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Responding to Interview Questions When You Don't Know the Answer
Job interviews are stressful experiences even for the most poised and self-confident among us. Being faced with a question to which we do not know the answer can be one of the biggest confidence-busters of all. Unless you're prepared for that possibility and armed with some resources for meeting it head-on, it may cause you to completely blow the interview. However, there are steps you can take to avoid this problem.
First and foremost, be ready for the interview by doing as much research as possible beforehand on the company. Potential employers are impressed when you show that you care enough to learn about the company for which you are saying you want to work by accepting the interview. If you know nothing about the company, they will be skeptical about why and how much you really want to work for them. This type of research will also help you avoid a potential deer-in-the-headlights moment if the interviewer asks you questions regarding the company's history and structure.
Anticipate other types of questions the interviewer may ask. If you've been through very many interviews at all, you already know most of the most basic types of questions. Make sure you have answers prepared and that you have practiced answering these questions, either by playing it out in your mind or asking a friend or colleague to role play with you and give you a mock interview. Ask the person to throw in a couple of questions that he or she makes up and practice answering questions off the cuff. This will go along way to making the actual interview process less nerve wracking.
Finally, once you are actually in the room with the interviewer and you find yourself faced with a question to which you do not know the answer, remember that "I don't know" is the worst possible thing you can say. First, decide whether you truly don't know the answer or if, perhaps, you just didn't completely understand the question. It's perfectly fine to ask for clarification, additional information or even to ask the interviewer to re-state the question. This does not make you appear ignorant or ill-prepared. It shows that you are are doing your best to provide the requested information and that you are truly listening to what the interviewer is saying.
If, after trying this approach, you don't know the answer, simply tell the interviewer that you will have to get back with him or her with that information. Make a note of it, if necessary, but make sure that you find out the answer to the question and call the interviewer back promptly and supply the answer. Failing to do this can be the kiss of death, but doing it may actually give you an advantage over your competition for the job. It gives you a chance to show your potential employer that you follow up on what you say you're going to do and that, even when you don't know the answer to a question, you have the skills necessary to find the answer.
No one knows everything and no interviewer or potential employer expects you to. What they do expect, however, is for you to be prepared for your interview, do your homework on the company and what it does, have answers prepared for the most basic questions, and be able and willing to find out answers to any question to which you don't know the answer. If you can do these things, you'll have a successful and much less stressful interview experience and you might just wind up with a new job.
How to Write a Resume When You've Been Fired
Being fired from a job will not necessarily cause any changes in the way you write your resume. After all, the resume is not the place for a long-winded explanation of why you left every job you've ever had. It simply serves as an overview of your previous work experience, so there is no reason to indicated that you were fired from the job if you decide to list it on your resume.
If you were at the job for a short period of time, you may even consider leaving it off the resume completely. However, if you spent a significant period of time there and cannot truthfully explain the gap in your employment history, you are better to leave it there. If you were doing part time work on the side or independent consulting or volunteer work that relates to your field, you could possibly get by with listing those activities instead of the job. It is, after all, true that you were doing those things during that time. However, do not make things up to fill the time.
Even though you were fired, you did work there and it is part of your work history. You gained skills and knowledge at that job that may be useful to your potential employer, so there's no reason to deny yourself the benefit of listing that experience.
The best advice about how to handle being fired from a job is to not address the issue at all on your resume since it's simply not the place for that. Use your resume for what it is meant to be, a way to get your foot in the door for an interview. If it comes up in the interview be completely forthright and honest about it. You are not responsible for blurting out that you were fired from your last job if the interviewer doesn't ask you why you left. You could get lucky and find that he or she simply doesn't ask. If you are confronted with the question, have a thoughtful, honest and reasonable response prepared. Do not let yourself be blindsided and caught off guard by this question because odds are that it's coming at some point.
If you were fired for violating a company policy or for some other reason that was clearly your fault, explain this. Accept responsibility and don't show any bitterness toward your former employer. Explain that you now understand why they had to do what they did and what you have learned from the situation. Potential employers aren't looking for perfect people, but they are looking for people who don't repeat past mistakes.
If the firing was unjust it can be a little trickier to handle, but the same rules apply. Be honest above all else. Explain the circumstances surrounding your firing and how it was handled in as much detail as you can. The interviewer is experienced enough with human resource issue that he or she will immediately know that you were wrongfully terminated. He may not say anything, but he will know. Resist the urge to make personal attacks on the person who fired you and keep emotion completely out of the picture. It's not important to the interviewer how you felt about being fired, but the facts are important. As a matter of fact, you might impress the interviewer by delivering a factual, objective description of the events.
By handling the situation with honesty and integrity, you can rise above being fired from your last job. Just remember that type of information doesn't belong on the resume in the first place. You deserve the chance to explain yourself, whatever the case, face to face once you're in the interview.
Should a Manager Date an Employee?
