Don't you just hate job interviews? Or perhaps you don't! I know I do. Well, it's not so, much the interview itself as the fear of the unknown questions they have prepared. I bought a book once on how to answer job interview questions and although it was a useful confidence booster, it did little to improve my chances of getting job offers. A one-to-one interview is a lot less daunting than a panel of interviewers, and for the type of jobs I go for these days, it's the panel brigade that I'm confronted by, and trying to answer job interview questions from a pack of high flyers is no easy task.
The book I bought was aimed more at these person to person interviews and I needed more experience with panel type interrogations (for want of a better word!), or so I thought anyway. That was until I went on a 3 day skills development course. Here I learnt a shed load of useful techniques on how to relax, and answer job interview questions. There were even tricks on how to avoid answering questions specifically, but giving the impression of a good answer overall.
At its most simplistic approach, any dialogue between humans relies on 3 core components. We ask questions, give answers, and make statements, but even a statement usually warrants a response. That's it! The hard part regarding how to answer job interview questions, is knowing how to answer but not necessarily knowing the answer. There is a difference here.
Another skill is learning to listen carefully to the interviewer. By careful listening you are better prepared to make an informed response to the question. There's nothing wrong with putting a few legs onto you answers, as in order to make and impression, you need to tell them what they want to hear, to a degree, but be careful not to let an exaggeration turn into a blatant lie as you may need to back up your claims at a later date.
No two interviews are ever the same. Different interviewers have differing techniques, some common and some exclusive to them, but there were some practical guidelines which I learnt on my course which are very useful for anyone preparing for that job they want so much.
To best be able to answer job interview questions, it would be great to know what those questions are to start with. Although that's impossible, there are plenty of websites which will give you heaps of examples of the most commonly asked job interview questions. As someone who has both failed and succeeded at job interviews, I have my own list of 7 most asked questions for the types of jobs I've applied for. The actual list is exhaustive but you may find some of these worth noting down:
1. Why do you want this job in particular?
2. What do you know about our organization? (A little
research here is imperative)
4. Do you describe yourself as a good team player? (Be
prepared to expand)
5. What do you expect to be doing in 5/10 years time
from now?
6. What are your weaknesses/strengths?
7. If you are already in employment, why are you leaving?
(Try not to be negative here)
Never before has there been more help available to help prepare applicants for important interviews in a competitive workplace. The best ever resource is right here at your finger tips. The internet. So, the easy way to answer job interview questions is to do a little online preparation beforehand. Good luck!
