How to Answer Job Interview Questions

The content of a job interview answer, the criteria referenced, is the single biggest influencer of the allocated scores an employer will give during the structured job interview process.

Applicants who constantly fail job interviews, spend on average just 4-5 hours preparing for a forthcoming job interview. Whereas, consistently good interviewees, those who gain regular job offers, will spend 4-5 days in preparation and rehearsal.

The difference between a 4-5 hr prepared interviewee and a 4-5 day prepared applicant is the development of their interview answers. This article will explain how to develop an interview answer to receive high-scoring marks.

Interview Scoring Basics.

Much research shows how employers favor the structured job interview over the informal recruitment process, with behavioral and situational job interviews being the most commonly used interview questions.

Employers mark applicants’ answers against their own scoring criteria on the interview scorecard, with each employer having a personalised system. What this means, is each interview question has a score allocation depending on the type of answer given.

The interviewer, in most cases, to help them accurately score an answer, will have an example reply for a 1-4 scoring system. The example is used as a guide by the employer.

  • An interview answer that is irrelevant to the interview question/job role will be viewed as weak, only scoring 1 point.
  • Mentioning the job criteria scores higher, but a basic answer isn’t enough for en employer to understand what the applicant can bring to the team, resulting in 2 points.
  • A well structured interview answer mentioning the required job criteria for the interview question/job role, as well as clearly stating the actions the applicant took in the example used often results in 3 points.
  • Being veiwed as highly knowledgable and experienced, through a confidently delivered answer that shows understanding of sector conepts, models and theories, backed up with a real-life example creates an optomistic interveiw identity, scoring on averrage 4 points.

Job interview Scoring Example.

  • 1 = Poor
  • 2 = Satisfactory
  • 3 = Good
  • 4 = Excellent

In addition to the example answer, to help the interview panel compare an applicant’s answer to the ideal answers, the interveiwers will have a minimum scoring criteria that will be used as a benchmark for checking suitability.

If the total number of allocated points doesn’t meet the benchmark, the applicant(s) won’t be offered or considered for the job, even if all the applicants fall under the benchmark score.

  • On average 8 interview questions are asked, with a maximum of 32 points. In many cases, an employer will use bewteen 22-25 as a benchmark score.

In short, strong answers that reference the job criteria, receive high points. High-scoring interviewees are consistent in receiving job offers.

Creating an Interview Answer.

Common interview practice is to prepare for a job interview by:

  1. Reading the job spec and predicting the interview questions
  2. Creating a reply that showcases the skills or experiences required in the job role
  3. Completing a mock interview with a career advisor

As a start, the three-step process is good. But, many failed interviewees use this same process.

Why isn’t a positive job interview outcome consistent when following the three pre-interview preparation steps?

Because the answers only give basic information.

Let’s take one of the most commonly asked job interview questions:

“Give me an example of overcoming a problem?”

A basic response, scoring low on the interview scorecard, would be:

“Situation x Outcome”

“In this situation I faced (problem) but in the end I (outcome)”

Another example of a low-scoring outcome is the listing technique. Instead of giving an example, the applicant list tasks relevant to the interview question. Imagine the question was:

“How do you manage your time?”

The applicant may say: “I use diary management, phone alerts, to-do lists, and start with the easiest tasks first.”

List answers do cover a lot of bases, as they list all possibilities. The idea is that list will mention some of the job criteria on the interview scorecard. The problem, though, is the lack of an example, which provides evidence of how you, in this example, manage time in a real working environment.

In addition, giving examples is a form of storytelling. Much research shows how storytelling creates a memorable interview.

In most cases, the career professional will use the STAR method. The STAR technique encourages a more detailed answer.

Chris Delaney, the author of ‘what is your interview identity,’ says:

“highly confident interviewees use a longer and more descriptive interview answer, then low confident applicants. It is the longer interview answers, due to meeting the job criteria, that results in an increase in job offers”

Chris Delaney Author: What is your interview identity.

STAR stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result.

Returning to the “Give me an example of overcoming a problem?” interview question, the applicant using the STAR technique will add additional elements to the basic ‘situation x outcome’ answer.

A STAR method interview answer would something along the lines of:

Situation: “The barrier we faced was a decrease in customer orders..”

Task: “It was my responsibility to complete a marketing campaign to increase customer orders…”

Action: “I did this by using Google pay-per-click advertisements…”

Result: “The result of this was a massive increase in orders during the pay-per-click campaign.”

Even with a little more meat on the bones, a basic STAR interview answer doesn’t make the cut.

Think about it. A 49-word answer is delivered in less than a minute.

