How to Answer Interview Questions 101.docx
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HowtoAnswerInterviewQuestions101
HowtoAnswerInterviewQuestions
Q1.Areyouoverqualifiedforthisjob?
Ifyougetaskedthisquestioninyourjobinterview,youmayjumpstraighttofrustrated—especiallyifyou’reanolderworkerandassumethey’retellingyouyou’rejusttooold. Butcompaniesfacinghiringissuesreallydon’twanttomakeamistake. Theydon’twanttogotothetimeandexpenseofhiringsomeonewhowilljustmoveontosomethingthatpaysmoreassoonastheyfindit. Andmostpeoplewanttoclimbtheladderandmakemoremoney,sowhywouldn’tyou?
Sowhentheyaskyouifyouhavetoomuchexperience,thinkaboutthequestionbehindthequestion. Whatthey’rereallyaskingis,areyougoingtobebored?
Isthisreallytherightpositionforyou?
Areyoureallygoingtobesatisfiedhere?
Drilldownalittlemoreandit’s:
Areyouafitforthisjob?
Answerthatquestion. They’relookingforyoutohelpthemfeelbetterabouthiringyou.
Youcandothatwiththeansweryougiveandbelieveme,they’relistening. Theyknowtheycanlearnalotaboutyoufromwhatyouchoosetosay.
Herearesomesuggestions:
“Imightbeoverqualified,butwouldn’tthatbewonderfulforyou?
Becausethenyou’dhavesomeonewhowasmorethanreadytodowellinthis…someonewho’sdonethisbefore,whounderstandswhatittakestobesuccessfulatitandcandoitagain.“ Remember,theyalwaysneedtoknowtheanswertothose4unaskedjobinterviewquestions:
Doyouunderstandthejob?
Canyoudothejob?
Willyoudothejob?
Doyouposearisktotheirowncontinuedemployment?
Oryoucansay,“ThetruthisthatIamoverqualifiedforthejob. ButitlookswonderfultomebecauseofX,Y,andZ.” X,Y,andZareyourownreasonswhythisjobfitsyou(otherthanmoneyorresponsibilitiesorpossibilityforadvancement).
Anditcouldbeanything. Irememberspeakingtoonegentlemanwhowasclearlyoverqualifiedforthejobhewasapplyingfor,butwhowanteditbecausethecommutewassignificantlyshorter. Thecompanywasfreakingoutbecausetheydidn’tunderstand,buthesaid,“Hey,myhouseispaidoffsoIdon’tneedthemoney,andIlikewhereIlive. I’mnotinterestedinmoving. Ijustwanttolivemylife. Andrightnow,myjobrequiresa2-hourround-tripordealeveryday. Idon’twantthatanymore. Thisplaceis5minutesfrommyhouse. Thatextratimeinmydaywouldbeworthalottome.”
Oncehecommunicatedthattothem,theyunderstoodandwereexcitedabouthiringhim.Youhavetotellthemwhythey’reperfectforyou. Theymaynotalwaysunderstanditontheirown.
Andtheywillmakeassumptionsaboutyou. Youcan’tjustthinkthattheywilltakeyouatfacevalue. Thisisabigriskforthemandtheywanttonotmakeamistake. Sohelpthemseewhyyou’reagreatfit.
Q2.Areyouwillingtorelocate?
Areyouwillingtomoveforyourjob?
Inmanycompanies,thisisatypicaljobinterviewquestion. Sometimesit'sadeal-breaker,sometimesitisn't. Evenifthisparticularjobdoesn'trequireit,manycompanieswantthatflexibilityintheiremployeesforlong-termgrowthpotential.
Theknee-jerkanswerthatmostpeoplegive("I'dconsideritfortherightopportunity.")isnotyourbestanswer. Evenifitisthetruth. Becauseitputsyourmotivationforwantingthejobmoreintothe'money'categoryratherthanthe'fulfillingwork/greatfit'category. It'sasubtlebutimportantdistinction,anditwilltaketheshineoffyourcandidacyifyousayit.
Here'showtohandletherelocationquestionforseveraldifferentlifecircumstancesyoumightbein:
Ifyou'rea'No'
Ifyouranswerisunequivocally'no',youhavetosayso. It'sonlygoingtocauseyouproblemsiftheydoendupofferingyouthejobandyouwon'tmove. (Although,letmejustsaythatifit's"absolutelynot",rememberthatlifecanturnonadime. Whatlookslike"never"rightnowmightnotlooklikethatinafewmonthsorayear. Ifyoureallywantthisjob,andyoucan'tmoveimmediately,sayso. Butconsidersayingsomethinglike,"I'drathernotmoverightnow,butyouneverknowwhattomorrowwillbring. AndI'mveryinterestedinthispositionandthiscompany."
Ifyou'rea'Maybe'
Butmaybeyoufeellikethere'ssomewiggleroom. You'drathernotcommittopackingupyourentirelifejustyet,butyoudon'twantthisjobtoslipthroughyourfingersbecauseofit. Foralotofpeople,youreallydon'twanttomove...thekidsaresettled,yourfamilyishere,yourhouseisunderwater(seewhichstateshavethemosthomesunderwater)...butfortherightofferyou'dconsiderit. Youknowyoucan'tsaythat,sotrysomethinglike,"I'minterestedingrowingmycareer,andifrelocatingforthejobisanecessarypartofthat,ofcourseI'dconsiderit." Thatdoesn'tcommityoutomoving. Itjustconfirmsthatyourcareer(andthisjob)isimportant. Andit'stactful.
