Chances are you will be in an interview soon. While there are hundreds of suggestions for nailing your interview they are all conditional and most focus on extroverted type personalities.
The biggest mistake people make when going into an interview is assuming that the interview is about them. It is not. What the interviewer is looking for is the value that you can bring to the company. In other words, will you bring the company more profits than it expends on you? Just by going into the interview understanding that you are there to prove your worth will make a world of difference in your attitude and confidence.
These to pointers will help you stand out in your next interview and prove that you are more valuable than all the rest:
1) STAR your answers
2) Make your interviewer think
STAR stands for:
Situation or Task
Action you took
Results you achieved
During your next interview you will be asked questions. This is your time to shine. Let us say that you are applying for a management position and you get asked, “how would you describe your self?”
Situation: “I would describe my self as a fearless leader for example when I was managing at my last job an employee was constantly coming in late. He was bigger than I was and had been working at the company longer than I did.”
Action: “Being in management I set up an appointment with him and I expressed my concern about him showing up late for work and asked what was going on. Then I asked how I could help him to come to work on time. I then expressed my appreciation for his hard work and ended the interview by asking what he felt I could do to be a better manager.”
Results: “As it turned out he offered some good advice and I noticed that as I took his advice he started showing up not only on time but he would show up15 minutes early and worked even harder!”
The STAR approach can be used on any question. Below are the 50 most asked questions during an interview.* Answer a couple of the questions a day using the STAR approach and keep in mind what the company is looking for so that way your answers align with their needs.
Make the interviewer think. This technique sets you heads and shoulders above the other applicants. You want the interviewer to think about you as the perfect fit and about the recognition that they will get for having hired such a perfect candidate for the position. You do that by asking a question:
“I’d like you to imagine it is a year from now, and you and your bosses are reviewing the people you have hired this year and when it comes to this position, they say, ‘Get us ten more like that one. That person was one of the best hires we have had in a long time.’ Can you tell me what that person did for her (or him) and you to get such a rave review?”
Another version of the question is:
“Assuming I got the job what would you be seeing me do, let us say six months from now, that lets you know that you made the right choice?”
A couple of things will happen; you will want to watch the interviewers eyes. They will look up and to the corner. That is a sure sign that they are envisioning you as the perfect hire and in addition you are asking them to envision themselves receiving recognition for having hired you. That is powerful. Most will say, “That is a good question, one that I have not considered…” and will either offer some sort of suggestion or say “I will have to get back to you on that.”
The important thing is that you get them think about you being the perfect fit.
STAR your answer and make your interviewer think. That will set you apart and give you the best chance of landing your dream job or position. Make sure you practice. You should never go into an interview cold turkey and expect to apply these techniques. Grab a friend and tell them what to say or print of this list of questions and give it to them to ask. Write down your responses and be sure to stay in the mindset of what the company holds as a valuable employee.
Let me know how your interviews go and land your dream job!
1) What are your strengths?
2) What are your weaknesses?
3) Why are you interested in working for [insert company name here]?
4) Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years?
5) Why do you want to leave your current company?
6) Why was there a gap in your employment between [insert date] and [insert date]?
7) What can you offer us that someone else can not?
8) What are three things your former manager would like you to improve on?
9) Are you willing to relocate?
10) Are you willing to travel?
11) Tell me about an accomplishment you are most proud of.
12) Tell me about a time you made a mistake.
13) What is your dream job?
14) How did you hear about this position?
15) What would you look to accomplish in the first 30 days/60 days/90 days on the job?
16) Discuss your resume.
17) Discuss your educational background.
18) Describe yourself.
19) Tell me how you handled a difficult situation.
20) Why should we hire you?
21) Why are you looking for a new job?
22) Would you work holidays/weekends?
23) How would you deal with an angry or irate customer?
24) What are your salary requirements?
25) Give a time when you went above and beyond the requirements for a project.
26) Who are our competitors?
27) What was your biggest failure?
28) What motivates you?
29) What’s your availability?
30) Who’s your mentor?
31) Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your boss.
32) How do you handle pressure?
33) What is the name of our CEO?
34) What are your career goals?
35) What gets you up in the morning?
36) What would your direct reports say about you?
37) What were your bosses’ strengths/weaknesses?
38) If I called your boss right now and asked him what is an area that you could improve on, what would he say?
39) Are you a leader or a follower?
40) What was the last book you’ve read for fun?
41) What are your co-worker pet peeves?
42) What are your hobbies?
43) What is your favorite website?
44) What makes you uncomfortable?
45) What are some of your leadership experiences?
46) How would you fire someone?
47) What do you like the most and least about working in this industry?
48) Would you work 40+ hours a week?
49) What questions haven’t I asked you?
50) What questions do you have for me?
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