Interview Questions #10
Describe your ideal company, location and job.
What really is ideal? How do you visualize your work environment? In which work environment would you be most productive? What kind of employer would you love to work for/with? Do you mind relocating if the job requires? What are you looking for in this job / position?
This is a trick question for anyone changing jobs; the interviewer may not be convinced with the reason given. You may be caught in the middle; have a clear description for both office environments and why you wouldn’t mind joining the new organisation.
Another honest reason for changing jobs might be change of environment due to relocation; or for health reasons – eg. There is a factory, industry or environmental hazard that affects your health in the other business environment which is not present in this new place. Hence, you believe you can focus more to achieve your goals etc.. You may be relocating because of the health condition of a loved one.
Let’s hear from the experts
TRAPS:
This is often asked by an experienced interviewer who thinks you may be overqualified, but knows better than to show his hand by posing his objection directly. So he’ll use this question instead, which often gets a candidate to reveal that, indeed, he or she is looking for something other than the position at hand.
BEST ANSWER:
The only right answer is to describe what this company is offering, being sure to make your answer believable with specific reasons, stated with sincerity, why each quality represented by this opportunity is attractive to you.
Think Value, Organisational Structure, Team Work and Environment for Personal Development and Career Growth.
Remember that if you’re coming from a company that’s the leader in its field or from a glamorous or much admired company, industry, city or position, your interviewer and his company may well have an “Avis” complex. That is, they may feel a bit defensive about being “second best” to the place you’re coming from, worried that you may consider them bush league.
This anxiety could well be there even though you’ve done nothing to inspire it. You must go out of your way to assuage such anxiety, even if it’s not expressed, by putting their virtues high on the list of exactly what you’re looking for, providing credible reason for wanting these qualities.
If you do not express genuine enthusiasm for the firm, its culture, location, industry, etc., you may fail to answer this “Avis” complex objection and, as a result, leave the interviewer suspecting that a hot shot like you, coming from a Fortune 500 company in New York, just wouldn’t be happy at an unknown manufacturer based in Topeka, Kansas.
POINTS TO NOTE & THINGS TO DO
- Ideal is relative and there is not right or wrong answer but the smart answer
- The interviewer also tests for work ethics and business etiquettes
- Create a picture of a basic work environment, guided by the basic values of the organisation and your personal values
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Interview Question #10 – Describe your ideal company, location and job
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