You’re interviewing for the job you want. You’re answering all the interviewer’s questions with ease and showing him that you are the best candidate for the job. In the final phase of the interview, the interviewer asks you, “Do you have any questions?”
Before an interview, any good applicant will do his or her best to research and prepare for their interview, even to the point of preparing an answer to every known interview question. However, there are times in the middle of a conversation that what you say is different from what you have planned. This could be the reason you don’t get hired even when you have the necessary qualifications.
After almost every interview, the interviewer will ask if you have any questions. This is a perfect opportunity for you to know the company and the position better. You need to prepare questions beforehand so that even if you can’t think of any questions at the time of the interview, you will have something ready.
There is no applicant who comes in an interview that has not yet faced the question “Tell me about yourself.” For some, this question is the most challenging to answer because they don’t understand what the interviewer really wants to know.
Most applicants hate this particular question because it puts them in the spotlight. The reason why applicants should love this question and not hate it is because aside from spotlight, it also gives you control.
When this question gets thrown at you, you are now given the opportunity to describe your strengths and greatest accomplishment in a few sentences.
There is really no one surefire way to answer this question; any given answer may work for one company but not for another. Still, while there is no secret formula for this question, there is one thing to remember when answering, and that is to focus.
If you go to many interviews throughout your career, you are bound to face interview questions that just feel weird. Interviewers try to be creative with the questions they use because there are times when applicants tend to be too repetitive. They do this to test an applicant’s ability to think under pressure.
There are many reasons why you may have left your last job. Perhaps you had the worst boss in the world, you were laid off, or you simply did not like how your co-workers treated you. Whatever the reason may be, the key to answering this question is a positive attitude.
After waiting for what seems like forever, you finally get a call from the school administrator. Now what?
An interview is a lot like a test. If you prepare thoroughly for your interview, you won’t need to worry about passing the test.
During an interview, when you feel like you’ve done everything right to impress the interviewer and show that you’re the best candidate for the job, the last thing you want to hear the interviewer say is the dreaded, “What’s your biggest weakness?” The problem is, this question will almost always get asked, no matter how you might hate it.
There might not be a “perfect” answer that you can recite to get this right. Don’t fret—there are things you can do to answer interview questions properly.
When you think about how to deliver strong answers to questions in an interview, beer doesn’t usually come to mind (well, having one maybe, but...). So for a bit of respite from the standard sources of interview advice, I turned to one of my favorite sources for inspiration.
Here’s what I realized is true for both a job applicant walking into an interview and for a beer:
One of the scariest parts of losing a job is the potential stigma attached to it. There’s a fear that you’ll never know when, in a future job interview, the interviewer will ask you the question, “Have you ever been fired?” or even, “Where are you working right now?” With the tumultuous job market over the past few years, a lot of people have been laid off. In fact, if I had to guess, I would estimate that at least one in four Americans in the job market today has experienced a layoff or been asked to resign. If you’ve ever involuntarily lost your job, you are definitely not alone.
So, how do you answer the interview question, “Have you ever been fired?”
You may have already received plenty of advice on how to provide answers to interview questions, the right way. However, you still need to know what it looks like when you step in it, so you don’t make a fatal interview mistake.
The question is, where can I find examples of good, bad, and ugly answers? Below you will find examples, sourced from quotes by original cast members of Saturday Night Live, and a few other contemporary comedians.
Having strong answers for interview questions depends on a number of factors. One of the key factors that is sometimes overlooked is authenticity. Do your responses give the interviewer a good sense of who you are and what you are about?
Job seekers sometimes forget about this concept of authenticity. Instead, they provide overplayed and generic answers that they think the interviewer wants to hear. These are answers like, "I’m a hard worker," "I’m a team player,” or "I have great attention to detail."
Such cookie-cutter answers are better than saying nothing, but every interviewer has heard these responses a number of times. Consequently, the interviewer doesn’t learn much about what makes this job applicant different from the next one. The interviewer also doesn’t know whether the interviewer is a hard worker or is just saying something that seems like a good interview answer. As a result, the interviewer is likely to dismiss this applicant.
So, what do you do if you really are a hard worker? You have a couple of options.
First, you can give examples to prove it. For example: "I work harder than other people. In college, I always took six classes, and never settled for a grade less than an A-" or "Being an architecture student, the norm was to do one or two all-nighters per week. I know how to work hard."
Alternatively, you can use less overplayed language that explains what makes you a hard worker. For instance: "I am someone who will dive headfirst into difficult problems and who only stops working when the problem has been solved." Or, as another example: "At this point in my life, my work comes first. I will put in whatever hours are needed to get the job done."
As you prepare answers for various job interview questions, think about how your responses can be less cookie-cutter. Focus on examples from your past that demonstrate your abilities, and come up with language that you feel comfortable with, that authentically represents you.
Below are ten tips to having more effective answers to interview questions. While these tips are pretty simple, making mistakes on simple things could mean missing out on the job offer.
Tip 1 - Make sure you know how to pronounce the name of the company. Search for YouTube videos or double-check with the security guard or receptionist to make sure you say it right in an interview.
Before you walk into your next interview, I thought it’d be helpful to share with you some common mistakes people make when providing job interview answers.
Mistake 1. Length
The perfect interview answer should last between 20 seconds and two minutes. That means that you should basically never answer a question with a simple yes or no. You need to share the critical details and should provide a thorough answer to appropriate questions. However, you don’t want to tell your life’s story. When you feel like you’ve shared the highlights, cut yourself off. If you feel compelled to share more, you can offer, “If you’d like, I can also describe...” Don’t be surprised if the interviewer turns you down. Too long an answer, and the interviewer will just tune you out.