Beyond the Islamabad Airport.......

Tough Interview Questions

By Rachel Zupek CareerBuilder.com writer

Editor's note: CNN.com has a business partnership with CareerBuilder.com, which serves as the exclusive provider of job listings and services to CNN.com.

Key to answering "weaknesses" question is not to respond literally. Identify areas where you can improve.

There's no worse feeling than when you're in an interview and the interviewer asks you a question to which you don't know the answer.

The best way to handle this dreaded debacle is to go into the interview prepared. Familiarize yourself with a few common difficult questions and arm yourself with answers prepared ahead of time.

Check out these tough interview questions and some suggested responses in order to avoid an interview disaster:

Tough question No. 1: "Tell me about yourself."

This is usually the opening question in an interview and it's the perfect moment for you to toot your own horn -- not to tell your life history. Your answers should be a quick rundown of your qualifications and experience. Talk about your education, work history, recent career experience and future goals.

Suggested answer: "I graduated from University X and since then, I have been working in public relations with an agency where I have generated millions of PR hits for my clients. While I've enjoyed working on the agency side, I'm looking to expand my horizons and start doing PR for corporate companies such as this one."

Tough question No. 2: "Why did you leave your last job?"

This is your chance to talk about your experience and your career goals, not to badmouth a former boss or give a laundry list of reasons for your exit. Instead, focus on what you learned in your previous position and how you are ready to use those skills in a new position.

Suggested answer: "The company just wasn't a good fit for my creativity, but I learned that organizations have distinct personalities just like people do. Now I know where I'll be a better fit."

Tough question No. 3: "Where do you see yourself in five years?"

Let the employer know that you're stable and you want to be with this company for the long haul. Keep your aspirations to take over the firm with which you are interviewing, own your own company, retire at 40 or be married with five children to yourself.

Suggested answer: "I want to secure a civil engineering position with a national firm that concentrates on retail development. Ideally, I would like to work for a young company, such as this one, so I can get in on the ground floor and take advantage of all the opportunities a growing firm has to offer."

Tough question No. 4: "What are your weaknesses?"

The key to answering this age-old question is not to respond literally. Your future employer most likely won't care if your weak spot is that you can't cook, nor do they want to hear the generic responses, like you're "too detail oriented" or "work too hard."

Respond to this query by identifying areas in your work where you can improve and figure out how they can be assets to a future employer. If you didn't have the opportunity to develop certain skills at your previous job, explain how eager you are to gain that skill in a new position.

Suggested answer: "In my last position, I wasn't able to develop my public-speaking skills. I'd really like to be able to work in a place that will help me get better at giving presentations and talking in front of others."

Tough question No. 5: "Why were you laid off?"

This question will become more common as the economy continues to slow down. It's a tough question, however, especially because many workers aren't told exactly why they were laid off. The best way to tackle this question is to answer as honestly as possible.

Suggested answer: "As I'm sure you're aware, the economy is tough right now and my company felt the effects of it. I was part of a large staff reduction and that's really all I know. I am confident, however, that it had nothing to do with my job performance, as exemplified by my accomplishments. For example..."

Tough question No. 6: "Tell me about the worst boss you ever had."

Never, ever talk badly about your past bosses. A potential boss will anticipate that you'll talk about him or her in the same manner somewhere down the line.

Suggested answer: "While none of my past bosses were awful, there are some who taught me more than others did. I've definitely learned what types of management styles I work with the best."

Tough question No. 7: "How would others describe you?"

You should always be asking for feedback from your colleagues and supervisors in order to gauge your performance; this way, you can honestly answer the question based on their comments. Keep track of the feedback to be able to give to an employer, if asked. Doing so will also help you identify strengths and weaknesses.

Suggested answer: "My former colleagues have said that I'm easy to do business with and that I always hit the ground running with new projects. I have more specific feedback with me, if you'd like to take a look at it."

Tough question No. 8: "What can you offer me that another person can't?"

This is when you talk about your record of getting things done. Go into specifics from your résumé and portfolio; show an employer your value and how you'd be an asset.

