The subject of how to answer tough interview questions is covered in many books and articles along with examples of tough questions, however, what is a tough question to one person is easy for another so it is difficult to generalize about the “right" answers. Here I plan to take a slightly different but nevertheless I hope valuable viewpoint.
- How to prepare yourself to answer tough interview questions
This can best be summarized as: practice, practice, practice! Start by making a list of any tough questions that, based on your CV and working record, could apply to you. Examples could range from why you had so many jobs, to why you left your last job, why you had 3 months off work, why you feel you are the best candidate for the job, why your academic results were not better or why your last appraisal was poor.
When you have your list of tough questions write down some short, truthful but acceptable answers for each question. Always remember even if the question is about something that for you was a big issue the interviewer may not see it as a major issue. In any case you definitely should not ramble on for hours about it. Give a short, honest answer, if need be explaining how you have learnt from the issue and changed and then restate your enthusiasm for the job you are being interviewed for.
Next find someone you trust to give you honest feedback and get them to look at your CV and the advert for the job you are applying for and see if they can think of any tough questions you have missed. Then get them to ask you some of the questions and try out your answers. Listen to the feedback and make changes to your answers where needed. Remember you should be short, honest and positive with your answers.
During the interview if you have any doubt about what the interviewer has asked you, repeat what you heard as the question back to the interviewer and ask if you understood the question correctly. Make sure you don't answer the wrong question.
Quite often you will get asked a tough question and your answer may not really help you, in these cases it is better to accept that no one is perfect (just as no job is perfect) and having given your answer go onto to summarise 3 areas where your achievements, skills, experience are a match for the job and restate your interest in the job. Honest, open enthusiasm backed up by knowledge and research about the employer and the job are very powerful positive factors that can counter balance negative issues.
- Asking questions in interviews
This is a less well covered subject and most people don't realise that good interviewers will not only judge you on the type of questions you ask but also the order you ask the questions in. Based on the fact that people tend to ask first what most interests them. Equally not to ask any questions at all can suggest that you have not really prepared for the interview or are not interested in the job.
Allow me to use an obvious example: if the first question you ask is about the amount of holidays you get the interviewer could reasonably assume your enthusiasm was for time off and not the job. Let this serve as a warning to you about the need to spend some time thinking about questions to ask that reinforce your interest, suitability and skills for the job and write them down.
Look at the job advert, read what is said about the job content, any reference to tasks and duties and write down some questions related to them. On the same basis if there are details of the skills, background and experience of the ideal candidate in the advert try and think of some questions around these areas too. Good questions are around such areas as “if I am successful in the job over the next 3-6 months what will I have achieved?" and “I am interested in developing myself, what kind of training is available?"
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