Hi, over the next few weeks I will be publishing regular advice on how to ace your job / university / MBA, or PhD interview. If you would like to book a lesson with me, I will provide you with a 28 page document that I have written with some sample questions and advice on how to answer them. In these articles that I am publishing, you will find a group of questions and the appropriate advice on how to answer them, and in some cases you will even find some sample answers. During a lesson, I will go through the questions with you, let you answer as if you were in an interview environment and then I will check, and if necessary, correct the content of your answer. I hope you find the following information useful and I really look forward to seeing you online if you choose a class with me!

I am also offering a 20% discount for any new students for ANY of my lessons. Lesson link: https://cafetalk.com/lessons/detail/?id=11273&key=ec0e3f840eb8c5a75b04f6306f25dd66

• How do you get along with older or younger co-workers? It is important that you have the people-skills to get along with colleagues and customers of all ages in the workplace as your attitude will affect the relationships you have with them. Of course, if you are in a customer-facing position, this is especially important as your success in winning deals or negotiations will greatly depend on these skills. The answers below give model replies to depending on whether the majority of your colleagues are older or younger than you: Suggested answer if your co-workers are older: “There are times when I just know that a new way of doing something makes more sense to me; but, first hand, I learned that my ‘better way’ may not be the best way to get the job done. As a consequence, I respect my older co-workers’ knowledge and I've learned how to make suggestions at appropriate times”. Suggested answer if your co-workers are younger: “I quickly realised it was not my job to ‘parent’ the younger people with whom I work; it was my job to get to know them and for us to find common ground where we could effectively work together. It took time, but the result was worth the effort”.

• How do you resolve disputes with co-workers? How do you handle conflicts in the workplace? Do not claim that you have never had a dispute with a co-worker. The interviewer will know you are lying, since getting along with co-workers is sometimes one of the hardest things in the world to do. The best answer to this question will tell the interviewer about a dispute you had with a co-worker and how you resolved it so that they outcome was positive. Your answer should tell the interviewer how you resolved it on your own, and hopefully, that you and this other person are now friends, or at least are able to work together productively. Also, concentrate on resolving work-related issues rather than personal feuds. For example, telling the interviewer about your problems getting a co-worker to take your suggestions on a specific project seriously is a much better topic than telling the interviewer about your long-standing feud with a co-worker over a prime parking space in the company car park. Also, do not tell the interviewer that you resolved a dispute by tattling to the boss or trying to get the other person disciplined or fired. Employers do not like dealing with employee conflicts and they want a mature person who can resolve conflicts on their own without tattling or complaining to the boss. Questions About Your Abilities

• Describe a decision you made that was a failure. What happened and why? Try to describe something that happened a while ago and not just last week or very recently. Do not describe anything where the consequences were so serious that the company ended up losing a major account or resulted in legal action. Everyone makes mistakes but the most important thing is that you do not repeat them and learn from them.

• Tell me about a time that you worked conveying technical information to a non-technical audience. If making presentations to colleagues or customers is a requirement of the post you are applying for then this is a likely question to be asked. This question is designed to ascertain how good you are at reading your audience and adjusting your style of presentation accordingly. Try to describe an experience where you had to present to an audience who had a lessor knowledge of your area of expertise than you and how you broke down the information into easy to understand data. Maybe you can describe the use of diagrams, flow charts, or explanation of jargon. Maybe you produced a printed handout to accompany your presentation.

• Tell me about a time that you worked with data, interpreting data, and presenting data. This is similar to the previous question and you should use the same thought process to answer this question. Explain how you condensed your data into a clear format that was widely understood and appreciated by your audience. Talk about any positive feedback you received after your presentation, especially from higher management or customers that were in attendance.