Suggested answer: "I'm the best person for the job. I know there are other candidates who could fill this position, but my passion for excellence sets me apart from the pack. I am committed to always producing the best results. For example..."

Tough question No. 9: "If you could choose any company to work for, where would you go?"

Never say that you would choose any company other than the one where you are interviewing. Talk about the job and the company for which you are being interviewed.

Suggested answer: "I wouldn't have applied for this position if I didn't sincerely want to work with your organization." Continue with specific examples of why you respect the company with which you are interviewing and why you'll be a good fit.

Tough question No. 10: "Would you be willing to take a salary cut?"

Salary is a delicate topic. In today's tough economy though, how much a company can afford to pay you might be the deal breaker in whether or not you are offered a position.

Suggested answer: "I'm making $X now. I understand that the salary range for this position is $XX - $XX. Like most people, I would like to improve on my salary, but I'm more interested in the job itself than the money. I would be open to negotiating a lower starting salary but would hope that we can revisit the subject in a few months after I've proved myself to you."

Turning Point

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There are three main steps to creating a web site:

1. Get a Domain Name - this page has everything you need to know about domain names - what they are, why you need one, how to choose a good one and how to get one.

2. Choose a Web Host - this page explains what a web host is, how to choose a good one, and what you really need and what you don't so you don't get taken.

3. Creating a Web Site - this page explains how you actually build a website, what you should and should not put on it and helps you figure out which website builder is for you.

Creating a website is just the first step to having a successful website. I will also show you add-ons you can put on your website like newsletters and counters for free or cheap, ways you can make money from your website and how to get traffic to it.

Why I Created This Website

I started this website for my friends and family because I was tired of seeing them get ripped off when they were creating a web site. They either paid way too much (and thought it was a good deal!) or got suckered into buying stuff they didn't need. This was started for them, but I hope you find it helpful too.

For more information please visit:

http://www.4creatingawebsite.com/

Education in Gilgit and Baltistan

Education in Gilgit and Baltistan

By Prof Dr Hafiz Muhammad Iqbal Sunday, 18 Oct, 2009 | 01:18 AM PST |

Education plays a very important role in the socio-economic development of a society. It enables individuals to make informed decisions, improves their choices and develops their potentials to play productive roles in society. It also provides employment opportunities to low-income families and serves as a vehicle for social mobility, particularly for those who do not have other means of earnings. Experts believe that a minimum 70 per cent literacy rate is essential for initiating and sustaining economic growth and development in a society. According to a Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) Survey 2006-7, the literacy rate of children aged 10-plus in Pakistan is about 55 per cent while the adult literacy rate of 15-plus population is about 52 per cent. The figures become disturbing when we see larger disparities between the rural and urban population and between males and females. The literacy rate remains higher in the urban areas than what it is in the rural areas and much higher in men than in women. The adult literacy rate (15 years and above) in males is 65 per cent as compared to 38 per cent in females. Corresponding figures for urban and rural population is 70 per cent and 41 per cent, respectively. If the situation is compared with what it was a few years back, it can be seen that the literacy rate in Pakistan has increased at the rate of about one per cent per annum. In the Northern Areas of Pakistan, the literacy rate seems to be increasing at a relatively faster pace. The Northern Areas of Pakistan constitute a single administrative unit, which was formed by the amalgamation of the Gilgit Agency, the Baltistan District of Ladakh, and the States of Hunza and Nagar in 1970. These areas or territories were under the administrative control of the Federal Government of Pakistan and hence called Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA). The Northern Area Legislative Assembly (NALA) was managing affairs of these areas since 2002. While honouring the sentiments and demands of the local people, the government of Pakistan recently awarded independent status to these areas and their nomenclature has also been changed to Gilgit and Baltistan. This is not just a change of the name, rather giving an identity to the local people. Northern Areas are comprised of six districts named Gilgit, Ghizer, Astore, Diamer, Skardu and Ghanche. The population of the region is about 1.5 million. Approximately 86 per cent of the population in the Northern Areas lives in the rural areas as compared with an estimated 66 per cent for Pakistan as a whole. Although education is a provincial subject, but as the Northern Areas were administered by the Federal Government, hence the Federal Government itself was responsible for making provisions for education of children in these areas. According to a 1998 census, the adult literacy in Gilgit and Baltistan was about 38 per cent, which has now risen to 53 per cent in 2005-6 (males 64 per cent and females 41 per cent). This figure is slightly higher than the national figure of 52 per cent in 2006-7 (PSLM, 2006-7). At present Gilgit and Baltistan have a system of education comprising about 2,100 schools or educational institutions, including schools set up by the Federal Government, community-based schools, schools set up by Aga Khan Education Services (AKES) and other NGOs. However, due to the physical features of these areas the provision of educational facilities in these areas has been a daunting task. Gilgit and Baltistan are isolated and happen to be most inaccessible mountainous regions with a harsh physical environment and severe weather conditions. The first three primary schools in the Northern Areas were established by the Political Agent in as early as1893 in Gilgit, Astore and Gupis. Until the 1940s, the government was the sole provider of formal education in the Northern Areas. In 1946, the first 17 Diamond Jubilee Schools were established by the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), which can be cited as a first community intervention in the field of education in these areas. The history of female education in these areas is even more disheartening. Because they are far-flung and much at a distance from the rest of the country, there has been less awareness among the people about female education there. Consequently, female education has remained less in focus till about the 1970s. Gradually the local communities became aware of the importance of female education and a struggle for female education began mostly in Ismaili communities, particularly in the Hunza and Ghizer regions. In 1981, female literacy rate in the region was estimated under three per cent as compared to the 16 per cent total literacy rate in Pakistan. Even in the late ‘90s the educational indicators in the entire Northern Areas were reported to be among the worst in the country, and were especially low for girls and women. In 1994, the enrolment rate for girls was just 29 per cent as compared to the 60 per cent for boys. According to a 1998 census, the literacy rate was reported to be 37.85 per cent (male 52.62 per cent and female 21.65 per cent) in the Northern Areas. Female literacy rates in certain areas such as Baltistan were reported as low as 13 per cent. However, there has been a drastic improvement in the recent years as a result of two interventions. Firstly, about 500 schools were opened under the Social Action Programme in the remote areas in mid-1990 and secondly, a 10-year-long Northern Pakistan Education Project was implemented by AKES with support from the European Commission. It is because of such interventions, that education facilities have reached almost in each and every corner of the region. I have had the fortune to visit these areas very extensively and I have been amazed to see the establishment of two schools in a village very difficult to access that was situated within half a kilometre of the boarder adjoining Indian occupied Kashmir. In another village I had the chance to visit an adult literacy centre, which was being wrapped up because of the end of the project and I was impressed by the level of awareness that the village females have developed regarding education. They were worried about the closure of the adult literacy centre and demanded for the continuation of education facilities in the region. The current enrolment of boys and girls in different public-sector schools is given in the table below, which shows that the gap between enrolment of boys and girls is narrowing with the passage of time. The total enrolment of girls in both public and private schools is about 90,000, which is not much less than the total enrolment of boys. The writer is dean, Faculty of Education at the University of the Punjab drhmiqbal@gmail.com

Powers that be vs environment

Powers that be vs environment

By Ardeshir Cowasjee Sunday, 18 Oct, 2009

Trees in most parts of Quetta are being cut down remorselessly and no new saplings are planted to take their place. – Photo by APP

This browbeaten country is haemorrhaging heavily, thanks to the benefits of the disgraceful black NRO.

Punjab and the NWFP are bloodied, thanks to the relentless onslaught of our Taliban brethren, the holy warriors. Sindh is beset with a total lack of law and order, with daily killings, kidnappings and dacoities, thanks to a squabbling coalition.

Wild Balochistan suffers on, thanks to its divorce from the writ of the state, with countless citizens being gunned down each day or blown up by bombs planted by its ‘liberators’.

