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The Hidden Meaning of the ‘tell me about your last job?’ Question

Job interviews are complicated at the best of times, but often employers unconsciously make the interviewer harder due to the way the interview questions are phrased.

The three common mistakes employers make are:

  • Asking multiple questions embed into one interview question.
  • Questions that have a hidden meaning – including the ‘tell me about your last job?’ question.
  • Ambiguous questions.

Job seekers, during the job interview, have their hands tied. It is impossible for an interviewee to explain to the interviewer that they need to improve the way they phrase the interview questions – this would only end with a rejection notice.

Instead, applicants need to understand the common mistakes employers make and how to overcome these tricky interview questions during the recruitment process.

Multiple Questions in One Interview Question

Career professionals have to remember that a high number of interviewers have never been trained in the art of interview communication.

Job interviews are often conducted by either a HR staff member (often trained in the art of interviewing) or a potential line manager (rarely trained in interviewing).

It is these same untrained managers who are responsible for writing the interview questions. Employers, generally speaking, ask 8-10 interview questions, but the essential criteria list can number upto 30 criteria.

Due to needing to check if the applicant possesses all the required skills, interview questions end up being stuffed with additional questions, confusing the candidates.

An example of ‘interview stuffing’ is when an interviewer requires an example of problem-solving. The interview questions would sound like, “Give me an example of when you have overcome a problem?”

Additional questions can be asked that are helpful to the applicants, “State the problem, what actions you took, and the outcome.”

Not so helpful is when the question is filled with additional questions, “Give me an example of when you have overcome a problem? Maybe one when you worked on your own or in a team. And explain if you used or know what a risk register is?”

Often the additional embedded questions aren’t part of a written question. Instead the question is impromptu during the interview itself.

How to answer lengthy interview questions?

When asked long descriptive questions, stuffed with a follow-up interview question the interviewee can receive a low-scoring answer as they focus on one of the embedded questions rather than another. This is because a structured job interview means the employers have to reference the applicant’s answer against the scorecard criteria.

To ensure an answer meets the marking criteria, job candidates must cover all bases while being seen as a confident communicator – rule 3 of a successful job interview.

Using the ‘overcome a problem’ question, the applicant initially can state “I have two short examples…” informing the interview panel of the structure of the interview answer.

Next, the two examples need to meet the additional criteria questions, “the first one is overcoming a problem when working as part of a team. While working at….”

Finally, when a summary can be added that covers any additional questions not yet disucssed, “In our line of work we are constantly faced with problems that require solutions. To be more effective I utilse a risk register….”

Hidden Meaning Interview Questions

In the main, interviewers don’t design purposely tricky interview questions, But often, when taken at face value, an applicant can misunderstand the reason why a question was asked.

Understanding the reason for the interview question gives an interviewee an advantage as their answers can be tailored to meet the job criteria, resulting in a high-scoring answer.

An example of the ‘hidden meaning’ question is the, ‘Tell me about your last job?’ interview question.

Many candidates wrongly believe to answer the ‘last job’ question they should talk about the company culture, duration in the role, company successes, and the size of the organisation.

The required answer isn’t that obvious. What employers are really asking when they say “tell me about your last job?” is, ‘how did your last job prepare you for this job?’ This is the hidden meaning behind this question.

Think about it? Why would an employer ask about the company culture or the size of an organisation the applicant worked at?

Remember, the goal of a recruitment process is to predict the job performance of each applicant before offering the perceived best employee the advertised position.

For this question, employers want to know:

  • What skills did you develop that will be useful in the our company?
  • What ideas, knowledge and experiences will be useful if you were to be employed?
  • Do you have a skill or quality that would add value to the business plan?
  • Were you influential in the completion of a project/outcome?
  • Has your work ethic or character helped to increase business output?
  • Do you have experience on a project similar to one we are just about to launch?

Other hidden meaning interview question examples.

What type of working environment suits you? Hidden meaning: Will you work well within our company culture?

Have you ever made a mistake? Hidden meaning: Do you learn from mistakes/what have you learnt from a mistake?

Why do you want to work for this company? Hidden meaning: Are you likely to stay/leave the company within a short timeframe?

What are your strengths? Hidden meaning: Do you possess the essential criteria for the advertised role?

What would you do within the first few weeks of starting the role? Hidden meaning: Do you need hand-holding or can you get on with the required duties?

