Practice the questions you know they will ask!

There are some questions you know you are going to be asked at interview. It is a good idea to practice these in order to be able to answer them without too much attention. That frees you up to be a bit more elastic when it comes to the unexpected questions.

Here are a couple of tricks to one of the most frequently asked question at an interview:

Tell me about yourself...

Now the interviewer is not particularly interested in the fact you have 2 brothers and a sister and your Dad works at the local IGA as the store manager.

When he asks this question he wants to know about your suitability for the role he is filling.

Many people get this really wrong.  Answering the “So tell me about yourself” questions is usually the first time you get to speak about yourself in your interview. and this It will set the tone for how you will be perceived by the interviewer.  If you get this wrong you may find it very hard to recover and be offered the job.

The best way to answer this questions is with an “I am a……….”

In fact, the best way to start is by giving your best credentials or job skill. “I am a Marketing Manager” for example. "And my real area of expertise is ………."

Carry on from there and give them more information about what you do particularly well.

'I am a Marketing Manager with expertise in helping new brands get visible".

"Recently I was involved with ……..

Give an overview of your career and or academic achievements beginning with the most relevant. Only go back 2 or 3 jobs, any more than that is unnecessary. The only time you should go back further is if there is something of particular interest. Some outstanding achievement or relevant specifically to that role.

"At work colleagues would describe me as ……"

This next bit should give the interviewer a clear idea of your 3 main strengths.

“I am an organised, very focused and Customer Orientated individual".

End with a question, if you can, about the role you have applied for or company that you are interviewing at.

“I saw that this role has a high focus on growing social media engagement.  Is there a target set for this as yet?”

The impression that you will give is of someone who knows the environment will have targets attached to it. It shows you are already thinking about the role and how those targets will be achieved.