This is a guest post from Ron Haynes, editor of The Wisdom Journal and author of a new eBook, The Inner View of Your Interview, exposing the motivations behind todayâs top 100 job interview questions. Ron has been interviewing people for various positions for over two decades and uses his new eBook to give job seekers an insiderâs peek into the mind of an interviewer.
Much of our life is about choices and interviewers know that. At times in your next job interview, your interviewer may pose a question that forces you to make a choice between two competing alternatives. But be careful â’ these questions are asked for a reason and the choices youâre given are usually designed to reveal something about your personality, your work tendencies, or how youâll react under stress. Just remember, there are usually more than just two choices. Donât allow yourself to be forced into a false dichotomy.
Thatâs the idea behind Question #87 in the book:
Question 87:Â What is more important to you: the money or the work?
Money is always important, but the work you perform is the most important. Every employee who has quit a job in frustration knows the importance of enjoying their line of work. Let’s face it, there ARE a few positions that you wouldn’t do no matter the salary. Watched any episodes of Dirty Jobs recently?
WORST ANSWER: This question may be posed to you in different ways, at different times in the interview. The interviewer knows what he’s doing: he’s looking for inconsistent answers on your part to determine if you’ve been coached or have read an eBook on interviewing. The worst thing you could do is answer differently than you did before. At that point, your consistency comes into question and the one thing thatâs valued across all cultures is consistency.
BEST ANSWER: The best answer is to put things into perspective. Money IS important — highly important — after all, no one works for free, but enjoying your work, your co-workers, and boss rank higher. We all know people, perhaps you’ve been in this same circumstance, who were highly paid but despised their job. You don’t want to find yourself in that position but at the same time, you don’t want to love your job but have to work 2 or 3 of them to put food on the table and live the lifestyle you want.
Example: “My honest answer is that it depends on the money and the work. Obviously there are positions I wouldn’t do no matter the pay, but others I would consider on a volunteer basis. In reality, though, I don’t think a strong compensation package and enjoyable work are mutually exclusive. My desire is to work in a field that offers me not only the challenge of growth and personal development, but professional development as well. Based on what I’ve learned about this open position at your company, I believe I’m an ideal fit.”
If youâd like to read more about how to prepare for your next job interview, check out The Inner View of Your Interview today and read the motivations behind and the best answers to the other 99 questions!
