1. Are you willing to work overtime or odd hours?
Be completely honest. You don't want to lie to get the job if you're not going to work the hours required.
2. Are you good at working in a team In Purchasing?
Before you answer, consider how you best contribute to a team:
☛ Do you get along easily with people?
☛ Are you an effective collaborator?
☛ Can you communicate with people from various backgrounds and with different personalities?
☛ Can you motivate people?
☛ Do you know how to push back tactfully?
☛ Can you mediate conflicts?
☛ Can you deal with difficult personalities?
3. Why do you want to leave your current company In Purchasing?
Bad Answer: Complaining about or blaming their former job, boss or colleagues. Also, having no good reason.
Good answer: One that focuses on the positives about why the job they're applying for offers them better learning or career opportunities, chances for advancement, aligns more closely to their long term goals, or is a better fit for them.
4. What education or training have you had that makes you fit for this profession In Purchasing?
This would be the first question asked in any interview. Therefore, it is important that you give a proper reply to the question regarding your education. You should have all the documents and certificates pertaining to your education and/or training, although time may not allow the interviewer to review all of them.
5. What can you offer me that another person can't?
This is when you talk about your record of getting things done. Go into specifics from your resume and portfolio; show an employer your value and how you'd be an asset.
You have to say, “I'm the best person for the job In Purchasing. I know there are other candidates who could fill this position, but my passion for excellence sets me apart from the pack. I am committed to always producing the best results. For example…”
By maintaining proper routine every day. Putting my strongest points with my weakness. High priority always comes first In Purchasing.
7. Why do you think you'll do well at this job?
Provide several reasons including skills, experience and interest. If you can show how you've been successful in a similar career field or job position that will go along way to helping the interviewer believe you'll also be successful at this new job.
8. Tell me about a time you failed?
Everyone has failed, so don't play dumb or claim you've never messed up In Purchasing. Think of a time when a work-related situation didn't turn out quite as you had hoped. An interviewer is interested in seeing how you took responsibility for your failure, what you learned from it, and how you would prevent similar failures from happening again.
9. Tell me why do you want this job In Purchasing?
Bad Answer: No solid answer, answers that don't align with what the job actually offers, or uninspired answers that show your position is just another of the many jobs they're applying for.
Good answer: The candidate has clear reasons for wanting the job that show enthusiasm for the work and the position, and knowledge about the company and job.
10. Do you think you are overqualified for this position In Purchasing?
No matter your previous job experience or educational background, be sure to tell the interviewer you have the knowledge and skills to successfully execute the job responsibilities.
11. How much are you willing to sacrifice to be successful at work In Purchasing?
With anything comes sacrifice. The questions is how much of it are you willing to sacrifice with regards to work life balance, stress, etc?
12. How do you prioritize your work?
Depends on the situation... I like to label certain tasks as either A B or C...A being the one that requires immediate attention, and C which are tasks that aren't urgent but eventually need to get done... I like to focus my work In Purchasing on the things that need to get done, and done quickly... While balancing the other work alongside our first priorities.
Focus on the issue that impacts the business most first.
14. Can you tell me a little about yourself?
This question seems simple, so many people fail to prepare for it, but it's crucial. Here's the deal: Don't give your complete employment (or personal) history In Purchasing. Instead give a pitch-one that's concise and compelling and that shows exactly why you're the right fit for the job. Start off with the 2-3 specific accomplishments or experiences that you most want the interviewer to know about, then wrap up talking about how that prior experience has positioned you for this specific role.
15. Explain what are your strengths In Purchasing?
Bad Answer: Candidate is unprepared for question or only gives generic answers.
This is the most common job interview question - everybody should be expecting it. If they don't seem prepared, or give a fairly stock answer, it's probably a bad sign.
Good answer: The consensus is to go for quality, not quantity here. Candidates should give a short list of strengths, and back each one up with examples that illustrate the strength. Also, they should explain how these strengths will be useful in the job you're applying for, and use this question to say something interesting about themselves.
