Excerpted from From
Here to There by Larry Stuenkel
These questions
are similar to what you can expect during a real interview. Being
prepared will enable you to think on your feet.
The suggested replies, excerpted from From Here to There
by Larry Stuenkel, aren't intended to give you one correct answer.
Rather, the answers should reflect your personal frame of reference,
based on your motives, goals, work skills and aspirations. The replies
are meant to stimulate your thinking, not to be memorized.
Q: How long would it take you to make a contribution to our
firm?
This question could be your first step toward the exit. An employer
will remember if you say that you will make a contribution immediately,
or within 2-3 weeks, a month or whatever you say. As an applicant,
you do not know all the problems of the company and you will not
for the first 3-4 months you are there, so be very careful with
this question.
Try saying something like: "I do not know exactly how long it will
take me to make a significant contribution to the organization.
Until I am privy to some of the company's goals and objectives that
I would be asked to achieve, I could not make that assessment. Could
you share with me some of the major goals of the organization and
what you anticipate the successful candidate to achieve in the first
3 months, 6 months or year?"
Take the opportunity to ask another question. A candidate who asks
intelligent questions after they are given a question can create
an excellent rapport with the hiring official.
A positive close for this question could be, "Based upon my past
fifteen years of experience, I think I am a pretty fast learner
and could make a contribution as quickly as I was able to grasp
your problem with both the causes and the effects."
