How To Land A Job By Telling Interviewers What They Want To Hear
Interviews are risky business for job seekers and interviewers alike: the job seeker’s financial future is riding on the success of the interview and the interviewer needs to find someone who can do the job and fit in with the company culture. In a very real sense the interviewer’s future with their company is on the line because whom they choose to hire will reflect on their judgment.
The one key thing to remember about a job interview is that it is NOT just a pleasant conversation, it is an opportunity for the interviewer to learn how you perform under pressure, how well you think on your feet, how committed you are to having this job, and how well you will fit in with the company culture. That’s a pretty tall order for a conversation that may last less than an hour.
Because there is so much riding on an interview, it’s important to make the most of the time you have with the interviewer and answer their questions in a manner that reflects positively on your skills, your abilities, and your judgment. I’m not advocating lying or sugarcoating your failures, but I am advising you to put your best foot forward.
Included below are some of the most common interview questions and strategies for answering them that will let you tell the truth and impress an interviewer. Be warned, many of these questions are loaded and are designed more to see how well you think on your feet than to hear your answers.
Tell me about yourself--Trust me, this is not the time to tell your interviewer your entire life story. The interviewer really doesn’t care where you want to grade school, what your first pet was, or where you were born. The interviewer wants to hear how your life experience makes you the best candidate for this job. If you have relevant job experience, tell them all about it and make sure to tell how your experience makes you the perfect candidate for this job. If you don’t have relevant job experience or are fresh out of college, you need to tell the interviewer about the successful bake sale you managed, about the group project you led, or anything else that will show the interviewer you are competent and able to take the initiative.
What’s your biggest weakness?--Interviewers really don’t want to hear that you snore, that you have terrible table manners, or anything else that will dissuade them from hiring you. One trick to successfully answering this question is take a weakness and turn it into a strength. For instance, I’m a very impatient person and I like to make sure things get done in a timely manner. This tells an interviewer that you’re not going to dilly dally around completing your work, you’re going to work at it until you are finished.
What’s been your biggest failure and what have you learned from it?--Don’t tell your interviewer how you cost your previous company millions and that you’d do it all again because you are still convinced you did the right thing. The key part of this question is ”what did you learn from it?” Employers want people who aren’t afraid to take risks, but who learn from mistakes and don’t make the same mistake twice. My advice is to pick an innocuous mistake and fess up to it and then make sure your interviewer knows how you learned from your misstep.
What kind of environment do you work well in?--This is another tricky question because unless you know the company environment, you don’t know if you should tell the interviewer you work best alone or are a team player. The best way to answer this question is to say that you’re a team player and that you like the synergies generated by working in teams, but that you’re also comfortable working alone.
How soon will it be before you can make a significant contribution?--I’ve interviewed people who told me it would be six months before they made a significant contribution and at the company I work for, that would have been unacceptable because people are expected to jump into the fray and make a contribution within weeks. However, you need to answer carefully because you want to make sure that you don’t make it sound as if you going to come in and criticize the way things are currently being done without learning the territory. The key to answering this question is to say that it will take you some time to learn the way things are done at NAME OF COMPANY HERE, but that you’re sure you’ll be up to speed and making a contribution quickly.
Why did you leave your last job?--This is not the time to bash your former employer and go on and on about how unfairly you were treated. If you were laid off, you can say that you had differences of opinion and leave it at that. If you chose to quit, the best answer is that you were seeking new challenges.
What is your style of interacting with co-workers?--Employers want to hire people who will get along with current employees and will fit into the corporate culture. However, they don’t want social butterflies that will spend so much time socializing that they don’t get any work done. The key to answering this question is to say that you enjoy working with and learning from a variety of people and that you are always open to new ideas.
What do you know about this job?--Before you even walk into an interview, you should at a bare minimum know who what the company does, what your role in the company is, and how the company is doing financially. The internet can help you learn what the company does and how it is doing financially and the want ad for the position is your best bet for learning about the job. You might also want to do a job search on the title of the job and read similar want ads that might have more detail than the ad for the job you are actually applying for.
