Interviewing Tips - Why I've Always Gotten the Job Part 2

Here's the second half of my interview tips, hope you enjoy!


I'm going to cover some of those tough questions managers love to ask during interviews for this half.

"Name a time..."


Have you ever gotten a question that started like this at an interview? It's pretty likely you have, manager love it for some reason. Did it trip you up?

The problem is most of the time people don't have a definitive situation to use as an example.

Luckily enough for me, I've never had much of a hard time with these questions. Here is my method for answering these types of questions.

It may seem a little dishonest, but it involves bending the truth. I never outright lie, that will only get me confused and could but me in the behind quickly.

Think of a situation that is at least could have worked for this question. Let's say for example the question is "Name a time you took the lead in a group and how it turned out". If you don't have a time you actually did this it can quickly put you at  loss for words. How would I answer this?

I'd quickly come up with a time I was in a group, anything, no matter how relevant it really is. Then I would retell the story, but tell it in a way that is relevant to the question.

In this example, putting me in the place of whoever was the leader. Since it's much easier to think of a time you were in a group, since it's a broad idea, this can help you find and example quickly. Of course I give it a positive tone, negativity won't do you any good.


"Why do you want to work here?"


This one seems to give people a hard time too, though I'm not sure why. Have you ever dealt with this question? I've only been asked once, though several of my friends have seen it as well.

Of course if this is a profession you went to school for, it's a bit easier to answer, since this kind of job is assumed to be your "dream job". But what if this isn't, maybe it's just a crappy second job, your first job or just a way to survive. So how do you turn this question into your best answer?

First and foremost, you want to know about what you'll be doing before this question comes up. Either by asking or reading about the position before the interview. Once you have an idea of what the job entails, find a task that you'll do often and make it something you love.

For example, if you're working in a Macy's, talk about how you love working with people and you're really into fashion and would love to help people with clothes. Maybe if you're working in an office, say you love working on teams and collaborating or you have a strong attention for details and look forward to finding efficiencies in their processes.

Employees who love what they do are pretty much guaranteed to be more productive, and that's what every manager wants.

"Why should we hire you"


This is very similar to the previous question. Find an example that makes it sound like you will love your job and look forward to doing it.

If you are asked both of these questions in the same interview, I would simply reword the previous answer, and even reference the previous question, saying the answer you gave for that is why you should be hired or vice versa.

"How do you handle mistakes"


This question may not catch you off guard, but your answer can be very critical. If you don't handle your mistakes well and learn from them, you might hurt your chances of getting the job.

When answering this question, just like I said, stress that you learn from your mistakes quickly and that you take constructive feedback well. If it sounds like you will become unprofessional when receiving feedback you won't fit in well with a group effort.

Ask Your Own Questions


At the end of most interviews the hiring manager will ask you if you have any of your own questions, have some!

By asking questions you're showing that you are interested in the job but want to know more. You may not have any genuine questions, especially when you're desperate for a job, you might not care about the details.

Ask anyways, find anything that the interview hasn't covered. Maybe you want to know more about the benefits, outlook for promotions, the kind of hours you could expect to have, is there a probationary period, anything like that.

Comments


I hope you liked my tips, I've used all of these during my own interviews and have always made a very strong impression with the managers.

Do you have any tips of your own or comments on mine? Leave some comments!

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