I always hate the goal question. Usually I'm in such a position that the answer which leaps immediately to mind is: "Get a paycheck, Dork-o. I'll think past that when rent's paid."

I've never had anyone ask me about family planning, religion or anything besides the "goals" and "how do you think you could be an asset" questions, really.

As to my gut answer to the "assets" question, is is usually: "I'll show up."

Oh, agreed -- but be prepared as in, "sidestep gracefully without getting so flustered as to blow the interview" rather than as in "go ahead and answer anyway."

Yes, totally. But "sidestep gracefully" can be hard! And while I tend to go with "go ahead and answer", it's not the best plan either. And trying to desperately make up my mind what I can/will say tends to come out sounding stuttering and insane.

I suppose on a flat-out illegal question you'd be safe lying and telling them precisely what they want to hear...

"But you SAID you weren't going to have a baby..."

I suppose on a flat-out illegal question you'd be safe lying and telling them precisely what they want to hear...

But see, that's where, if you're interviewing with anyone vaguely normal, you start sounding insane..."I have no goals but to help my company succeed. My life is centered around work, and I shun things such as boyfriends or pets, that distract me from putting 100% effort in!"

That said, the recruiters I've worked with often ask, in a gently-couched sort of way, what my circumstances are (since I"m looking for a job with relocation)--do I rent or own, do I have someone else who would also need to be relocated, etc etc. Conveniently I've been able to answer that I am footloose and fancy free, but I"m not sure what I'd say otherwise!

What's sad is that how you answer questions can be a lousy indicator of how you actually do the job. Nice way to have a glib set of incompetents end up managing your company. :: she typed, not at all bitter ::

I hate goal questions - partly because I am not terribly ambitious , partly because I need to know the co. culture to know what I can do .

so in the most concrete fashion I try to say some thing along the lines of " I want to keep learning new stuff , more responsibility is better, I am very flexible, an I am willing to wait for the right opportunity". That works really well in the library world. in something like a customer service position it sounds something like " I am really good at customer service and I look forward to learning more about the products. As I know more I'd like to help improve the customers experience , by either planning scripts, testing, or planning for the future. Which way I go really depends on what the company needs and where my talents can be best used "

What's sad is that how you answer questions can be a lousy indicator of how you actually do the job.

SAT = Success in college? NSM.

While I understand how sheer volume dictates a need to generalize... whether it's exams or interview strategies...it just makes me sad how geared we are to promote based on so much OTHER than actual suitability.

Since you have a different relationship with a recruiter (who is technically working for the hiring company in most cases) it may be more to your advantage to be honest with your goals, especially if she's going to put you up for a relocation, she should know if you're really sincere about relocating -- if she sends too many candidates for a relocation job that really don't want to relocate, it reflects back on her.

Interview guru guy said that also, you should be quite honest with recruiters about how much money you're looking for. Since they're compensated on how much you get, they'll not lowball you when there's a spread of possible salaries to negotiate for.

" I am really good at customer service and I look forward to learning more about the products. As I know more I'd like to help improve the customers experience , by either planning scripts, testing, or planning for the future. Which way I go really depends on what the company needs and where my talents can be best used "

Nice one!

(I hope I'm not coming off as Interview Guru myself. I'm trying hard to absorb all this stuff so that I can interview well, and repeating it kind of helps me get my head around it.)