Posts

Everybody agrees that building great relationships with coworkers and networking is a great thing to do. 

It’s also valuable to have a degree of candor when doing so… But you need to practice self censorship as well. One easy, low-hanging fruit in this area is knowing what’s not OK when asking ice-breaker questions, or that quick chat in line at the coffee shop. Make it a point to avoid these 10 questions at work. A little forethought can save you some headaches later.

 

“Wow, are you pregnant?”

One would think that common sense might prevail in this situation but you never know. Especially at work, this can be a really difficult situation. Mainly because out of the two possible outcomes neither of them will be good. It’s quite simple actually, if that coworker isn’t pregnant you’ve just insulted her by saying she’s overweight. If she is in fact pregnant, she may not be ready to announce it to everyone. So perhaps it’s best to avoid it. Seriously though, coworkers reproductive plans are none of your business anyway, so along those lines don’t ask if they’re planning to have kids either

 

“Have you lost a little weight?”

 

If one of your colleagues has in fact slimmed down, this may seem like an all right question. However, you may not know the full story behind their weight loss. A very common and not unlikely example is because they are ill, which means you’ve just put them in a very uncomfortable position. Leave it alone.

 

“Are you feeling tired?”

This one applies more to people you might not know as well as others. This one should certainly be avoided as an icebreaker… Nobody likes to hear that they look exhausted or overworked. This can often be interpreted as looking old and haggard. Stick to compliments.

 

“Mike in shipping is an idiot, don’t you think?”

While you may be great friends and talk about everything under the sun at the water cooler venting your frustrations about other people in the workplace can result in much bigger problems than you probably imagined. The biggest one is it could get right back to the person you’re speaking about. Best advice, vent about work to people outside of work.

 

“What do you make, anyway?”

Many companies actually have a policy about this.Many companies actually have a policy about this. In Asian cultures where many workers’ salaries are common knowledge and often published as a publicly available wage scale. Discussing compensation in the U.S and other western cultures is generally frowned upon.

 

“What’s your religion?”

If you haven’t heard it before, the two cardinal sins for conversation at work our religion and politics. Few topics are more polarizing than these two. Both of these topics If you haven’t heard it before, these topics are often linked together in some way. So best to give a wide berth to these questions at work. And besides, there’s so much more to talk about!

 

“Any good dates recently?”

It may be innocent enough, or even meant as a joke. Regardless of your intentions the sex or dating life of coworkers should be considered off-limits look in the mirror and picture yourself being asked the same question.

 

“When are you and [significant other] going to get married?”

Who says everyone wants to get married? If a particular coworker doesn’t want to marry their significant other it stands to reason they don’t need to be reminded that they haven’t made plans yet. And, you may have no idea if their relationship is even healthy.

 

“What’s your tattoo mean?”

Current estimate show that four and 10 people have a tattoo. Of those, a Pew Research Center survey says nearly 75% say they hide them at work.Current estimate show that for a tattoos tend to be very personal. So even if it’s visible, that coworker may not want to share the story behind it. Stick to compliments, and if they want to share, they will.

 

“How old are you, again?”

OK so you’re the worst judge of age on the planet. However, asking someone their age can have serious repercussions. A recent survey conducted by AARP showed some kind of age discrimination at work in nearly 2/3 of workers age 45 and older.  Age related questions at work could get you in hot water with HR and an age discrimination claim. Steer clear.

 

If you’re still looking for opportunities for yourself or someone else, check our Career Search Engine.

mastermind groups can be pivotal for business successWorking in a mastermind group can be beneficial to your business.

Unlike in the mainstream companies, in a mastermind group you are able to implement and share your ideas and strategies more easily and efficiently. Some people complain that you are building your own bureaucracy but this is not the case, as a collaborative team allows everyone to contribute their ideas.

Bring your own ideas and theories to the discussion.

