How to approach 10 awkward interview questions

Having spent 10 years doing temporary and contract work in finance and accounting, I have had more than my fair share of selection interviews. As my experience grew, the responsibility within the jobs grew and with that, the questions became a little more testing and awkward.

I have compiled a list of the testing questions I have been asked, I am not going to include the routine  ones that ask about work experience, what I know about the company etc.. In preparation for an interview, everyone has a responsibility to review their resume and research the company a little. A quick added tip on this, if you feel their website is not user friendly, uncoordinated etc. bring this to their attention at the interview with your reasons.

10 Testing Questions.

• How do you work in pressure or stressful situations? 

This is one of those testing questions where planning and/or seeking advice from others comes into play. Simply stating you thrive on stress and that it brings the best out of you, without some concrete examples, is only marginally better than saying that you throw a hissy fit.

• What has been your greatest professional achievement?

 The answer you give here is as much as looking at your methodology as the result. You need to demonstrate you understand how you arrived at the result/ solution, the employer doesn’t want to hear you simply sold 1000m x’s one time or promoted to supervisor without achieving anything. Find something tangible and show the path to achieve it!

• Describe a situation where you went beyond your role scope to achieve success?

This is a great opportunity to show your team skills, aptitude and your ability to coordinate and lead. It is also beneficial to incorporate this into the previous question and actually bye pass this question. Be careful where you go with this as a few times in my own example I have been asked how it impacted my core job. In my own example, I learned to add that the issues took 6 months to resolve because my attention could not be exclusively with one customer. I was a temporary key account credit manager at the time.

• Where else have you applied or being considered for?

This isn’t so much an awkward question, it is more of a be careful question. You can be honest, give company names and job titles if you wish, but that’s all. These people are professionals, they know what is in the market place and if you are applying for positions elsewhere, it could affect your salary offer if the other company pays lower. Just be clever here.

• What do you believe to be your greatest strengths?

This is your opportunity to sell yourself, so focus on a couple of the adjectives that you have used in your resume’s introduction. Don’t hold back, explain with pride and a little excitement. Just don’t rattle of a list of adjectives as if you have just memorized them, say it like you mean it.

• What would you say is your greatest weakness?

 Coming back with intolerance, time keeping etc. is not a good idea here. I found that the best received answer was going back to the outside the role scope answer above and admitting that I can be over zealous in helping others and put myself under time pressure to reach my own deadlines.

• Have you had with issues with your previous coworkers and bosses?

 This is not an open invitation for a bitching session and issues should not be repeated here. This is often a slip up for people that have been playing on the teamwork and loyalty aspect. The best answer that worked for me was that, yes, I had disagreements, but these were all sorted out in private and professionally. I try to stay out of office politics and gossiping as much as possible.

• What salary are you looking for?

 Minefield, tread with caution! If you throw a figure in at this point, you have just put your cards on the table, before you have been offered the position or a second interview. Play safe here, show you have done your homework, state that a job like this should be within A and B. But with my experience, I believe I should be in the upper half of the scale.

• Would you prefer to be liked or feared?

 This is really at supervisor or management levels, it is asking are you a theory X or theory Y type of manager? This can also be asked the other way round, what type of manager do you prefer? To show my knowledge, I always answered I believe I am a theory Z manager, a bit of both. But as a manager, I realize that I am now part of them (management) and not us ( workforce), yet I can foster good relationships with everyone in my responsibility.

• Do you have any questions for me?

 This is a pretty standard closing question, but one that trips a lot of people up, according to the companies that I have worked with. A blank stare followed by” no, think that’s all” is going to do you no favors. If you have done your homework, a pertinent question about the job function or alternatively, if not mentioned previously, how many people will I be working with etc. Just be ready with some response!

Summary

Be prepared to talk about yourself, your experience, why you’re looking etc., at many interviews, it will be two or three interviewers. Make sure that you pay attention to all of them when answering, as often the H.R. person will just be taking notes and come in with one of the testing questions above. Be ready to justify and, if needed, give examples of everything that is stated in your introduction. A common mistake is one of consistency, you have stated good problem solving skills yet nowhere in the job history did it refer to the use of those skills. But you have done your research, checked for consistency and prepared answers for the coming questions, so go in with confidence and good luck!

