Another interview question...

[Martin]

I was wondering, how much "personal" stuff is it ok to reveal?

for example, when they ask "what are some of your accomplishments?" it is ok to speak of personal, rather than school/work accomplishments? I lost a weight and started excercising...been keeping it up for a while now....I woudl consider that to be bigger than anythign Ive done at work (I should note, this is for a co-op position, and I only have a crappy part time job right now as "past expericne")

Also along those lines, if they ask why my 2nd year marks are low, should I give them the real reason, which is rather personal (my dad died and I went through some tough times, and missed a lot of school)?

 

[Atomicus]

During a recent internship interview, he questioned by performance during my soph. year, which was a 2.3. I told him truthfully that I was distracted since it was the year I moved out of the dorms and into a house with my friends. But then I told him that I picked it up after that (3.5/3.3 the following 2 semesters).

The funny thing is, after I revealed the reasons behind my initial slump, he started talking about his "crazy days" during college (was suspended, arrested, kicked out of ROTC, etc). W

So my advise to you is, tell him everything you need to support facts, even if the facts work against you.

 

[Albis]

being honest has worked well so far for me

i have another office visit today and i plan to stay honest and tell the partners i meet the facts and reasons behind everything.

 

[ggavinmoss]

(a) Don't tell your stories of weightloss glory to a fat interviewer.
(b) The explanation of your grades can be explained truthfully without a lot detail: "There was a death in the family."

-geoff

 

[NivekC4]

If you're not sure if they want personal or professional responses ... ask! Or you can structure your respones in two segments, and tell them both since you feel they are seperate.

Regarding the low grades, I will give them the real reason ... no sense in lying to hide what really made you drop down a knotch during that time.

 

[Ameesh]

Originally posted by: Martin
I was wondering, how much "personal" stuff is it ok to reveal?

for example, when they ask "what are some of your accomplishments?" it is ok to speak of personal, rather than school/work accomplishments? I lost a weight and started excercising...been keeping it up for a while now....I woudl consider that to be bigger than anythign Ive done at work (I should note, this is for a co-op position, and I only have a crappy part time job right now as "past expericne")

Also along those lines, if they ask why my 2nd year marks are low, should I give them the real reason, which is rather personal (my dad died and I went through some tough times, and missed a lot of school)?

don't talk about your personal stuff, it's not appropiate in an interview. Stick to professional accomplishments.

 

[Martin]

thanks for the help. Hopefully this one goes much better than the last one :

its a nice job, and I'd love to get it...but we'll see.

 

[woowoo]

Originally posted by: Martin

for example, when they ask "what are some of your accomplishments?"

Just smile and say....

Aaahhh yes, that would be jenny's mom.

 

[Yossarian]

I wouldn't tell the fat story. If they ask about the grades, I would tell the truth, and hopefully be able to say that I have since rebounded as you can see from my high grades this year.

 

[Drakkon]

Originally posted by: woowoo

Originally posted by: Martin

for example, when they ask "what are some of your accomplishments?"

Just smile and say....

Aaahhh yes, that would be jenny's mom.

LoL

or look longingly at the picture of the doods daughter/wife/son on his desk before snapping back to reality and ask "what was the ques again?"