Job Interview Tips
Employers ask questions in a job interview that help them find out what your ambitions are; what your qualifications and accomplishments are, how you deal with conflict, how you problem solve, and what your leadership skills are like. They want to predict your behavior within their organization.
When answering questions make sure to follow 5 simple rules:
- Listen to the Question that is being asked and make sure that you understand before you give your answer.
- Be honest- be truthful about your qualifications and experience. There may be follow up questions later and you don’t want to get caught up in ‘stretching the truth’.
- Be positive. No matter whether you are answering a question about problem solving, conflict or your boss or co-workers. Remain positive always! Never say negative things about your boss- remember-you are being interviewed by ‘a boss’.
- Answer the Question that is being asked succinctly- don’t ramble and get off topic.
- Structure your answers with these three simple steps:
Describe what you did
Tell why you did it
Tell what you learned from that specific professional experience.
The most common questions asked in an interview:
- “Tell me about yourself?” - This question is about your personality and style in a professional work environment and your qualifications and skills that apply to the position you are being interviewed for. This is not a question about your personal information- age, how many children you have, marital status; nor hobbies!
- Strengths and Weaknesses- when questions are asked about these, talk about the strengths that make you an excellent candidate for that specific position. When you discuss weaknesses- talk about strategies that you have developed or continue to work on in order to overcome weaknesses.
- Conflict- Tell what, why, how you dealt with the conflict and what you learned from the experience. Remain positive!
- Problem Solving- Be very concrete and specific. Give examples that demonstrate your ability to resolve issues that commonly come up in a professional environment. This showcases your ability to deal with unanticipated events and reveals your professional behavior.
TIP:
Anticipate the most common interview questions. Analyze and type a short response or bullet list. It should be no more than one sheet. The sheet can help you stay on track if you get nervous easily during an interview; it should be used only as a point of reference and not as a script. I have seen this done and was so impressed that I used this method myself. The list is simply a tool to help you stay on track, and to remind you of specific examples that exemplify your skills and abilities for each type of interview question.