What will be the most difficult aspect of this job?--Unless this is an entry level position, a prospective employer does not want to hear that you’ll have problems with the technical aspects. The best answer is that the most difficult aspect will be learning how things are done at this particular company. However, after you’ve told the interviewer that, it’s a good idea to reiterate that you are a quick learner and will have no time learning your job quickly.
Where do you see yourself in five years?--The right answer to this question is that you would see yourself moving up the company ladder and advancing within the company. However, you need to be delicate and not make it sound as if you will leapfrog over the person who is hiring you. Additionally, you don’t want to be so arrogant as to assume you’ll be president of the company in five years, that won’t will you any fans.
How much do you expect to make?--Employers want to hire the most qualified candidate for the least amount of money and today’s economy makes it a buyers’ (employers’) market. Before you walk into a job interview make sure you know what similar positions in your area are making and ask for a salary that’s mid range. Ask for too little and that’s what you’ll get and ask for too much and you’ll price yourself out of a job.
Why should we hire you?--This is your chance to sum up in a few succinct sentences. If this is the last question asked, use it to reiterate the positive things you’ve already said and clarify your previous answers as needed. If it’s asked at the beginning of the interview, use it as an opening argument and tell the interviewer in a few brief sentences what you’re going to tell them. DO NOT under any circumstances tell the interviewer they should hire you because you need the job. This makes you appear desperate and as if you’ll jump at the next good opportunity that comes along.
I can’t guarantee you that these strategies will land you a job, but they’ll help you appear poised, confident, and employable.
Key Resources
Classes
Getting the Job You Want We all want that dream job..so what is keeping you? In this course at Universal Class, you’ll learn how to get the job you want. You will learn how to research the job market, create a winning resume, learn interviewing skills and techniques; and find how to know if the job is for you. In today's job market many people are unhappy because they are not in a position in which their personality type fits with their job duties. This class will test your job personality and show you which jobs are right for you. Life is too short to be unhappy or not able to find work so let's go get that job you want!
Interviewing Skills Learn the hidden secrets and tips to getting a good job.
Books
Best Answers to the 201 Most Frequently Asked Interview Questions
Knock Em Dead 2004: Best Answers to 200 Interview Questions
The one key thing to remember about a job interview is that it is NOT just a pleasant conversation, it is an opportunity for the interviewer to learn how you perform under pressure, how well you think on your feet, how committed you are to having this job, and how well you will fit in with the company culture. That’s a pretty tall order for a conversation that may last less than an hour.
Because there is so much riding on an interview, it’s important to make the most of the time you have with the interviewer and answer their questions in a manner that reflects positively on your skills, your abilities, and your judgment. I’m not advocating lying or sugarcoating your failures, but I am advising you to put your best foot forward.
Included below are some of the most common interview questions and strategies for answering them that will let you tell the truth and impress an interviewer. Be warned, many of these questions are loaded and are designed more to see how well you think on your feet than to hear your answers.
Tell me about yourself--Trust me, this is not the time to tell your interviewer your entire life story. The interviewer really doesn’t care where you want to grade school, what your first pet was, or where you were born. The interviewer wants to hear how your life experience makes you the best candidate for this job. If you have relevant job experience, tell them all about it and make sure to tell how your experience makes you the perfect candidate for this job. If you don’t have relevant job experience or are fresh out of college, you need to tell the interviewer about the successful bake sale you managed, about the group project you led, or anything else that will show the interviewer you are competent and able to take the initiative.
What’s your biggest weakness?--Interviewers really don’t want to hear that you snore, that you have terrible table manners, or anything else that will dissuade them from hiring you. One trick to successfully answering this question is take a weakness and turn it into a strength. For instance, I’m a very impatient person and I like to make sure things get done in a timely manner. This tells an interviewer that you’re not going to dilly dally around completing your work, you’re going to work at it until you are finished.
