It’s a Trap! 10 Interview Questions Designed To Trick You

---by PHILLIP TAYLOR-PARKER

Hiring managers are tasked with the impossible job of learning a candidate inside and out after just a few interactions. That’s why they’re always coming up with new tactics to extract every last drop of information from a candidate. It’s important to keep your guard up! You can almost be sure some of the questions asked will be “interview traps” – interview questions designed to get you to reveal some critical bit of information about yourself that you might have preferred to remain covered. They come in many forms, but all have the common goal of getting you to expose some character flaw that will bump you down a few rungs in the rankings.

Hold it together! Here are 10 of the most popular “interview traps” and tips on how to use them to your advantage.


The setup: Why is there a gap in your work history?
The trap: Does all this time off work mean you’re lazy?

It’s not necessarily a problem to have a gap on your resume. If you pursued personal projects, took care of a sick relative, volunteered for charity or otherwise used your time off in a productive manner, let them know. They don’t care that you haven’t spent any recent time in an office – only that you haven’t spent it all on the couch.


The setup: What would the person who likes you least in the world say about you?
The trap: Are you aware of your own weaknesses – and how to work around them?

A cousin to “what’s your biggest weakness?,” this question also requires framing your dominant personality traits in a positive light. Perhaps your enemy would say you’re neurotic and controlling, when in fact you just have a completionist’s eye for detail, which will ensure no project is finished until all loose ends are tied and re-tied for peace of mind.


The setup: Describe when you were part of a team that could not get along.
The trap: Do you work well with people you don’t like?

No matter whose fault it actually was, the interviewer will assume you can’t work well with others if you complain about a dysfunctional team buried in your work history. What matters to them is how you handled the situation – did you allow room for discussions and ideas you may not have agreed with? Did you learn any lessons about give-and-take from clashing with a coworker?


The setup: If you could change one thing about your last job, what would it be?
The trap: Are you holding on to any lingering issues you couldn’t resolve at your last job?

Can you vocalize your problems in a professional manner and come to a diplomatic understanding with your coworkers / bosses? This question tests whether you let problems stew and boil over, or whether you can address them rationally with the benefit of a positive work environment in mind.


The setup: Explain ________ (your industry) to your nephew / grandmother / totally oblivious client.
The trap: Sure, you know your line of work – but can you communicate your responsibilities to others?

Are you a good communicator? As a developer, can you explain how the newest product feature operates in a way that the marketing team can process, so they can in turn pitch it to customers? If you can’t explain your job duties in plain English, you probably aren’t well-versed enough in the field to effectively communicate your needs to the coworkers you will interact with on a daily basis.


The setup: Tell me about yourself.
The trap: Are you lying on your resume? Are you confident you’re qualified for this job?

Don’t meander. This also tests your communication skills – whether you know how to pitch, and whether you know when to stop talking. Succinctly list education history, skills gained from previous jobs, and perhaps a personal project or two which enhances your skill set and demonstrates motivation outside of the workplace. Then, stop talking. Rambling indicates a lack of confidence, suggesting you’re not sure whether what you’ve listed is “enough” to qualify you for the job.


The setup: Why should we hire you?
The trap: Are you a good fit for this specific role and company?

If you can’t answer this question, you probably didn’t research the company you’re trying to work for. Make sure you know the specific functions your future role will entail, and the short- and long-term goals of the organization itself. Then, frame your skills in a context which aligns with the job description and the company’s direction.

It also doesn’t hurt to research the hiring board to find out what makes them tick, so you can carry the conversation if they mention a project from their background.


The setup: What’s your ideal job?
The trap: …Is it something other than this one?

It’s okay to have career aspirations, so long as the things you want to do overlap with the things you’ll be doing here. Avoid mentioning a title – it may not carry the clout in this company’s role structure that you think it does. Instead, discuss the problems you’d like to solve, platforms you want to work with, and other active engagements that encompass both your dream work and the work in front of you.


The setup: What annoys you about coworkers / bosses?
The trap: Are you easy to work with, or are you a Negative Nancy?

