Difficult Interview Questions and Winning Answers (part II)

[hapi_prego]

normally, sinasabi ko ang current pay ko.  during the interview, malalaman din naman nila ang reason ko for exploring opportunities sa ibang companies. may iba kasi mapilit magtanong. pero i try not to give a figure.  I just say how much I am getting, expectation ko - total package syempre better. 

minsan kasi kung magquote ka, baka sobrang taas, di ka ihire. pag sobra naman baba, baka feeling mo malugi ka sa paglipat.

hapi_prego, like blooming, i sometimes just give my current pay and i say they have to at least meet my net pay. i have a 15% tax rate kasi now so it's important they meet my net and my gross pay.

but when i was younger, it was safe to give a figure 1.25-1.5x your current. some nga 2x pa kasi magtatawaran pa yan so tumawad man, may significant increase pa din that the last.

but again, you have to know how to strategize. like what blooming said, sometimes if you quote a figure that's too high, they might lose interest. that's why you have to really impress them sa interview so that when you give your figure, they'd really think you deserve it.

and ako i always say everything is negotiable. salary is only one of my criteria. i also consider the overall package along with the kind of job and opportunities for growth.

also, very important, make sure you know the standard in the industry you're in so you can give a figure that's around the right range. giving a figure that's too low might indicate that you're not very confident in your qualifications and giving a figure that's too high might indicate yabang naman. so it's really best to know the industry average.

mga sis sa case ko naman kasi is, wala akong current job and wala din exp 

[clueless]

^ maybe next time you can give more information about the circumstances so we don't go around in circles.

i've mentioned this several times in the last thread. help us help you also. if you pointed that out in your post, we could have given you more appropriate or better suggestions.

this applies to any job application.

also, very important, make sure you know the standard in the industry you're in so you can give a figure that's around the right range.

what job are you applying for. for example, kung call center agent, you have to at least know the industry average so you can quite an expected salary that's right for the industry.

[jezamae]

mga sis, ano bang better na sagot pag

"how much is your expected salary"- dapat ba mag bigay ng exact figure?

sis, there are 2 factors here:

1-know how much other companies are paying
2-understand how your qualifications match up to the job
3-consider what's acceptable to you that can cover your expenses plus extras

most companies pay higher to applicants with experience relevant to the position because we are paying for the training

[desolate_cat]

Ito ang medyo mahirap para sa akin, saka pasensiya na di ko na mabuksan yung lumang thread eh.

Why are you leaving your current company?

-> Hindi ko kasi makasundo ang boss ko
-> Forced resignation( siyempre pag background check, lalabas naman na nagresign ako )

Why didn't you look for a job first before resigning?

-> I don't think its proper to look for work while I'm employed? ( Real reason: Di ko kasi gusto ang boss ko kaya nainis ako, nagresign na lang ako )

[jezamae]

Ito ang medyo mahirap para sa akin, saka pasensiya na di ko na mabuksan yung lumang thread eh.

Why are you leaving your current company?

-> Hindi ko kasi makasundo ang boss ko
-> Forced resignation( siyempre pag background check, lalabas naman na nagresign ako )

Why didn't you look for a job first before resigning?

-> I don't think its proper to look for work while I'm employed? ( Real reason: Di ko kasi gusto ang boss ko kaya nainis ako, nagresign na lang ako )

hi. i am not passing judgment here but can i comment on this from an hr point of view?

if the applicant said, hindi makasundo ang boss, this gives hr an alam bell. is the applicant not flexible? does the applicant have an attitude problem? iiyak ba ito sa pressure ng work? just to add a tip:applicants should never say bad words against the previous company/boss. hr thinks that if you do it to them, you will do it to us. if you bad mouth your former boss, you will badmouth us too

2-not looking for a job before resigning
hr thinks that it's a sign of irresponsibility. you can leave a company anytime. so you can leave us anytime too, even if the reason is very trivial. 'baka iwan kami nito pag may problema sa work ah'

[hopelessromantic]

oo nga sana maopen maretrieve yung first thread.daminag tips dun e.