Awareness of Men's Prostate Cancer

Like many men, I have been a little slow in paying much attention to my health. If it’s not broken, don’t try and fix it kind of attitude!

Prostate Cancer was brought to my attention when a young professional rugby player joined my local team back in England, Bedford Blues. He was involved in awareness and fundraising and introduced Movember! This involved not shaving for the month of November and raising funds and awareness in the process.

I am impressed how men’s awareness of this has grown and that now I am in the United States, there are a number of organisations that are fundraising and increasing awareness.

So what is it and how can I tell?

A form of cancer that develops in the prostate and that can spread to other parts of the body, especially the bones. In the worst cases, a tumor develops and can be removed by surgery. But for most cases, it is usually shown by pain in urinating, pain having sex, erectile dysfunction etc., but again these symptoms can be caused by infections and other ailments.

• Difficulty urinating
• Difficulty stopping or starting urine flow
• Urine flow that is weak or that starts and stops
• Needing to urinate urgently and/or often, especially at night
• Urine leakage ( incontinence)
• Pain or burning during urination or bowel movements
• Difficulty having a bowel movement

• Problems achieving erection
• Painful ejaculation
• Blood in semen

• Swelling in legs
• Frequent pain in the thighs, hips, abdomen, or lower back
• Bone pain
• Fatigue or weakness
• Unexplained weight loss
• Nausea, vomiting, or reduced appetite

What causes it and how to avoid it?

The causes of prostate cancer still remain unknown. As the health websites will all tell us, it affects men mostly after the age of 45, it is commonly believed to be related to our diets and more so, to how much we exercise. There have been many study into genetics, but as of now, there has been no genes directly found directly responsible for this cancer. There are many studies into hormones too, androgens specifically, but again there is no conclusive evidence linking hormones to prostate cancer.

Risk Factors

• Age:-  Men over 45 have a greater risk.
• Family History:- If there have been any known cases in the family.
• Diet:- Eating too much red meat and fatty foods, not eating enough vegetables.
• Obesity:- Again this is linked to diet, exercise and lifestyle.
• Race:- African-Americans statistically have a greater risk then Native Americans or Hispanics. Asians are lowest, with Europeans mid table statistically.

Conclusion

 I’m 50 now, not 15, so my exercise is a lot less. I accept that I may not be running any marathons, but I play golf occasionally, I go for occasional walks and I am regularly doing jobs around my house or yard, all of which are forms of exercise.

I have never been a great lover of fast food, and I have always liked my vegetables and salads. Broccoli, cabbage,sprouts, carrots, mushrooms, raspberries and pineapples are all well known to help reduce the risk in all cancers. I like most foods, so a balanced diet is not a problem for me. I think the old adage of everything in moderation, applies equally in our diet as to every other part of our lives.

In my opinion, read up on it, and if you are worried about any of the symptoms above, then discuss it with your doctor. Unfortunately, cancer is an indiscriminate killer and could affect any of us at some time. But I simply refuse to stop living and enjoying life! Everything in moderation and I will keep my awareness up, but I will not let it govern my life, something I have read several times by cancer sufferers who have beaten cancer. To all of those people, your attitude is my inspiration!

References:-

• Cancer Cure Foundation, http://www.cancure.org/home.htm
•  American Cancer Society, http://www.cancer.org/index
• Cancer Research UK. http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/home/

A Viable Alternative to the Big Energy Providers

Whilst researching into alternative energies, I came across some information about the growing number of cooperatives that are in existence all over the country, and not just here in the United States, but all over the world.

For some time now, most of us have been tightening our financial belts, scrutinizing our bills and service of the utility or service providers. Almost daily in the national press, the profits of the large corporations are fuelling anger, dismay and disbelief. The focus seems to have changed from high local service levels to rationalizing of services and increasing the return to investors.

Over the years, increased prices, lower service levels and the feeling of not being anything more than an account number has led groups of individuals and businesses to join together to find a solution and form cooperatives or associations to take over the supply of the service to their district.