The answer, even though it shows a journey, at a basic level says: To increase sales I create a Google Ad.

The employer thinks: “To be honest, anyone can create a Google Ad, so why should I hire this individual?”

Ask yourself, what will make me stand out from the crowd? What is my unique selling point?

Ok, we know through the STAR answer, the Ad created worked: Result: “The result of this was a massive increase in orders during the pay-per-click campaign.” But, is this enough detail to score more than 2 points?

In the job interview, employers are reviewing more than just the interview answer. At the back of the interveiwers mind, they are thinking:

  • How will this applicant fit in within the current team, structure, and company values?
  • What impact will the applicant have on (team/sales or productivity/customer and stakeholder relationships/employers time)
  • How does this candidate compare to the other interveiwees?

Create High-Scoring Interview Answers.

To answer any job interview question the applicant needs to show:

  1. Understanding of the job interview question
  2. Thought process – why they choose certain actions
  3. Long-term impact

The three elements must be embedded seamlessly within the job interview answer.

Let’s return to the STAR example answer. And review, what is missing.

Situation: “The barrier we faced was a decrease in customer orders..”

Each situation described, should be detailed enough to make it clear to a new employer why there was a need to take action. Ideally, the example chosen will be a similar barrier or goal that the new employer we face.

A more detailed version of “the barrier we faced was a decrease in customer orders…” is:

“Working for a small online retailer, the business at first did well prior to the large retail businesses promoting their online stores. Each year saw a fall in online sales and customer orders.”

If the new employer, for this example, was also a small online retailer the additional detail will give context and create understanding, the example is easy to relate to.

This shows the power of choosing the most appropriate examples depending on the employer. If the same applicant was applying for a well-known (large) high-street retailer, the example used could be reframed or a new example chosen.

  • A similar example but from a different position in a larger organisation
  • Reframed; the situation was’ competing online against a larger retailer’, rather then the focus of the interview answer being on losing business
  • Using a different ‘problem’ the candidate had overcome

Task: “It was my responsibility to complete a marketing campaign to increase customer orders…”

The task section should start by explaining the consequences of not successfully completing the tasks that will be stated in the interview answer:

“The managing director had told us that we had 12 months to increase sales or the organisation may have to look at redundancies.”

High-scoring interview answers are specific and filled with data. A more detailed answer allows the interview panel to compare the tasks and goals vs the outcome.

A more specific version of the above example could look like this:

“The managing director had told us that we had 12 months to increase sales by 45% or the organisation may have to look at redundancies. This meant generating around 3000 new customers each month, each spending an average of £50 per purchase

The task section could also state the project/company tasks as well as the applicants individual tasks:

“The marketing team was tasked with creating a 12-month marketing plan covering new lead generations, increasing up-sales on the webpage, and building a customer loyalty base. My task was to design Google Ads to increase the website visitors by an additional 25%”

Action: “I did this by using Google pay-per-click advertisements…”

The most important section of the STAR interview method is the Actions segment.

The explanation of the ‘actions’ section must include ‘I’ not ‘We’. Employers are always looking at the applicant’s skills and experience. The common use of ‘we’ can dilute the answer, as the interviewer may be unsure of the applicant’s part in the process.

This part of the interview answers needs to be meaty. The “I did this by using Google pay-per-click advertising” doesn’t cut the mustard. When stating actions add more meat to the bone.

Actions should be broken down into three sections:

  1. Research/Creative problem-solving
  2. Choosing options
  3. Actions

The mistake made by many career professionals is listing the actions they took. In most situations, several pre-action tasks are first completed.

With our example, the candidate would first research what makes a successful Google Ad. With this insight, the applicant would next create several designs, discarding some and improving others.

Highlighting the thought-process in an interview, helps the employer to get to know you: how you work, your motivation, work ethic, and creative problem-solving skills.

This is important as the number one, most in-demand skill is creative problem-solving.

In addition to the idea generation, employers want to understand a potential employees decision-making process:

  • Do you follow procedures or prefer being innovative?
  • Are decison made based on how they affect others or on data/facts?
  • Was the choose made from the perspective of the company or the team/individual?
  • Do you need to be told to make a certain decison or can you make up your own mind and defned your choice, even if the choice is unpopular?

Decision-making is viewed as so important that companies like Amazon ask interview questions based on their leadership principles, including decision making.

Finally, the candidate can end this section of the interview answer by stating the actions they took.

