1. What is a sandwich year in work experience?

Work experience at university level is often offered between the second and final years of an undergraduate degree course, especially in the science, engineering and computing fields. Courses of this nature are often called sandwich courses with the work experience year itself known as the sandwich year.

2. Tell me how does a sandwich year work experience?

During sandwich year, the students on work placement have the opportunity to use the skills and knowledge gained in their first two years and see how they are applied to real world problems. This offers them useful insights for their final year and prepares them for the job market once their course has finished. Some companies sponsor students in their final year at university with the promise of a job at the end of the course. This is an incentive for the student to perform well during the placement as it helps with two otherwise unwelcome stresses: the lack of money in the final year, and finding a job when the University course ends.

3. What were the actions did you take for your achievements at work experience?

Think of the actions that you took to achieve the goal. Every single step that you have taken for achieving the objectives:
☛ Tasks during the activity.
☛ Your personal management activities.
☛ The changes and difficulties that you handled effectively.

4. Tell me why did you leave your last work after just one year?

Interviewers are concerned about job hoppers people who do not settle but move from job to job. In a recession many jobs are short-term and so this may not be a negative reflection on you but the interviewer needs to be convinced.
If you have changed jobs more frequently than average, be ready to explain the reasons why. If it is a case of a job not working out, be ready to explain. It could be that you moved for a promotion but within weeks you realized the company was in difficulty, with your job at risk, hence now looking for a new job.

5. Give example for describing your last employer in your work experience?

Example:
☛ I liked my employer. He/she treated me fairly and respected my work.
☛ I appreciated my previous employer having given me the opportunity to acquire a lot of skills and experiences in (name area of work skill).

6. Tell me how would you describe your last employer in your work experience?

Never run down or say anything negative about anybody or anyone. The employer will feel that you will do it to them. You should state the positive things such as he had high expectations and I really respected him for that. He was down to earth and really knew the job I was doing, if I had any problems he was approachable and would always give me suggestion or he gave the responsibility to do a good job.

7. Give examples of greatest weaknesses in your work experience?

Example:
☛ I am the type of person or is very hard on myself. I am always expecting myself to do a little bit more. However, I guess this works out well for my employer.
☛ I never like to leave work until I have every thing finished completely. Sometimes this bothers me but I feel inside that it is important.
☛ I am the type of person who always takes my work home with me. This sometimes interferes with my personal life but I feel that work comes first.

8. Tell me what are your weaknesses in your work experience?

You never want to give any indication of any weaknesses that you have. Turn you weaknesses into strengths by working it to the employer's advantage.

9. Give an example of the greatest strengths in your work experience?

Example:
My greatest strength is that I have a lot of initiative. I am always looking for a better way to do things at work that I feel would save the company money and I can always achieve my production quotas. For example one time I was working at my station and I felt that I was wasting time by always having to walk to the other side of my station to get some parts. So I reorganized the station and my supervisor was really impressed as it increased my quota.

10. Tell me what are your greatest strengths in your work experience?

This is your opportunity to brag a little bit. It is important that you have done your research about the type of work that you are applying for. For example if you are applying as a production laborer and from your research you understand that this type of work required people that have the ability to meet quotas, work as a team and make improvement suggestions, then it is important for you to incorporate this into your strengths.

11. Tell me why have you not worked recently?

The interviewer is looking for clues to serious problems or job difficulties that could carry over to a new job. You might say:
Since I was laid off from my previous employer, I have been actively looking for a job. However, as you know, there are many people looking for work and applying for the same jobs. I have always worked steadily but I have not been able to find a job in the present job market.
After I got laid off from my previous employer, I decided to go back to school to upgrade my skills so I can get a better, more secure job.

12. Do you think this job would bore you, with the kind of work experience you have had before?

The interviewer may think you are over qualified and want this job only until something better comes along. Stress that no job is ever boring because you always learn new skills. Mention how you would benefit by working for the company and vice versa.

13. Tell me about your work experience as a sales person?

Sales experience in a national retail chain, where I acquired an understanding of how customers need to be listened to and made to feel confident that their ideas and concerns taken into account.