It’s never a good idea to badmouth a coworker, whether peer or superior. It’s best to say you’ve been fortunate to navigate amicable work relationships. If pressed, mention an attribute that highlights dedication to the company cause, and say that you will expect and encourage that same dedication from your peers.


The setup: If you won the lottery, would you still work?
The trap: Are you motivated to succeed?

Most people know this question aims to trap candidates for whom work is merely a means to an end, rather than a passion to which they will be dedicated. But it’s also facetious to say you’d stay in your current position if you were to be blessed with such fortunes. It’s perfectly acceptable to say you’d start your own company, charity or project to further your personal development. This question really gets at whether you’re naturally inclined to work, so make sure those imaginary piles of cash would enable some form of future productivity.

How to Make Your Own Cloud

How to Make Your Own Cloud

Cloud services, offering storage that’s always accessible via the Web, can give you anywhere, anytime access to your digital stuff. There’s a ton of free services that offer about 5GB of free cloud storage, includingDropbox, iCloud, Skydrive, and Google Drive.

But if you’re a true digariti, 5 GB is chump change. You need much more storage – but to get it, you’ll have to pay a monthly fee.

Or you could create your own cloud-like service.  Here are two simple ways to do it using your home’s wireless router:

1. Connect a USB storage drive to your router

First, check to see if you if your router has USB ports. If so, you can connect a USB external storage drive to it. Then, map to the drive to your home computers. 

Cisco/Linksys’s Web site has a good explanation of how to do this on both Mac and Windows systems. It takes a little bit of technical know-how, but it’s not too tough if you have your router’s manual handy.

Keep in mind that this is not a true cloud solution.  Your files are stored on a drive that can only be accessed via your home’s Wi-Fi network, not on the Internet. But it does allow you to easily view files on all your devices at home.

2. Set up a network attached storage drive for “anywhere” access

If you have an external storage drive with an Ethernet port, you can connect it to your router and access files from anywhere. This kind of set-up is called “network-attached storage” (NAS).

Most NAS drive makers, including Western Digital, have utility software for setting up your drive for remote access. Once you complete the setup process, you’ll be able to access files via an FTP server, Web browser or even a mobile app (for iOS, Android or Windows phones). Many also have advanced user management features, such as creating separate accounts with privilege levels (such as limiting which folders can be viewed).

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Courtesy :  Qualcomm Spark

My Unusual Obsessions For Extreme Achievement

By Robin Sharma

One of the best ideas I’ve learned in a long time is this one:


WE GET THE BRAINS WE’VE EARNED

I know that’s an unusual line. Maybe it irritates you a little (good–I’m here to disrupt your normal beliefs and behaviors so you make the changes that will change your world). Perhaps it scares you (even better–our greatest fears deliver our finest growth). Or maybe you totally get what I mean.

What I’m suggesting to you–with that line–(and with the awesome respect I have for you as a reader of my blog) is that the brains we currently have are far less the result of genetics and luck and FAR more the result of our daily habits and the routine influences we expose our minds to.

Brain scientists have been making large leaps in their understanding of the concept of neuroplasticity. They’ve realized that–contrary to common belief–the brains we’re born with are not the brains we’re stuck with for life. No. Our brains are plastic. They can be shaped, grown and sculpted into things of beauty (that serve our excellence brilliantly). By the way we use them.

Which brings me to Darwin. And Picasso. And Michelangelo.

Not one of these people was born into genius. The whole idea of natural born talent is mostly a lie we sell ourselves so we don’t have to rise up and feel the fear of doing something great in our work and with our lives. In truth, you can walk with the giants and play amongst the gifted–if you start making the different choices that will yield different results.

These people were pure ordinary-ness (ok–so I made up a word). But here’s what they did to make themselves "special". They followed their "inclinations". In other words, they pursued the work that made their hearts sing rather than doing the things others wanted them to do. And they had the audacity to become the people they wanted to be versus the people others wished they’d become.

BONUS TIP: one of the biggest ways we limit our potential and deny our genius is following The Herd and modeling The Crowd. If you want to win in 2013 and transform the way you work + live, you absolutely MUST break free of The Cult of Mediocrity. You absolutely must stop listening to the chattering voices of the cynics around you. You absolutely must trust yourself–and your instincts.