“As our current pay-per-click campaigns weren’t being effective, I first undertook some research on what type of advert attracted customers who are wanting to purchase our type of product. The advert we currently had running was costing around £10000 per month but only generating around £7500 of sales. My research has shown how generic adverts increase clicks but not necessarily sales, especially in a company like ours which has niche products.

I created several adverts that were able to market the product in an intriguing way, to increase clicks but to decrease clicks from potential clickers who wouldn’t purchase the products, This was easily achieved by adding the cost of the goods to the advert itself.

The adverts were run simultaneously to test which advert was most successful. I did this for a two-week period and then fed the results back during the marketing meeting.”

Result: “The result of this was a massive increase in orders during the pay-per-click campaign.”

With the meat on the bone, it’s time to put the icing on the cake.

The original idea, of choosing a situation or example that the employer can relate to, comes full-circle in the results segment of the STAR process.

This is because, hopefully, the actions segment has given the employer something to chew on. A new idea, a new perspective, another way they can overcome their (similar) problems.

The final part of the interview answer must be positive. It should state not only the outcome but the specific changes that had occurred through the applicant’s actions.

“By split-testing the ad campaigns I was able to understand the specifics that increase clicks by paying customers. After the results were shown in the marketing meeting I was given a £10000 budget to run the Google Ad account for 6 months. In the first month, the campaign made a 22% profit, by month three this had increased to 45%, and by 6 months the campaign, after a little tweaking was running at a 75% profit margin.”

Outcomes can also be extended, which highlights the impact of an idea, action, or person.

“Due to the success of the project, we were able to use the same learning to market other company products and services through a pay-per-click campaign, resulting in 70% of turnover coming from Google Ads. I am now working on a Facebook campaign with a projected turnover of £80000 in 6 months.”

Evolve the mind book on Amazon

Additional detail.

It is clear to see how the additional detail embedded into a STAR interview answer will create a higher-scoring interview answer.

The answer’s goal is to assist the interviewee to be seen as highly knowledgeable and experienced.

Additional ways to achieve this are to:

  • Talk about sector models and theories
  • Explian the pro’s and con’s of ideas

Models and Theories Interview Technique

Interview answers can begin by stating the relevant model or theory. As an example, the stakeholder matrix theory explains how a person can work collaboratively with stakeholders. Or, the time management matrix is a model that helps to prioritise tasks.

Referencing industry-relevant theories and models in the interview answer highlights a level of knowledge, as the model is explained as a step-by-step process. The example given can then ‘show’ the employer the model in practice.

Pros and Cons Interview Answer

Discussing both sides of a coin shows understanding.

Many career professionals have a preferred way of working or approaching tasks as they use what has previously worked – they are comfortable with routine.

But not all situations are the same. An employer will prefer an applicant how can see all perspectives, someone who can come shines a new light on an old problem.

When discussing an idea or task, or even a piece of technology, the applicant can show awareness by discussing the good, the bad, and the ugly. Rather than having one strong opinion, the applicant is showing a level of expertise.

Some employers will have a strong opinion. In this case, talking about the pro’s and con’s will help to build rapport, as one string opinion that differs from the employer’s own belief can create dislike.

In this situation, applicants can hedge their bets by answering all options in all ways, ensuring one of the elements of the interview answer will resonate.

Common Asked Housing Officer Questions

A housing officer will often be employed for housing associations or the local authority, supporting clients with the assessment of needs in terms of housing applications.

The housing officer may also specialise in working with homeless people and/or service users with additional needs.

How competitive is a Housing Officer job Interview?

Medium in competitiveness

Interview Specifics

Structural job interview last 45 minutes with 8 interview questions being asked

This article will list the commonly asked job interview questions for a housing officer.

By understanding the job interview structure and by knowing the commonly asked housing officer interview questions, applicants can prepare answers that highlight their level of competencies within this industry.

Common Asked Housing  Officer Interview Questions 

Can you tell me about your housing officer experience?

This housing officer interview question is asked for two reasons; 1 it is an open question to get you talking/feeling relax at the job interview start. 2, to gain a general overview of your experience (generic because the follow-up questions will go into more detail)

To answer this job interview question, start by summarising your experience as a housing officer, your relevant qualifications and a key unique skill relevant to the industry – something that makes you stand out, this could be a specialism you have IE working to house homeless service users.

How do you assess the needs of a client?

This interview question is key because this is the crux of the job role.

Split this answer into two sections. Section one is your people skills; explain how you build rapport, how you use effective listening skills, how open and closed questions have a powerful impact, and how you remain calm in stressful situations. Give a short example to highlight your level of expertise and competencies.

Section two should explain the interview structure; the questions you should ask, the information you need to collate, and how you follow GDPR, data protection and confidentiality legislation.