14. Tell me about your work experience as an accounting internee?

My work experience has been nothing but top notch. When I competed my accounting degree, I went right to the best firm in the city and was hired as an intern. I was able to use the internship time towards my MBA, which I just complete this past spring. Working with the best of the best has made me an asset to any company that will hire me.

15. Tell me about your work experience as a teacher?

I have not had much paid work experience as a teacher. I have spent most of my time outside of college and graduate school doing volunteer work at a private elementary school in my town. Because the summers are so short and I was working to complete my certification, I wanted to gain hands on experience without worrying about finding a school that would hire me. Now that I am certified, finished my master's degree program and have all those volunteer hours under my belt, I feel well prepared to apply for a full time teaching position.

16. Can you tell me about your current work experience?

They want to know about your job and how it has prepared you for the job you are being interviewed for. Are you motivated to move to this job or are you moving away from a job you dislike?
Make sure the examples you share are all relevant to the job you are applying for. Possible examples could focus on problem-solving, customer service and creating action plans.
GOOD TIP:
You want to make sure that your examples are positive and end with what attracts you to this job.

17. Tell me what do you dislike about your work experience?

They want to make sure that you are not someone who complains too much. You need to come across as someone who remains positive when dealing with things they dislike.
They will listen to see if you come across as difficult to work with. Start by highlighting the positives and explain how you have worked around your dislikes. Your dislike should relate to circumstances, such as not having enough resources, rather than to any conflict with others.
GOOD TIP:
Do not mention problems with people and ensure you come across as someone who is upbeat and positive.

18. Tell me how do you know you will fit into our company for work experience?

The interviewer wants reassurance that you have thought about the culture, environment and business goals that this company has. They want to know that you will fit in.
Think about the culture and work environment at your current employer and identify key differences and similarities with the new company. Reassure the interviewer that you do not see any differences as a problem.
GOOD TIP:
Think and be ready to discuss how you have adapted to new bosses, colleagues and jobs as you have undertaken different roles.

19. What is there to restart after dealing with bad work experiences?

If you feel relieved after going through all the previous rules, give it a go and open yourself to all life has to offer. Not just with a new job but with everything else. Who knows, your new job might be just the thing you are looking for in your career. Take your bad work experience as a learning experience and use it as an advantage.
People are different from each other and deal with things in different ways. Handling your past bad work experience through positive means can help you recover and get back on track with a wiser perspective.

20. Tell me how would you recover for dealing with bad work experiences?

Take care of yourself on your way to recovery. Do not rush yourself to feel better instantly. We all have periods when we feel down but there comes a time that we will feel ready to take on the world again. Your feelings may shift among numbness, anger, sadness and desolation. The important thing with emotional recovery from a bad job is that you help yourself. Do not beat yourself up. Take the things that you can change from the things you have no control over.

21. Why would you relax while dealing with bad work experiences?

After dealing with your negative feelings about losing your job, relax and take a step back. Try to see the situation in a positive light. What are the lessons you can learn from this experience? Maybe you need to improve how you deal with higher-ups, upgrade your work skills or interact better with people.
If your idea of relaxing is to take a break for a short while before finding work again, then feel free to do so. Go on some soul-searching road trip, begin a new hobby or just enjoy doing nothing. You will know by yourself if you're ready to join the workforce once again.

22. Tell me how would you rant for dealing with bad work experiences?

Everyone who's ever lost a job may find themselves angry, sad and anxious over what happened. If you lose your job because you did something wrong, were wrongly judged upon or all of these, feel free to rant. Allow yourself to get really angry at your boss, co-worker or any reason that made you lose your job. That said, it is important to find healthy ways to get your pent-up emotions off your chest. Write about it, talk to someone about it, cry, shout or eat a pint of ice cream. Do anything that will help you feel more in control of your emotions and less angry about the said situation.
There is no right or wrong way to feel about your situation. The only thing that will be wrong is if you allow this experience to dampen your enthusiasm for work. If you go around looking for a job and still feel angry about your past work experience, it can sabotage your efforts. You do not want to be talking about your past work experience to a potential employer and badmouthing your previous boss.

