How to ace your job interview

With universal vaccination in many countries and understanding ways to stop the spread, the job application seems on rise. In this article, I try to familiarize you with the most important questions you will be asked and the best answers you can respond to in order to ace your job interview. Remember that the majority of interviewers are trying to have a friendly conversation with you and to know you and your personality. So don’t be so uptight, relax a little and consider that as your experience grows, you will get less nervous. Keep in mind that the interviewer’s job is to find the fittest person for the position, so if you don’t get selected don’t take it personally.

Basically, all of the answers to these questions depend on three things:

A. Yourself (including your background, knowledge, skillset, mindset, etc.)

B. The job description (if you are applying to be a school nurse your presentation of yourself and your skills are different than applying for the school teacher.)

C. How badly do you want this job. (Of course, when people are attending the job interview, it shows that they want the job, but up to what extent. How low can you go? Best interviewers know the threshold where they can meet the company and the job applicant expectations).

1.??????Usually, the first question is: Can you tell me a little about yourself. As mentioned, your answer can vary considering the three variables but in general, you should start with your name and your professional background (i.e., I am John Smith. I am 27 years old and I have been a marketer for IBM for more than 5 years.) Again, depending on your creativity, you can spice it up with a little mention of your educational background (if it is significant). This answer should not take more than 2 minutes, otherwise the interviewer would either cut you off to answer another question or get distracted and lost his/her intrigue.

2.??????The second question(s) will usually involve in one of these: ‘

·????????Why Do You Want to Work at This Company?

·????????Why Do You Want This Job?

·????????Why Should We Hire You?

·????????What Can You Bring to the Company?

Your best answer is a mixture of your skillset and expertise with understanding the job description of the role you applied for. For instance, if you have worked as a financial advisor for more than 10 years and you are applying for another financial position, you should bring up your years of experience to the eyes and ears of the interviewer along with the challenges you successfully managed throughout your career.

3.??????In this part the interviewer might get gallant and ask you about your strengths and weaknesses. You should find your greatest strength or at most two of those, hopefully relating with the job description. You can embellish your strengths with the examples of your past experiences. For instance, you can give examples of your leadership role when facing an obstacle and how to tackle it. To meticulously, mention your weaknesses you should also provide real life experiences and the lessons you learned for example of how not to miss a deadline again.

When telling stories, keep in mind to use the STAR method or describe the Situation, your Task, the Action(s) you took, and the Result you gained. Use your story telling skills to make your story attractive.

4.??????Now the interviewer might go deeper into interviewee’s mindset by asking questions like:

·????????What Is Your Greatest Professional Achievement?

·????????Tell Me About a Challenge or Conflict You’ve Faced at Work, and How You Dealt with It.

·????????Tell Me About a Time You Demonstrated Leadership Skills.

·????????What’s a Time You Disagreed with a Decision That Was Made at Work?

·????????Tell Me About a Time You Made a Mistake.

·????????Tell Me About a Time You Failed.

These questions are asked where the interviewer wants to know your character more that whether you are fit for this job. Once again, your story telling skills can help you elaborate your achievements/mistakes. Don’t forget to use the STAR method to adorn your words.

5.??????The interviewer might go to the next phase of the interview and ask you hopeful questions like:

·????????When Can You Start?

·????????Are You Willing to Relocate?

No interviewer would like to see an unwilling person applying for his/her job. So, you should show your passion and excitement if you want to start this new job. But remember not to oversell your abilities. If you have commitment to your current job, frankly tell. If you don’t have the ability or willingness to relocate, just say it. ?

6.??????Eventually, the interview should be wrapped up. The sign of the final step of the interview is the questions like:

·????????Is There Anything Else You’d Like Us to Know?

·????????Do You Have Any Questions for Us?

As I mentioned in the last segment, your enthusiasm is vital for the questioner. If you are being interviewed by an HR person, keep in mind not to ask too many details about the process of your future job. Otherwise, ask in details of how things work. Like the lead generation process if you are a candidate in marketing/sales.

At long last, never ever complicate things by lying even about tiny things. Honesty, is the best policy. You might get offered another position now that the interviewer considers you as a sincere candidate. Try to make yourself amusing for the questioner. Put yourself in his/her shoes and think about how many people they have to interview in order to find the person for this job. Respect people even when going gets tough.

Keep in mind that at all times you are representing your own brand, your name. Make your brand a clear and successful reputation.

?2021 RBBCG