A Closer Look At Two Interview Questions
What are your strengths?
We all have strengths, or qualities that make us unique.
This question might be intended to elicit examples of your best personal qualities and demonstrate how they would make you a valuable employee.
Some good responses include "I am a great communicator and I can develop relationships quickly," or "I am very structured and detail-oriented."
Your best bet is to prepare for this question by thinking about what skills you feel will be most beneficial for the job, based on what the employer is looking for. Keep in mind that personality traits like being personable, having integrity, reliability, and being able to work effectively under pressure are often outweighed by skills.
What is your greatest weakness?
This question is one of the most important ones for every job seeker to answer. There are often many different answers to this and it doesn't necessarily mean that you need to change your entire life or career path. However, failure to be honest with yourself can lead to a deeper depression or anxiety later on when you start to wonder if that's what you need to do.
Often, the best way to deal with this one is through a story. It should contain lessons learned, how it was fixed and/or why it was better in the end, and how this experience will help you in your next interview.
Another good way to answer this question is to demonstrate how you handle challenges. You can describe a time when you failed at something and what you learned from that experience.
Practice these questions thoroughly and answer them with honesty and confidence, so that when they are asked in the interview room, they won't even phase you.
By following the guidance in these blogs, you will have gathered a wealth of information about yourself, the job opportunity, the people and culture where the job is located. The more research you do before going for an interview, the better prepared you will be for it.
This entire process can seem intimidating at first glance, but by following these steps you can make it seem much less so. The more confident you are going into an interview, the more productive it will be. Don't stress yourself out over small things that you can easily fix, focus on how to present yourself to an employer and how you will answer hard questions.
What do you think?
Is there anything else that people should remember when going through the job interview process?
Subscribe to JobMob via RSS or email and follow me on Twitter for more ideas on how to ace your next interview.
Also, check out job search expert Donna Svei's new book: Beat the Odds: A Job Search Guide for Teachers .
Article Sources:
The Art of Social Media: http://www.forbes.com/sites/karriehausmann/2012/10/01/how-to-answer-the-following-three-commonly asked interview questions
How to Answer This Job Interview Question: http://jobsearchcoaching.com/howtotrythisjobinterviewquestion1.html
Donna Svei is the author of Beat the Odds: A Job Search Guide for Teachers , one of her many career resources for job search success. Like Donna's blog, Facebook , and Twitter .
4 Tips To Get An Interview At A Startup: http://socialnomicsblog.com/4-tips-to-get-an-interview-at-a-startup/
Job Searching as an Introvert: http://jobsearchcoaching.com/introvertedjobsearcher.html
Subscribe to JobMob via RSS or email and follow me on Twitter for more ideas on how to ace your next interview.
Also, check out job search expert Donna Svei's new book: Beat the Odds: A Job Search Guide for Teachers .
Article Sources:
The Art of Social Media: http://www.forbes.com/sites/karriehausmann/2012/10/01/how-to-answer-the-following-three-commonly asked interview questions
How to Answer This Job Interview Question: http://jobsearchcoaching.com/howtotrythisjobinterviewquestion1.html
Donna Svei is the author of Beat the Odds: A Job Search Guide for Teachers , one of her many career resources for job search success. Like Donna's blog, Facebook , and Twitter .
4 Tips To Get An Interview At A Startup: http://socialnomicsblog.com/4-tips-to-get-an-interview-at-a-startup/
Job Searching as an Introvert: http://jobsearchcoaching.com/introvertedjobsearcher.html
Subscribe to JobMob via RSS or email and follow me on Twitter for more ideas on how to ace your next interview.
Also, check out job search expert Donna Svei's new book: Beat the Odds: A Job Search Guide for Teachers .
Article Sources:
The Art of Social Media: http://www.forbes.com/sites/karriehausmann/2012/10/01/how-to-answer-the-following-three-commonly asked interview questions
How to Answer This Job Interview Question: http://jobsearchcoaching.com/howtotrythisjobinterviewquestion1.html
Donna Svei is the author of Beat the Odds: A Job Search Guide for Teachers , one of her many career resources for job search success. Like Donna's blog, Facebook , and Twitter .
4 Tips To Get An Interview At A Startup: http://socialnomicsblog.com/4-tips-to-get-an-interview-at-a-startup/
Job Searching as an Introvert: http://jobsearchcoaching.com/introvertedjobsearcher.html
Subscribe to JobMob via RSS or email and follow me on Twitter for more ideas on how to ace your next interview.
Also, check out job search expert Donna Svei's new book: Beat the Odds: A Job Search Guide for Teachers .
Article Sources:
The Art of Social Media: http://www.forbes.com/sites/karriehausmann/2012/10/01/how-to-answer-the-following-three-commonly asked interview questions
How to Answer This Job Interview Question: http://jobsearchcoaching.com/howtotrythisjobinterviewquestion1.html
Donna Svei is the author of Beat the Odds: A Job Search Guide for Teachers , one of her many career resources for job search success. Like Donna's blog, Facebook , and Twitter .
4 Tips To Get An Interview At A Startup: http://socialnomicsblog.
Conclusion
There are a lot of different things that you can do to improve your interview skills. You can practice with a colleague or friend, by yourself, or you can attend a workshop if there is one held in your area.
Don't think that just because you are interviewing for the 100th time, it doesn't mean that you don't have to practice and prepare for it. You want it to be as good as the first interview you ever went on. What's the point of being hired over and over if your performance from year one is no better than year 10?
Don't stress yourself out trying to prepare for interviews.