What does customer service mean to you?

You may be asked several customer services-related interview questions.

In the housing association sector often the service users can be stressed or angry. Some service users may have alcohol or drug addiction. In some cases, you will be speaking to clients who are struggling with finances and have been turned down for financial support.

When answering interview questions relating to customer service and communication,  explain how you can handle these situations;

What was the situation – why was the service user angry or upset?

How did you handle the situation – what did you say or do to help calm down the client?

What was the positive outcome – how did the client respond to you?

What do you look for during a housing inspection?

Competency-based job interview questions require you to fall back on your experience.

Give an example of when you have carried out an inspection that had issues (you need to pick an inspection with issues to show that you can deal with this in a professional way)

In the example explain what you look for during a general inspection, the inspection process you follow and quote safeguarding regulations, and how you, when required, challenge a service user.

Follow this up with the example “one time during an inspection I saw…” Give details of what you found, the potential safeguarding issue, and what you did to address this

How would you have a positive effect on your colleagues and team? 

A big part of the housing officers’ job criteria is to have the ability to work as part of a close-knit team. You will be asked one way or another about your ability to work within a team.

Open the teamwork answer by simply explaining how you enjoy working as part of a team and how in all previous housing roles teamwork has been an important aspect of the role. This opening confirmation statement shows how you have this required skill.

Now you have ticked the ‘teamwork’ box, you need to give a real-life example. A good frame for this job interview answer is to give a ‘helper’ perspective.

Describe how a colleague was having a problem with a housing issue and how this problem affected the output of the whole team.

Go on to describe how you took action and explain the action you took. Follow this up with the positive outcome focusing on how the whole team benefited from your quick actions.

You can also talk about the larger team – in this role, you will need to work with a range of agencies and stakeholders, including social services, jobcentre plus, citizens’ advice service.

Which other agencies would you refer a service user to? 

Part of a housing officer’s job role is to work with the tenants to help them to be successful.

To be effective in this job duty you will need to work with, signpost or refer to a large number of partner agencies from social services to the local job center, from doctor surgeries to career advice officers.

In your answer list the relevant agencies you would partner with and give an example of when you would make a referral compared to signposting.

The example has to be specific. First, explain the service users situation and the key block that was holding them back. Explain the limitations of your roles and how the service user required expert advice.

Go on to explain how the service user had attempted to get support but had failed. End the interview answer by stating what you did to ensure the client got the support and advice they required.

Do you have any questions for me?

A guaranteed question is the “do you have any questions for me?” question. And your answer should be YES! Always ask a question.

Good questions to ask in a housing officer job interview are;

  • What is your approach to supporting service users with their many barriers?
  • What development opportunities do you have to help upskill a housing officer?
  • How many hostels/houses do the organisations look after?
  • What is the best part of your day?

Aristotles Teaches How To Persuasion in a Job Interview

Aristotle’s Persuasion Technique

Persuasion is the goal of the job interview.

In the job interview, you need to influence, persuade and motivate through the answers of your job interview answers. You naturally persuade all the time, through the words you say and how you say these words. The problem is you may persuade people not to recruit rather than persuade them to offer you the desired job position.

Aristotle was a master of the persuasive language. We have taken the leanings of Aristotle’s rhetoric and made it relevant to the job interview.

Ethos, Pathos, Logos

Ethos is your character, how you come across to the interviewer. In a job interview, you need to be seen as credible, an authority. If the job interviewer believes in you, they will listen to you, if they listen to you, they will want to buy you (offer you the position) Aristotle said “We believe good men more fully and more readily than others.”

An example of an ethical appeal: “What I have learned from working in this industry for over 28 years is…” Your duration of experience has a direct path to your Ethos.

Pathos creates an emotional response from the interview panel. In the job interview situation, you need to appeal directly to the interviewer’s emotions. The great interviewee controllers the employer’s emotions throughout the job interview, taking them on an emotional roller coaster.

An example of an emotional interview answer is “have you ever been in a situation when a multi-pound deal was just about to be lost….what I did to turn things around was…” By getting an employer to imagine/remember a negative situation stirs up their negative emotions, before you create a positive emotional pull, by explaining your positive outcome.

 

Logos is a way to use logic; reasoning, data, statistics and even debates and arguments. Imagery creates an emotional pull, logos allows you to give the facts to back up the story. “This technique increased profit by 35%..” “9 out of 10 people benefited from X”

Interview Test

Job Interview Questions You Need to Prepare For

How to prepare for the job interview questions

Do you have a job interview date fast approaching?

