“We wanted a responsible man for this job,” said the employer to the applicant. “Well, I guess I’m just your man,” said the young fellow. “No matter where I worked, whenever anything went wrong, they told me I was responsible.” Bill Adler
There are tricks to answering interview questions so that the interviewers hear what they need to hear to know that you are the best candidate for the job.
When you hear an interview question, always answer the question behind the question. Think about what the interviewer really wants to know.
For example, a common interview question is “Why do you want this job?” The question behind the question is “Why would we want you in this job?”
Don’t explain how you expect the job will benefit you: “It will give me a desired challenge or promotion or opportunity to use my skills.”
Instead, tell the interviewer how you will benefit the job and the organization: “I’ve worked in organizations with similar services and challenges and feel that my experience will help this company anticipate and respond more quickly and effectively when faced with similar challenges. For example,....”
Another common interview question is: “What do you consider to be your greatest weakness?” The question behind the question is “What have you done to recognize and address this weakness?”
Don’t hand the interviewer a very good reason to dismiss you as a viable candidate: “Well, my greatest weakness is how long it takes me to get things done.”
Instead, show the interviewer what you have done to constructively address this weakness: “My greatest weakness is my need to do work as deliberately and perfectly as possible. However, I have realized that my standard of quality has frequently limited my work performance. As a result, I find out the level of quality expected by my supervisor or my client and work to that standard. This way, my work product meets everyone’s expectations and is always on schedule.”
There are some questions we worry about because we’re not sure we have an acceptable answer. For example, “Why did you leave your last job after just one month?” If you were fired from that job, this can be a frightening question. Before you plan your answer, keep in mind what the interviewer will not want to hear: answers that blame others, especially the prior employer.
This is NOT the place to respond: “Well, my supervisor at that company was completely incompetent and always blamed me for his mistakes. I couldn’t take that kind of harassment, so I left.”
If an interviewer hears this response, it immediately raises concerns about what you might say about the supervisor here when you leave the job- and also that you might have a chip on your shoulder that could end up in a harassment complaint against the company.
This is also NOT the place to respond: “Well, I made some terrible mistakes that cost the company a lot of money, so they had to let me go.”
If an interviewer hears this response, you know what concerns it will raise!
Instead, be diplomatic and gracious: “After I started the job, I discovered that it was not what I had expected.”
There is nothing in this response that would raise unnecessary red flags. Interviewers are human and know that some jobs just aren’t the right fit.
There are other questions that are commonly asked for which you need a clear strategy for answering.
For example, “Tell me about yourself.” The question behind the question may be, “What are all the things I can’t legally ask that you can now tell me about?”
Do NOT provide personal information: “Well, I was born in South Carolina and have twelve brothers and sisters. I’m now a single parent with three children, so I really need this job.”
Instead, keep your answer professional and work-related: “I’ve always been interested in teaching at the elementary school level and made sure that I could practice teach in that environment. I got my degree at....”
Another example, “Where do you expect to be in five years?” The question behind the question is: “Do you plan to use the training and experience you get in this job as a springboard to a job in a different company?”
Since no one really knows what they will be doing in five years, it’s not a very fair or useful question. But please don’t tell the interviewer that!! Instead, provide an honest and diplomatic answer: “I would plan to stay with this company as long as there is a good fit with my skills and abilities.”
Most interviewers are interested in screening out unacceptable job applicants, so they choose questions that will accomplish that. However, if you follow these guidelines for answering interview questions, they will know that you are the best person for the job.
To help those of us who facing a job interview, I have posted a white paper on Typical Interview Questions (and how to answer them when they are intended to screen you out) my website at http://www.laurelandassociates.com.
In next week's Tip, we will look at how to make a good impression during an interview.
May your learning be sweet.
Showing posts with label interview strategy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label interview strategy. Show all posts
Monday, May 24, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Tip #323: How to Ace a Job Interview
“One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.” Arthur Ashe
Spring is a time of new beginnings, so what better topic than interviewing for a new job? No, this is not meant to suggest that entrepreneurs who experience burnout symptoms should leave their businesses and go work for someone else. And don’t worry, that is not my plan, either. But there are many people looking for jobs right now and so this topic is very timely.