Oryoucouldtossitbacktothem:
"WhereIliveisnotthemostimportantissueforme. Utilizingmyskills,developingnewones,andadvancingmycareerarereallymydrivinginterests,andI'vebecomemoreandmoreconvincedthatthiscompanyandthisjobisareallygreatfitbecauseofmyskillsinX,Y,andZ. Doyouagree?
"
You'vestayedontrack,sellingyourselfforthejob,andredirectedtheconversation(hopefully). Iftheykeeppushing,youcanfallbacktothe"ofcourseI'dconsiderit"statement.
Noneoftheseanswerscommityoutoanything. Butallofthemhelpyouappeartobemoresincere,flexible,tactful, andreasonablethan"I'dconsideritfortherightopportunity."
Theykeeptheconversationgoinginapositivedirection,whichisabigplusforanyjobinterview.
GetmoretipslikethisoneinCareerConfidential'sStrategicApproachtoInterviewing.
Q3.Describeatimewhenyourworkwascriticizedandhowyouhandledit.
Haveyoueverbeenaskedthisquestion?
Iknow…toyou,itfeelslikeoralsurgerywithouttheNovocain…butinterviewerslovebehavioralinterviewsbecausetheytellthemsomuchaboutyou—inthestoryyouchoosetotell,howyoutellit,withwhatkindofattitude,andtheresultsyou’recapableofproducingunderpressure.Theyjustcan’tgetasgoodapictureofwhatlifewouldbelikewithyouonthejobfromonlyaskingaboutyourskillsandqualifications.
Thecriticismquestionisoneofthoseadversitypiecesthatyou’vealwaysgottohaveastoryortwoaboutinyourbackpocketforinterviews.
Thetruthis,tobeagoodemployee(oranoverallsuccessfulperson),you’vealwaysgottobeopentocriticism.Ifyou’renotopentocriticism,thenyou’renotcoachable.Ifyou’renotcoachable,thenyou’relessvaluablethanyoucouldbe.
Areyoucoachable?
Coachabilityishuge.Takingcriticismisimportant.Ifwhenyougetcriticism,youhaveaproblemwithalwayswantingtobedefensiveandnotsimplysoakinguphowyoucouldhavedoneitdifferently,thenyou’llfindthatpeoplewillgiveyoulessandlesscriticism.Thatmightsoundlikeagoodthing,butitisn’t.Iftheycan’tcommunicatewithyouandhelpyoubebetter(whichhelpsthemtobebetter),they’lleventuallyjustfireyou.Doesthatseemextreme?
It’sbecauseyourboss(oranyoneyouneedtolearnsomethingfrom)can’tteachyouanythingnewwithoutcorrectingyouonceinawhile.Sincenoone’sperfect,everyoneneedstobecorrectedorcoachedtoanewplaceorbehaviorinordertokeepbeingsuccessful.
Sowhatthey’rereallylookingforis,areyoucoachable?
Tellmeaboutatimewhensomeonetoldyouhowyoucoulddosomethingdifferentorbetter,howyoudiddoitdifferentorbetter,andthenwhattheresultswere.
That’stheSTARtechniquethatalljobseekersshouldbefamiliarwithforbehavioralinterviews. STARstandsforSituationorTask,Action,andResult. Storiesputintothatstructureareparticularlyeffectiveinjobinterviewsituations. Youtalkaboutthesituationyouwereinandthetaskinfrontofyou,theactionyouchoosetotakeandtheresultsyougotfromit(whathappened). Chooseanincidentorexperiencefromyourworkhistory,putitintothatstructure,andyou’vegotyourselfastorythatillustrateswhyyou’resuchagreatpickforthejob.
Q4.Describeatimewhenyourworkloadwasheavyandhowyouhandledit.
Askingyoutodescribedifficultsituations(andyourreactionstothem)isafavoritetacticofinterviewers. It’scalledbehavioralinterviewing. Behavioralinterviewquestionsgetwaypastyourbasicskillsandqualificationsandgettotheheartof“howwillyouactonceyou’rehired?
” Pastbehaviorpredictsfuturebehaviorbetterthananythingelse.
Thereasonyouhavetobeabletospeaktothisissueinaninterviewisthattheywanttoknowifyou’regoingtofreakoutwhentheyhavearoughtime. Andeveryoneeventuallyhasaroughtime. AccountantstendtogetswampedinMarch,andretailersdoatChristmas. Thosearebothbigstresstimesforthoseprofessions. Butevenjobswithoutaseasonalaspecttoitlikethosecanhavetimeswhentheworkloadisparticularlystressful.
Describingatimewhenyourworkloadwasparticularlyheavyandhowyouhandleditisagreatviewintohowyouapproachday-to-dayproblems.
Theywanttoknowthatyoucanhandleyourworkloadchanging. Canyouadapt?
Basically,theywantyoutoshowthemthetoolsortheprocessyou’dusetohandlethatsituation. So,youwalkthemthroughit.
Youshouldsaysomethinglike,“Weallhavetimeswhenourworkloadsbecomeheavierthantheynormallyare. I’vefoundthatthebestthingtodoistotakealookatwhatIhavetodoandprioritizetasks. WhatI’vefoundisthatnoteverythinghastobedoneimmediately. Somethingsaremoremission-criticalthanothers,andintimesofstres