"What's Your Greatest Weakness?"

Well, I remember My first Interview (12 years ago) I get insanely nervous: heart pounding, palms sweating, frantic thoughts—the whole nine yards. Then, once I make it into the office, the real fun begins: I forget what I wanted to say, fumble my words, and let myself get intimidated by the person across the desk. So Bad... it’s not too surprising that I’ve made some pretty big interviewing blunders along my job-hunting journey.

Tell me! What interview blunders have you made recently?

"A Tough Job Interview"

No one “really” likes them but they certainly are. They were standing between you and your dream job.

Some friends often asked me, “Mba Siwi, if they ask me ‘What are my weaknesses’ so how can I explain it to them?”

Hmm…

Unfortunately, “what is your biggest weakness” is no longer the only difficult question to answer. Right now, there are so many new techniques designed to test all of the applicants and increasingly being used by the HR/Hiring Manager to assess your ability for handling the criticism and sometimes felt like very intimidating you. The whole point of these techniques is for the Company to get their perfect hire according to their needs. My friend said that it feels like "I knew you were trouble when you walked in.." - Taylor Swift

There are several things about these techniques based on my experience as an Interviewer or when I was being interviewed:

Subtle Scare Tactics

One day, I met the Interviewer who didn’t give a smile,

NO SMILE at All!

(My heart said: "Please, help")

They might wait a few beats after you answer a question before responding to what you’ve said. This kind of Pressure technique is carried out to give us external interference that we might not be able to control.

So, before attending the interview session, we need to be prepared and considered by starting it calmly so we can control our own reactions. If things happen and the pressure comes, we are ready to deal with it by learning to control ourselves, take a deep breath when you want to answer clearly and calmly. The goal is not to let these scare tactics intimidate you, so beware that you're not playing with your hair, fiddling with your jewelry or shifting from foot to foot, all classic signs of anxiety.

Stress Interview

Many asked,

"Did all the interviews stress us out?"

This kind of technique, "Stress Interview" is a different type of the above statement.

If you are suddenly asked, "If you get rid of the state of Europe, which one will happen, and Why?". This question usually asked with a sudden, fast, slightly aggressive attitude or maybe argumentative. The Level of Pressure test applied will usually vary. (Brainteaser questions, will share on my next articles)

The real story examples:

"What do you think, are you meet with our requirements that we looking for?" when you answered then their extremely respond "That's the worst answer to that question any candidate has given"

My friend just shouted like:

“I just wanna cry…… Siwi!,

That is my dream job, I think I can’t make it!”

Upss...... :(

Don’t be so fast to judge your self, stay Confident!

First of all, don’t just write off the interviewer as a total jerk.

Actually, why do they ask the above things is useful to be able to see your real reaction for something. Can you get through it with your creativity or just die on the spot?, Crumbling under the pressure, you tried to answer-but your voice started to crack, your eyes welled up and you suddenly forgot that you are a competent professional who had a lot to offer!

Some interviewers are straight-to-the-point—and there’s nothing you can do about it, except to bring your confidence into the room, remembering that you were asked to interview because of what you've already proven in your resume and cover letter. You just have to let your personality and confidence shine through! They can judge your ability to criticize and others. Same as them, As candidates, of course, we also have our Mantra tho'.

Weakness Question

We "already" know, Surely know that every interview session (Actually, at this time, I haven't asked this again) there must be a question about weaknesses, We know that classic questions will be asked and we are still afraid with this, even though we are still trying to apply for the vacant, haha.

So, what is your answer?

What I often find a cliched answer like "I'm too much a perfectionist" or "Frankly, I'm just working too hard until I forgot to eat" or something. 

Don't think about "I only aim to Impress"!

Your best bet is, be honest!

The perfect compromise is to give a positive spin to our weaknesses and not try to look as a perfect guy, Explain our weaknesses then roughly how we can overcome our weaknesses.

The function of this question itself, so that the interviewer can judge whether we are someone who can solve the problem through the steps we can take to overcome the problem itself.

BUT:

Make sure you don’t try to explain how you've improved on a flaw that makes you seem downright incompetent, like trouble meeting deadlines, or a lack of judgment that's cost your company money.

Imagine you... (The Hypothetical situation)

Honestly, This is my favorite question from the Interviewer, a Scenario-based question so they can see how we handle certain situations

Usually:

"How would you react if your team did not contribute well to the project?"

"Imagine if you have a deadline and you can't make it happen, what will you do?"

Some of the questions above are usually taken by the interviewer from related users who often face these problems in his team.

Our techniques for answering these types of questions are: Know in advance the details of the job you are applying for, what skills are needed or desired. Next, think about when you face the same situation, then calmly tell the interviewer how you deal with the situation and whatever you are thinking, give the structured answer and without a doubt.

For example:

Unfortunately, I have experienced this before at my place of work some time ago and it hurt the whole team. When that is what I am trying to do besides consulting, I will try an honest communication to the parties concerned. What I've found was that the more we ignored the problem, the worse it could be gotten. I also talked to my team in a non-confrontational way because I felt that was the best approach. What I find Often the reason team members don't contribute is because they don't understand the work or what is expected of them. That way, I can at least find out the cause of the problem. and work towards solutions so all of us in the same alignment.

Many people say:

"Experience is the best Teacher"

By showing our experience in solving a problem, the interviewer will be able to assess our skills.

“Do You Have Any Questions for Me?”

Please, always have questions for your interviewer! 

And yes, you will be judged on the amount of research you've done about them and the company, as well as your thoughtfulness. At a bare minimum, dig in to find out more about your potential boss, co-workers, company culture, and advancement opportunities—and really take the answers you get into consideration before you make any decisions Then, stay present and engaged throughout the interview so you have relevant questions to ask at the end.

There are also some greatest-hits questions to bring. Ask about the biggest challenges the company is currently facing, Their response will give you a sense of how you could be part of the solution.

Other insightful questions include: “What do you consider the best and worst features of this job?” and “Would you mind to describe or explain to me about the role, How was the career is...” Stay away from questions that involve compensation, the time frame of the interview process, and other applicants who may have applied.

Interview Speed

"Wi, I think I didn't pass the interview! The interview held very fast, only 15 minutes!"

Hey, for your information, A short interview doesn't always mean that you have a Bad Interview, you need to make sure first who is the interviewer! I have someone who took a long interview with the Hiring Manager, but she didn't pass the Interview.

Recently, for example, one of a famous brand was conducting a 10-minutes job interview with their Hiring Manager. But why do quick interviews seem more common? It could be that the employer is very busy and doesn't have the luxury of chatting for an hour. 

Another reason:

First impressions can be made relatively quickly. One experience gained when I conducted an interview in one of the Asian states, showed that the impression was made within the first seven seconds of the meeting. Wow, Superfast!

So, What do you think? what would you do to give your first impression?

Wrapping up!

There are still many out there the new interview technique that still has not been explained. Sure, with a growing era and technology, it will certainly be influential with the selection technique, we need to deal with the effects of these changes in everyday situations more than ever. 

How ever, tune into your feelings, and ask yourself if you like the environment or whether you could see yourself working at the company (or for a boss who likes to keep you off-balance). Remember, job interviews are a "two-way street"– it’s also an opportunity to see if the company and the position would be a good fit for you as well.

If we still haven't got our dream job, still failing to conquer the interview session many times, or the interviewer didn't get back to us at all, Keep Going! Never give up to find our dream job.

Regards,

Siwi P. Nasution