23. Tell me how would you deal with a bad work experience?

There are ways to deal with the life in-between. It is summarized in four rules:
☛ Rant
☛ Relax
☛ Recover
☛ Restart

24. Why are you interested to get work experience here?

The interviewer tries to find out all the information about the interviewee during a job interview because the job interview might be the best way for the employer to understand inner/mental information about the candidate.
If the company asks you what interests you in the job, it is not only about whether you are interested in the job but the company also tries to find out whether you know what the job comprises of.

25. How do bad work experiences help you in future?

It is not pretty when a bad work experience blots an otherwise spotless resume. These bad work experiences can haunt us when we are out there looking for a new job and this can bring down our self-confidence. Whether you lose your job, resigned because of a nasty boss, backstabbing co-workers or get chucked out because of uncontrollable events, there are ways to deal with the life in-between.

26. Tell me how would you colleagues describe you in your previous work?

You should try to speak positively about your colleagues, while not completely ignoring possible negative aspects.
You can reply to this question with this answer:
I had an excellent professional relationship with my co workers, which gelled quite nicely with the company environment. People assisted one another. We worked as a team to solve problems and learned new skills to reach our team objectives.
I made some good friends for life, who today can vouch for me on a professional basis.

27. Tell me how would you define your success in your work?

Most researches show that the single best predictor for who will perform well and succeed in a new job is the one who possesses learning agility (a quick learner) and the one who can adjust himself/herself to new and different jobs.
Past performance or even experience, skills and intelligence are not as important as learning agility.
Therefore, there is a tried and tested reply to this question that helps you appear level-headed and knowledgeable.

28. Tell me how would you evaluate success in your previous work?

I would define success at work by what I learned from key job assignments experiences. I believe in making choices, tying them to circumstances and taking corrective actions when necessary. I always want to try new things and ask for feedback that leads to improved results.
Some people learn more than others and you would want to present that you are among those who are capable of learning new things.
Low performing employees seem to have more difficulty learning from experience and have trouble making the transition to different jobs and challenges.

29. Tell me about enhancing education for leaving your previous work?

Another reason that can be provided is enhancement of abilities and education. If you have recently acquired a degree and have decided to utilize your education to enhance your professional profile, this would be a good reason to give for this question.

30. What is workplace distance for leaving your previous work?

Sometimes, even reasons related to daily commutation, like spending too much time commuting from your place of work to your place of residence, as well as less time spent with family can be considered to be the reason/one of the reasons for leaving a job.

31. What is relocating for leaving your previous work?

More often than not, relocation is another reason that is blindly accepted by a company as a reason for looking for another job.
While these are just some of the traditional reasons for a job change, there are some reasons that are more or less accepted today.

32. What is restructuring for leaving your previous work?

Another common reason nowadays is company restructuring. When a company restructures, it can lay off several people and in a time frame. Therefore, even if you have not been directly told to go, nobody would blame you if you are looking for avenues because your colleagues or some other department has been told to go.

33. What were the results of your actions which you took to achieve your goals?

For example:
☛ Better quality performance or reliability?
☛ Did you make any difference in sales numbers, costs and profits?
☛ What about customer satisfaction?
☛ Did you improve support service level? What about productivity, efficiency and the company's reputation? Did you make any difference?
It would be wise for you to present a career achievement that reflects back to the job requirements and to the company to which you are applying.
In this way, you gain the employer's interest, tell a success story where you have had a challenge with an impressive achievement.

34. Can you tell me about looking for challenges for leaving your previous work?

One of the most common and simple reasons is that your job was at a standstill and you wished to seek newer avenues and greater challenges.

35. Tell me about your career path for leaving your previous work?

One reason is basic dissatisfaction with your career. Remember that it is not about the particular company or the department but your career on the whole. This reason would hold true if you have a rich career profile and are currently applying for a job in a new profession.