Ambiguous Interview Questions

One of the biggest barriers for the job applicant is the high number of ambiguous job interview questions.

The real barrier here is that many questions don’t actually sound ambiguous.

An example of this is the stakeholder question, “how would you collaborate with a key stakeholder?” As a stakeholder is any group affected by the company, there are numerous stakeholders which all have varying levels of interest and influence over the company.

Imagine a retail store asking this question. Two key stakeholders are 1) customers, and 2) suppliers. The approach for collaborating with each group of stakeholders would vary.

A second example, is the interview question: “What is your approach to project management?” Approaches vary depending on the project, timeframe, associated risks and the number of stakeholders collaborating on the project.

Similar to the, “What role do you take when working within a team?” The answer can change due to varying factors of the team and project: the size of the team, is the applicant is employed to manage the team/project, if the task is reacting to a situation and therefore urgent, or a proactive team task allowing more time for creativity.

Evolve the mind book on Amazon

Answering Ambiguous Questions

To answer any ambiguous questions, first ask for specifics.

Gaining the detailed intelligence by asking for specifics, gives an applicant all the required data they need to frame their answer so it is relevant to criteria on the interview scorecard.

Let’s say the employer asks “How would you ensure you meet your targets by the month-end?” The question can be answered by talking about the month as a whole; projecting targets, planning actions, and monitoring results.

Whereas, the employer may have meant if the employee was underperforming (as this is common within their organisation) and is interested to hear how the applicant acts under pressure.

A second example is, “How will you make an impact if you were employed here?” This and most other ambitious interview questions are opened ended. Ask a closed question to get the required detail needed to answer the question as expected by the employer: “Do you want me to talk about how I will have impact on my colleagues to achieve team targets or how I will impact on the positive relationship with stakeholders?”

By asking the “A or B” scenario requires a response from the employer. Employers, now responding in detail, will give the virtual clue to support the interviewee to succeed.

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Tell Me How You Handled A Difficult Situation at Work?

Predicting performance related job interview questions is a relatively easy task.

The main duties of any job role require a certain level of industry knowledge and/or experience. For key tasks; completing calculations for a IstructE chartered engineer or serving customer task for a retail role, is classed as ‘essential’.

Each of the essential criteria will be turned into a technical interview question. Technical questions are asked in the form of a ‘behavioral’ or ‘situational’ question as part of the ‘structured’ interview process.

Generally speaking, an applicant who scores high in the ‘interview prediction grid’ test will be offered the job role, as their competencies are expressed confidently throughout the recruitment process.

A self-assured ‘interview identity’ as an example, scores high, as they are able to evidence their related skill-set confidently.

In addition to being asked technical interview questions, applicants will often be asked question to undercover a candidates personal qualities.

Skills, which can range from ‘communication’ to a driving skill for a FLT driver, can be learnt. On the other hand, a ‘quality’ is something a person is born with.

In the world of work qualities are in demand. Qualities can include:

  • Determination
  • Patience
  • Creativity
  • Honesty
  • Problem-solving

Questions like ‘tell me how you handled a difficult situation at work?’ are asked to review an applicants qualities.

The wrong way to answer the ‘difficulty’ interview question

Commonly, interviewees answer ‘behavioral’ interview questions using an interview formula including the STAR technique.

The STAR technique is a structure designed to make the telling of an interview answer direct and specific.

Situation:

Explain the situation, giving enough specifics to allow an employer to understand the difficulty the applicant was facing.


Task:

In the ‘task’ part of the answer, candidates can highlight their competencies by explaining what their responsibility was during the difficulty.


Action:

It is important, no essential, that the interviewee references what actions they personally tool to solve the difficulty.


Result:

Finally the result of the actions should be stated to conclude the interview answer.

What is missing from the STAR formula, or what is misunderstood, is the need to reference personal qualities.

The STAR structure encourages the referencing of ‘actions.’ In most cases, the applicant, when stating passed experiences, fail to reference their thinking process, or their temperament, or their qualities.

How to answer the ‘difficulty’ questions by stating qualities

Another 4 step interview formula can be used which allows a deeper insight into an applicants process to dealing with problems:

PEAL Interview Formula

  1. Problem (or difficulty)
  2. Explain Thinking
  3. Action
  4. Long-term outcome

Problem

Stating a common industry related problem or difficulty makes it story relevant to job role and easy for the interview panel to relate to.

