I’ll never forget my my first job corporate interview. Having worked for several years in media and politics, I gave no serious thought to what I might be asked. By the end of the experience, I was physically and mentally exhausted. I was better prepared for subsequent interviews.
I realize things are different today than back then, but I feel it might be helpful to share some of the PR question “chestnuts” that seem to be asked over and over in initial interviews. Think through these dozen key questions. Jot down and “talk through” your responses before the interview. Please add any others that you’ve heard recently in Comments.
- Where did you grow up?
- How did you pick your college/university?
- What were your extra-curricular activities and why?
- Describe some examples of leadership gained from these experiences?
- How would your last supervisor describe you?
- What are your strengths?
- What are your weaknesses?
- What made you want to pursue a career in PR?
- What are your 5-year career goals? And how do you plan to achieve them?
- Where do you do your best work–in a team or alone?
- Tell me what you know about this organization?
- Why do you want a job here?
Being prepared and confident about answers to FAQs is critical to a successful interview–but remain relaxed and unrehearsed when responding.
Interesting post, Ron. I got several of these even just during my internship interviews this spring, but will have to keep the others on my radar for down the road.
Obviously the hardest to answer is anything having to do with your weaknesses, as you have to toe a fine line between honesty and obvious self-promotion.
It’s also important to try not to ramble when answering these types of questions. When people get flustered by a question they weren’t expecting they tend to just start talking to fill the silence and circle around the question without ever hitting it head on.