And that’s what EVERY Master does. They trust their gut. They follow their "inclinations"–those things that when they do them, their work doesn’t feel like work. Instead, it’s joy. Bliss. And LOVE.

And because it feels so good when you have the guts to pursue these activities, you do them a lot. You "work" really really hard at your "work". You no longer see your job as a job but as your craft and your calling and your devotion.

And because of this, your devotion eventually becomes your BEAUTIFUL OBSESSION.

You practice it daily. Constantly. Consistently.

You have no time for TV and Call of Duty video games and Twitter or gossip. You need and hunger to do that thing that fills you. That inspires you. That gives you precious glimpses of your greatest self.

And as you do this, you stop living society’s life. You step into YOUR life. The life meant for you. The days of your destiny. This is how genius unfolds. No magic. Just trusting your passion. And putting in the work.

I so hope I’m not boring you. These words just poured out of me. As the waves cascade. As the sea air moves. As this fireplace flickers.

So please allow me to finish this post with A STATEMENT OF MY 6 UNUSUAL OBSESSIONS. These are the unusual commitments that govern my life. They are not so popular in this world we live in but they mean a lot to me. And my guess is they mean a lot to you.

MY 6 UNUSUAL OBSESSIONS

#1. THE MASTERY OBSESSION.
Commit–TODAY–to becoming a master. Ask yourself what are you best at? What things do you do that when you do them you feel happy + at peace–and sense your creativity and gifts pouring out of you. We get the life we’ve settled for. We get the brains we’ve earned. Start looking for those things in your work (and life) that you can become a Picasso at. Life shifts once you do.

#2. THE PROGRESS OBSESSION.
Yes, I’m obsessed with progress. With making every day better than yesterday. With making this year 1000X better than last year. Drives my team crazy. Sometimes irritates the people around me. But I fiercely believe we are built for growth (not stagnation). For expansion (not contraction). Good enough just isn’t very good as far as I can tell. The whole nature of the game is to see how far we can go–and to express our potential so we create the lives of our dreams. And elevate the world in the process. (Failing to realize your gifts makes the world less of a great place to be, no?).

#3. THE EXCELLENCE OBSESSION.
My friend and colleague Tom Peters made this word even more famous in the circles we work in. But here’s my take on it: leave everything you touch better than you find it. Surround yourself with excellent people. Use excellent words. Drink excellent coffee. Read excellent books. Wear excellent shoes. Create excellent projects. Be an excellent parent. Think excellent thoughts. You deserve no less.

#4. THE HAPPINESS OBSESSION.
Yes, I’m obsessed with being happy. No, I’m not happy all the time (I’m human after all). Sometimes people tell me "you don’t live in the real world". My reply: "Who wants to live in the real world?" A world with negativity and wars and greed and chaos. I want to create a world of my own making–while living in this very real world. I want to do work that matters and live with the people I love and pursue my highest ideals and live the life I have envisioned. I want to be happy–and so I block out the noise. So I can do so.

#5. THE CREATIVITY OBSESSION.
We are designed to create. We are all Artists. Each of us is a Creative (not just the people in advertising and design). Accountants and firefighters, math teachers and breakfast servers. We are all meant to innovate + ideate and use our brains to birth our best ideas into the world. I write and record ideas everywhere. On flight sickness bags on airplanes. On paper napkins in restaurants. In my journal that follows me much of where I go. Yes, I’m obsessed with creativity. And that’s my encouragement for you too.

#6. THE CONTRIBUTION OBSESSION.
This one’s my oxygen. I’m revealing it to you here. My Dad instilled this value in me. Deeply. As I grew up, he spoke of Gandhi. And Mandela. And Martin Luther King Jr. And Mother Teresa. And other Saints of Humanity who on my best days I acutely remember. My father told me that the real purpose of life is to serve. To be of use. To uplift those around us. To be helpful. And for this ideal–I owe my Dad the greatest debt of gratitude. Yes, I run a business. Yes I want to win. But above all else, I want to serve. It’s my obsession. And I make zero apologies for it. Ever.