A brief history and the principles of a cooperative.

The cooperative movement began in Europe, growing primarily Britain and France, in the 19^th century. The first recorded cooperative in Europe though was the Fenwick Weavers Society, Scotland in 1769. By the 1830’s there were hundreds that had been formed during the industrial revolution.

In the United States, the first electric coop was formed in July 1941, the Delaware County Electric Association and in April 1942 the Rural Electric Cooperative Law was passed. Today, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association has more than 900 not-for-profit cooperatives in their membership and they are a big advocate of renewable and sustainable energy, the website is well worth a visit.

The Advantages of joining a Cooperative

• Can use the larger volume of electric supply to obtain discounts for members.
• All non profit cooperatives receive tax exempt status.
• All electric utilities can receive some form of federal funding.
• Independence and member control.
•  

The Disadvantages of joining a Cooperative

• If members don’t participate and assist in some way in the running of the cooperative, the purpose of the cooperative is lost.
• If service contracts are not properly in place, repairs to infrastructure can be expensive to members. Especially so in rural communities, where there is likely to be miles more cable.

Summary

So whether starting up a new cooperative or joining an existing one, there can be substantial savings made in a well run cooperative. Many existing members comment, on the various websites, that they feel much happier in having more control and all the monetary benefits are passed back to them. Now this will not be for everyone, other commitments and frequently travelling away from home are just two possible reasons that a person cannot be an active participant.

Basics and Problems of Landfills

How bad is the problem with landfills? What is the size of the problem? Are all the efforts by governments and agencies making a worthwhile difference? What can we do to better the statistics? These are all questions that many people ask and discuss; the information is available and my aim is to bring as many facts and figures together on all aspects of recycling and waste through a series of articles. The main focus of these articles will be for America, however I was born and raised in England, so there will be references to my experiences back there from time to time.

To start with, let me put in a few facts to demonstrate where we are at with waste going to landfills and the recycling efforts, together with a few graphs to show trends and for comparisons. These have all been found on the Environment Protection Agency website. Figures for 2011 should be made available in November 2012 and will be published as soon as available.

1.       In 2010, Americans generated about 250 million tons of trash but only recycled and composted over 85 million tons of this material, equivalent to a 34.1 percent recycling rate . This is enough waste to fill the Bush Stadium twice a day, every day.

2.       Of this 2010 garbage or Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) total, newspaper/mechanical papers recovery was about 72 percent (7 million tons), and about 58 percent of yard trimmings were recovered. Organic materials continue to be the largest component of MSW. Paper and paperboard account for 29 percent and yard trimmings and food scraps account for another 27 percent. Plastics comprise 12 percent; metals make up 9 percent; and rubber, leather, and textiles account for 8 percent. Wood follows at around 6 percent and glass at 5 percent. Other miscellaneous wastes make up approximately 3 percent of the MSW generated in 2010.

3.       Recycling and composting prevented 85.1 million tons of material away from being disposed of in 2010, up from 15 million tons in 1980. This prevented the release of approximately 186 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent into the air in 2010—equivalent to taking 36 million cars off the road for a year.

As we can see from the information above, the upward trends have been broken on the amount of waste we are making. The totals for the total recycled and the percentage recycled are continuing in an upward trend. This is all positive news, it shows that all the efforts and collaborations between government, agencies, businesses, local groups and households are starting to reap rewards. But because of the sheer size of the United States, these figures are going to differ wildly from state to state, even between counties/parishes within each state.

My own experience from England, over the last 20 years, is that curbside collections have made a huge impact on household recycling. Previously, it was the responsibility of the householder to take these to the local town council tip or find one of a growing number of recycling containers, made available by groups wishing to raise funds and help the environment. But once collections were rolled out around the towns and into the surrounding villages, the volumes of recycling took a substantial leap. I must point out here that it was not an immediate leap, over a period of time and after many educational flyers and adverts, some people began collecting immediately, but others took a while to be convinced of the merits.