16. What motivates you at the work place?
Keep your answer simple, direct and positive. Some good answers may be the ability to achieve, recognition or challenging assignments.
17. How do you propose to compensate for your lack of experience?
The first thing you should do is discuss experience you have the interviewer is unfamiliar with. Once that is detailed, tell the person conducting the interview that you are able to learn new tasks and information in a reasonable period of time and possess a strong work ethic. However, only state this if you can live up to these expectations.
18. Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years?
Bad Answer: A generic or uninspired answer. Also, answers that show that this career/company is just a temporary stop for them.
Good answer: One that shows the candidate has thought about this question, has plans, and that those plans align with the job and a career path that is possible in the company. You want to see that this candidate is a good long term investment.
There are some questions that your potential employer aren't allowed to ask (but trust me, they probably want to). For instance, they shouldn't really ask about your family or how far away you live from your potential place of employment. If you can find a way to answer these questions anyway (with the answers they want to hear), that will give them a little added info to help them make the (right) decision!
20. What has been your biggest professional disappointment?
When discussing a professional disappointment, make sure to discuss a scenario you could not control. Be positive about the experience and accept personal responsibility where applicable.
21. What do you consider ethical spending on an expense account?
It depends on the role - but the better way to answer this is to ask the interviewer what their expectations are with regards to what the role can expense and then simply state that you'll stay within those parameters
22. Have you ever been caught stealing, or better yet, have you ever stole anything?
I guess everyone takes a pen or paper or little things like that. But other than that, NO. I have never stole from my employers or better yet In Purchasing, from anyone.
23. Explain what are your weaknesses In Purchasing?
Red flags: This is the peanut butter to the previous question's jelly. Again, everyone should expect it, so it's a bad sign if someone seems totally unprepared, or gives a stock answer like, "I'm a perfectionist." Also, of course, candidates crazy enough to blurt out some horrible personality trait should go in the red flagged pile.
Good answer: Candidates should talk about a real weakness they've been working on improving. For instance, they're not good at public speaking, but they've been taking a course to help them improve. Or maybe they feel that they're easily distracted when working online, but have installed software that helps them stay on task. Answers like these show a desire for improvement, self awareness and discipline.
24. How do you imagine a typical day of an employee in our company In Purchasing?
Just do not say that you imagine to only walk and watch what people do. Rather try to show them your attention to details and proactive attitude to job. Mention that you would try to observe the problems, weaknesses as well as opportunities to improve the results and take measures according to it.
25. What are your presentation skills like In Purchasing?
Make sure you share a story that demonstrates your presentation skills in front of many people. If you are really brave, offer to give a snippet of that presentation to the interviewer. This will definitely be different from what most people do.
26. What are your lifelong dreams?
If your dreams don't relate to the job closely, make sure you highlight aspects of the job that will help develop the skills that will help you with your dreams. Ideally, you want your dreams to relate strongly to the career path you're interviewing for though.
27. What is your perception of taking on risk?
You answer depends on the type of company you're interviewing for. If it's a start up, you need to be much more open to taking on risk. If it's a more established company, calculated risks to increase / improve the business or minimal risks would typically be more in line.
28. How have you shown yourself to be a leader?
Think about a time where you've rallied a group of people around a cause / idea / initiative and successfully implemented it. It could be a small or large project but the key is you want to demonstrate how you were able to lead others to work for a common cause.
29. Where do you see yourself in 5 years with your career?
Be sure to paint a clear picture of your career vision that demonstrates your aspirations and goals that are realistic. This could emphasize increased responsibility, the ability to manage people and so forth
30. Why are you interested in this type of job In Purchasing?
You're looking for someone who enjoys working with the elderly, or a caring, sociable, and nurturing person.
