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Interview Tips

Preparing Winning Answers

When preparing for an interview you should dedicate some time to developing answers to commonly asked questions. Firstly you should understand what an employer wants and create examples from both your career to date and your personal life that allow you to demonstrate how you meet this. Once you have this list of examples you will be able to answer these questions effectively and practice articulating your answers so you will come across with clarity, commitment and confidence at your interview.
A golden rule when preparing your answers is not to lie. This will make you nervous and detract from any good work you have done to build up your confidence. Instead use your positive examples that you have prepared as part of 'understanding what an employer wants' and match these to the requirements of the position. Think your answers through and consider what reaction you would expect from the interviewer.
There are many types of questions that crop up in an interview:
  • Rapport questions
  • Past Questions
  • Career Questions
  • Skills Questions
  • Personality Questions
  • Trick Questions
  • Finishing Questions

Rapport Questions

Interviewers will look to make you comfortable as well as prepare themselves for the interview process and therefore will ask you questions that are essentially ice breakers. Some examples might be "how was your journey here?" or "did you find us ok?". This is a vital part of the interview, because both of you are becoming more relaxed and feeling comfortable in each other's company.
You don't need to prepare answers to these types of questions, but answer in a friendly way and don't be in a hurry to move on. While it's important to relax and feel comfortable you should remain alert as you can quickly fall into more vital questions such as "so tell me about yourself".
This is a common first question and usually starts the interview process. First impressions are key so this is one of the most important questions. Keep your answer to less than five minutes, beginning with an overview of your highest qualification then running through the jobs you've held so far in your career. You can follow the same structure of your CV, giving examples of achievements and the skills you've picked up along the way and how this has led you to applying for the job. Don't go into too much detail, your interviewer will probably take notes and ask for you to expand on any areas where they'd like more information. If you're interviewing for your first job since leaving education, focus on the areas of your studies you most enjoyed and how that has led to you wanting this particular role.

Past Questions

These types of questions often follow the rapport questions and are designed to understand your career to date more fully. The interviewer will probably make these questions with your CV in front of them so make sure you're are totally familiar with it and able to answer any questions on your work history or your achievements listed. Be particularly prepared to address any obvious gaps of employment, reasons for leaving employment, exam results and so on.
When answering the questions it is important that you use examples from your career to date or personal life to demonstrate a good level of competence for the job you're applying for.
Here are some questions you might be asked about your past:
  • What have you enjoyed most in your career to date?
  • What is your greatest success and how did you achieve it?
  • What does your current job involve?
  • Can you give me evidence of a time when you demonstrated initiative in a job?
  • How did you make a difference to your last organisation?
  • How have you worked with others?
  • Are you a self-starter, able to work without constant supervision?
  • What problems did you encounter in your last job and how did you overcome them?
  • How do you plan your day and week?

Career Questions

These sorts of questions are usually focused on where you want to be and why you're applying for the position that you're interviewing for. For these types of questions it is best to talk about both short-term and long-term goals. Talk about the kind of job you'd eventually like to do and the various steps you will need to get there, relating this in some way back to the position you're interviewing for. Show the employer you have ambition, and that you have the determination to make the most of every job you have to get where you want to be.
You might be asked what you know about the company you're interviewing for so make sure you have done your research. By demonstrating a good knowledge of the company and show a clear interest in the position you're applying for, this will help should you be asked "why have you applied for this job?" where you need to convey genuine enthusiasm.
You may be asked about your future plans for example:
  • Where do you see yourself in 5 years
  • What are your career goals
  • What are you looking for in your new job
  • What would be your ideal job?
For these kinds of questions you need to come across as someone who knows what they want. Be clear about your motivations and remember those that appear to have a plan of where they are going, tend to be considered more motivated and driven.

Skills Questions

These are questions that you can get stuck on if you're not prepared. Skills questions are used when an employer is looking for you to draw on examples in your career or personal life to demonstrate that you have the skills that they need. They could be quite specific in nature such as "how do you work with others?", "Can you manage your time effectively?" or "give an example of when you have handled a crisis to a successful outcome" for these specific questions draw on relevant experiences and relate them to the questions being asked.
Should the questioning be a little more general, i.e. "what can you bring to this job," or "what are you major strengths", then avoid rattling off a list of your qualities and be sure to pick and choose qualities that you posses and match them to the employer's needs.