What’s been your biggest failure and what have you learned from it?--Don’t tell your interviewer how you cost your previous company millions and that you’d do it all again because you are still convinced you did the right thing. The key part of this question is ”what did you learn from it?” Employers want people who aren’t afraid to take risks, but who learn from mistakes and don’t make the same mistake twice. My advice is to pick an innocuous mistake and fess up to it and then make sure your interviewer knows how you learned from your misstep.
What kind of environment do you work well in?--This is another tricky question because unless you know the company environment, you don’t know if you should tell the interviewer you work best alone or are a team player. The best way to answer this question is to say that you’re a team player and that you like the synergies generated by working in teams, but that you’re also comfortable working alone.
How soon will it be before you can make a significant contribution?--I’ve interviewed people who told me it would be six months before they made a significant contribution and at the company I work for, that would have been unacceptable because people are expected to jump into the fray and make a contribution within weeks. However, you need to answer carefully because you want to make sure that you don’t make it sound as if you going to come in and criticize the way things are currently being done without learning the territory. The key to answering this question is to say that it will take you some time to learn the way things are done at NAME OF COMPANY HERE, but that you’re sure you’ll be up to speed and making a contribution quickly.
Why did you leave your last job?--This is not the time to bash your former employer and go on and on about how unfairly you were treated. If you were laid off, you can say that you had differences of opinion and leave it at that. If you chose to quit, the best answer is that you were seeking new challenges.
What is your style of interacting with co-workers?--Employers want to hire people who will get along with current employees and will fit into the corporate culture. However, they don’t want social butterflies that will spend so much time socializing that they don’t get any work done. The key to answering this question is to say that you enjoy working with and learning from a variety of people and that you are always open to new ideas.
What do you know about this job?--Before you even walk into an interview, you should at a bare minimum know who what the company does, what your role in the company is, and how the company is doing financially. The internet can help you learn what the company does and how it is doing financially and the want ad for the position is your best bet for learning about the job. You might also want to do a job search on the title of the job and read similar want ads that might have more detail than the ad for the job you are actually applying for.
What will be the most difficult aspect of this job?--Unless this is an entry level position, a prospective employer does not want to hear that you’ll have problems with the technical aspects. The best answer is that the most difficult aspect will be learning how things are done at this particular company. However, after you’ve told the interviewer that, it’s a good idea to reiterate that you are a quick learner and will have no time learning your job quickly.
Where do you see yourself in five years?--The right answer to this question is that you would see yourself moving up the company ladder and advancing within the company. However, you need to be delicate and not make it sound as if you will leapfrog over the person who is hiring you. Additionally, you don’t want to be so arrogant as to assume you’ll be president of the company in five years, that won’t will you any fans.
How much do you expect to make?--Employers want to hire the most qualified candidate for the least amount of money and today’s economy makes it a buyers’ (employers’) market. Before you walk into a job interview make sure you know what similar positions in your area are making and ask for a salary that’s mid range. Ask for too little and that’s what you’ll get and ask for too much and you’ll price yourself out of a job.
Why should we hire you?--This is your chance to sum up in a few succinct sentences. If this is the last question asked, use it to reiterate the positive things you’ve already said and clarify your previous answers as needed. If it’s asked at the beginning of the interview, use it as an opening argument and tell the interviewer in a few brief sentences what you’re going to tell them. DO NOT under any circumstances tell the interviewer they should hire you because you need the job. This makes you appear desperate and as if you’ll jump at the next good opportunity that comes along.
I can’t guarantee you that these strategies will land you a job, but they’ll help you appear poised, confident, and employable.
Key Resources
Classes
Getting the Job You Want We all want that dream job..so what is keeping you? In this course at Universal Class, you’ll learn how to get the job you want. You will learn how to research the job market, create a winning resume, learn interviewing skills and techniques; and find how to know if the job is for you. In today's job market many people are unhappy because they are not in a position in which their personality type fits with their job duties. This class will test your job personality and show you which jobs are right for you. Life is too short to be unhappy or not able to find work so let's go get that job you want!
Interviewing Skills Learn the hidden secrets and tips to getting a good job.
Books
Best Answers to the 201 Most Frequently Asked Interview Questions
Knock Em Dead 2004: Best Answers to 200 Interview Questions
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