31. How meticulous are you with details?
Being detailed is important for many types of job roles. Typically you want to highlight how you've done that in previous roles. Example: "Being meticulous is important to me. In my last job, I had to count the money in the register as a cashier to make sure it matched to the receipts down to the last penny." This was to ensure there wasn't any "wrongdoing" at the company by any of the cashiers and I was always accurate in my reports.
32. What do you know about our competition?
Make sure you do your research on their competitors. You can find this by going to yahoo finance and click on their competitors (if they are public). From there research the news on them and go to their websites to understand their positioning on solutions and vision. You can also research local regional companies that are their competition (if it's a smaller private company on a regional scale) by simply typing in similar product offerings in the Google search followed by the city. Make sure you know their competitor's vision, products, culture, and how they are differentiated against their competition (and if they're not, how they could be)
33. What are your thoughts on failure?
Failure happens. It's a part of life. The key is understanding that you can't be perfect at everything and more importantly you're going to learn from failures to come out stronger.
34. Why do you want to join our company?
This is a question that is aimed at finding out whether you know enough about the company and the basic market. The best way to answer this question is to do some research on the company and highlight its positive points.
35. What do you feel you deserve to be paid?
Do your research before answering this question - first, consider what the market average is for this job. You can find that by searching on Google (title followed by salary) and globalguideline.com and other websites. Then, consider this - based on your work experience and previous results, are you above average, if yes, by what % increase from your pay today from your perspective? Also - make sure if you aim high you can back it up with facts and your previous results so that you can make a strong case.
In asking this interview question, your interviewer wants to get a sense of how you will respond to conflict. Anyone can seem nice and pleasant in a job interview, but what will happen if you're hired?. Again, you'll want to use the S-T-A-R method, being sure to focus on how you handled the situation professionally and productively, and ideally closing with a happy ending, like how you came to a resolution or compromise.
37. What will your ramp time be before you become a meaningful contributor?
Companies want staff that can ramp quickly, but also want people who are realistic. So take into consideration how intense the job is and then give a good answer. For example, if you have simple responsibilities that don't require a huge development curve, then your ramp time will probably be shorter. If it's a complex set of skills that you need to develop, then your ramp time could be longer - the key is you have to explain why you believe that ramp time should be.
38. How has school prepared you for this job role?
Think back to how you've interacted with your peers to develop social skills, how you've worked with classmates on projects to develop teamwork and collaborative skills, how you've developed discipline through studying, how the courses have helped your creativity, and how the classes you've taken have impacted your analytical / problem solving / reasoning skills.
39. What do you know about this company?
Research the company on Google by searching recent news (to remain current on them) and their website. Make sure you understand their products / services, vision, competitive differentiators, and work culture.
40. What's been your biggest success to date?
Talk about a story / experience about how you achieved success and be sure to share details on the results and outcome. Have it highlight a strong characteristic such as leadership, work ethic and so forth.
41. What differentiates you from the competition?
Think about what you bring to the table that you truly believe is unique - the easiest way to do is to think of your own personal stories that demonstrate your work ethic, skills, and dedication. Most people have some or all of those skills, but the unique stories are what make people stand out in interviews.
42. Did the salary we offer attract you to this job?
The interviewer could be asking you this question for a number of reasons. Obviously, the salary is an important factor to your interest in this job, but it should not be the overriding reason for your interest. A good answer to this question is, “The salary was very attractive, but the job itself is what was most attractive to me.”
43. What can you tell me about team work as part of the job In Purchasing?
There is usually a team of staff nurses working in cooperation with each other. A team of nurses has to get along well and coordinate their actions, usually by dividing their responsibilities into sectors or specific activities. They help each other perform tasks requiring more than one person.
44. What are your salary requirements In Purchasing?
The #1 rule of answering this question is doing your research on what you should be paid by using site like Global Guideline. You'll likely come up with a range, and we recommend stating the highest number in that range that applies, based on your experience, education, and skills. Then, make sure the hiring manager knows that you're flexible. You're communicating that you know your skills are valuable, but that you want the job and are willing to negotiate.
