Technical Trainer

I don’t like teaching Acrobat JavaScript because I’m not an expert in it. I would constantly be referring to the book and the file, and as a result my students would suffer. I want to provide a great learning experience by teaching something I know.

This is a loaded question. A positive reply might be, "I'm the kind of person who does whatever is necessary to get the job done. When I do run into something disagreeable, I try to do it first and get it behind me. I have no particular dislikes."

Describe work you've done that you feel doesn't take advantage of your full potential. For example, "I once had to make paper copies for my job and I feel it didn't take full advantage of my skills. However, it did teach me to be humble in my work and to appreciate a good opportunity when it arose to use my skills"

Fifty to 80 percent of my time is devoted to teaching and training in my current role. I spend the rest of my time consulting.

I like Java because it’s such a powerful language. I love that it makes a developer’s job easier and I get a kick out of showing students how it works. Of course, they need to learn the proper fundamentals and develop good habits to reap Java’s benefits

First, the key to inspiring others it to first understand what their goals and objectives are. Once you understand what people want, you can inspire them with a vision that aligns to what they care about. People generally care about having purpose, being successful (and being recognized for it), contributing in a meaningful way, and financial rewards (to a degree) and much more. Then once you understand what people set as goals, you can inspire them through 1:1 pep talks, a presentation to multiple people and so forth.

I most often teach SQL. Over the past year, I’ve taught four different courses: SQL fundamentals, administration, performance tuning and developing databases.

First find out where the company envisions itself in 3-5 years. If you can't find the vision of the company, that's probably a big question mark on the company itself. Once you do, identify how those company's visions align to your personal values and goals and then articulate how tightly correlated that is to the interviewer. For example - this company wants to be the #1 provider of green technology in the world and I feel strongly about that vision because we've got a chance to collectively impact the world to become a greener society and save our clients at the same time!

Discuss this question with friends, mentors, and possibly your references before the interview. If at all possible, think of something you were later able to correct. Then the story isn't just about a failure, but also about a learning experience.

I usually pair up the beginners with the advanced students to keep both groups engaged. If the beginners struggle, I stick with the curriculum and the schedule and work with them after class. I’ll also give the experts some challenging exercises to work on in case they finish an assignment early.

Your reply could be based on their reputation for products, management, international scope, technology, or as a nice place to work and grow. The most important thing is to avoid generic answers. Know their products, policies, and potential for growth.

Share a story to describe this. For example: "I accidentally made the mistake of telling a customer I could deliver on a solution set on a certain date and then later found out our business partner couldn’t do it on that time. I learned that I shouldn't rush into important decisions and promises like this and that I should always check with my counterparts first before committing to a statement of work."

As with your strengths, prepare a list of weaknesses beforehand. This time, tie each weakness back to what could also be considered a strength. For example, "I like to get things done. Sometimes I get impatient, but I'm getting a handle on it." Or maybe you have actually come up with a way to mitigate your weakness: "I'm a stickler for details, but I do not want to be a micro-manager. So at my last job, I asked each staff member to devise their own checklist of weekly tasks. It gave them some autonomy and satisfied my desire for quality control."

I’ve taught classes as small as one and as large as 30. I’m comfortable teaching groups anywhere in that range.

The key here is to be honest about your wish list but then to describe how you plan on developing or growing those characteristics so that it becomes a reality. For example, I wish I had a stronger work ethic and I am reading a book right now about how to instill a better discipline around getting work done efficiently.

Indicate that you can and ask the interviewer how much pressure is involved in the position. Learn what the interviewer means by pressure. The definition can vary significantly from person to person and company to company. If you are a pro at pressure jobs, describe a few accomplishments.

Discuss the clubs / activities you were in, share a personal story about why you enjoyed it and then describe how it's helped shape you to be who you are today. For example, I enjoyed rock climbing because it taught me the value of practicing hard at a sport to become skilled in it. I bring this same diligence to my work approach today as well.

Before interviewing, reflect on your personal strengths and make a list of them ("natural number sense," "able to multitask," "good with people," "able to teach others"). Then tie each of these strengths to a professional accomplishment. Answer with the strength you feel best fits the position being discussed, and be sure to offer the anecdote that goes with it. Conclude your response by asking the interviewer if this is the kind of quality that would help his or her company.