Introduction
The key to a successful interview is to know your material well and to answer each question plausibly. To do this, you must anticipate and practice what you are going to say, demonstrate confidence, enthusiasm and a positive attitude.
How you answer the questions is as important as your answers. Look directly into the interviewer’s eyes; keep your answers short, to the point, and consistent, and don’t sound like you’ve memorized them. Put energy into your voice.
Answer questions effectively
Traditional questions
The following are traditional questions and suggested approaches to answering them:
Divide your answer into two parts: your professional side and your personal side. You can start by giving a summary of your resume, including the last few jobs you have held and the employers. Talk about your skills that are related to the position you are being interviewed for. On the personal side, you can mention where you live and grew up, where you went to school; describe your hobbies, travel and volunteer work. End with a transitional statement such as “I would like to continue my career in audit management and believe I can make a meaningful contribution to Millennial Bank.” Limit your response to one or two minutes. This response should be “schematic”. You can provide more details later in the interview.
Speak your “public statement” that you wrote at the beginning of your job search in Section 1. Be brief and positive.
Describe your relevant skills, experience and education. Answer directly and provide examples of accomplishments related to the job you are applying for.
Name your strengths that are relevant and give examples that apply to the job. For example, a statement such as “I am a hardworking and conscientious person” can mean that you get the job done on time and on budget.
Choose a weakness that is not an essential skill for the position. A graphic designer might mention that he or she lacks organization. “I start my day by listing my projects and reviewing my deadlines. This system has greatly improved my organizational skills.”
Find an example such as a suggestion to change a procedure, or a solution to a problem, or accepting extra work without being asked to do it.Can you work under pressure?
Some people work well under pressure; others do not. So it is useful to clarify the question. What kind of pressure does the interviewer want to talk about? Is it pressure that comes on suddenly or pressure that is an ongoing part of the job?
Mention the relevant factors related to the job you are applying for.
Try to minimize your answer to this question and make sure your answer is not related to the job you are applying for. “I didn’t like the paperwork” may mean that you are a bad administrator.
Try to remember positive words from your last supervisor. Do not say anything negative.
You can answer:
- “I am flexible; can you tell me what your pay scale is?”
- “My research tells me that the salary range for this job would be (give an amount); can you tell me what yours is?” or
- “I would like to learn more about the position before sharing my salary expectations with you.”
Prepare at least two questions. They may relate to procedures, systems, reporting relationships, size of the work group, equipment, or the immediate goals of the department or position. Don’t ask about benefits or vacation time until you are close to getting a job offer.
The answer must be YES! But don’t scare the interviewer. Qualify your answer. You can say, “Once I am fully familiar with the organizational culture and have mastered the duties of the assigned position, I would certainly like to be promoted when there is an opening.”
Some interviewers like to ask non-traditional questions. They believe that the answers to the above questions reveal another side of the candidate. Such questions force you to think quickly.
This question asks about your professional and personal goals and your intentions to stay with the company if you are hired.
Turn this negative question into a positive. “Each change was due to a promotion in responsibilities, income, and personal growth” and/or “I learned so much from each of my assignments and am now ready to engage professionally by applying my extensive knowledge.” Point out that your moves were voluntary, if they were voluntary, and that your performance was never an issue.
This question measures your level of experience and responsibility. Be honest. If you’ve never supervised, say so, but add “I recognize the importance of responsibility and enjoy the opportunity to supervise people” – if that’s the truth.
Preparing your resume is very helpful in this case. Read your resume before each interview. Choose three accomplishments that are relevant to the position you are applying for, and talk about the problems faced, actions taken and results of each.
You should know before the interview if your job requires travel. If this is an issue, you should be upfront with the company before scheduling the interview.
If the question is unexpected, be honest; express your restrictions, but don’t turn down the job until you have more time to think about it.
Behavioral interview questions
Behavioral questions are increasingly being asked to better assess candidates. Typically, this type of question is asked in the following manner: “Can you tell us about the situation where …” These questions are based on the belief that the candidate’s past behavior is the best indicator of future behavior. The interviewer looks for examples from your work history that demonstrate how you will handle certain situations.
Read the following interview questions about how you act and answer them as if you were telling a story, making sure to use your own experiences.
Note how the problem-action-result (PAR) format, which we described in the resume section, fits well when answering the questions about how you act.
- Tell me about a tense situation you faced and how you handled it.
- Tell me about a time when you had to be extremely resourceful.
- Tell me about a project you completed as part of a team.
- Tell me about an event where you solved a problem in a creative way.
- Tell me about a time when you faced a conflict and how you resolved it.
- What is the most difficult situation you have faced?
- Tell me about a situation where you had to be a leader.
- Tell me about a time when you regretted making a certain decision.
- Tell me about one of your failures.
- Describe a project of which you are particularly proud and why.
- Tell me about a mistake you made and how you fixed it.
- Tell me about a situation where you faced an angry customer/colleague/salesperson and how you dealt with it.
- Tell me about an event where you felt great joy.
Prepare answers to interview questions
It is important that you understand the interviewer’s questions and the motive behind them.
- Why do you want to work here?
- What have you learned in school?
- What courses or workshops did you take after school?
- Why did you leave your last employer?
- What did you like best about the people you worked with? Why or why not?
- What did you like least about the people you worked with? Why or why not?
- Which boss did you respect the most?
- Why or why not?
- What areas are you trying to improve?
- What is your greatest achievement?
- What is the biggest mistake you have made?
- What did you learn from this mistake?
- What was the most difficult decision you had to make in the past year? Why was it so difficult?
- Can you think of an example where you were loyal to your employer, but disagreed with certain rules or policies?
- Have you been in a position where you had to come up with a new policy or idea that did not conform to standard practice?
- What are your career goals?
- What magazines or books do you read?
- What community activities are you currently involved in?
- Can you give me a specific example where you have been firm?
- If you are offered the position, when can you start working?
- Why should we hire you?