Interview Success Tips

Every job interview features two broad categories of questions:

(1) Questions specific to the role, and
(2) General questions.

We have compiled a list of some of the general/popular questions and have given advice on each.

Remember one thing though – no matter how good you are, you must not slouch, fidget, look distracted or appear over-eager while answering any question at an interview.

Instead maintain a calm, confident and positive appearance and answer the questions honestly.

Here are the general questions and their answers:

“Tell us more about yourself”.

Reconcile your personality with the skills required for the job and then answer the question honestly. Basically, the interviewer wants to know how you are tailored for the job and whether you have it in you to deliver the goods over the medium-long term. So before going for the interview, research and understand the skills needed and honestly put across your take on why you consider yourself the right person for the job.

“How well do you work in teams?”

Most jobs are successfully accomplished only by team effort and all organizations look to hire team players. You must extract the best “team” moments from your past job/s experience/s and convince the interviewer how you have achieved success in the past working with teams. If you are being interviewed for a senior position, then you have to mention how you have motivated teams in the past to achieve excellent results for past employer/s.

“Talk about your strengths and weaknesses”.

This is a show-and-tell question. Talk about your best skills, whip out your e-portfolio (or print portfolio) and display the evidence of all your hard work. Here you must talk about your strengths that reconcile with the demands of the current job. As far as weaknesses go, you have to be honest and because if the employer gets the feeling you’re hiding something, he won’t hire you. However, after describing a weakness, you should also add how you can overcome adversity and convert it into opportunity.

“How do you handle deadlines and the stress associated with them?”

Stress is everywhere and you have likely encountered stressful situations in your job. There’s no other way but to tell the employer honestly how you have tackled stress in the workplace in the past and how do you propose to tackle it going ahead.

“Why do you consider yourself the best person for the job?”

Well this is subtle sales pitch time. State your case confidently and calmly. Add whatever you have researched to your experience and apply it to real-life work situations you are likely to encounter and offer your solutions and ideas. If your replies carry weight and your solutions are creative and practical, you will get the job.

“Do you have any questions to ask?”

Candidates, who don’t ask any questions of the employer are perceived to be lacking initiative and motivation, so research the job and the history of the company and pose intelligent questions about them.

We have another 32 sample interview questions here together with 32 sample interview answers. There’s also advice on answering interview questions properly.

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Most people dread job interviews. However, with a bit of preparation, the experience can be very rewarding.

Most interviewers tend to ask similar questions during job interviews. All you need to do is find out what those questions are and prepare some answers beforehand. After you do that, have someone role play the part of the interviewer and ask you the questions. That way, you can practice your answers to interview questions so you can be more relaxed at the actual interview.

Some of the most popular interview questions asked during an initial interview are:

1. Tell me a little bit about yourself.

This is difficult for some people. If you are unsure of what to say, you might want to ask the interviewer what they would like to know about you. However, most interviewers want to know things about you that would be relate to the position. Try not to ramble on. Keep your interview answer short and informative.

2. What do you feel are some of your strengths?

When you begin to think about your strengths, think about some of the aspects of your personality and character that would be an asset to the job. Don’t just mention one, but focus on three or four. If you are applying for a sales position, you might mention that you enjoy helping people. If you are applying for an accounting position, you might say that you are very detail oriented.

3. What is your greatest weakness?

We all have weaknesses, so you will need to come up with something for an answer. Be as honest as possible, but then emphasize what you’ve done to overcome it. For instance, if delegating jobs has been hard for you in the past, mention what you have done to overcome the problem – perhaps taking a course in how to be an effective manager or a course in time management skills.

4. What do you consider to be your greatest success?

Choose an example from your past of which you are particularly proud. In your interview answer give specific details about what you did, how you did it, and what the results were.

5. How do you handle stressful situations?

List some stressful situations in past positions and explain how you handled them. Give them some ideas of some strategies that you have successfully used, such as making a to-do list.

6. Why do you want this position?

This is where researching the company will help in your answers to interview questions. Bring up some of the successful traits of the company and stress how you’ve always wanted to work for a company with those traits. Emphasize how your skills and qualifications mesh well with the company.

7. Why are you the best person for the job?

Here is your chance to sell yourself. Emphasize your strong points – i.e. you are a dedicated employee, a fast learner, an enthusiastic person who hits the ground running, etc. End it by saying; “I know that you will have no regrets when you hire me for the position.”

While no one knows exactly what questions will be asked during an interview, the above are common questions asked by most employers. With a bit of work, you can prepare yourself so that you can approach the interview with confidence and enthusiasm. That confidence and enthusiasm may just get you the job!

Here’s more help with answers to interview questions including 38 sample interview answers.

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