Whether they are interviews for a consulting project or a job, all interviews are ultimately concerned about what you can do for the company, not what the company can do for you. If you really want the job, you need to know what the company needs, how your knowledge and skills can meet those needs, and what you have to say in the interview. The following tips will help you plan and implement an effective interview strategy.
1. Plan your interview strategy. Research current issues and concerns, so that you can anticipate the needs of the position and the company and how you can benefit them in the position. Identify the information you feel they need to receive. If they do not ask you the necessary questions to draw that information out, you will need to add the information before the close of the interview.
2. Before you enter the room, get relaxed. Breathe deeply, do a full body yawn, smile and get ready to enjoy the experience. If your throat tends to get dry when you are nervous, bring in a glass of water to sip.
3. Accept your responsibility to relax the interviewer. Smile, shake hands, and show that you are comfortable and interested. You will be an oasis of calm in a sea of the other candidates' terror. The interviewer will be able to relax and enjoy you.
4. Anticipate the interviewer's expectations and address them if you do not feel that you initially appear to meet them. For example, you are interviewing for a supervisory position, but you have a quiet voice and laid back manner. Before you answer the first question posed to you, indicate that you are aware of how important it is for a supervisor to be firm and assure the interviewer that you are fully capable of making your expectations known and getting them met.
5. When a question is asked, repeat it out loud. That will give you time to think about it as you form an answer. It will also help you avoid any misunderstanding if you did not hear the question correctly. The interviewer can correct you before you proceed to answer the wrong question.
6. If you were given an opportunity to review the questions and jot down notes prior to the interview, make large outline notes on the paper and place it in your lap- not on the table in front of you. You want to avoid the tendency to read your answer rather than speak directly to the interviewer.
7. Answer each question from the standpoint of how you can help the company, not what the company can do for you. Someone in the company chose those questions because they have a problem to solve. Make sure that your answer shows them that you understand the problem and have the necessary knowledge and skill to help find a good solution.
8. Make sure that you answer all questions completely. Never assume that the interviewers will draw forward the answer from one question to a related question. They need to hear the answer both times. Also, especially if you know the members of the panel, do not assume that they will give you credit for knowledge or experience that they know you have but you do not specifically mention during the interview.
9. If you forget a point that you planned to make, don't worry about it. Apologize for the cliffhanger. You will remember the point later and be able to bring it up it either before you answer another question or at the end of the interview, when you are asked if you have anything to add.
10. Try to maintain eye contact with the interviewer. If there is an interview panel and eye contact with all of the members is uncomfortable for you, then address the questioner. If you cannot get eye contact with that individual, then look at whomever is looking at you.
11. Do not make any assumptions about the body language of the interviewers. For example, just because someone is nodding his or her head while you answer a question, it does not mean agreement with your answer. Some people nod simply to indicate that they are listening to you.
12. Never negatively label yourself or talk yourself down. Keep in mind that the interviewers’ primary goal is to screen you out if there are any red flags. Do not hand them a reason to discount you as a viable candidate for the position.
13. Be prepared to explain why you want the job- in terms of the benefits you can bring to the position and the company. Make sure you can show how your training and/or experience prepare you to address specific current issues and concerns.
14. Always have something to add when you are given the opportunity at the end of the interview. If they have asked enough questions to obtain all of the information you feel necessary, then simply highlight and briefly summarize this information. If they have not drawn out sufficient information from you, then provide it. If you say nothing, you give the impression that you do not really care about the job, and that will cue the interviewers not to take you seriously, either.
15. If you do not get this position, contact the interviewers and cordially ask them if they would be willing to give you feedback that would help you be more successful in future interviews.
16. Remember that supervisors talk to each other. If you do well in an interview but are not selected, you may still be called to interview for another position through the use of related registers.
If you follow all of these tips, you should make an excellent impression on the interviewer.
To help those of us who facing a job interview, I have posted a white paper on Typical Interview Questions (and how to answer them when they are intended to screen you out) my website at http://www.laurelandassociates.com.
In next week's Tip, we will look at the tricks to answering typical interview questions, particularly those that are intended to screen you out.
May your learning be sweet.
Spring is a time of new beginnings, so what better topic than interviewing for a new job? No, this is not meant to suggest that entrepreneurs who experience burnout symptoms should leave their businesses and go work for someone else. And don’t worry, that is not my plan, either. But there are many people looking for jobs right now and so this topic is very timely.
