Anticipate the Interview FAQ
First of all, congratulations on the Interview! You’ve come this far to getting your hands on that next job or move up the career ladder.
You’ve worked hard perfecting the skills on how to make a resume and covering letter and it obviously fitted the bill. The next step is usually the most nerve-wracking. Interviews, unlike creating a new resume, are very time specific. You don’t have hours to spend impressing your potential employers, but the good news is that you can prepare for and anticipate the kind of questions you may be asked in your interview – and prepare your raft of answers.
Going to your interview ‘fully armed’ will increase your confidence on the day and this is a huge bonus. Whilst we cannot ever anticipate exactly what you may be asked by the Director or CEO, there are lots of typical questions or variations of a theme, and you can be sure at least a few will crop up.
Here are a few examples. In the meantime, make sure to conduct your own ‘due diligence’ on your potential new company or role. Any interviewing panel will be impressed with a candidate who has done their research and shows genuine interest or passion for the role or the company itself.
Don’t forget, the most typical question of all at an interview, and it usually comes at the end. Your answer to “Any Questions?” should not be “No.” The whole purpose of the interviewer asking YOU if you have any questions is not because they are wondering if, indeed, you do have any questions. This question is a loaded one, full of reverse psychology. You MUST ask a question back, and it barely matters what your response is, as long as it IS a question. You see, it shows that you have listened and are interested. If you have done your background research, you should be able to pull a generic, yet company specific question out of the bag. Make sure you have more than one prepared as it could have already been covered. Stating off with something like “I notice you have an active blog....” or “I was wondering what your stance is on XYZ (insert up to date industry ‘issue’ here) “will gain you a whole bunch of brownie points, trust me.
What are your strengths/weaknesses?
The key to the displaying your strengths is to be both concise and relevant. You might have a huge list of sporting prowess, but are sitting for a job in Sales. Use sporting analogies to describe how your skills are transferable – ‘Winning’, Teamwork, and determination are three strengths that sportspeople have that are transferable. Tailor your answer to the job in Hand.
With regards to the ‘weakness’ part, it’s easy to think that the interviewer is trying to catch you out. Not so – it’s about judging your self awareness. Laughing and saying you don’t have any will come across as cocky, rather that n positively confident. Don’t make the mistake either of actually listing your perceived weaknesses. You can refer to a job related point that you would like to or have improved upon; this will infer both good self awareness and desire for improvement. You could say; “I used to become impatient with those that didn’t work to my pace. Now I’ve come to realise that we all have our own working styles , and that with a little re-organisation, we can all play to our strengths and complement each others differences”
What are your reasons for leaving your current role?
Be straight forward and truthful, but remember not to be overtly negative about your past employers. Keep each answer positive and appear as an opportunity for your own change or self development rather than incompetence on their part. Keep it constructive, and state that you are looking for a new challenge or something similar. Don’t complain about salaries! This only gives the impression that you have one working objective.
What are your goals for the next five years?
The right answer to this question might not be the most obvious one. Whilst a drawn out month by month list will show focus and planning skills (!) it doesn’t show your aptitude to change or the realisation that things don’t always go according to plan. Nobody knows what is around the corner, but being overly vague will not be in your favour either.
Start of by saying something like; “In uncertain times like these it’s hard to be exact on where I might be in years to come – HOWEVER, I hope to be in a position....
The question is designed to assess you in goal setting, motivation and how long you plan to stay with the company.
Why this company?
This where it will really show whether you have done your homework or not. Do not refer to any potential perks or salaries. Refer back to your facts constantly, name check senior management and the companies achievements. Find something specific to the organisation that fits your personal profile and skills, and display just exactly how you would fit right in!
Good Luck!
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