How to Answer Interview Questions 101.docx

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