Are the fears starting to rise? How much help would it be if you knew what questions you were going to be asked? If you knew the interview questions, could you prepare better interview answers?

Of course, you could. Predicting interview questions is easy. Generally in the job interview, you will be asked around 6-10 interview questions. You will be asked some commonly asked interview questions, which I will share below, and you will be asked some specific job interview questions relating to the position you are applying for. Below, I will explain how you can figure out what these questions will be.

This article will help you prepare for a successful job interview outcome.

 Job Interview Questions You Need to Prepare for

So let’s start with the commonly asked interview questions. These are the job interview questions that you will be asked in every job interview. The examples below will in the reality of a real job interview be worded differently, but the meaning will be the same.

Job Interview Question 1 “Tell me about yourself?”

At every job interview, you be asked an opening question “Why did you apply for this job?” “What is your experience in this field?” “Tell me about yourself?” that asks for a summary of you and your experience.

You need to prepare a strong opening statement that will highlight your skills, talent, unique selling point and of course your experience in the sector. With this being the first job interview question you have been asked, you need to answer this question with confidence. To answer these opening questions, start by explaining your total years in the industry, your key achievements and one of your unique selling points.

What you are doing here is making it clear that you have the required criteria for the position, but that you also have something additional, something that makes you stand out.

   

Job Interview – example questions

The second section of the job interview is where you will be asked to give examples of the key skills required for the position. This is the competency section.

To answer these job interview questions you first need to set the scene. Explain the situation, goal or objective to ensure the interviewer understands the importance of the situation. Next explain the actions you took to achieve the required outcome.   The best way to deliver this is by explaining three things your undertook that had a positive impact on the outcome. Finally, summarize what you did and state the successful outcome.

Interview questions and answers

Interview End

At the end of the job interview, you will always be asked if you have any questions that you would like to ask them? To stand out you need to ask intriguing questions.

Here are a few examples

  • “what made you pick this job?”
  • “describe the best day in your job?”
  • “what do you like about working here?”
  • “how did you gain your role here?”
  • “what will you achieve in the next 2 years?”

Job Interview Questions for a Job at Rise in Manchester

Job Interview Questions for a Job at Rise in Manchester

 

Rise Manchester offers a tailor-made space for the FinTech community, drawing together the city’s vibrant startup culture and its rich industrial past. In staff they are looking for friendly and fun staff who know there coffee and who can improve their customers experience.

 

If you want a job at rise, here is some questions you will need to answer

 

Below you can also access 101 Interview Questions and techniques to Influence the Job Interview. Good luck with your next job interview.

 

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Job Interview Questions for a Job at Rise in Manchester

 

Job Interview Question 1: 

 

“Tell me about your customer service experience?”

 

The opening question at Rise, will be a generic interview question to gain an insight into your customer service and barista experience.  Summarise your experience and have a focus on the key skills required for this position; how you welcome customers, how you promote the rise philosophy and how you go above and beyond

 

Ensure you mention

 

  • customer service skills
  • strong written and spoken communication skills
  • the ability to solve problems
  • the ability to deal tactfully with customers
  • your friendliness and rapport building skills  

 

 

Job Interview Question 2: 

 

“How do you handle difficult customers?”

 

For situational job interview questions, answer using a real life story or example

  • state the situation – why the customer was angry/difficult 
  • explain how you remain calm and how this calmed down the customer
  • discuss what you did to support the customer while following processes and procedure 
  • explain the outcome of the situation ***ensure this is positive 

 

 

Job Interview Question 3: 

 

“When have you gone and beyond to help a customer?” 

 

Rise isn’t just a coffee shop, its an experience. In an employee Rise are looking for staff members who go that extra mile. Answer this interview question by first stating your work ethic and your temperament. Second give a real life example of when you went above and beyond to help a customer. Remember at Rise the customer base isn’t just shoppers, in fact the percentage of customer are entrepreneurs who spend their day at Rise working

 

   

Job Interview Question 4: 

“What questions do you need when booking a room for a customer?”

 

Many customers book rooms and the stage area. This task requires a level of organisation. When answering this questions explain your strategy for   keeping the administration side of things on point. How do you ensure that you have the correct details; customer detailsl, booking details

 

 

Job Interview Question 5: 

 

“Why do you want to work at Rise?”

 

Be honest when answering this question – Rise has to be the right fit for you, and you need to be the right fit for Rise. What made you apply for this role? Why do you like the environment? To answer this question, start with “The three reasons I want to work at Rise are…” and then give 3 real reasons.

