List of Qualitative Interview Questions (Non-Technical Questions)

Why are you looking to change jobs? (Consider pressure questions)

When faced with pressure questions about job changes, it's important to respond honestly yet positively.

• Emphasize Experience and Growth: "I have gained a lot of experience and grown while working in various companies and environments. Each job change has been an opportunity for new challenges and learning, helping me build my career."
• Explain Goals and Values: "I wanted to find a company that aligns with my values and goals through this job change. I always consider whether the role and company culture are a good fit for me."
• Positive Conclusion: "Now, I want to contribute long-term in a stable environment that aligns with me. I hope to utilize my experiences to positively impact the company through this opportunity."

Focusing on creating a "positive impression in qualitative aspects" is beneficial. If you delve into quantitative aspects, you might end up discussing the reasons for your job change, which can lead the conversation astray and potentially create a negative impression.

What if the issues you mentioned about your job change arise at the company you're applying to?

It’s important to honestly share your experiences that led to your decision to change jobs due to those issues and emphasize your desire to contribute long-term to the company.

• Emphasize Experience: "While working at an early-stage startup, I developed my ability to adapt to innovation and rapid change. I learned a lot while taking on various roles in a small team."
• Explain Job Change Reasons: "The two job changes were part of a process to experience different startup cultures and business models while searching for an environment that matched my values. However, over time, I realized I wanted to grow in a more stable company."
• Express Long-term Contribution Intent: "I now want to leverage my experiences in a more stable environment to contribute to the team's and the company's goals, focusing on continuous growth and development. For these reasons, I value this opportunity highly."

These examples illustrate the point.

In conclusion, I believe this question seeks to assess whether long-term employment with the company is possible during a job change. Therefore, it is advisable to emphasize the potential for "long-term employment from a qualitative perspective." It is recommended that responses be based on experience. Similarly, if you delve into quantitative aspects, it may trigger more pressure questions, so I do not recommend engaging in a quantitative analysis.

In Conclusion

I believe that interviews, or assessments, should not be focused solely on receiving and giving evaluations, as this can lead to a defensive posture from both the interviewer and the interviewee. If this dynamic persists for too long during the interview, it becomes challenging to understand each other's appeal, making the time invested in the interview feel wasted. Therefore, rather than having a mindset of evaluating and being evaluated, it is helpful to approach the interview as a time for the company and the candidate to get to know each other. Being overly nervous can also cause the candidate to adopt a defensive stance, making it difficult for the interviewer to see the candidate's appeal. Instead of striving for a perfect answer with quantitative responses, it's better to think of this as an opportunity to assess the fit between myself and the company, even if mistakes are made. An interview is not just a place to evaluate people; it should be an opportunity to determine whether the company and candidate can work together as colleagues. If you encounter an interviewer who conveys the impression of evaluating people in a hierarchical manner, it's worth noting that they may also perceive you as a disposable asset rather than a colleague in actual work situations.