Whether they are interviews for a consulting project or a job, all interviews are ultimately concerned about what you can do for the company, not what the company can do for you. If you really want the job, you need to know what the company needs, how your knowledge and skills can meet those needs, and what you have to say in the interview. The following tips will help you plan and implement an effective interview strategy.
1. Plan your interview strategy. Research current issues and concerns, so that you can anticipate the needs of the position and the company and how you can benefit them in the position. Identify the information you feel they need to receive. If they do not ask you the necessary questions to draw that information out, you will need to add the information before the close of the interview.
2. Before you enter the room, get relaxed. Breathe deeply, do a full body yawn, smile and get ready to enjoy the experience. If your throat tends to get dry when you are nervous, bring in a glass of water to sip.
3. Accept your responsibility to relax the interviewer. Smile, shake hands, and show that you are comfortable and interested. You will be an oasis of calm in a sea of the other candidates' terror. The interviewer will be able to relax and enjoy you.
4. Anticipate the interviewer's expectations and address them if you do not feel that you initially appear to meet them. For example, you are interviewing for a supervisory position, but you have a quiet voice and laid back manner. Before you answer the first question posed to you, indicate that you are aware of how important it is for a supervisor to be firm and assure the interviewer that you are fully capable of making your expectations known and getting them met.
5. When a question is asked, repeat it out loud. That will give you time to think about it as you form an answer. It will also help you avoid any misunderstanding if you did not hear the question correctly. The interviewer can correct you before you proceed to answer the wrong question.
6. If you were given an opportunity to review the questions and jot down notes prior to the interview, make large outline notes on the paper and place it in your lap- not on the table in front of you. You want to avoid the tendency to read your answer rather than speak directly to the interviewer.
7. Answer each question from the standpoint of how you can help the company, not what the company can do for you. Someone in the company chose those questions because they have a problem to solve. Make sure that your answer shows them that you understand the problem and have the necessary knowledge and skill to help find a good solution.
8. Make sure that you answer all questions completely. Never assume that the interviewers will draw forward the answer from one question to a related question. They need to hear the answer both times. Also, especially if you know the members of the panel, do not assume that they will give you credit for knowledge or experience that they know you have but you do not specifically mention during the interview.
9. If you forget a point that you planned to make, don't worry about it. Apologize for the cliffhanger. You will remember the point later and be able to bring it up it either before you answer another question or at the end of the interview, when you are asked if you have anything to add.
10. Try to maintain eye contact with the interviewer. If there is an interview panel and eye contact with all of the members is uncomfortable for you, then address the questioner. If you cannot get eye contact with that individual, then look at whomever is looking at you.
11. Do not make any assumptions about the body language of the interviewers. For example, just because someone is nodding his or her head while you answer a question, it does not mean agreement with your answer. Some people nod simply to indicate that they are listening to you.
12. Never negatively label yourself or talk yourself down. Keep in mind that the interviewers’ primary goal is to screen you out if there are any red flags. Do not hand them a reason to discount you as a viable candidate for the position.
13. Be prepared to explain why you want the job- in terms of the benefits you can bring to the position and the company. Make sure you can show how your training and/or experience prepare you to address specific current issues and concerns.
14. Always have something to add when you are given the opportunity at the end of the interview. If they have asked enough questions to obtain all of the information you feel necessary, then simply highlight and briefly summarize this information. If they have not drawn out sufficient information from you, then provide it. If you say nothing, you give the impression that you do not really care about the job, and that will cue the interviewers not to take you seriously, either.
15. If you do not get this position, contact the interviewers and cordially ask them if they would be willing to give you feedback that would help you be more successful in future interviews.
16. Remember that supervisors talk to each other. If you do well in an interview but are not selected, you may still be called to interview for another position through the use of related registers.
If you follow all of these tips, you should make an excellent impression on the interviewer.
To help those of us who facing a job interview, I have posted a white paper on Typical Interview Questions (and how to answer them when they are intended to screen you out) my website at http://www.laurelandassociates.com.
In next week's Tip, we will look at the tricks to answering typical interview questions, particularly those that are intended to screen you out.
May your learning be sweet.
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