 

 

 

 

Interview questions and answers

 

 

 

 

 

Job Interview Question 6:

“Do you have any questions for me?”

 

Good interview questions to ask interviewers at the end of the job interview include questions on the company growth or expansion, questions on personal development and training and questions on company values, staff retention and company achievements.

 

Conclusion 

 

Many people are afraid of job interviews. The truth is if you prepare for your job interview, by predicting the job interview questions, you can easily prepare your job interview answers. If your job interview answers highlight your unique selling point, are stated in the positive and are said in a confident manner, then you can influence the job interview to increase job offer.

 

Interview Preparation Resources

 

Other People Who Read This Article Also Read:

 

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How To Answer The 3 Most Commonly Asked Job Interview Questions

The 3 Most Commonly Asked Job Interview Questions

The job interview is easy!

I know, for most people a job interview is their worst nightmare…only because they haven’t predicted what will happen.

Most employers they don’t spend too much time creating a bespoke job interview process, instead, they ask commonly asked interview questions. Some even google “10 interview questions to ask at a job interview”

For the interviewee, this is gold. You can use this employer laziness to predict the questions and prepare killer answers.

Below you see 3 of the most commonly asked interview questions that you are sure to face in your next job interview.

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Common Asked Interview Question 1

“tell me about yourself”


Common Asked Interview Question 2

“what are your weaknesses?”

Common Asked Interview Question 3

“why did you leave your last job?”

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How to Prepare for a Job Interview Answer

Prepare for a Job Interview Answer

The job interview isn’t the difficult process that everyone believes it is.

In actual fact to pass a job interview all you need to learn is how to prepare your job interview answer (as you will have the essential skills, qualities required for the desired position).

By following a couple of steps you will blow away the competition and win more job offers.

Set Up Your Own Coaching Business 

Prepare Your Job Interview Answer Step 1

Use examples to give real evidence to your answer.

Basically to win a job offer you simply need to state that you have the essential desired criteria. But stating that you have X, Y and Z may be the logical (and most commonly used) approach but this rarely has any impact.

This is because employers make job offer decisions based on their emotional association to the interviewee. For your job interview answers to have real impact, state you have the desired skill and then give an example of how you have used this to good effect.

Remember stories, anecdotes and examples have a lasting impact of the job interviewer.

Prepare Your Job Interview Answer Step 2

Talk about what the interviewer deems important.

In the job interview, it can be surprising that after a confident verbal delivery you don’t get offered the job. You had a rapport, answered each question and use stories but still, you aren’t accepted – why?

The reason is that different people from the same industry deem different skills, work styles and priorities differently. If you talk about how you are a people person but the interviewer preferences systems more then you won’t hit the mark in the job interview.

You need to question the interviewer and find out what they deem important. This could be targets, growth, development, technology, finance, people, reputation, charity, processes, the list can go on. Once you know what the employer finds important you can add this to the your interview answer, giving it a bigger impact.

Prepare Your Job Interview Answer Step 3

Match your tone and facial expressions to your answers.

People will often talk throughout the job interview, even give a good answer, but still, they fail to pass the interview process.

This is because a monotone voice and blank facial expressions detracts from your answer. Remember that most of your communication, around 60% is none verbal. Use tonality, volume and expression to answer the interview question with power.

Over 50 Job Interview Questions and Answers

Out Of The Box Interview Tips

Think Out Of The Box To Pass a Job Interview

Run of the mill interviewing techniques are becoming talk of the past.

Tell me about yourself”?, A question that has been out there for so long that candidates tend to just learn the answer to it by heart with minor tweaks here and there.

If the questions aren’t going to change so will the same patented responses will be given during interviews. There is no advancement in the interviewing procedures and no learning for graduates coming fresh out of the universities.

career

Let’s consider a situation where a candidate (you) gets the call from HR representative of the company you applied to.

A unique feature about this call would be (we’ll get into that) but how normally a candidate would respond to one such call:

HR: “Hi, is this Mr. X I’m speaking to?

Mr. X: Yes, who’s this?

HR: “This Ms. Y from ABC Co., you applied for the position of XYZ. Have you got a minute, I have to ask a couple of questions?

Mr. X: Please go on

HR: Ok, so have been you working somewhere?

Mr. X: Both yes and no, actually I resigned from my previous employment and am currently serving my notice period”

HR: Ok, it says here you’ve been with the firm for last 5 years, what makes you want to switch?”

Mr. X: Although, I have had no issues here during the tenure of my employment, all I feel is a bit stagnant where I’m and want to challenge myself in pursuit of new and better opportunities”

HR: Alright, let me schedule an interview with you tomorrow say at 11am?

