Carolinas Medical Center Interview Preparation Guide

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When discussing a professional disappointment, make sure to discuss a scenario you could not control. Be positive about the experience and accept personal responsibility where applicable.

This question is designed to find out if you get along well on team, with other and whether or not you'll be a fit with the interviewer's organization. It's a trap. Think real hard but fail to come up anything that irritated you about your co-workers. A short positive response is best.

The employer would want to know that not only you can do the job but you can make the difference and bring significant contribution – Simple as that.
No doubt that this is your time to perform and present yourself – You have to introduce/sell yourself to the interviewer. Prepare your answer based on your qualification, professional experience and what you’ve already achieved in your previous jobs. This is your time to express why you think that your professional abilities fit into the job and its requirements.

Top 10 employment experience you’d want to review:
☛ Companies you worked for with dates
☛ The positions you’ve held
☛ Key projects and responsibilities
☛ Achievements
☛ Coursework & continues education
☛ Expertise
☛ Tools you used (software, hardware)
☛ Knowledge of languages
☛ Engagement with customers and key industry leaders
☛ Team work you were involved (and your contribution)

Sometimes people want a job a little too bad - and they may fudge their credentials and experience a bit.

If you've run into this problem, are worried about it, or have credentials and experience that are absolutely essential, you may need to ask a few verification questions.

If you are a candidate, you should review your resume and make sure you know all the key points, and that nothing has been misconstrued.


1. What grades did you get in college?

2. What were your responsibilities when you worked in job x?

3. How many people were on your team at your last job?

4. What will your previous manager/supervisor say when I ask where you needed to improve?

5. What was your beginning and ending salary at job x?

6. What were your beginning and ending titles at job x?

7. Are you eligible for rehire at job x?

8. What tools are necessary for performing job x?

9. Describe to me how you would perform [x typical job task].

10. What was the focus of your thesis?

11. When did you leave company x?

This can be a very tricky question as the individual asking it is probably digging for something other than a simple answer to the question. We recommend that you don't immediately respond to the question directly. Instead, say something like, “That a difficult question. What is range for this position?” More often than not the interviewer will tell you. If the interviewer insists on direct answer you may want say that it depends on the details of the job - then give a wide salary range.

Be prepared for this question. If you have to sit and think about it it's going to appear as if you're not sure or that you've never identified your own value in the work place - not good. You don't have to have a complex response. Keep it simple and honest. For example, several possibilities could be Leadership, Problem solving ability, Initiative, Energy, Work ethic, Innovative, etc., etc.

Of course you're a team player - who isn't. But a simple yes probably isn't the response the interviewer is looking for. Be ready to provide specific example of how you've worked as part of a cohesive team to get things accomplished and how you've focus on team performance rather than individual performance. Make sure not to brag as this will make it appear as that you're more concerned about your own performance and accomplishments than those of the team.

Just answer this question honestly. Sometime an employer wants to know if there are other companies you're considering so that they can determine how serious you are about the industry, they're company and find out if you're in demand. Don't spend a lot of time on this question; just try to stay focused on the job you're interviewing for.

If you were unemployed for a period of time, be direct and to the point about what you’ve been up to (and hopefully, that’s a litany of impressive volunteer and other mind-enriching activities, like blogging or taking classes). Then, steer the conversation toward how you will do the job and contribute to the organization: “I decided to take a break at the time, but today I’m ready to contribute to this organization in the following ways.”

Show that you set great goals and the process and steps you took to achieve it. Details really matter here.

Bad Answer: Candidates who ramble on about themselves without regard for information that will actually help the interviewer make a decision, or candidates who actually provide information showing they are unfit for the job.

Good answer: An answer that gives the interviewer a glimpse of the candidate's personality, without veering away from providing information that relates to the job. Answers should be positive, and not generic.

This is a great question that provides you the opportunity to put your best foot forward, to tell the interviewer why he or she should consider hiring you for the job. Make sure you're well prepared for this question as you won't likely get a second chance to really shine.

In many scenarios, you will not have all the information needed. The key is to make the best possible decision based on what you deem to be a sufficient amount of information.

