Job interviews can be a bit intimidating for some of us specially when we haven't had one in quite some time. Some may be naturals and have no problem acing any interviews but if you are like myself than you need all the help and practice you can get.
I use to be really bad at interviews and thinking back at them makes me feel a little embarrassed. I would never know how answer the questions and I would say I don't know a lot which already made me look bad. I would let my nerves get the best of me and even though most don't think so, I am a very shy person (at least at first) so of course being interrogated by people I don't know and never met made it worse for me. I disliked how I felt after an interview until one day I realized that my problem was that I was unprepared and I decided to change that. I cannot stress enough the importance of proper planning in every aspect of your life, it simply gives you an idea of what to expect.
I started doing research on interviews and asked Supervisors and Managers some of the things they expected in interviews and of course took notes. I wrote down some of the popular questions asked in interviews and with all the notes I took, I came up with some answers. I am proud to say that I can ace any job interview and I have been offered the job to every single one since being prepared. I have even been rated number 1 and 2 by two different companies where they told me that they loved my personality along with the way I had interviewed (I didn't even know they did that lol). I have come a long way and I feel like its an accomplishment and something I am proud of. Now I would like to share with you guys some of the things I have learned and my tips to help you guys ace your next interview. I will cover the 6 questions that I have been asked the most as well as the demeanor that should be presented.
In my opinion you should already have an idea of the answers you are planning on giving before going to an interview. Rehearse with yourself or someone else so that you don't stumble on your words during the interview. I have two to three answers to the most FAQ questions, that way it's never the same answer in case you have multiple interviews with the same company. Having multiple answers just give you an open mind about the questions and helps you be more relaxed. You have to keep in mind that in an interview they want to see how well you do with open ended questions. Therefore try to re-frame yourself from yes and no answers, feel free to elaborate. I had an interview where the manager had a paper with 25 questions he was planning on asking me, I was so nervous but I got in to interview mode and did not focus on the paper. Whenever the manager asked a question I would respond and elaborate. At the end of the interview I had realized that I was only asked 5 questions then he complemented me on covering all the questions with 5 answers.
I use to be really bad at interviews and thinking back at them makes me feel a little embarrassed. I would never know how answer the questions and I would say I don't know a lot which already made me look bad. I would let my nerves get the best of me and even though most don't think so, I am a very shy person (at least at first) so of course being interrogated by people I don't know and never met made it worse for me. I disliked how I felt after an interview until one day I realized that my problem was that I was unprepared and I decided to change that. I cannot stress enough the importance of proper planning in every aspect of your life, it simply gives you an idea of what to expect.
I started doing research on interviews and asked Supervisors and Managers some of the things they expected in interviews and of course took notes. I wrote down some of the popular questions asked in interviews and with all the notes I took, I came up with some answers. I am proud to say that I can ace any job interview and I have been offered the job to every single one since being prepared. I have even been rated number 1 and 2 by two different companies where they told me that they loved my personality along with the way I had interviewed (I didn't even know they did that lol). I have come a long way and I feel like its an accomplishment and something I am proud of. Now I would like to share with you guys some of the things I have learned and my tips to help you guys ace your next interview. I will cover the 6 questions that I have been asked the most as well as the demeanor that should be presented.
In my opinion you should already have an idea of the answers you are planning on giving before going to an interview. Rehearse with yourself or someone else so that you don't stumble on your words during the interview. I have two to three answers to the most FAQ questions, that way it's never the same answer in case you have multiple interviews with the same company. Having multiple answers just give you an open mind about the questions and helps you be more relaxed. You have to keep in mind that in an interview they want to see how well you do with open ended questions. Therefore try to re-frame yourself from yes and no answers, feel free to elaborate. I had an interview where the manager had a paper with 25 questions he was planning on asking me, I was so nervous but I got in to interview mode and did not focus on the paper. Whenever the manager asked a question I would respond and elaborate. At the end of the interview I had realized that I was only asked 5 questions then he complemented me on covering all the questions with 5 answers.