[desolate_cat]

@jezamae

Alam ko naman na hindi dapat magsalita ng masama sa previous boss. Nilagay ko lang yan kasi yan talaga yung dahilan. Nagtatanong ako kung ano yung magandang isagot, given na yan talaga yung totoong dahilan.

So kung nagresign yung isang tao ng walang kapalit irresponsible na yun sa POV ng HR?

[periwinkle617]

mga sis, ask ko lang kasi dito din ako hirap: kasi ok naman yung skills ko tapos kaya ko naman iexplain thorough yung dating work ko. tapos pag nalaman na nila na may baby na ako and were not married parang na tuturn-off na sila? feeling ko lang. pero pag tinatanong nila if ever i will be hired who will take care of my baby. sabi ko he has his own maid and rest assured it won't hinder my performance. tapos ayun wala na. di na nila ako tinatawagan ulit???  bakit kaya? may discrimination na ba sa mga single parent? eh di naman ako single parent.  hay. 

[blooming]

^ sis, try to back read a few pages back.  maybe may discrimination, maybe not.

minsan depende rin sa pagkakasagot mo.

una una, tinatanong ba yan ng employer?  kung itanong, isang sagot. need not say na you are not married.  need not say na baby pa. kung tinanong kung may anak ka, you can always say, I have 1 daughter.  period.  kung tinanong ilan taon, then dun mo sabihin objectively, 1yo.

I think I have encountered this when I was applying a job. Pero parang naswertihan lang ata ako kasi the company desperately needed a replacement at that time. Pero parang sabit lang din ako and they dont have any other candidates on their list.

It went like this - I was applying for work kasi sa Singapore. I was Manila based then. So I showed to them na I can handle things my way, know how to relocate, not constrained in any family relationships etc.  They asked about my hubby. And I said that we are open to relocation, very eager in fact.  They asked about how many kids I have. And I say, we're very flexible, we stayed already in another country before, we know the local language, etc.  Proving to them that I can manage.  Then travel. Sabi pano daw ako makatravel with my kid/s.  Sabi ko lang na in my current job, I have been travelling no hassles. Because I hire the best and most efficient help and pay them thrice the market price, bec I know I can be more efficient if they are efficient.

Sorry napahaba. 

[blooming]

So kung nagresign yung isang tao ng walang kapalit irresponsible na yun sa POV ng HR?

maki comment lang po ako kahit hindi ako HR.  hindi naman sa irresponsible, being an interviewer ha.  Pero kasi ang basa ko dito, kung kaya mo yan gawin sa previous job mo, kaya mo din gawin yan dito sa papasukan mo.

And I guess most employers, again most ha, or baka ako lang... sige rephrase, for me, I look for someone who is serious sa trabaho, may "passion" sa ginagawa nya, and who does not give up easily.  And if someone will resign nang walang kapalit na trabho, lagi kong tanong talaga is bakit. 

Sa dami ng applicants, with all things equal, I'd rather go to the person who did not resign before getting another job.

The only situation na na encounter ko sa isang applicant na medyo naging considerate ako is when this person resigned from his previous job (kahit wala pang kapalit) to take care of his parent. 

[blooming]

just to add a tip:applicants should never say bad words against the previous company/boss. hr thinks that if you do it to them, you will do it to us. if you bad mouth your former boss, you will badmouth us too

agree.  you can always say things diplomatically. growth is always the generic reason.  walang growth kasi gamay mo na lahat ng ginagawa mo. as much as you want to expand your wings, limited talaga with your current company and scope of work.

2-not looking for a job before resigning
hr thinks that it's a sign of irresponsibility. you can leave a company anytime. so you can leave us anytime too, even if the reason is very trivial. 'baka iwan kami nito pag may problema sa work ah'

totoo yan. kahit na mabigat na personal problem, as much as possible, umiiwas ako sa mga ganyang applicants. na broken hearted, nag awol na. puede ba. may commitment sya sa work, so dapat kahit anong mangyari sa personal life nya, she/he has to make sure na covered ang trabaho. kahit pa naman hindi sya pumasok at magleave, just make sure may mag a attend sa mga naka binbin na trabaho.