Whether it is against company policy or not, which it is in most organizations, to date an employee, a manager should never do so unless they are prepared to open up a huge can of worms both professionally and personally. No matter whether your job is blue collar or white collar, you need the respect of the people you supervise. One way to earn respect is to treat all those you are responsible for supervising in a fair and equal manner. Even if you happen to be completely different from the rest of the human race and can treat the person you are dating exactly the same as everyone else in the working environment, the other employees will never see it that way. In this case, the perception is as real and dangerous as the reality. Any time you have to discipline an employee, they will wonder if the person you are dating would have received the same treatment and hold bitterness and resentment about the disciplinary action based on that thinking. None of the other employees will ever believe that the person you are dating isn't receiving special perks and preferential treatment on the job. Again, this does not have to be true. You can be treating the person you are dating in exactly the same manner you treat everyone else and the majority of your employees will perceive a difference. This is simply human nature and cannot be avoided. If you make the further mistake of announcing that you are not treating the person you're dating any differently from anyone else, you will only amplify the issue. It's truly a lose-lose situation. Most managers are responsible for writing the evaluations or performance appraisals for those they supervise. If this is the case, it will be more difficult for the manager dating an employee to provide that person with a fair, objective and accurate evaluation. No matter how fair minded you think you are, your evaluation will be colored, even subconsciously, by where you stand in the relationship at the time it is conducted. If, for example, you're in the early stages of your relationship and things are wonderful and exciting, you will be more likely to write glowing comments and appraise the employee's work performance on a higher level than it may actually be. If you and the person you are dating had a fight or a falling out last week, you will undoubtedly bring that negative baggage into the evaluation room and may unfairly rate the employee lower than deserved. These are things that the person considering dating an employee will swear to themselves they would never do, but we are human before we are managers and human emotions and the irrationality that accompany them have a way of creeping into everything we do. When a manager dates an employee, they also are crossing a societal line of sorts between management and workers. The employee who is dating the manager will find him or herself ostracized by the other employees because she is seen as consorting with the enemy. No matter how good employee relations are at your particular place of business, management is always, to a certain degree, seen as "them" versus "us." By dating one of your employees, you have effectively taken her out of the "us" category and moved her into the "them" category in the eyes of her coworkers. You have placed her in a limbo of sorts because she is now no longer totally a part of her familiar social group and she is not truly part of yours, either. On a personal level, you've created a mess for yourself that simply isn't worth it. Consider the performance appraisal or evaluation. Imagine having to go out on a date afterward. Now, the employee didn't just get a negative comment or fail to receive the raise she thought she deserved because of her boss, she got that negative comment or lack of a raise because of YOU. Good luck with that one. You probably won't be getting dessert. Another pitfall of dating someone with whom you work, let alone someone you supervise, is the fact that you are surrendering the break between your work and personal lives that we all need. You and your partner will inevitably wind up "bringing work home with you" by talking about it. It will be harder for either of you to be objective and supportive of the other when one has had a bad day at work because you're both too close to the situation. Frankly, sometimes you'll just be sick of thinking and talking about work as well, and this will adversely effect your communication with your partner. As you can see, there are a wide variety of both professional and personal reasons a manager should avoid dating an employee. We spend so much of our lives working these days that it may be more convenient or easier to meet someone at work, but it's well worth the extra effort to try and meet someone for a dating relationship who you aren't responsible for supervising. | As a Manager, Is it Important For Your Employees to Like You? As a manager, it's not nearly as important for your employees to like you as is for them to respect you. Many managers cannot understand the distinction between the two and mistake being liked for being respected. However wonderful it may be to be well liked, it does not have anything to do with being an effective manager other than possibly being more of a hindrance than a help if it's not accompanied by respect. Young or first-time managers will often make the mistake of setting out to make all their employees like them. There is, of course, nothing wrong with that, but it won't matter how much someone likes you when it comes time to discipline someone or give them feedback on a project that is less than positive. If you've gone too far and become too close to them, they will either not take you seriously or will not respect your authority, thinking they can get by with anything and fall back on your "friendship." As a manager, it is an unfortunate reality that you simply cannot be friends with the employees you supervise. An effective manager will focus on gaining the respect of their employees rather than seeking to be liked. Treating people fairly and equally, respecting them as individuals and being firm and consistent in applying the rules and policies are sure ways to earn the respect of those you supervise. A positive side effect of treating people in such a manner is that they will, for the most part, like you as well as respect you. They may not always invite you out with them on Saturday night, but that is not within the parameters of your relationship in the first place. Just as dating and employee is a huge mistake fraught with all sorts of unnecessary drama, so is socializing with your employees. Some companies have relaxed fraternization policies which allow limited social interaction, but most companies frown upon salaried members of management socializing with hourly employees in any way outside of work. If you choose to tread on that slippery territory, you will find yourself in many difficult predicaments. For example, if you go out with one group of employees, you risk alienating the other employees you do not socialize with and inspiring jealousy. Those you do not socialize with will always think that you are showing favoritism to those you do hang out with, no matter whether this is the case or not. The truth doesn't matter nearly as much as the perception, so save yourself the appearance of anything remotely inappropriate by adhering to a strict policy of staying out of your employees' personal lives. If you are the type of person who simply cannot stand the thought that someone may not like you, you may want to reconsider being in management in the first place. Simply by doing your job correctly and properly, you will at times anger people and even cause people to dislike you. Your job is to enforce rules and regulations and to make sure productivity is at its highest possible levels. These are not things that are always conducive to being a "good guy." You can, however, temper your enforcer role with fairness and compassion and even empathy for an employee who is going through a tough time or having a problem. You just have to keep in mind that you are the boss before all else. That means you simply can't be everyone's buddy.
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