Prioritize based on business importance. Set clear timelines for each so that you know which ones to knock out first. Get your teammates to help if necessary.

While discussing this, be sure to stress specific examples of what you bring to the company. Good qualities include resolve to fulfill job responsibilities, optimism, and a desire to be as efficient as possible while at work.

Bad Answer: Candidate is unprepared for question or only gives generic answers.

This is the most common job interview question - everybody should be expecting it. If they don't seem prepared, or give a fairly stock answer, it's probably a bad sign.

Good answer: The consensus is to go for quality, not quantity here. Candidates should give a short list of strengths, and back each one up with examples that illustrate the strength. Also, they should explain how these strengths will be useful in the job you’re applying for, and use this question to say something interesting about themselves.

Remain optimistic and do not be too specific. Good attributes include moral character, honesty, and intelligence since managers usually believe they possess these qualities.

State a business case to your manager / leader as to why you need the tools and make the request for them.

There are some questions that your potential employer aren’t allowed to ask (but trust me, they probably want to). For instance, they shouldn’t really ask about your family or how far away you live from your potential place of employment. If you can find a way to answer these questions anyway (with the answers they want to hear), that will give them a little added info to help them make the (right) decision!

Bad Answer: Going negative - if the candidate starts trash talking other candidates, it's a sure sign of a bad attitude. Also, if they can't provide a solid answer, it may show that they lack thorough knowledge of the skills the job requires, and an understanding of where they fit in.

Good answer: The candidate can name specific skills, abilities or understandings they have that apply directly to the job that other candidates are unlikely to have, or are in short supply.

Describe your charitable activities to showcase that community work is important to you. If you haven't done one yet, go to www.globalguideline.com - charitable work is a great way to learn about other people and it's an important part of society - GET INVOLVED!

It should be very important if you want a long standing career. Remember, you're investing your time, energy and earnings potential into a company so you want to make sure it's a sustainably successful company that will grow with you over the long haul.

If yes, then share an example of how you've done so at work or college. If not, then discuss how you would do so. Example: "I would first understand the goals of the staff members and then I would align those to the goals of the project / company. Then I would articulate the vision of that alignment and ask them to participate. From there, we would delegate tasks among the team and then follow up on a date and time to ensure follow through on the tasks. Lastly, we would review the results together."

Be positive and nice about their competitors but also discuss how they are better than them and why they are the best choice for the customer. For example: "Company XYZ has a good product, but I truly believe your company has a 3-5 year vision for your customer that aligns to their business needs."

Think of which personalities you work best with (do you like outgoing, collaborative, personable working relationships and so forth?)

Companies ask this for a number of reasons, from wanting to see what the competition is for you to sniffing out whether you're serious about the industry. “Often the best approach is to mention that you are exploring a number of other similar options in the company's industry,”. It can be helpful to mention that a common characteristic of all the jobs you are applying to is the opportunity to apply some critical abilities and skills that you possess. For example, you might say 'I am applying for several positions with IT consulting firms where I can analyze client needs and translate them to development teams in order to find solutions to technology problems.'

Without a doubt, social media is becoming more and more pervasive in our jobs. You should stress that social media is not appropriate for personal use at work. However, if the company embraces social media in certain departments (for example marketing), then you may want to discuss how you could use it for work (as long as it applies to your role).

The key here is to be honest about your wish list but then to describe how you plan on developing or growing those characteristics so that it becomes a reality. For example, I wish I had a stronger work ethic and I am reading a book right now about how to instill a better discipline around getting work done efficiently.

Think about a time where you've rallied a group of people around a cause / idea / initiative and successfully implemented it. It could be a small or large project but the key is you want to demonstrate how you were able to lead others to work for a common cause.

This is a process guesstimate where the interviewer wants to know if you know what to ask. First, you would find out the dimensions of the building (height, weight, depth). This will allow you to determine the volume of the building. Does it taper at the top? (Yes.) Then, you need to estimate the composition of the Chrysler building. Is it mostly steel? Concrete? How much would those components weigh per square inch? Remember the extra step: find out whether you're considering the building totally empty or with office furniture, people, etc. If you're including the contents, you might have to add 20 percent or so to the building's weight.