Instead of going for dead once everyone says, “We have enough”, come up with additional thoughts and strategies. In a group, everyone’s ideas can be studied and improved upon. Also, using closed-ended answers, such as, “Here’s my solution” and, “Here’s why I’m doing this”, will make you look more knowledgeable and knowledgeable, compared to giving no explanations whatsoever.

Engage in social mastermind discussions.

Why? It’s the ultimate way to gain knowledge. Think about the company, the partner, and other people who have affected your life at one point or another, in order to analyze and express them using your experiences and insights. It may be difficult at first, but it will help you learn from others’ experiences and ideas. This will make you a more influential person, and also, stimulate you to discover something new.

Overall, networks are a group approach to real business that will not make you feel helpless. They will help you feel confident and invigorated about your career, and bring about positive outcomes for your future. Do not give up on starting a business if you want to get ahead. Start your own business! Do it!

 

If you’re in the market for a new position, check out our career search engine as well.

No one can prepare for EVERY job interview question. Those sneaky interview questions that you wish you’d known were coming.

While there are as probably as many potential job interview questions as there are recruiters, it always is good to be prepared for anything. So, feast your eyes on this big fat checklist of potential interview questions.

Will you encounter them all? We hope no interviewer would be that sadistic.

 

Will you encounter a couple of them? Most likely.

 

Will you be well-served by being ready even if you’re not asked these very same ones? Without a doubt. To start your job interview planning adventure, have a look at these potential interview questions below.

 

Interviewing 101:

You could probably come up with most of these on your own. But just maybe there’s one interview question you never saw coming.

  • Why are you the right one to hire?
  • What strengths do you see yourself having?
  • In your previous position, what did you dislike?
  • How about weaknesses?
  • What’s your ideal employer like?
  • What draws you to this particular opportunity?
  • At what point did you most enjoy your work?
  • What attracted you to us?
  • Tell me something about you. (that’s not on your resume)
  • What do you bring to the table that others don’t or can’t?
  • Can you move to another location?
  • In your previous position, what were your responsibilities?
  • Why do you want to leave what you’re doing now?
  • What’s your familiarity with this line of work?
  • What do you know about us?
  • 5 years from now where do you see yourself career-wise?
  • Any questions I can answer?

 

It’s all part of the job, isn’t it?

  • How did the last project you led turn out?
  • Share an example of a time you put forth that extra effort beyond what was required. 
  • Have you had your work criticized? 
  • Is there a time when everyone on your team wasn’t doing their part? How did you deal with it?100 Plus Interview Questions to Think About
  • Can you recall a time you had to give challenging feedback? How did that go?
  • What’s your biggest failure and what did you learn?
  • When working with annoying people, how do you handle it?
  • As your supervisor, if I asked you to do something disagreeable, how would you handle that?
  • Can you share something difficult from your life and how you handled it?
  • Give me an example of how you handled a significant error.
  • Can you share how you’ve dealt with conflict in the workplace?
  • If you were at lunch and ordered a bacon cheeseburger with blue cheese, but the order came out with cheddar cheese and no bacon, how would you handle that?
  • How would you handle the discovery of fraud or other illegal activity?
  • Have you had a work assignment that was just too difficult? How did you handle it?
  • In the past two years, what has been your most challenging decision? How did you make it?
  • How would you handle multiple tasks with an unrealistic deadline?.

 

You want to get paid how much?

  • What do you have in mind for compensation?
  • What does your wage history look like?
  • If I were to provide you this wage you requested however allow you to create your work summary for the following year, what would it state?

 

So you’re looking for growth opportunities here?

  • What goals do you have for advancement?
  • Looking at the coming year how would you like to improve?
  • Specifically for this job, what goals would you have?
  • What additional training would your last supervisor recommend?

 

Don’t waste your time getting started:

  • How would you go about establishing a healthy bond with the team?
  • How long for you to make a substantial contribution?
  • What do you see getting done in the first 30 days of work?