The bastion of the nation’s defence was mercilessly attacked, casualties ensued, and in response the glued-together government and the people congratulated the army on its prowess. Kerry-Lugar was passed through the two houses of the American government, we objected, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi ‘rushed’ to the US, said what he could say, and Big ‘O’ signed the Act.

The minister then rushed home and tried to awaken the sleepy denizens of our National Assembly wherein are gathered those mistakenly voted in by a battered awam. Kerry-Lugar has been accepted, despite the loudmouths. End of that story.

The judiciary, surrounded as it is with chaos holds its own and valiantly trundles on, doing what it can to dispense justice in a lawless land. In the wastelands of Balochistan’s capital, Quetta, a distressed conscientious citizen, Talat Waheed Khan, filed a writ petition (572/2009) in the Balochistan High Court against assorted respondents which was heard by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa sitting with Justice Ghulam Mustapha Mengal.

Citizen Khan is Quetta-born and raised, and has witnessed the alarming degradation of the city in which he lives and works. In his petition he described how trees had been cut down remorselessly and no new saplings planted to take their place. Pollution has increased manifold causing distress and disease to the citizens. There are insufficient parks and green open spaces and those parks that exist are in a state of neglect or have been massively encroached upon with impunity.

He raised the issue of the wanton murder of the majestic markhor in Balochistan which is on the verge of extinction. He complained of the lack of amenities in Quetta, the chaotic traffic and the attitude of the traffic police towards illegal number plates or no number plates at all. He recounted how the walls of Quetta were disfigured with graffiti by political parties and others, and how public money was being wasted by the various ministries and government departments.

In short, he described the state and condition of the country and its cities and towns and the total lack of response by paralytic functionaries and their offices.

Chief Justice Isa and Justice Mengal acted with alacrity. On Sept 16 notices were issued to 14 Balochistan government departments asking that by Oct 5 the court be provided with the amount sanctioned in the last and present budget for the planting of trees, the number of trees proposed to be planted, the number of nurseries maintained and the number of saplings therein.

A map showing the main roads where trees must be planted was also to be provided as was a report covering two years as to why trees were not being planted on the roads leading from the airport into town and on Sariab Road. Details of the planning of roads, proposed parks and other city amenities were to be submitted with an attached map of the road network showing any improvements planned. Additionally, a report was to be submitted on the threatened markhor and measures (if any) taken for its sustainability.

Reports were also asked for on the number of vehicles plying the roads bearing illegal number plates (‘Minister’, ‘Applied for Registration’ and other such irregularities) and the number of challans issued.

A report as to what action has been taken with regard to the Balochistan Prohibition of Expressing Matters on Walls Ordinance 2001 and the number of prosecutions brought under it was asked for and notice was also issued to various political parties violating the ordinance.

On Oct 5, three of the 14 respondents presented their reports, all of which were found to be unsatisfactory — typical of course of functionaries who cannot and do not wish to function.

Caring Citizen Talat Wahid Khan and the Balochistan High Court have done their best. Notices have now been issued to all for Oct 21 and if cooperation is still not forthcoming the court will be forced to act against the defaulting provincial administrators.

Active on Karachi’s environmental front has been the Supreme Court in Islamabad where Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, sitting with Justices Ghulam Rabbani and Jawwad Khwaja, is hearing SMC 10/09, the people’s case (Citizen Dr Raza Gardezi of Shehri representing them without the benefit of counsel as our good lawyer Syed Mansoor Ali Shah was elevated to the bench of the Lahore High Court) against Makro-Habib (represented by Mr Khalid Anwer). A party to this case, the Army Welfare Trust (represented by Mr Fayyaz Ahmed Rana), is proposing that the Temple & Currie Water Reservoir area (aka Tanki Ground), which supplies water to a large area of Karachi (including Civil Lines, Arambagh, Keamari, Frere Town, Clifton, Chanesar Village, Saddar, and other old areas) and is a vital installation which has functioned since 1884, be given to Makro-Habib for them to develop a playground for the people of the area in lieu of the playground upon which their mega-supermarket stands.

arfc@cyber.net.pk