Once a problem has been reference, explain the negative impact this issue would have on business as usual.

Discussing the negative impact of a problem highlights the seriousness of the event.

Explain Thinking

The ‘thinking’ stage is missing stage in most job interview questions.

It is here where an applicant can ‘sell’ their ‘qualities’.

To highlight problem solving skills, a candidate can discuss options. Stating the choices an applicant had shows an deeper understanding and awareness of sector related issues and potential solutions.

When discussing ‘choices’ explain the pro’s and con’s of each choice. End by giving the reason for the choosing the preferred option.

If the difficulty was solved with creative thinking explain the ‘creative’ process. Did you use mind-maps? Lists? Checked lesson learnt logs?

If it came down to hard work or work ethic, describe how this came about. As an example you could state how you knew that the task required X number of working hours to complete and because of (add quality) you decide to (action)

What is important is to clearly explain the qualities the applicant possesses that were key in overcoming a difficulty.

Action

Combined small tasks together to create 3-5 detailed actions.

Explaining the actions is in essence a breakdown of the chosen option. The option, therefore, was the objective and the actions are the required steps taken to achieve the objective.

Stating the information in this way allows the interview panel to process the interview answer in a logical format.

Long-term Outcome

Many job interview questions end weakly.

‘I achieved the goal’ or ‘everyone was happy with the end result.’

Instead, shows a strategic view point. Give a long-term positive outcome. Explain the knock-on affect of overcoming the problem.

This could include:

  • The project was so successful that is become part of business as usual
  • This led to the customer increasing orders with our company
  • We found that this method reduced overhead cost which led it to be the preferred method of operation
Evolve the mind book on Amazon

Example PEAL Interview Answer

Problem

‘When in my last position (add common industry difficulty) happened. As you know when (common industry difficulty) happens it can (add negative outcome). In this case, the situation worsened because (add situation that would have a negative long-term effect) which would led to (negative long-term effect)….

Explain Thinking

‘…I had two choices. the first option was to (add choice 1) the positive of this option was (add pro) but this could also (add con). The second option was (add choice 2) we were concerned about (add con) but this choice could (add con). In the end I choose to (add thinking and reason)…’

Action

‘….Once I had chosen the best way to overcome (problem) I first (add action), then (add second action) and finally (add third action)…’

Long-Term Outcome

‘…We were able to solve the immediate problem but we were able to use this (situation) to make key changes to (specify) which resulted in (long-term outcome)’

Job Interview Advice

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What is your approach to problem-solving? Interview Question

One of the most in demand skills in the workplace is problem-solving.

It makes sense then that a ‘problem-solving’ interview will be asked during most job interviews.

The question may be phrased differently, depending on the job sector and advertised position, but all interpretations of the question require a step-by-step explanation of the applicant’s individual approach when faced with a problem.

Different versions of the ‘problem-solving’ question.

  • Tell me about a problem you faced and what you did to overcome this?
  • What is your approach to problem-solving?
  • If X happened what would you do?

In structured job interviews, employers ask either behavioral job interview questions or situational questions.

Behavioral interviews ask for evidence of previous experience – ‘tell me about time you had to overcome an unforeseen problem?’ and situational questions are future-oriented: ‘how would you deal with a problem you haven’t prepared for?’

For both versions of the interveiw questions, the answer needs to meet the criteria on the interview scorecard.

Interviewers, when listening to interviewees’ answers make notes of what each applicant has stated. Post-interview, the interview panel discusses the answers giving each an allocated point depending on how many criteria the applicants have referenced during the job interview.

The highest scoring candidate is offered the job role.

How to create high scoring interview answers.

Employers only know what an applicant stats during the job interview.

Missing information, ambiguous statements or a lack of detail simply won’t make the cut.

Research shows how the delivery of a longer answer, embedded with emotive language, when communicated confidently, increases the allocated points.

The duration of the interview answer alone isn’t enough to score high, what is needed a longer and relevant answer.

How to answer the problem-solving interview question.

There are several ways to answer this question:

  • Listing facts
  • Giving an example
  • Quoting problem-solving models

List building interview answer

The weakest way to answer the problem-solving question is fact listing.

Nervous candidates, such as the amateurish interviewee, often default to fact listing as they struggle to deliver a structured interview answer.

