After carefully researching the company, reading thru the job description you want to come to an interview prepared to answer the questions that are most likely to come up.
Here’s just a few questions that we find are most often asked by hiring managers and that you should be prepared to answer.
“What have you done in your previous jobs that you think sets you apart from other employees?”
This question is often asked to get a sense of whether you view yourself as a results or task focused employee. If your answer is about how well you performed certain aspects of your job (ex. I really was good at customer service), the interviewer is likely to conclude that you are an employee who focuses on completing tasks and doing those tasks at a high level -always a good thing. If, on the other hand, your answer talks about the results you achieved by doing your job at high levels (ex. I was able to use my customers service skills to win back a lot of customers that hadn’t been doing business with us for a while) your interviewer is likely to get a good picture of how a decision to hire you might impact their business. Bottom line -whenever possible talk about the results you’ve been able to achieve not just the tasks you’ve performed. Make sure they know that what motivates you is achieving results not just going thru the motion of doing your job!
“Why do you think this job is a good fit for you?”
Here’s the simplest and most effective way to answer this question….
- Reiterate what you know about the role, and why its important to the business.
- Describe what you believe are the most important skills and personal qualities it will take to do the job well.
- Ask the interviewer if this is how they see the role….get confirmation that you understand the role and its importance.
- If yes, list the skills and experiences you have that you believe are most important to achieving success in the role. Talk about why your previous work experience and achievements have prepared you for this role.
- Ask the interviewer if they agree with your analysis.
This 5 step answer will demonstrate your awareness of the business need this role is intended to fulfill. It will elicit their feedback that you have understood the details of the role, and lastly have the qualifications to do it well. Focus on the alignment between what you have done in the past and what you believe you can do in the future. Be sure to express your level of interest in the role and that you are motivated to take on its challenges.
“Do You Have Any Questions?”
If you’ve been a longtime follower of PACE blogs, you know how we feel about this question. Many hiring managers pay close attention not just to how you answer their interview questions but the questions you have for them. They’re looking for indicators of your critical thinking skills and what makes you interested in the job. Your questions let them know what’s important to you – the work content? the team? the company benefit plans? etc. We’ve seen many situations where a candidate who asks great questions will get higher evaluation ratings than a candidate with higher level skills or more work experience.
Getting prepared to answer these questions…
…won’t just serve you well when they are asked – but will ensure you are putting your best foot forward throughout the interview. Ultimately hiring managers are looking for you to give the a reason to select you and assurances that you will actually behave on the job as you behave during the interview.
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