Question 1

During an interview, if you are asked about your greatest weakness, a good way to respond is with a backhanded compliment, framing a strength as a supposed weakness.

Accepted Answer

Responding with backhanded compliments will sound insincere. Mention a real weakness to indicate that you are aware of your shortcomings and then explain the steps you are taking to improve it.

Question 2

When preparing for an interview, social networking tools are not a useful way to research the company.

Accepted Answer

Social networking tools are useful as they can actually help you find people in your network with connections to the company. Then you can reach out to these people and ask them specific questions about the company.

Question 3

During an interview if you are communicating by telephone, try to use a cell phone rather than a landline to increase the chances of a good connection and minimize the possibility of a dropped or lost call.

Accepted Answer

If you are communicating by telephone, try to use a landline rather than a cell phone to increase the chances of a good connection and minimize the possibility of a dropped or lost call.

Question 4

The STAR Method, which stands for situation, task, action, and result, is a well-established method of responding to behavioral questions.

Accepted Answer

The STAR Method, which stands for situation, task, action, and result, is a well-established method of responding to behavioral questions.

Question 5

Typically, ________ after an interview you can inquire about the status of the position and communicate your continued interest.
A) three days
B) a week
C) a month
D) two weeks
E) one day

Accepted Answer

D) Typically, after two weeks, you can inquire about the status of the position and communicate your continued interest.

Question 6

Preliminary interviews give you the opportunity to learn about an employer and capture a recruiter's interest.

Accepted Answer

Preliminary interviews - including career fair interviews, on-campus interviews, and virtual interviews - give you the opportunity to learn about an employer and capture a recruiter's interest.

Question 7

Employers often administer employability tests to measure an applicant's personality style, leadership qualities, and specific content knowledge related to the position.

Accepted Answer

Some employers schedule employability tests before an in-person interview to give them time to evaluate the test scores before discussing the results with the applicant. Tests vary widely and can measure personality style, leadership qualities, problem-solving abilities, analytical skills, judgment, and specific content knowledge related to the position.

Question 8

Bethany received a job offer from Company A, and they expect her response before she will have had her interview at Company B. Which of the following must be avoided by Bethany?
A) telling Company A that she is grateful for the offer but would like to complete all her interviews so she can make an informed decision about her career options
B) acknowledging that time is money and any delays negatively affect the employer's ability to fill the vacancy in a timely manner
C) accepting an offer and casually declining it in a few days if she gets an offer she finds more appealing from Company B
D) being honest with Company A about her situation and asking for more time to complete her interviews, being careful not to suggest that Company A's offer is not her first choice
E) making a decision about Company A's job offer based on the merits of the offer alone, asking for advice from your professional network if need be

Accepted Answer

C) Do not accept an offer thinking that you can easily decline the offer in a few days. Doing so may "burn your bridges" with the company, making future employment opportunities less likely.

Question 9

When accepting a job offer, ________.
A) if you accept the offer by telephone, you don't have to deal with any paperwork
B) you may need to sign the bottom of the offer letter to indicate acceptance
C) you always need to write your own formal acceptance letter, no matter which medium you have used to indicate your acceptance
D) you don't need to put anything in writing unless you want to negotiate the offer
E) companies never expect you to initiate a response

Accepted Answer

B) Some companies request that applicants sign the bottom of the offer letter to indicate that they accept the offer. In these cases, you do not have to write a separate letter unless you want to negotiate the offer.

Question 10

A career fair is a gathering of representatives or recruiters from only one company seeking to fill open positions in their company.

Accepted Answer

A career fair is a gathering of representatives or recruiters from many companies seeking to fill open positions.

Question 11

A group interview involves several people, such as a search committee, who gather in a conference or seminar room with a job applicant to discuss the position.

Accepted Answer

A panel interview involves several people, such as a search committee, who gather in a conference or seminar room with a job applicant to discuss the position.

Question 12

Rhonda is interviewing at a company where business casual is the dress code, so she can safely assume that she doesn't need to wear formal business attire for her interview.

Accepted Answer

Unless you are explicitly told otherwise, your job interview clothing should be business formal.