Mr. X: Sounds good to me, will be there.

HR: The directions to our office will be emailed to you shortly.

Mr. X: Sure thanks. Bye.

That is how a normal telephonic interview appears as. But if we could improvise and candidate can earn the seat in front row? Startling? We pick it up from point no. 10 above and see how it changes.

   

Mr. X: “Can I suggest a date, as I have some things to take care of in the days to follow? Hence I won’t be able to squeeze time for the meet.”

HR (based on the availability): When it would be possible for you to visit, then?

Mr. X: On so and so date (suggest a date for 2-3 days ahead)

The idea is to buy time so you can thoroughly search about the company, its stakeholders, review their profile on LinkedIn and prepare yourself well.

HR: How does day after tomorrow sound?

Mr. X: Great!

Now if the counter argument is not up to your liking, best lock in the day as it maybe that the organization is interviewing other candidates or the interviewing authority may not be available in those days.

At least by making a request you have made your presence felt and that you are not typical instead expressive. Just that is the purpose of asking to schedule at a later date. This gives you leverage in negotiations at the time of offer.

You don’t need to insist on scheduling for the day/date you have in mind or you’ll lose the opportunity, altogether. An attempt suffices and generally employer allows for a day or two in scheduling meets for candidates.

Interview questions and answers

Secondly, the questions needs to be revisited to allow candidates to speak open-endedly and when someone is provided the platform to speak, their frame mind is reflected and the person interviewing can gauge whether or not the person would be a suitable fit for the organization.

Questions could be:

How much element of fun is part of your life?”

“Do you cater to sarcasm?”

“What if I were to ring up a close friend of yours, will he/she be able to tell me your weaknesses?”

Author Bio

Rayanne Dany is an HR consultant and can be reached for assignment writing service via her twitter handle. She has tons of experience in different organizations amounting to a total of 10 years. Her insight over the years as an HR professional has paved way for writing improvement techniques.

4 Insights That Will Give You The Edge At Job Interviews

Out of the whole process of finding a job, which consists of several stages, people generally find interviews to be the most dreadful. However this shouldn’t be the case, with the right mind frame and attitude you will find that there is nothing to fear when it comes to job interviews.

I will be sharing 4 insights that will give you the competitive edge at job interviews.

Handing Curveball Interview Questions

So what are curveball questions? They are the type of questions that you can’t really prepare for.

  • What is your definition of a brand?
  • What has been the low light of your career?
  • What does the word ‘insight’ mean to you?

The main reason they ask you these types of questions is to put you on the spot. In most cases there is no real right or wrong answer. In fact they probably don’t know the answer themselves. They just want to see how you handle the pressure.

Solution

The best way to approach is to simply ‘avoid getting flustered’. Pause and think for a moment about the question, and there is nothing wrong in doing so. Take the question in the spirit that it’s meant to be taken and provide a reasonable answer.

In the worst case scenario where you don’t know the answer is to simply say ‘I don’t really know the answer to that question but I am intrigued to know what it is’.

By doing so you are being honest and transparent. Above all you are showing the attitude of having an interest in learning.

End of the day we are all human beings and no one knows the answer to every question.

Asking Questions

It’s important to bear in mind that interviews are a 50 – 50 situation. The picture is that you are looking for employment and they are looking for an employee.

Just like they ask you questions, you can, should and must ask questions from them too. Note: It’s not to say that you should be asking 50% of the questions!

Here are a Few Guidelines:

  • Ask them questions to get more clarity on the role that you will be doing and how important it is to the organisation
  • Enquire what the company’s values, principles and policies are.
  • Similarly to how they would ask you ‘where do you see yourself in 5 years time’ you may ask them what the organisation’s vision is for the next 5 years.

Another good approach is to find out how the company handled tough times. For instance what challenges they faced during the recession period and how they overcame it.

By asking questions you are portraying confidence and enthusiasm. Plus your awareness of the company only gets better. Furthermore they will be happy to answer your questions since they are proud of their organisation, its vision and how they overcame hardships.

Towards the end of your interview a very good question to ask is “What other concerns or reservations do you have about my ability to carry out this role?”

By asking this question you get a very clear idea of where you stand. You get a feel for what they thought about you. Plus if it happens to be that they have any concerns, you can answer them straight away

Expressing Your Opinion

After doing your research about the organisation you should have a good idea about their history, products / services / projects, target market, competitors etc. The reality is that everyone else who you will be competing against would have done the same. Having an opinion is what is going to give you the edge.

