Updates: August 2008
Just imagine yourself interviewing me for a job, for Time magazine or der Spiegel magazine
or for a TV interview after I propose myself to become the next President of Indonesia or you
may just want to know me better, nothing else, you could use this document for it. But just
remember that this document can be very boring & very typical. ;)
Q: Tell me about yourself.
Q: Why don't you tell me something about yourself?
A: I'm a results-driven & multilingual project management professional with Master degree
(MSc) & PMI certification (PMP). I have proven ability to deliver substantial productivity and
quality improvements through well-managed and on-time projects. I have hands-on
experience in IT operations support. I'm an outstanding project & team leader. I'm able to
coordinate & direct all phases of project-based efforts while managing, motivating & guiding
team. I'm particularly strong in staff development, including training, coaching and evaluation.
I'm an articulate communicator who can fluently speak the languages of both people &
technology, blending technical expertise with exceptional interpersonal skills while interacting
effectively with customers, sales staff, and technical/engineering teams. I'm adept at
delivering presentations and demo. I'm willing to travel for business if necessary.
Q: Why should I hire you?
A: I'm the best for the job. I have a strong IT experiences and solid Project management
experiences and knowledge. I had experienced various roles in project team and that gives
me ability to communicate with my team member and also with the top management.
Q: What is your long-term objective?
A: My long term objective is to keep focusing on my project management role and extending it
to become program & portfolio management professional too. I'm very interested in IT GRC,
Quality Management & Six Sigma, Business Process Management, Application Lifecycle
Management & IT Security, therefore I want to expand my experiences & knowledge in at
least one of these areas.
Q: How has your education prepared you for your career?
A: My educations had given me the basis to explore career in IT & Management. I have the
privileges to study in the top university in my home country Indonesia among the best
students and also the chance to have my master degree while working at the same time. This
gave me a solid foundation for my jobs.
Q: What can I do for you?
A: I want to offer you something - a resourceful person with open-minded & Can-Do attitude.
Q: What kind of work are you looking for?
A: My goals are to work in company where people can grow professionally & excitingly
together for the benefits of the company and its employee.
Q: What do you do best?
Q: Describe your personal qualities that suit the requirements of this position.
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Q: What job tasks do you perform most effectively?
A: I'm the best in discovering other people's potential and bringing people to work together in
a team to reach the same goal in synergy.
Q: What job tasks do you do least effectively?
A: It is very difficult for me to think creatively sometimes. It was probably because my
background which is more technical.
Q: Where do you see yourself in five years?
A: I can see myself to work as Project, Program & Portfolio Management professional and an
IT GRC professional in a company that appreciate my knowledge, experiences & talents.
Q: What professional attributes have you improved upon over the years?
A: Since graduating from my university, my communication, Planning and organizing, and Self
management skills have improved a lot.
Q: What personal attributes have you improved upon over the years?
A: I have improved especially these personal attributes over the years: Positive self esteem
and confidence, Ability to deal with pressure, Adaptability and Personal presentation.
Q: What is your strength?
Q: What strengths have your peers, supervisors and/or subordinates consistently
observed in you?
A: I have been blessed to have the quality of being a resourceful person. I'm also a person
who likes challenge.
Q: What is your weakness?
Q: What have they identified as your areas of greatest relative weakness or
development needs?
A: I tend not to focus sometimes. My solution for this weakness is to have a lot of things
planned, organized & prioritized. This help me to remind myself to focus.
Q: What is your leadership styles?
A: I have both Participative and Delegative leadership styles.
Q: What do you consider to be your greatest professional accomplishment?
A: My greatest accomplishment was to take over a derailed project and complete it in less
than 1 year.
Q: What do you like most about your work?
A: My work requires me to be resourceful and to work together as a team.
Q: What do you like least about your work?
A: My work requires me to focus all the time. It's difficult sometimes, but I can still manage it.
Q: Share with us the most challenging work assignment you have accomplished. What
were the challenges faced? How had you overcome them?
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A: When I've been assigned to a project with team members from more than 2 regions or
more than 4 time zones, I consider that as a big challenge for me. It was not easy to manage
a team member located in several different locations, especially when it was time to have a
meeting or simply to communicate with them. I need to make sure that my team member did
not take too much overtime and I also need to make sure communication among team
members were done effectively. I overcame these difficulties by setting up a central repository
for all project updates & status reports, by setting the same way in communicating (e.g. by
email, phone or chatting), and by setting up a meeting in those time when the time member
are most convenient in each of their time zones.
Q: Please give specific and detailed accounts where you have exhibited integrity,
teamwork, innovation, nurturing and courage at work and also in your personal life.
Integrity
Professional: I was asked to receive gift which did not relate to the job that I've done. I made
sure that it was according to the company's procedure that I accepted or didn't accept it and I
made sure that it didn't affect my job performance and judgment.
Personal: I was given a chance to know the answer to my exam before the exam, but I
refused it.
Teamwork
Professional: I worked with team members from different regions or areas and accomplished
the team goals.
Personal: I worked with friends to manage yearly event for Indonesian community in
Singapore.
Innovation
Professional: I use CMS to create a more manageable websites.
Personal: I made some changes to the content of my high school weekly newsletter to include
broader topics, not just the one we learned from official books.
Nurturing
Professional: I guided my team members to be better in performing their job in more efficient
ways.
Personal: I guided my juniors in high schools to become better students in the subject they
have taken.
Courage
Professional: I forced myself to handle more projects that I can manage, to expand my
experiences and skills.
Personal: I forced myself to approach my colleagues in high school to join our high school
scout, although at that time I considered myself not very good in persuading other people.
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Note:
Some of the questions & sources are taken from:
● Questions that had during my past interviews
● http://www.interviewghost.com/General-HR-Question/01.htm
● http://www.careers.unsw.edu.au/careered/planning/knowYourself/employability.aspx
Disclaimer: Use the answers to get to know about myself professionally, but with your own
risks.
===To be continued.===
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