[blooming]

mga sis sa case ko naman kasi is, wala akong current job and wala din exp 

if that's the case, then ang best na sagot kapag natanong yan, is you are not in a position to say as you are applying to gain more experience and not to maximize your takehome pay.  further, you trust that the company you are applying for is fair and therefore would give you the proper compensation for the position you are applying for.

in other words sis, I dont think you can say your price. Pero tama rin magresearch ka. Kung ang market price is 10k, baka kelangan mo pa nga babaan ang price mo esp na wala kang experience at wala kang current work.

[clueless]

2-not looking for a job before resigning
hr thinks that it's a sign of irresponsibility. you can leave a company anytime. so you can leave us anytime too, even if the reason is very trivial. 'baka iwan kami nito pag may problema sa work ah'

for my enlightenment, could you please explain this in more detail?

i don't know how HR can view this as being irresponsible. if the employee gave proper notice and everything is handed over properly, problema na niya na wala siyang lilipatan na work bago siya nag-resign.

the reason for resigning may be trivial for some and this doesn't change whether the employee left with another job lined up or not.

i once resigned kasi na walang kapalit na work because i didn't want to be assigned abroad for a long time (baliktad ako than most). does that make me irresponsible also even if i gave due notice and made sure i finished my project before i left? luckily i found a new job 2 weeks later and sa tingin ko di naman nila naisip yon as being irresponsible kasi almost 5 years na ako sa kanila.

baka i'm missing something here kasi di ko maintindihan.

[o_O]

agree.  you can always say things diplomatically. growth is always the generic reason.  walang growth kasi gamay mo na lahat ng ginagawa mo. as much as you want to expand your wings, limited talaga with your current company and scope of work.

ok lang ba sis na sabihin na the reason you're leaving your current company is because you feel that the company is not "taking care" of their employees future? Like before, ok naman..parang stable and all but since the "recession period" parang you can't feel that your future is stable anymore. Or mamasamain yun ng interviewer?

Also, sa question about expected salary, ano usually sinasabi ninyo na current salary ninyo, yung gross ba or net amount?

Usually ba, ilang % ang dinadagdag ng hiring company sa current salary ng applicant?  Pano ba malaman ano ang going rate sa inaapplyan kong company if wala ako kilala dun? (ie P&G, Unilab, Unilever)

Negative ba ang tingin ng interviewer kapag ang sagot mo sa question na "Are you willing to do other jobs not in your job description?" e ayaw mo? like kunwari, napapansin mo naman na pinapasa nalang sayo yung work kasi tinatamad yung isang employee, syempre di mo na tatanggapin dahil 1) di mo trabaho yun 2) di ka naman bayad to do it 3) hindi mo siya boss...ano tama sagot dito?

same goes with "what can you say about jobs w/ a lot of over-time work?" ano tama sagot don? honestly, ayaw ko syempre mag Over time lalo na most companies doesn't give OT pay...pwede ko ba isagot na syempre ayaw ko as much as possible kasi napaka hypocrite ata if I say na gusto ko diba?

thanks!

[clueless]

^ my thoughts...

if you are looking to move to a company that's relatively more stable than your old, i think that reason is valid but i won't say it that way.

for example, you're moving from semicon to let's say pharma, you may say that you're looking for a more stable environment, something that's "recession-proof" in a way. but you really have to do your research about the company you're applying for to be able to say they are "better" at this time of recession.

as regards expected salary, you may want to back read as this has been discussed just recently. i used to quote an expected salary in gross amount but now i quote the net amount. i have a 15% tax rate kasi so if i give my gross asking, ang dating prang sobrang taas pero kasi kaya mataas kasi i anticipate regular tax rate vs my current 15% tax rate.

yung dinagdagdag ng hiring company sa current salary ng applicant walang hard and fast rule. case to case talaga. the highest jump i've ever made in terms of percentage was an increase of 100%.

for industry average rates, you may check salary surveys available on the internet like this.

"Are you willing to do other jobs not in your job description?" - depends ha. our job description kasi, when we break down responsibilities, laging may catch all na "anything that may be assigned" pero syempre within reason.