Question 13

Samantha is in the process of searching a job and has a few interviews lined up during this month. She has already finished her interview at NebulaTech and she is preparing for the remaining interviews. Before she appears for her next interview, Samantha receives the job offer from NebulaTech but she is not very sure about whether she should accept the offer because NebulaTech is not her first choice. She wants to wait for results from other companies. In such a situation, Samantha should ________.
A) indicate to the company that she would like to be able to weigh all her options and has not yet completed all of her interviews.
B) decline the offer in writing and avoid ending the message with a positive and friendly statement because it is a bad news message
C) accept it now and then later send an email saying that she changed her mind
D) decline the offer in writing and in the message criticize all the negative points in this job due to which she is declining the offer
E) inform the recruiter at NebulaTech that this job offer is not her first choice and that she would like to wait for the result of her interview at her dream company

Accepted Answer

A) During your employment search, you may receive a job offer from one company before you have had a chance to interview with another company. In such a situation, indicate that you would like to be able to weigh all your options and have not yet completed all of your interviews. Show gratitude for the offer, but explain that you want to make an informed decision about your career options.

Question 14

In many cases, the interviewer in a one-on-one interview is the immediate supervisor for the position you want.

Accepted Answer

In many cases, the interviewer in a one-on-one interview is the immediate supervisor for the position you want. In such cases, one goal of the interview is to establish that you have a natural fit with the organization and this person.

Question 15

If possible, plan to arrive at a career fair when it opens rather than waiting until later in the day when recruiters have already seen many people.

Accepted Answer

If possible, plan to arrive at a career fair when it opens rather than waiting until later in the day when recruiters have already seen many people.

Question 16

The interviews conducted by telephone or by computer and webcam are known as virtual interviews.

Accepted Answer

The interviews conducted by telephone or by computer and webcam are known as virtual interviews.

Question 17

When you follow up after a career fair, you can attach your résumé as a PDF to the thank-you email you send to recruiters.

Accepted Answer

When you follow up after a career fair, you can attach your résumé as a PDF to the thank-you email you send to recruiters. This will give recruiters an electronic version of your résumé that they can share with others at their company.

Question 18

If you choose to follow up on the status of your application, ________.
A) follow-up with everyone you met during the interview
B) keep in mind that an email is the least convenient medium for your contact to answer
C) keep in mind that a telephone call indicates a more assertive attempt to contact the employer
D) do not resell your strengths in a written message, as this will seem pushy
E) ensure that you use multiple methods to contact the employer

Accepted Answer

C) When following up, use a communication medium that best suits the employer's preferences based on your initial communications. Email is the least invasive and most convenient to answer. By contrast, a telephone call indicates a more assertive attempt to contact the employer

Question 19

Employers cite dressing inappropriately as one of the biggest mistake job applicants make in interviews.

Accepted Answer

Employers cite dressing inappropriately as one of the biggest mistake job applicants make in interviews. The unsuccessful applicants dress much too casually, wearing street clothes such as jeans, low-slung pants, short skirts, gym shoes, or sandals.

Question 20

Composing, in ACE, does not refer only to writing.

Accepted Answer

Composing does not refer only to writing. Every time an interviewer asks you a question, you will need to compose your thoughts to identify a clear message and organize your answer to support that message.

Quiz 12: Getting the Job Interviewing and Following up

During an interview, if you are asked about your greatest weakness, a good way to respond is with a backhanded compliment, framing a strength as a supposed weakness.

When preparing for an interview, social networking tools are not a useful way to research the company.

During an interview if you are communicating by telephone, try to use a cell phone rather than a landline to increase the chances of a good connection and minimize the possibility of a dropped or lost call.

The STAR Method, which stands for situation, task, action, and result, is a well-established method of responding to behavioral questions.

Typically, ________ after an interview you can inquire about the status of the position and communicate your continued interest.

Preliminary interviews give you the opportunity to learn about an employer and capture a recruiter's interest.

Employers often administer employability tests to measure an applicant's personality style, leadership qualities, and specific content knowledge related to the position.

Bethany received a job offer from Company A, and they expect her response before she will have had her interview at Company B. Which of the following must be avoided by Bethany?

When accepting a job offer, ________.

A career fair is a gathering of representatives or recruiters from only one company seeking to fill open positions in their company.

A group interview involves several people, such as a search committee, who gather in a conference or seminar room with a job applicant to discuss the position.

Rhonda is interviewing at a company where business casual is the dress code, so she can safely assume that she doesn't need to wear formal business attire for her interview.

In many cases, the interviewer in a one-on-one interview is the immediate supervisor for the position you want.

If possible, plan to arrive at a career fair when it opens rather than waiting until later in the day when recruiters have already seen many people.

The interviews conducted by telephone or by computer and webcam are known as virtual interviews.

When you follow up after a career fair, you can attach your résumé as a PDF to the thank-you email you send to recruiters.

If you choose to follow up on the status of your application, ________.

Employers cite dressing inappropriately as one of the biggest mistake job applicants make in interviews.

Composing, in ACE, does not refer only to writing.