Once again there is no right or wrong opinion but what matters is that you go into that interview room with an opinion and what matters even more is that you have sufficient facts to back your opinion.

Here are a Few Guidelines:

  • It could be on anything really.
  • The way they provide their services
  • Their methods of advertising
  • Should they be using social media as a potential platform to find new business.
  • Is there something that can be learnt from their competitors.
  • Other areas in the market to target, add on sales or merchandise
  • Any constructive feedback, room for development and growth etc.

Expressing an opinion can be very effective and powerful. What you have said may not be taken aboard but the fact that you made an opinion is very significant. It is also a simple way in which you can get them thinking. “Hmmmm this person has got a point….” This method will certainly make you a cut above the rest, brings in that ‘x’ factor and shows that you are not another crab in the bucket.

Bringing your A-Game

Before you leave home for the interview, it is vital that you are in the right emotional state – confident, calm and charismatic. That feel good state that we all like to be in. We will have our own unique ways of doing this

Here are a Few Guidelines:

This could be:

  • Your morning routine
  • Meditation
  • Listening to your favourite music
  • Listening to motivational speeches
  • Doing some push ups. Etc

Identify what yours is and carry out that activity to reach that peak performance state. Effectively, when you walk into that interview room they will just know. You will be radiating that energy, enthusiasm and confidence.

Apply these insights for your next job interview; they are certainly going to give you the edge to be more competitive.

Good luck!

Author Bio

Chirathu Liyanage – Public speaker and Blogger with a passion for self development, aspiring to help people in life.

Not Your Average Interview Techniques

This month’s guest post comes from James Harlan; an aspiring novelist and a young community leader.  He promotes lifelong learning and academic success through his contributions in the blogs, Master Dissertations and Oxbridge Dissertation.

Engaging in an interview is part and parcel of joining a company.

It is an essential screening measure that has been used for years.  And while interviewers subscribe to methodical interview guidelines, applicants continue to struggle to effectively nail it down.

Why is that?

There are various factors at play.  Listing all of them will not only take pages; it might also divert you from the obvious objective of this one-piece – which is to provide interesting approaches for amelioration.

And to provide better insight, some instances will be proffered under the perspective of an applicant vying for a freelance writing job.

Hone on interesting titbits

Have you noticed how easy it is for the interviewer to throw you unaware? The interviewer almost always possesses the upper hand – but that doesn’t mean you can’t do the same. Okay, before the technique is introduced, subscribe to this reminder: you are not to perform this to retaliate. Instead, perform this approach to show how in-depth your research had been.

1. Conduct an investigation with your eye on tricky issues. You can catch its whiff through an acquaintance who’s already working for the said company or through underground job forums.

2. Bring it out in your interview by politely asking about it. You can’t just ask for simple clarifications. Your best bet for a favourable response from your interviewer is by asking it in connection to the post you’re applying for (e.g., freelance business writer).

3. Express your satisfaction with the answer. And if you’re not really satisfied, feign contentment. There’s a reason why your interviewer is not giving it all. Pry more and your application might end up slouching in the nearby trash bin.

Bounce back with a bang

Perhaps, you’re the kind of applicant who gets real slumped when shoved down with heavy, out-of-this-world interview questions.

You obviously have a lot to work on your recovery techniques. Recovery techniques are methods that increase your chances of bouncing back from an unexpected interview question. It consists of the following:

  • Laughing at it. A good hearty laugh produces the effect of taking away the aggravating tinge of nervousness.
  • Repeating what was asked. Don’t be afraid to sound redundant. You are not repeating the question to mimic parrots; you are doing so to confirm the question – what it means to ask.
  • Make a joke out of it. This applies for unexpected interview questions that aren’t characteristically funny (e.g., “this is your very first time to opt for freelance writing?”). Jokes give a good reason to laugh, fan the panicky feeling away, and allows you to go back to striking it.

Pullout your tricks

Did you always want to do something a little bit crazy than usual? List them all and pick the ones you could really muster to do during an interview. The following entries are just a few examples:

  • Wear a coloured, chequered, or cartoon-themed socks or ties.
  • Take with you an interesting toy (e.g., miniature toy).
  • Bring a thickset and ancient-looking book.

For prospective freelance writers, you can sport an ‘I love Shakespeare’ shirt, or something of a similar ilk. Bring out your inner childlike creativity. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of crazy – as long as it doesn’t interfere with your job interview.

About the Author: James Harlan is an aspiring novelist and a young community leader. He promotes lifelong learning and academic success through his contributions in the blogs, Master Dissertations and Oxbridge Dissertation. You can connect with him on Twitter @c_jvinson.