2 Interview questions you must answer from the heart
I’ve been conducting interviews recently and part of the process is thinking about the questions you want to ask and what the answers might mean and what they might tell you about the individual. In the end I went down a more ‘experimental’ free-format route but the process of thinking through those questions also got me thinking about how I would answer those questions and what the answers would mean about me. I’ve also been listening to the excellent partially examined life podcasts and a certain internal reflection or at least partial recognition of motivation feels inevitable.
Two questions in particular crossed my mind which I think are traditionally answered with a view to saying what you think the interviewer wants to hear (they all are you cry!) are as follows:
What frustrates you? (alt: what don’t you like about your job)
What makes you tick? (alt: what motivates you?)
I know I’ve been as guilty as the next person in answering these questions in the past based on the particular situation and it’s probably taken me a long time to realise that these are fundamental appraisals of who you are and whilst you might refine your answers and they may evolve over time, the answers should be true to who you are – if you must then apply the answer to the role you’re going for, but speak from the heart with passion and demonstrate WHY you do what you do.
For what it’s worth, my answers are as follows:
What Frustrates you?
I try not to do ‘negative’ emotions. I often fail. What I do try and do though is recognise the negative emotion within me, intercept it and replace it with a positive action and/or thought. So using the negative argo, what frustrates me is waste – I’m not talking the wrong type of plastic going in the recycling (although don’t get me started on peoples inability to understand this), I’m talking about organisational and individual waste. Wasted time, effort, energy, ability/talent, intellectual/emotional capital.
We are all capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for and I’m convinced that all people and all organisations would deliver so much more if they were able to find a way to cut through this wasteland, deal with the prejudices which are holding them back and feel able to challenge the status quo where appropriate.
I try to recognise these situations developing and take positive steps to alter the course where I can. I also appreciate when people see the same things happening with me and intervene to get me back on the right path (difficult though that can be to accept)
What makes you tick?
The ‘purpose’ question and the one for me which often produces the most BS. Basically we’re after your WHY – why do you do what you do (see excellent TED talk from Simon Sinek – Start With Why if you haven’t already).
For me, first and foremost I want to be the best husband and father I can be. I continue to fail fast in many regards in this pursuit but I aim to improve little by little, 1% per day in achieving this goal.
This means making myself available (which I’m particularly bad at) and ensuring that when I am available I’m present and in the moment and that I remain good-humoured and focused on them rather than me.
This means a few things. I’ve taken great strides to improve my own health and physical and mental well-being. I want to be available now but also for a long time. I strive to eat well, exercise often and stretch myself mentally so I can stay sharp.
From a working perspective this means ensuring I find my work fulfilling, that it involves challenge and mental stimulation and there are opportunities to improve myself and others around me. It’s important (I think) that the company you work for has a strong why which chimes with your own sense of purpose. I think that’s why I particularly enjoy working within the training industry – the tangible results of what we do are plain to see or to hear in the feedback we get from participants and/or their organisations / line managers. When I retire I’m more likely to remember the chap who told us last year that the Restraint Reduction Network Conference was the best event he’d been to in over 20 years working in care than I am the 30% YOY growth we achieved last year (OK – I admit I’ll remember that too).
No doubt I can refine those and make them ‘snappier’ but essentially if you asked me those questions tomorrow or in a years time the answer ought to be the same – it’s who I am and it comes from the heart.
If you’d like to share your responses to the same questions, please feel free, there’s only me and you here. Alternatively, connect and message me I’d love to hear either way.