SQRL Interview Series: Home Run Questions

Home Run Questions: The essential questions that you are bound to encounter in your job interview.?

1.) “Tell me about yourself.”

This line of questioning is typically the first opportunity you will have to talk about yourself. When considering what to say, remember they already have your resume/background. This is your chance to humanize yourself.

• Lead with some fun facts or hobbies. A short 20 to 30 second snippet to break the ice will do. Keep them engaged and this will help you stand out as an individual amongst a sea of applicants.
• Next, give a general overview of your education as it pertains to the role. Keep this portion condensed as academia is going to be less pressing to them than real world experience.
• Now you can move on to your work experience. If you are further along in your career it is essential to summarize. Focus on recent experience as that tends to be the most relevant. Stay high level, do not simply read your resume word for word and bore the audience.?
• Try to target 2 to 3 minutes with your answer, but make sure not to go past 5 minutes!

2.) “Why are you looking for a job/this job?”

This question is usually asked to gauge what you are searching for, where you are at in your career, and if you have a good reason for leaving your current position.?

• When talking about your current/previous job, do not bash your employers. It will be a huge red flag if you cannot stay professional, and the interviewer will wonder if you will treat their company the same way in the future. Be honest, but stay positive about whatever the situation may be.
• Talk about why this new position and company is exciting, or a better fit for you. Find something about them that really intrigues you so you do not have to fake it, they will pick up on insincerity.?
• Do not say your motivation is salary, this is an obvious answer that is in bad taste. Most applicants are considering compensation when they apply so it is unnecessary to bring up.?

3.) “What do you know about our company?”

This question is about validation. They want to know that you have taken an interest in them as much as they have in you.?

• Google the company and give yourself a general understanding of who they are and what they do. This will give you the first part of your answer.
• Next you need to look a little deeper. Check out recent news on the company or look at what other employees are saying about them on social media. This will be the higher level response that can impress them. It shows that you are putting in the extra work and have genuine interest.
• Extra points if you can tie in how you fit into the company's vision or plans for the future.

4.) Fill in the blanks

What other questions could they possibly ask you? Dissect everything and create your own home run questions.?

• The substance of an interview will come from the job description and your resume. Go through your resume, line by line, and consider all the questions they could ask about your experience and how it relates to this job's responsibilities. These two documents are helpful tools to prepare for the unknown.
• If you don't have the experience/skill they mention in the job description, think about how you will counter that question when it comes up.?

The whole point of this article is to be prepared before your interview. You want to remove as many unknowns from the equation as you can. Put yourself in the mindset of the person interviewing you. What would you ask yourself and what answers would you want to hear? This preparation will help you to feel confident in a situation that can seem daunting at first.

Good Luck!