A good interview depends on how well you sell yourself and how well your interviewer buys it.
Sometimes, it isn’t just about how well you can do the job or how experienced you are, but how well you sell yourself to the interviewer, because there are so many other people too who might just have that bit of experience that they are looking for.
One very good way to sell yourself is by confidently answering the tricky questions fired at you by the interviewer.
Below are some interview questions that you should be ready to answer:
1. TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF
This might seem like an easy question, but it isn’t an opportunity to start telling meaningless tales. What the interviewer expects to hear are your qualifications and why you are the best candidate for the job; anything other than that is out of point.
2. WHY DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD BE GOOD AT THIS JOB?
This is also another tricky question that interviewers tend to ask. This question doesn’t provide a platform to boast about yourself, rather your interviewer expects you to talk about your qualities and why it can match the job.
3. WHY SHOULD I HIRE YOU?
It’s easy to start boasting about how good you are, but the better way to go about it is to say why you feel you are the best for the job with relevant examples, while also acknowledging the other candidates.
4. WHERE DO YOU EXPECT TO BE IN FIVE YEARS TIME?
This question gives your employer an insight on your goals and objectives in your given career. With specific examples, your response should be able to match your career path, the nature of the organisation, as well as your skills and experiences.
5. WHAT ARE YOUR WEAKNESSES?
Rather than try to sell yourself by bragging about your strengths as a form of weakness (which many people do), talk about a weakness you really have and how much efforts you have put in overcoming or trying to overcome it.
Your employers know there is no perfect employee, and they would admire your strengths when you go about your weakness this way.
6. HAVE YOU EVER HAD A CONFLICT WITH YOUR SUPERIOR OR EMPLOYER?
Just like the previous question, this question also seeks to know how truthful you can be; the question seeks to know how you handle conflict situations.
You can carefully answer this question by saying that you haven’t really had a major conflict even though there have been minor disagreements that were sorted out after understanding each other’s point or perspective.
7. IF WE WERE TO ASK YOUR PREVIOUS BOSSES, WOULD THEY GIVE A GOOD ACCOUNT OF YOU?
This question seeks to know how your attitude to work was in your previous workplaces.
A good answer is: “I believe my bosses would give a good account of me, as I always put in my best efforts and was always dedicated to achieving the desired goals of the organisation.”
8. ARE YOU A TEAM PLAYER?
Surely, everyone would answer yes, but it doesn’t just end at that. You ought to give examples of certain behaviours or traits or actions that showed teamwork and team spirit and how you put the team above yourself.
9. WHAT QUALITIES DO YOU HAVE TO BE A MANAGER?
If you applied for a managerial position then this question is likely to surface, or if you are likely to rise to a managerial level if given the job, you might just be asked this question.
Leadership skills, being visionary and being a motivator are three skills that would help you be a good manager.
An interview doesn’t just end at having a good C.V; it’s about how best you sell yourself to your prospective employers.
Jake