I really hope this post has moved something within you. To stop playing small with your gifts, talents and Dreams. Think about what I’ve shared. Talk about this post with your team + family. Share it with your friends. And then go out and change the world.

62 Fast Tips to Get UnStuck

62 Fast Tips to Get UnStuck

By Robin Sharma

Believe in your vision and gifts when no one else believes in your vision and gifts.

Start your day with 20 minutes of exercise.

Make excellence your way of being (versus a once in a while event).

Be on time (bonus points: be early).

Be a celebrator of other’s talents versus a critic.

Stop watching TV. (Bonus points: sell your tv and invest the cash in learning and self-education).

Finish what you start.

Remember that your diet affects your moods so eat like an athlete.

Spend an hour a day without stimulation (no phone+no FaceBook+no noise).

Release the energy vampires from your life. They are destroying your performance.

Write in a journal every morning. And record gratitude every night.

Do work that scares you (if you’re not uncomfortable often, you’re not growing very much).

Make the choice to let go of your past. It’s dusty history. And polluting your future.

Commit to being “Mozart-Level Good” at your work.

Smile more (and tell your face).

Do a collage filled with images of your ideal life. Look at it once a day for focus and inspiration.

Plan your week on a schedule (clarity is the DNA of mastery).

Stop gossiping (average people love gossip; exceptional people adore ideas).

Read “As You Think”.

Read “The Go-Getter”.

Don’t just parent your kids–develop them.

Remember that victims are frightened by change. And leaders grow inspired by it.

Start taking daily supplements to stay in peak health.

Clean out any form of “victimspeak” in your vocabulary and start running the language of leadership and possibility.

Do a nature walk at least once a week. It’ll renew you (you can’t inspire others if you’re depleted yourself).

Take on projects no one else will take on. Set goals no one else will do.

Do something that makes you feel uncomfortable at least once every 7 days.

Say “sorry” when you know you should say “sorry”.

Say “please” and “thank you” a lot.

Remember that to double your income, triple your investment in learning, coaching and self-education.

Dream big but start now.

Achieve 5 little goals each day (“The Daily 5 Concept” I shared in “The Leader Who Had No Title” that has transformed the lives of so many). In 12 months this habit will produce 1850 little goals–which will amount to a massive transformation.

Write handwritten thank you notes to your customers, teammates and family members.

Be slow to criticize and fast to praise.

Read Walter Isaacson’s amazing biography on Steve Jobs.

Give your customers 10X the value they pay for (“The 10X Value Obsession”).

Use the first 90 minutes of your work day only on value-creating activities (versus checking email or surfing the Net).

Breathe.

Keep your promises.

Remember that ordinary people talk about their goals. Leaders get them done. With speed.

Watch the inspirational documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi”.

Know that a problem only becomes a problem when you choose to see it as a problem.

Brain tattoo the fact that all work is a chance to change the world.

Watch the amazing movie “The Intouchables”.

Remember that every person you meet has a story to tell, a lesson to teach and a dream to do.

Risk being rejected. All of the great ones do.

Spend more time in art galleries. Art inspires, stimulates creativity and pushes boundaries.

Read a book a week, invest in a course every month and attend a workshop every quarter.

Remember that you empower what you complain about.

Get to know yourself. The main reason we procrastinate on our goals is not because of external conditions; we procrastinate due to our internal beliefs. And the thing is they are stuck so deep that we don’t even know they exist. But once you do, everything changes.

Read “Jonathan Livingston Seagull”.

Know your values. And then have the guts to live them–no matter what the crowd thinks and how the herd lives.

Become the fittest person you know.

Become the strongest person you know.

Become the kindest person you know.

Know your “Big 5″–the 5 goals you absolutely must achieve by December 31 to make this year your best yet (I teach my entire goal-achieving process, my advanced techniques on unleashing confidence and how to go from being stuck to living a life you adore in my online program “Your Absolute Best Year Yet”).