"what can you say about jobs w/ a lot of over-time work?" - depends din. why is there overtime work? is it because of an ineffective manager? is it because of an inefficient employee? is it part of the job (like for accounting during busy season pag malapit na mag-april). pero ako personally, ayaw ko mag-overtime unless it is absolutely necessary. i do my best to manage my tasks so i can work efficiently and effectively within an 8-hour day. now if i need to join a telecon at 8pm because of time difference considerations, i wouldn't mind. mga ganon. pero case to case basis talaga.

[clueless]

girls, you may also want to refer to this site. there are some tips.

http://blog.jobstreet.com/philippines/

[desolate_cat]

maki comment lang po ako kahit hindi ako HR.  hindi naman sa irresponsible, being an interviewer ha.  Pero kasi ang basa ko dito, kung kaya mo yan gawin sa previous job mo, kaya mo din gawin yan dito sa papasukan mo.

And I guess most employers, again most ha, or baka ako lang... sige rephrase, for me, I look for someone who is serious sa trabaho, may "passion" sa ginagawa nya, and who does not give up easily.  And if someone will resign nang walang kapalit na trabho, lagi kong tanong talaga is bakit. 

Sa dami ng applicants, with all things equal, I'd rather go to the person who did not resign before getting another job.

The only situation na na encounter ko sa isang applicant na medyo naging considerate ako is when this person resigned from his previous job (kahit wala pang kapalit) to take care of his parent.

Hindi ko maintindihan ito. Anong kayang gawin sa previous company? I mean walang kapalit o malilipatan na work, hindi walang kapalit na employee. Siyempre it follows that I did proper turnover work.

Una kasi sa mga sinasabi ko eh nakakahiya naman sa employer ko kung leave ako ng leave para magpa-interview sa ibang company, di ba?

[desolate_cat]

totoo yan. kahit na mabigat na personal problem, as much as possible, umiiwas ako sa mga ganyang applicants. na broken hearted, nag awol na. puede ba. may commitment sya sa work, so dapat kahit anong mangyari sa personal life nya, she/he has to make sure na covered ang trabaho. kahit pa naman hindi sya pumasok at magleave, just make sure may mag a attend sa mga naka binbin na trabaho.

Paano nga kung ang totoong dahilan eh forced resignation?

Naintindihan niyo ba ang tanong ko? Anong nag-awol, anong mababaw ang dahilan? Anong walang commitment? Anong kinalaman niyan na nagresign na walang lilipatan?

Paano kung gusto niya lang mag-concentrate sa job hunting?

[clueless]

^ pareho tayo. di ko din maintindihan yang part na yan. not sure if you've read my post above.

what do you mean by forced resignation? akala ko nag-resign ka kasi ayaw mo yung boss mo and you were "forced" kasi aya mo na talaga? or did the company force you to resign?

[blooming]

ok lang ba sis na sabihin na the reason you're leaving your current company is because you feel that the company is not "taking care" of their employees future? Like before, ok naman..parang stable and all but since the "recession period" parang you can't feel that your future is stable anymore. Or mamasamain yun ng interviewer?

puede kasi ang hanap mo stability. 

though admittedly, lately, parang kokonti nalang talaga ang companies na stable in a sense na hindi na r-reorg, at least sa experience ko.

Negative ba ang tingin ng interviewer kapag ang sagot mo sa question na "Are you willing to do other jobs not in your job description?" e ayaw mo? like kunwari, napapansin mo naman na pinapasa nalang sayo yung work kasi tinatamad yung isang employee, syempre di mo na tatanggapin dahil 1) di mo trabaho yun 2) di ka naman bayad to do it 3) hindi mo siya boss...ano tama sagot dito?

same goes with "what can you say about jobs w/ a lot of over-time work?" ano tama sagot don? honestly, ayaw ko syempre mag Over time lalo na most companies doesn't give OT pay...pwede ko ba isagot na syempre ayaw ko as much as possible kasi napaka hypocrite ata if I say na gusto ko diba?

depende sa position siguro na ina-applyan mo. may iba ok lang, may ibang position hindi okay yan sagot na yan.