Q&A | Demeanor |
1. Tell me about yourself?With this question you want to point out your skills and summarize what you have to offer. For example; I'm reliable, dependable, detailed oriented etc. This is the kinds of things they want to hear. Other good answers can be mentioning things relevant to the position you are applying for. For example; I have been working in customer service for 11 years now and then mentioned what you did while working for customer service (if customer service is the line of jobs you're in). Never mention anything personal such as kids and what you for fun, that's not their business and they can't ask you any of that legally. 2. What are some of your weaknesses?Make sure you have a weakness and that your weakness is relevant to the job you are applying for. When answering this question, don't just state a weakness, it should be follow by stating something you are doing to improve that weakness followed by a success story. Example; In the past I have struggled with speaking to the guest via phones in front of others however I do well on the phones when I'm isolated. What I have done to improve, has been listening to how my superiors communicate on the phones and practice those same dialogues and even though there is always room for improvement Its something that I am more confident in doing now then I use to be. 3. Can you work under pressure?Give an example of a situation. You never want to say no specially if the job requires you to do so. My favorite tip to everything is proper planing therefore that's always in my answers. I will give you an example of a great answer. "In my current/previous position I am faced with stressful situations causing me to work under pressure however I have learned to manage the stress by proper planing and now its just a part of a Job I do well." Then you can give an example of a situation where it had a successful outcome. 4. Questions about previous employment - Do not talk bad about your previous employment EVER in any interviews. They will second guess hiring someone who will talk in a negative way about their company. Only talk about the good parts of it and if there isn't any make something up. 5. Why should we hire you? Sum this one up with three to four answers. Smile while you answer and sound confident. Remember this is like a competition so make sure your answers stand out. *I meet deadline *I deliver what I promise. *I am a team player. *I take direction. *I am detail oriented. *Motivated *Disciplined *Focused That's more than enough ideas, don't say something that you wont be able to back up later on. 6. Do you have any questions for me? You do not have to ask anything however I feel it makes you sound interested in the job if you ask them something. Don't ask about any benefits or vacation, it comes across as you are only interested in the benefits and even if its true don't show it. There will be an opportunity if hired to cover that subject. I usually ask what the training will be like and the pay rate if it wasn't covered during the interview. *DISCLAIMER* I don't claim to be an expert or to know it all, these are simply some of the ways I answer my questions and things I do in interviews. I have been preparing myself for 6 months and I have been offered every job I have interviewed for therefore I feel as I do very well in interviews and I am sharing those tips for those who can use them. | 1. Be confident - If you don't believe what you say don't expect for the person interviewing you to believe you. Something that I do that helped me at first before feeling confident in an interview was that I would pretend I was playing a character and not myself, Silly I know but it worked. 2. Introduce yourself - Once you walk in the room introduce yourself and shake hands with everyone there then give your resume to every person in the room. After they introduce themselves say their name back. For example; Nice to meet you Sherry. 3. Sit up straight - You are not home or hanging with friends. You want to appear professional. 4. Keep eye contact- If there is more than one person interviewing you, divide the attention of eye contact with everyone as you speak and make sure they feel as part of the interview as you would want them to make you feel. Think about it like this, let say you have an interview with three others and while everyone is asking &answering, no one took the time to give you eye contact and completely ignore the fact that you were there. Not such a good feeling therefore make sure you don't do that to a person standing between the job you are interviewing for. Eye contact makes things more personal and it shows that you are interested in being there as well as interest in the company. 5. Keep you hands off of your face - Make sure the person interviewing you can see your face. Playing with your hair, hands in you face, leg shaking (which they can feel) are all signs of being nervous, even though its perfectly fine to feel that way you want to appear relaxed and confident. 6. Be yourself - Don't force yourself to be anything other than what you are. Add a little of your personality in this interview. You are not a robot answering questions. They should want to hire you because of your experience, as well as your personality during your interview. 7. Smile - why so serious? 8. A good handshake - Once the interview is done make sure you shake hands with the people who interviewed you and repeat their names. "Thanks for having me, it was a pleasure meeting you Sherry" * Tips ** During the interview, make sure your answers are always relevant to the position you are applying for, Don't go off the subject. Even though towards the end if they liked you they will start conversation not relevant to the job. *This is the time to shine and stand out therefore sound professional. I will list a few examples. -Instead of saying the word 'but", use the word ''however''. You can find an example in question #2, highlighted in red. - Instead of using the word ''so'', use the word ''therefore''. Example; They want to see how well you do with an open ended question, therefore stay away from answering yes and no. - Anytime you want to refer to something negative simply say its inconvenient. Don't say things like it didn't work out, it was a problem, or I didn't like it. |
There you have it, some of my tips on interviews. I hope this helps anyone who struggles with interviews as I did. There are so many more questions however I did not want to make this post so long therefore I only talked about the ones I felt I was asked the most. Feel free to post your comments down below about some of the questions you have encountered and share your answers that way you are a help to those who need it as well.