus for say a single woman na walang plans to have a baby soon but i won't take it against a married woman who has immediate plans and then isali ko yan sa total points na ibibigay ko to each when i make my selection. not outright hindi na ic-consider just because may plans.

but to each her own. 

[blooming]

sis sardonyx, you can answer it naman in a way na walang plans. but if ever, it should not matter. 

pero kung nabuntis, sabi nga ni sis clueless, kahit single puede mabuntis, sorry nalang.

on choosing applicants naman - kung gusto magpamilya or not -


1.  ^ may point ka sis clueless. I guess hindi naman mawawala yung chances ng isang tao na may plans magfamily esp kung magaling sya. bottomline siguro between 2 applicants all having equal qualities, na pinagpipilian mo, lugi yung gusto magpamilya.

sobrang stiff ngayon ang competition at ang daming applicants kasi. kung i-stress mo ang work-life balance sa unang interview palang, and if the employer did not like it (which in my opinion would be most likely the case), I guess the job was not meant to be. and I guarantee you, most often (but maybe not all) hindi papasa kung sasabihin mo sa unang interview palang ang mga restrictions mo. 


2.  for the inefficiencies kasi, sometimes hindi lang sa pagbubuntis. kasi within that 9 months, may check ups din kelangan puntahan. maselan, hindi din puede magtravel. laging inaantok, etc. pero nasa sa tao narin yun. pero I can speak on how it was kasi I was preggers before when I was working, iba talaga condition ng katawan ko. 

then after giving birth, maya't maya a-absent kasi papa injection or check up ang baby. or kapag may sakit ang baby. pag walang yaya. daming hassles.


3.  Though there could be some positions that are more open. yun nga lang, have not encountered of such pa.  sa na-experience ko lang na 15 yrs, normally, ang hanap ng company is higher productivity.  and of course, along with it is work life balance, and at the same time, being able to deliver results at minimum cost. 



hindi naman sa sinasadya ko maging biased.  definitely, resume review comes first. then the interviews. then the soft side on what the person's plans are.  But it is definitely a concern each employer has.

[sardonyx]

so it's either you'll answer truthfully or not.  i don't want to lie kasi kung magaling talaga ang interviewer, mabubuking ka rin after a series of questions.

i agree on that part na you shouldn't state your being too family-oriented sa first interview pa lang.  if you are not so motivated, it would create a negative impression on the interviewer.  i guess the bottomline is your credentials. 

[clueless]

^, ^^ i disagree. 

i think it all depends on what you value and how much the company values its employees eh.

for me, if a company does not value work-life balance, that company is not worth it. though like you say, mahirap maghanap ng work so we have to be careful with what we say. like what i always used to say on the previous thread, you need to know when to lay down your cards, how to play the game.

in the past, ganyan din ang thinking ko. with the very stiff competition, sometimes you program yourself to say what they want to hear, even if there are times na this is not really how you feel or what you have in mind.

akala ko dati lahat ng companies hindi masyadong vinavalue ang work-life balance.

maybe i am just lucky that that company i work with now is very family-oriented and i've had the best work-life balance here.

for me kasi, my values have to be in line with or attuned to the company's values. giving employees work-life balance is one good way of showing employees that they are important.

in my company kasi now, they believe that you are more productive if you have balance.

but i've had staff who got pregnant and yes, i agree na nagiiba ang work performance din pero iba-iba eh. one staff talagang sobrang naging unproductive. one staff naman parang walang nagbago sa condition niya nung buntis siya. and after giving birth naman, nasa commitment din ng employee eh. like with my staff, pwede naman siya mag-leave if she needs to bring her baby to the doctor but she chooses to do this on weekends because she doesn't want to disrupt her work. that is commendable, imo. it deserves plus points in my book.

dito sa company na ito ko lang na-experience yung ganito and i don't know if it's because we work with a lot of europeans. feeling ko kasi iba sila eh. i love working with them.

but you're both in singapore so it might be a completely different ballgame there.

[loloy101]

i find the ff questions diff to answer,pls help

If you were to be an animal, what would you be and why? What are the qualities of that animal, which would help you in becoming a cabin crew?"

"Do you think the Philippines is suited to host the next Olympic Games?

2 following situations:
You are shadowing for a senior cabin crew and someone asks for a glass of water because he is feeling dehydrated. The "fasten your seat belt" sign is on and you are not an official cabin crew yet. What would you do?
A family requested to be seated together. What would you do?

[clueless]

^ some things that come to mind.

1, bird? because they like to fly and go places?

2. no comment ako dyan, sorry. my political views might get shot at.

3. in general, i think you have to learn how to manage your customer's expectations. you don't have to give in to the request all the time but you need to know how handle the situation to manage the customer's expectation.

for the situation 1, i would call the attention of the senior cabin crew. unless i can see that the person is about about to faint to become unconscious (but to tell is he is about to faint, i don't know).

situation 2, no matter how nicely or how rudely they asked, i'll tell them that i'll see what i can do and i make sure i really check it out. if there is no way it can be done, i will explain the situation to them.

[jarjarbinks]

^^
1.   migrating bird --- can go to new places which means you can adapt to new changes

2.   people-wise, we can of course! our race is very friendly and can communicate to foreigner, well at least with simple english. however, money-wise, our country cannot host an Olympic event yet. Also, security risks will hinder to have a peaceful Olympics

3.  i think, regardless if you are a new crew or not, safety of your client is your main concern. If i am in your situation, i will get a water for that person. If i will be reprimanded, then i will explain the very nature of a person, that is to keep the safety/satisfaction of his customer. Also, being the frontliner of the company, you need to leave an impression to the customers that you are attentive of their needs

4.  i'll do same with clueless