45. What skills do you bring to the table?
Think of your skill sets with regards to: analytical skills, interpersonal skills, communication skills, computer skills, presentation skills, management skills, sales skills and so forth.
46. What type of mentors do you seek out and why?
Think of your top 3 mentors and what attributes they exhibit that you want to emulate. Common attributes include passion, desire, will, leadership, ability to influence others, intelligence.
47. Do you think you have enough experience In Purchasing?
If you do not have the experience they need, you need to show the employer that you have the skills, qualities and knowledge that will make you equal to people with experience but not necessary the skills. It is also good to add how quick you can pick up the routine of a new job role.
48. How would you define success?
Success is defined differently for everybody. Just make sure the parameters are defined by you with regards to work life balance, financial gain, career growth, achievements, creating meaningful work / products and so forth. If you can clearly articulate what it means to you that is a strong answer.
49. Explain me about your experience working in this field In Purchasing?
I am dedicated, hardworking and great team player for the common goal of the company I work with. I am fast learner and quickly adopt to fast pace and dynamic area. I am well organized, detail oriented and punctual person.
50. How do you evaluate your ability to handle conflict?
I pride myself on being a good problem solver. Through my previous job and management positions I have faced numerous conflicts in different situations, and my experiences have helped me to hone my issue resolution skills. I believe that it is important to get to and address the root of the issue, in a respectable manner.
51. How good are you at problem solving?
Describe the problem first and then discuss how you were able to fix it.
52. What features of your previous jobs have you disliked?
It's easy to talk about what you liked about your job in an interview, but you need to be careful when responding to questions about the downsides of your last position. When you're asked at a job interview about what you didn't like about your previous job, try not to be too negative. You don't want the interviewer to think that you'll speak negatively about this job or the company should you eventually decide to move on after they have hired you.
53. How have you changed in the last five years?
All in a nutshell. But I think I've attained a level of personal comfort in many ways and although I will change even more in the next 5-6 years I'm content with the past 6 and what has come of them.
54. What's your salary history?
When you are interviewing for a new job, it is common practice for the company to ask you about your salary history. I typically want to know what the candidate's base salary is, if they receive any bonus, the average bonus amount, and any additional compensation or perks, such as 500k matching, stock grants or stock options, paid time off and how much they are required to pay towards their medical premiums.
55. What problems have you encountered at work?
Wow, do we have problems! Where do I begin? Well, most of the problems are internal, just people not working well with each other. I have one person on our team who is a real problem, but it seems like management is afraid to do anything about it. So we all end up having to do extra work to cover for this person, who just doesn't work. We all say that he's retired in place. I think he's just holding on until retirement in a couple years. But he's a real problem. I complain about it--a lot--but nothing ever seems to get done. I've even written negative reviews about the person, hoping he will get canned, but it doesn't happen. I can't wait for him to retire.
56. What would you like to have accomplished by the end of your career?
Think of 3 major achievements that you'd like to accomplish in your job when all is said and done - and think BIG. You want to show you expect to be a major contributor at the company. It could be creating a revolutionary new product, it could be implementing a new effective way of marketing, etc.
57. Tell me something about your family background?
First, always feel proud while discussing about your family background. Just simple share the details with the things that how they influenced you to work in an airline field.
58. How would your friends describe you?
My friends would probably say that I'm extremely persistent – I've never been afraid to keep going back until I get what I want. When I worked as a program developer, recruiting keynote speakers for a major tech conference, I got one rejection after another – this was just the nature of the job. But I really wanted the big players – so I wouldn't take no for an answer. I kept going back to them every time there was a new company on board, or some new value proposition. Eventually, many of them actually said "yes" – the program turned out to be so great that we doubled our attendees from the year before. A lot of people might have given up after the first rejection, but it's just not in my nature. If I know something is possible, I have to keep trying until I get it.