An example of fact listing to the ‘what is your approach to overcoming a problem?’ could be ‘finding the problem, looking at solutions, completing a risk assessment, delegating tasks.’

Overall, the list answer, if delivered correctly, can cover the key elements required for an employer to recognise the applicant’s level of experience, but a list does not score high because high scoring answers require elaboration.

Using examples in the job interview

Real-life examples, on the other hand, often have enough information and detail to gain a high score.

The structure of the example answer is key. A weak example of an answer would sound something like: ‘I worked on X project where (Problem), to overcome this problem we did (A&B)’

The above structure states the problem and actions but is missing the detail to receive additional points; the creative process, the outcome, and any unique selling points.

Example answers should also elicit emotions. The storytelling process of an example answer takes the employer on a journey. Not only does the interviewer visualise the story they go on an emotional rollercoaster, as the interviewee talks about the highs and lows, the ups and downs, of the situation being discussed.

A strong interview structure for example answers

  1. State the problem that required solving
  2. Explain the negative effect the problem would have if it wasn’t solved
  3. Discuss the creative problem-solving process used to find a solution
  4. Detail how the solution was implemented
  5. End with the positive outcome

Embedding models and theories into interview answers

The job interview process, simply put, is to predict the job performance of each applicant. The candidate who is believed to be able to perform the best is offered the job role. Performance prediction is based on the perceived level of industry knowledge and sector experience.

Experience and knowledge can be expressed through the explanation of relevant theories and models, as an example, if asked a ‘problem-solving’ question a candidate can initiative the answer by referring to a relevant model:

‘The 6 step problem-solving model states that to a solve problem you first need to define what the problem is and the root cause, as understanding the root cause, using tools like the fishbone diagram, will help ensure the problem doesn’t repeat itself. Once the problem and cause are clear, the next stage is to develop solutions using mind-mapping, analysing best practice logs and shared experience. After selecting the most suitable solution, the final stags are to implement and then evaluate the success of the solution.’

  1. Define the Problem
  2. Determine the Root Cause(s) of the Problem
  3. Develop Alternative Solutions
  4. Select a Solution
  5. Implement the Solution
  6. Evaluate the Outcome

Breaking down a model into easy to digest steps shows a high level of understanding. To score even high, a real-life example can then be added to the interview answer: ‘…an example of using the 6 steps problem-solving model was when I worked at ….’

Conclusion

Many job interviews will ask a version of the problem-solving interview question. Research has shown that the more detailed description of a problem-solving answer will score higher. Interviewers are also impressed by an applicant’s industry knowledge, including that of the use of relevant sector models and theories.

Don’t presume the employer knows the process you would have taken, as this leads to an applicant missing out on the discussion of relevant data. Instead, give as much detail as possible as this increases the number of job criteria the interviewee will reference when answering the interview question.

Job Interview Advice

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What motivates you? Interview Question

Recruiting processes are designed to cross references a candidates skills, qualifications and experiences against the job criteria.

The employer, therefore, uses the job interview questions to predict the applicant’s potential job performance.

More than ever before interviewers are focusing the interview questions on the interviewees temperament, with a goal of creating a positive company culture.

Strength-Based interviews, which are becoming more commonly used, are designed with the culture fit in mind. But even in competency-based job interviews, employers have always, and still do, embed personality questions into the interview process.

One of the most common interview questions used to find the ‘right fit’ employee is the ‘what motivates you?’ interview question.

For the applicant, having an open-ended question to answer, allows them to create a reply that meets many of the criteria on the interview scorecard.

The employers perspective

Employers ask the ‘motivation’ question to help understand what encourages an employee to work harder.

Career psychologists know that by hiring a team that will naturally work well with the environment and culture of the organisation, the team will be more productive, have a lower number of sick days and staff members are less likely to look for new opportunities at competitive companies.

The cost of recruitment is high and eats into the company profits. Recruiters are always looking for the right job interview question that will help them to hire, not only the most skilled and experienced employee, but one that will fit well within the current team.

Honest interviewee

There are two approaches to the ‘motivation’ question.

Honesty, is the first approach. The advice is always to be honest within a job interview.

The problem with true honestly is that many career professionals suffer from imposter syndrome.

A lack of self-belief results in an increase in the self-disclosure of weaknesses, weak worded job interview answers and excessive use of filler words creating an ‘amateurism’ interview identity.