As a man, a well known creature of habit, I can honestly tell you that it took quite a while for it to become a habit to put drink cans, tins, plastic containers etc. into a separate bin and for the first few months, 10-20 % was a good return on my recycling effort. But after a while, it did become second nature to put the trash into separate bins and that on certain weeks, certain bins had to be put out for collection. After 20 odd years of separating my recycling trash, I think I was probably putting 90% of everything that could be recycled into the correct bin at the time of leaving England for a new life here in the United States in 2011.

I now live in Central Louisiana and I was horrified to see my new family, relatives and neighbors chucking everything into the same trash bin to be put out each week. I asked about this and every time the same answers. That there never would be collections out in rural America because of the way the homes are spread out over miles and that it would mean taking the recycling trash 12 miles back into town in our case.

This leads nicely to the arguments I have heard about not recycling. I list some below:

1.       Recycling is too inconvenient. This has to be the number one objection to getting involved in the first place, many people simply cannot be bothered to make the tiniest effort to separate there trash under the misguided notion it is going to take up valuable time in their week. So once you have set up a second bin or bag, how is this any extra effort?

2.       I don’t have enough room to recycle. The only legitimate argument I have heard has been from people living in town/ city centres where they simply do not have room to put another bin. But my argument is, if you have enough room to store a case of bottled water, beer bottles or canned food. Then you already have the case to put the empties back into and drop them off at a recycling point on your way to buy another case.

3.       It doesn’t make that much difference. This argument comes from sensationalist journalism, the effects on global warming, landfills struggling with the capacity they have and experts quoted as saying that as consumption rises, resources will run out. Resources running out is surely a reason to recycle? Landfills that are struggling for capacity is surely a reason to recycle again? Effects on global warming have been increasing for several decades now and cannot be reversed overnight. Landfills have become fewer in number and have become regulated in order to reverse the threats of contamination and pollution.

4.       I would if they paid me. Like they paid you for taking your trash out all these years? The fact is that through our local taxes, we all pay for our household waste to be collected. So whether it is a local council, a group trying to raise funds or a local business willing to make these collections free of charge, should be counted as a saving whilst being environmentally responsible.

Here are the overwhelming arguments for recycling:

1.       Recycling saves energy because the manufacturer doesn’t have to produce something new from raw natural resources. By using recycled materials we save on energy consumption, which keeps production costs down.

2.      Recycling reduces the need for more landfills. No one wants to live next to a landfill.

3.       By recycling, we reduce the need to destroy habitats for animals. Paper recycling alone saves millions of trees.

4.       Recycling and purchasing recycled products creates a greater demand for more recycled goods. Goods made from recycled materials use less water, creates less pollution and uses less energy.

5.       Recycling produces considerably less carbon, which reduces the amount of unhealthy greenhouse gas emissions.

So in the cities, with curbside collections, the percentages are quite healthy. However out of the towns and cities, in my area of Louisiana at least, there are virtually no recycling projects with the exceptions of a few church and school groups. I can only guess it is similar for the rest of rural Americans too. So there is still a long way to go and much work to be done, but for all the work and effort that has gone on to date, the trends and momentum are now positive.  So from the householders perspective, there is a good percentage of the population that has got behind the recycling efforts. But to be fair, most manufacturers and packaging companies are constantly researching ways to reduce packaging or at least make it 100% recyclable. However, I will write about this in greater detail in a future article, to bring the efforts by businesses to everyone’s attention.

Before I finish, here are a few more facts about the life of a few products thrown into the landfill:

·         Disposable diapers last centuries in landfills. An average baby will go through 8,000 of them!

·         Each year Americans throw away 25,000,000,000 Styrofoam cups. Even 500 years from now, the foam coffee cup you used this morning will be sitting in a landfill.

·         Glass does not deteriorate, it will be in the ground forever more.

·         Aluminum cans will be in the ground for 200 years +.

·         Even a tin can could be in the ground for up to 100 years.

Together, we can all keep doing a little and collectively achieve a lot by keeping a lot of materials out of the landfill sites. There are no prizes for achieving 100%, but the consequences for doing nothing are immense for future generations.