Tell me about a time you aimed too low. "Tell me about a time you aimed too low."  I have never been in sales, but the example answer I want to give is an example of answering the question while displaying good traits.  Remember to be clear when explaining your experience and don't assume that they will understand everything.  You should explain it step by step.  Short Answer  "There was a new project that I was interested in.  Because I had other responsibilities, I didn't volunteer.  I wasn't too busy, but I was worried I wouldn't complete the assignment on time.  I realized I missed a wonderful opportunity because I aimed too low."  Long Answer  "When I was selling cell phones for Verizon Wireless, I had a great month where I reached the quota in just two weeks.  My goal is to always break quota by more than 10 percent, and this month, I new it was going to be easy.  I scheduled to take a week off to relax, and at the end of the month I surpassed the quota by 31%.  I had an opportunity to break the location's record, but I didn't jump on the opportunity.  I was basically thinking that having achieved my original goal of 10% was sufficient.  But I think when opportunities arise, I should be flexible and willing to change my goal.  I aimed too low and I missed a rare opportunity."  This is not a bad mistake.  You can say you were burned out, or needed to take some time off, or wanted to rejuvenate yourself.  This answer doesn't show a failure, but shows a great success.  In this example, aiming too low resulted in great numbers and great results at the end of the month, so there is no harm done.  In the end you are indicating that you could have done even better, that you are willing to re-evaluate your goals, and that you are now able to see and jump on opportunities.

Organized and disorganized

In what ways are you organized and disorganized? "In what ways are you organized and disorganized?"  This is another variation to the previous question.  This question is a little better because the question wants you to identify an area you are disorganized.  Make sure to emphasize the organized portion of the answer.  If you are truly an organized person, then it is really tough thinking about an area you are disorganized.  So thinking ahead of time will allow you to make a good impression with a solid answer.  Short Answers  "I'm very organized with my time and work, but my desk is a little disorganized."  "Since I work with many files, I like to keep my desk organized.  I always have everything in a certain place so I can find things easier.  The area I'm disorganized is probably my computer desktop.  I usually have so many icons everywhere.  I should organize it a little, but I've never needed to."  "I organize my schedule the best.  I'm used to many meetings so it's important for me to be organized with my schedule and time.  The area I need to improve is probably my file cabinet.  I started to sort things alphabetically, but when I'm busy, I start putting things in there.  It started getting hard to find things, but this is something I'm going to fix."  Long Answer  "Oh... that's a good question.  Well, I'm organized in almost everything I do.  I'm very organized with my schedule and time.  I like to work efficiently, and being organized with my time helps me.  The area I feel I'm disorganized is probably my desk.  I like to work fast and don't keep my desk area as tidy as some people I know.  This however doesn't prevent me from doing my job well.  You know some people can have files and paper all over their desk but some how know exactly where everything is located.  I think I'm one of those people.  However, if I know I'm having a client or a guest, then I would definitely make things more tidy."  This answer brings a little humor to the question.  It lightens the mood and makes a person seem real instead of appearing to be perfect.  However, if the job you are applying for requires constant customer interaction, then this answer will not be good.  This answer would be better for an office job where not many people will see your desk.

Are you an organized person? "Are you an organized person?"  You can think that this question is stupid. Actually, I do.  Everyone will say they are organized.  Who will admit otherwise?  You should know that everyone will say similar things.  Take this time to be creative with your answer.  You can use these types of questions to leave a strong impression with a creative answer.  Or, if you are not creative, then the best way to answer this question is with an example.  Using a story is more believable and easier to remember.  Feel free to mix in a little humor to make it more memorable.  Short Answers  "I'm a very organized person.  I like to know exactly what I'm going to do for the day and the week.  So I outline my tasks and organize my work load.  By doing so, I can organize my time and work better."  "I believe I'm very organized.  I like to organize my work by priority and deadlines.  I do this so I can produce the highest quality work in the amount of time I have."  "I think I'm quite organized.  I like my documents and papers in a way where I can retrieve them quickly.  I also organize my work in a way where it's easy to see exactly what I'm doing."  "Organization has always come easy to me.  I naturally organize things like my desk, time, assignments, and work without thinking about them.  This helps me tremendously during times when I'm approaching a deadline."  Long Answer  "I'm actually a very organized person.  It's funny that you mention this because just the other day, my roommate wanted to borrow my suitcase and saw my closet.  He made fun of me for organizing my clothes by length and color.  I'm like that with everything.  It's just so much easier to manage things.  However, I'm not picky and don't need to have things in a certain way.  I just want things to be organized.  So yes, I consider myself organized."  This example should only be done if you are confident with your communication abilities.  If you appear awkward or if you sound like you are reading this type of answer, it could have a negative effect.  Instead, you should make a generic answer if you are uncomfortable with this type of answer.