 

Let’s Get Personal:

  • What’s your organizational style?
  • What would be your optimal workspace?
  • If you identified a preferred work culture — do you prefer organized or entrepreneurial?
  • What are some ideas you came up with or even implemented at work?100 Plus Interview Questions to Think About
  • What methods or tools do you use to stay organized?
  • Would you say you’re detail-oriented or big-picture?
  • What’s your all-time proudest accomplishment.
  • Tell me a little about your favorite manager?
  • What do you think of your most recent boss?
  • Was there a particular person of influence in your career?
  • If you chose a personality type to work with, what would it be?
  • What are you most proud of?
  • What are your biggest life dreams?
  • Do you have a personal mission statement? How did you come up with it?
  • What would you like to become in the future?
  • If we ask your former employer to name three positive traits what would they be?
  • If your last manager had a negative to express about you, what would it be?
  • What do you like to do?
  • How would your closest friends describe your character in three words?
  • What are the three favorable character traits you wish you had?
  • If you were interviewing someone for this position, what would you be looking for?
  • Five words that define your character: Go!

Since we’re talking about you…

  • Who has been the biggest influence on your career?
  • What do you fear the most?
  • Tell me about your biggest regret and why?
  • What’s the single most valuable lesson you learned in school?
  • Why did you select your field of study?
  • What do you think you’ll miss about your work if you join us?
  • How do you handle being told no?
  • What is your best accomplishment beyond work?
  • What are the qualities of a great leader? How about a poor leader?
  • A leader should either be feared or liked. What do you think?
  • How do you feel about working for someone with less experience or practical knowledge than yourself?
  • On a 1-10 scale, what do you think of me as a recruiter?
  • Share something about yourself you prefer I didn’t know.
  • What’s the difference between good and exceptional?
  • What sort of car do you drive?
  • No right or wrong answer. You can be ANYWHERE in the world right now. Where is it?
  • What’s the last book you read cover-to-cover?
  • Do you subscribe to any magazines?
  • You won the lottery…NOW WHAT?
  • Who are your heroes?
  • What do you do just for fun?
  • What do you enjoy in your spare time?
  • Tell me about your favorite memory from childhood?

 

Brainteasers:

Some interviewers will use these types of interview questions not so much for their answers, but to see the reaction it gets when asked, Or, the way in which the interviewee attempts to compose an answer or even just consider it.

  • How many street lights are there in New York City?
  • If you could pick one superhero power, what would you choose and why?
  • How many golf balls are there in Florida?
  • How much should you charge to wash all the windows in Seattle?
  • Why are manhole covers round?
  • How many times a day does a clock’s hands overlap?
  • Describe the internet to someone who just woke up from a 30-year coma.
  • You are shrunk to the height of a nickel and thrown into a blender. Your mass is reduced so that your density is the same as usual. The blades start moving in 60 seconds. What do you do?

100 Plus Interview Questions to Think About

Still want more?

  • What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?
  • How would you test a calculator?
  • Sell this pencil to me.
  • What’s the number of times a clock’s hands overlap in a day?
  • Just how would certainly you consider an airplane without a scale?
  • How many golf balls can fit in a school bus?
  • Tell me 10 ways to make use of a pencil aside from writing.
  • Describe the internet to someone who just woke up from a 30-year coma.
  • If you were a pet, which one would you wish to be?
  • Why is a tennis ball fuzzy
  • How many gas stations are there in the United States? If you could eliminate just one of the US states, which one would certainly you do away with and also why?
  • With your eyes closed, tell me step-by-step how to link my shoes.
  • How much does the Starbucks in Times Square bring in, in annual revenue?

 

Being prepared for the interview questions you’ll encounter is such a large part of getting that job you’re really after. Even for that work-from-home job, you’ll need to do well on the interview, even if it is on Zoom, Skype or WebEx. Be sure to check our Career Search Engine too. https://veteransenterprise.com/want-to-work-from-home-kick-the-tires-first/