Know that potential unexpressed turns to pain.

Build a strong family foundation while you grow your ideal career.

Stop being selfish.

Give your life to a project bigger than yourself.

Be thankful for your talents.

Stand for iconic. Go for legendary. And make history.

This is YOUR time. Now’s YOUR moment. Let’s do this! :)

Complete Speech By Swami Vivekanand From Chicago USA in 1893

Bum Bholenaath

Management Traps and How to Avoid Them

Much has been written about the secrets of good management and few will argue that the best managers are inspired, visionary, dedicated, industrious, energetic, energizing and display integrity, leadership, common sense and courage. So where is it that managers commonly fail or falter and lose their precious foothold on the corporation's top rungs? The following, from the career experts at bayt.com, are ten of the most basic management traps and tips to avoid them:
Weak managers set weak goals

As a manager your role is to get specific jobs completed by employees in the most optimal, efficient and innovative manner and in order to do that, you need to set clear objectives. Successful managers set SMART goals - goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-based. They are able to communicate these goals clearly, simply and concisely to their employees so that none are vague or uncertain about expectations. By all means reach for the stars in your objectives but to do so without supplying employees with the training, resources, flexibility and freedom they need to accomplish their goals and a schedule of regular supervision and feedback is to set them (and yourself) up for failure.


Weak managers micro-manage - effective leaders inspire

The days of command and control organizations are long over - today's managers recognize that in order to leverage their skills and maximize their team's output they need to adopt a flexible approach and 'lead' their teams to excellence rather than closely supervise, instruct and control them. The best leaders communicate to their employees a vision and ignite in them the fire, motivation and desire to work towards making this vision a reality. Good leaders unleash their employees to innovate and achieve optimal solutions by communicating top-level goals and objectives and a suggested blueprint for success then leaving the employees to determine how to get there most optimally while ensuring they have the aptitudes, training, resources and work environment necessary to achieve superior results. While a program of regular feedback and supervision is essential, managers should ensure that their management style is not repressive, meddling or overly overbearing. The golden rule is to communicate the 'what' and the 'why' of the work that needs to be done and leave the employees to determine the 'how' without burdening them with strict instruction manuals or prescribed rules and patterns that are largely redundant and inconducive to speed, creativity, progress and innovation.


Weak managers are afraid of hiring/cultivating strong leaders

Strong leaders/managers have the self-confidence to hire the best people, take them to new levels and cultivate in them all the qualities needed to make them in turn effective leaders of the future. Weak leaders replicate themselves in their hiring decisions and hire mediocre players, mistakenly believing that an employee with more skills, acumen or industry knowledge than themselves will ultimately undermine them or make them look bad. The best managers are characterized by an ability to stimulate their employees to superior performance and through coaching, training, feedback as well as by example, inspire in them all the qualities needed to make effective managers. A good manager helps employees achieve their full potential and constantly raises the bar so that employees never stop learning, innovating and growing. Coaching, training, career planning and programs for ongoing growth and development of key staff are high on the priority lists of the best managers.


Weak managers belittle their employees

Bosses who favour the archaic 'tough' management style where employees are singled out for public reprimand and negative feedback is plentiful while recognition and positive reinforcement are scarce will fail to win the loyalty, respect and commitment of their teams over the long run. Without an inspired, fired up, self-confident employee base these managers set themselves and their teams up for failure. Effective leaders by contrast, respect their employees and give them regular feedback with intelligent constructive criticism and loudly laud special accomplishments in both public and private, while communicating any negative feedback ONLY in private and focusing such criticism strictly on the job performance, not the person's character. Strong leaders recognize and reward a job well done. These leaders inspire their teams to perform at their best and are able to elicit from them a high degree of loyalty and a 'hunger' to raise the bar and continuously excel. In such organisations, employees are not afraid to challenge their boss's ideas or upset the status quo in the interest of innovation and excellence and are encouraged to take risks to elevate the business to a new level. The autocrats and bureaucrats on the other hand sap their employees' self-confidence, drive and energy with their overbearing management style and fail to induce in them any motivation to raise the bar or excel.