What does failure mean to you? "What does failure mean to you?"  This is quite simple.  I don't see many right answers so this is what I suggest.  You can believe in two of the following.  One, you believe that failure is not achieving your goal no matter what.  Or two, you can believe failure is only when nothing is learned from the failure.  I believe in the latter, but you don't have to agree with me.  Short Answers  "Failure is when I do not reach my goal."  "I think to fail at something is making a mistake and not learning anything from it."  "To me, failure means to have a goal and not do anything about it."  "I think failure is not reaching your potential.  If you do not use the resources you have and the resources around you, that's failure because the work or goal could have been done better."  Long Answer  "I think it's harder to fail than it is to succeed.  The reason is, if you fail in a project, you can learn a valuable lesson from your mistake.  Learning from the mistake will allow you to improve future projects, or to simply not repeat them.  Just because I believe this, doesn't mean I believe it's acceptable to fail at a project, but just in case, I would try to learn everything I can... even when the end result wasn't that good.  So, failure to me means making a mistake and having learned nothing from it."  Nobody wants a failure.  So you can feel that answering like this will be risky.  However, this is a solid answer that most people agree with.  If the person doesn't like this answer, then you might not want to work for this person.  Everyone fails and if you work for someone who doesn't tolerate failure, then you will be in a difficult situation.  Even vice presidents of large corporations will believe that learning from mistakes is a valuable lesson.  This answer also states that you will do you best not to fail, but just in case, you want to gain something from your experience.

What does success mean to you? "What does success mean to you?"  There are many things you can say.  This type of question doesn't have a wrong answer.  All answers will be correct.  So the best answer is how good you can make the answer.  A mediocre answer will be something like completing a project on time.  You can say this, but add another twist to make the answer a little better.  Here is an example.  Short Answers  "To me, success means to have a goal, plan the steps to achieve the goal, implement the plan, and finally achieve the goal."  "Success means to achieve a goal I have set for myself."  "Success means to produce high quality work before the deadline."  "Success to me is knowing that my contributions positively impacted my company."  Long Answer  "Success to me means completing a task and when looking back, thinking I couldn't have done it better.  To succeed is to complete a task or assignment on time in an excellent manner.  But that's only half of it.  The results should be good and the people involved should gain a valuable lesson or experience.  For example, if it was a group project, and only two people out of four really did the work, I wouldn't call that success.  If everyone participated and worked together providing a valuable deliverable then it's a success.  So I think both the result and the process should be great to call something a success."  This answer is showing that you believe in delivering great quality work.  Moreover, it is implying how much you value team work.  If you value teamwork highly, then it is safe to assume that you would make a great team player.

If you could change one thing

If you could change one thing about your personality, what would it be and why?

"If you could change one thing about your personality, what would it be and why?"
 
 This question is another variation to the weakness question.  You can provide a similar type of question unless it is the same person asking them.  To answer this question, think of a person you respect and the trait they have that you really like.  I used to have a manager that was very patient and explained things very carefully.  I really liked this trait, so I'm going to provide the long answer by using this example.  But first, let's look at some short answers.
 
 Short Answers
 
 "I get easily frustrated at people who don't work very hard.  But I know people have different work styles and different work habits.  So if I could change something, I would like to be more understanding."
 
 "I have high expectations and I have these expectations on others.  I think if I was more understanding, I could help other workers improve instead of being disappointed."
 
 "I would like to be more of a risk taker.  I always do my work and complete it at an exceptional level, but sometimes taking a risk can make the work even better.  I'm working on this by thinking the issue through and weighing the pros and cons."
 
 "I would like to be more of an extrovert.  I'm a little quiet and a little closer to the introvert side.  I would like to change this because I would appear more friendly."
 
 Long Answer
 
 "I wish I was more patient with people.  I remember a manager I had a couple of years ago.  He was very patient with everyone.  Even workers that were not that smart and failed to understand a concept to perform the job.  I remember thinking how can this person who can't understand this concept continue to work here.  My manager took a different approach.  He was understanding of this worker and explained the concept in a different way.  He even explained how to view problems from a different perspective.  That helped this worker and in time that worker became a strong contributor.  So if I could change one thing about me, I would like to be more patient and understanding.  I'm taking the steps to change for the better by remembering the actions of my past manager whenever I'm in a similar situation."
 
 This is a little long, but if you can speak smoothly, it shows off your communication skills.  Also, the content of the answer is not that bad.  They want a personality problem, and this answer is showing impatience while indicating that you understand difficult concepts easily.  It also shows that you are working on correcting the bad behavior.

What do you want to be doing?

What do you want to be doing five years from now? "What do you want to be doing five years from now?"  "Where do you see yourself in five years?"  This is a similar question to the short term question, but you should answer it a little differently.  Here are some examples.  Short Answers  "In five years, I see myself as a valued employee of a company.  I want to be an expert at my position and start training to be a manager."  "In five years, I want to be a senior analyst.  I want my expertise to directly impact the company in a positive way."  "My goal is to become a lead in five years.  Although not everyone gets promoted to this level, I believe I can achieve this goal through hard work."  "Although I really enjoy working hands on as a mechanical engineer, I want to eventually become a manager.  I want to continue gaining experience, and after learning many different aspects, I see myself in management."  Long Answers  "Five years from now, I would like to see myself in a management position.  I'm going to be learning and gaining practical experience until then, but eventually, I want to become a marketing manager.  I know there are a lot of things to learn, but I'm going to be working hard for the next five years.  I believe opportunities come to great workers and I'm going to try to be one of them."  "Five years from now, I want to be a senior sales manager.  I'm currently training to become a manager, and if I continue to work hard, I feel I'll have a management position soon.  After gaining several years of experience as a sales manager, I want to be in a position where I can train and provide my expertise to newer sales managers."  Both answers display characteristics of working hard.  The second example also mentions that he or she wants to train newer managers.  This is a good answer because it targets one good trait about upper management... the ability to train managers.