What is needed, throughout the job interview, is a ‘self-assured’ interview identity to help the employer view the candidate as employable.

Being honest, even when the candidate is suitable – the candidate would fit in well with the company culture, can say the wrong thing, resulting in a low scoring answer.

Interview questions like ‘are you a self-starter or a team player?’ or ‘do you like starting or finishing tasks?’ can force an interviewee to choose an option that they don’t really have a preference for – they enjoy working both within a team or on their own initiative.

Not being honest doesn’t mean lying

A career professional can have a natural preference to follow processes and procedures – a detailed employee. But if this same employee ends up landing a job in a creative company where they hire innovative, out the box thinking, do it your own way people, the same details career professional can excel.

In fact, depending on the applicant’s past employers (and their company culture) creates an experience – a frame of reference, that shapes the answer they give. In this way not all honest answers, are honest.

Creating high scoring answers

Researching the company culture prior to the job interview is key to creating high scoring interview answers.

Obvious, I know, but I don’t mean researching the company history blah, blah, blah. What is required is an understanding of the company culture.

The organisations vision directly influences the company values, the company values affect the company manager’s decision-making process creating the workplace environment – the company culture.

Disney’s vision is ‘to make people happy.’ Imagine, in the job interview, being asked what is your purpose? or what motivates you? And the interviewee talks about quality, making great cartoon films, or designing fast-paced roller coasters. All good answers, all relevant to Disney’s brand, but the employer hearing this answer, thinks something is missing, something isn’t quite right.

Employers want to hire employees who are motivated by the same reason as the organisation is – their vision.

In this example, the ‘quality’ driven applicant can reframe their interview answer to be inline with the company vision ‘ to create quality animated films that make people feel good…’

To back up the ‘motivation’ answer, add an example to the initial opening line ‘…in my last company, I always focused of the outcome of films – making the audience to be happy. When working on X project……”

Conclusion

To be successful in a job interview, applicants need to research the culture of the company as the day to day environment of an organisation affects all decisions, including hiring decisions.

Answering questions by referencing how the applicant meets the culture and values of the company will improve the level of scores allocated to each job interview answer, increasing the number of job offers an applicant will receive.

Job Interview Advice

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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?

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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

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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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Need helping to pass your next job interview? You can book a SKYPE Interview Coaching Session and/or a Mock Interview with an interview coach by e-mailing employmentking@gmail.com


    

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    • 

  • Interview Confidence Session – Boost Your Interview Confidence
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  • Mock Interview – Practice and Prepare for 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



 


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Posted on 
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.









	


	





		

		
Posted on 
Have you ever had a problem with a supervisor?
	


	
	

		
Commonly asked job interview question


This article will explain how to respond to the ‘problem supervisor’ job interview question.


When asked a question about previous supervisors, don’t fall into the obvious trap of stating the negative characteristics of the previous supervisor.


Instead follow these 3 steps to create a positive structured answer – see the video below for a more detailed explanation


    

  • State the situation (the reason for the fallout)
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  • Explain how you both came to an agreement
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  • Give the outcome from the situation and solution 
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Interview Question Have you ever had a problem with a supervisor?




Explanation of the Question:


This could be a trap-they want to see if you will speak ill of a pass employer.  Start by explaining that “you have always worked well with your supervisors”, if they push this question, continue by giving an answer along the lines of this:


Example Interview Answer and Video Tutorial


“The only thing I can think of is when I was asked by a supervisor to complete a task, and I already had a task that needed completing by a certain deadline. My supervisor was a little stressed but we prioritized the work and got both jobs done on time”



	


	





		

		
Posted on 
What kind of person would you refuse to work with?
	


	
	

		
What kind of person would you refuse to work with?


In this article, we have broken down what the interviewer is looking for in a perfect job interview answer, and to help you create the perfect answer we have recorded an example answer as well as a job interview video tutorial


Interview Question What kind of person would you refuse to work with?




How to approach the interview question “what kind of person would you refuse to work with?”


Start by explaining how you get on well with everyone, and then stop to think.


Continue by saying you would not want to work with someone who was violent or someone who was lazy.


Example Interview Answer


“I always get on well everyone I meet, I am often told how friendly and approachable I am. I like to give everyone a chance but I wouldn’t like to work with someone who is violent or lazy”




    

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