59. What type of work environment do you prefer?
Ideally one that's similar to the environment of the company you're applying to. Be specific.
60. Give me an example of an emergency situation that you faced. How did you handle it?
There was a time when one of my employers faced the quitting of a manager in another country. I was asked to go fill in for him while they found a replacement and stay to train that person. I would be at least 30 days. I quickly accepted because I knew that my department couldn't function without me.
61. How do you think I rate as an interviewer?
I think you did fine. I'm sure you've conducted a lot of interviews, and it's probably second nature for you now. Thanks for taking the time to meet with me today. I'm sure you have a lot of things you have to juggle every day.
I'd say you rate at least ten out of ten. The questions you asked seemed spot on. I can tell you guys are working hard to find the perfect applicant for the job. I'm glad I could meet with you.
62. What do you think is your greatest weakness?
Don't say anything that could eliminate you from consideration for the job. For instance, "I'm slow in adapting to change" is not a wise answer, since change is par for the course in most work environments. Avoid calling attention to any weakness that's one of the critical qualities the hiring manager is looking for. And don't try the old "I'm a workaholic," or "I'm a perfectionist.
63. Describe a typical work week for this position In Purchasing?
Interviewers expect a candidate for employment to discuss what they do while they are working in detail. Before you answer, consider the position In Purchasing you are applying for and how your current or past positions relate to it. The more you can connect your past experience with the job opening, the more successful you will be at answering the questions.
64. What types of personalities do you work with best?
In the past, I have found it difficult to work with others who see themselves as better than others, who can take criticism, and who refuse to work with others. I have found it challenging to work with them b/c I am a team oriented person who feels the importance of working together over the needs of the individual especially in a learning environment.
65. Give me an example of when you competed hard and won?
You can reference many different areas here when discussing a story of where you won in competition: Work experience (ideal), sports, clubs, classes, projects.
66. How would you motivate your team members to produce the best possible results?
Trying to create competitive atmosphere, trying to motivate the team as a whole, organizing team building activities, building good relationships amongst people.
67. How many square feet of pizza are eaten in the United States each month?
This is a classic guesstimate question where you need to think aloud. And so first off you round the U.S. population to 300 million people (it's actually about 315 million but rounding will be much easier and your interviewer will not score you lower for rounding). Then estimate how many people eat pizza. A decent educated guess is two out of every three people, or 200 million. Now let's say the average pizza-eating person eats pizza twice a month, and eats two slices at a time. That's four slices a month. If the average slice of pizza is perhaps six inches at the base and 10 inches long, then the slice is 30 square inches of pizza. So, four pizza slices would be 120 square inches (30 times 4).
Since one square foot equals 144 square inches (12 times 12), let's assume that each person who eats pizza eats one square foot per month. Since there are 200 million pizza-eating Americans, 200 million square feet of pizza are consumed in the U.S. each month. To summarize: 300 million people in America, 200 million eat pizza, average slice of pizza is six inches at the base and 10 inches long or 30 square inches, average American eats four slices of pizza a month, four pieces times 30 square inches equals 120 square inches (one square foot is 144 square inches), so let's assume one square foot per person, and thus one square foot times 200 million people equals 200 million square feet of pizza a month.
68. What are three positive things your last boss would say about you?
It's time to pull out your old performance appraisals and boss's quotes. This is a great way to brag about yourself through someone else's words:
“My boss has told me that I am the best designer he has ever had. He knows he can rely on me, and he likes my sense of humor.”
69. What do you think we could do better or differently?
This is a common one at startups. Hiring managers want to know that you not only have some background on the company, but that you're able to think critically about it and come to the table with new ideas. So, come with new ideas! What new features would you love to see? How could the company increase conversions? How could customer service be improved? You don't need to have the company's four-year strategy figured out, but do share your thoughts, and more importantly, show how your interests and expertise would lend themselves to the job.