Personality Questions

Personality questions are designed to probe how well you communicate and interact with others in addition to handling stressful situations. They may ask about your motivation to get an understanding of your drive and determination. Don't be surprised if the interviewer shows an interest in your personal life, this is a common technique to gain some insight into your character. So the types of questions you may come across might be:
  • What is your attitude to authority?
  • How would you deal with a difficult person?
  • What do you do with your spare time?
  • How well can you communicate?
  • What motivates you?
  • How well can you handle stress?
  • Are you enthusiastic and easy to work with?
  • Are you competitive?
Remember an interviewer will not just employ someone who can do the job they will also look for candidates that will fit the corporate culture. So the key to these questions are to answer truthfully but positively, for example if you are quite a stressful person focus on how you deal with stress rather than the effect stress has upon you. Likewise if you have a history of challenging authority then make it clear that you respect authority and will do what is asked or required but will not shy away from offering your opinion if you disagree with a course of action.
In reality your whole demeanour and presentation will give an impression about your ability to communicate. Every question you answer will show your ability to communicate. This means body language as well as words. Maintaining a similar posture to the interviewer is a good general rule. Show enthusiasm on your face that sends the same message as what you are saying. If you have thought about and prepared for these questions ahead of time you will come across as a good communicator.

Trick Questions

The interview can be going really well and then you get a real head scratcher question. These are deliberate trick questions interviewer's use to see how you react to a little pressure. If you get one of these it is usually a good sign as it demonstrates that they are impressed with your performance so far.
You may find that the question may directly test your convictions in your abilities. For example and interviewer might say "I admire your academic achievements, but this job is for someone more practical and hands on, what would you say to that?" , the interviewer is looking to see you present a sound argument to why you're right for the job and demonstrate your resilience. They are not suggesting you are wrong for the job, remember they would not have asked you for an interview if you did not meet their criteria.
Some other difficult questions and suggested answers would include:
  • You may have to tell the occasional lie in this position, are you Okay with that?
    This question is a difficult because you're keen to show competence but you also don't want to be known as a liar. So try suggesting that you are not ok with deliberately deceiving people but you are diplomatic and tactful and (if you can back it up) have good persuasive skills.
  • Tell me something that makes you angry?
    Nobody wants to admit to succumbing to anger in an interview situation. Keep in mind that the interviewer is seeing how tactful you can be and is testing you in a difficult situation. So make sure you stress your professionalism in the workplace and list some minor pet hates that get under your skin and what you do to keep your composure.
  • What are your weaknesses for this position?
    It's important to stress that you are confident that you can do the job, but it is natural that you will be better at some tasks than others. If you have a particular weakness for the job then focus on how you deal with it and turn it into a strength do not highlight the difficulties the weakness presents you with.
  • What question would you least like me to ask you?
    You should be most prepared for the question you would find the hardest so this may not be as hard as you think. However be mindful if you are truthful then you will be probed around that question. Alternatively, you could opt for humour e.g. "do you have a middle name?" as this could lead to a bit of banter and good rapport.

Finishing Up Questions

As the interview comes to an end you may have become more relaxed and the interviewer can still catch you off guard with a few tough question such as "Why should I choose you" so be prepared to summarise all your other answers into a list of benefits that you would bring to the role. This will remind and cement what you can do to the interviewer. You will likely be asked some functional questions such as "when can you start" or "what salary are you looking for" these aren't difficult but you should make sure that you know what you want before starting the interview.
All interviewers will ask you if you have any questions. Don't be afraid to have a big list, but make sure that your questions are relevant and be conscious that the interviewer will be busy so don't keep them there for the next four hours. For some suggested questions see 'what to ask'.
As with anything experience makes you an expert so make sure that after each interview you write down any questions that you felt you could have answered better. Then do some further preparation so that if someone asks you the same question in the future that you're ready.
Chapter 5: What to ask
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