How to Answer the Four Most Common Interview Questions

There are some questions that tend to pop up during almost every job interview.

The bad news: These questions can be quite difficult to answer.

The good news: Because they are so common, you can prepare for them well in advance and give a perfect answer without breaking a sweat.

So allow me to present four of the most common -- yet most perplexing -- interview questions and how you can best answer them.

1. "Tell Me a Little About Yourself"

Sometimes the most general question can be the hardest. How can you sum up your entire life story in just a couple of minutes?

You don't.

This oldest of questions is not an invitation to talk about your difficult childhood, your favorite grandmother or how you won the state swim competition in high school. Instead, it's a request for you to describe what you can offer the company.

In his excellent book 101 Great Answers to the Toughest Interview Questions, author Ron Fry suggests focusing on:

• Your key accomplishments at previous jobs.
• The strengths demonstrated by those accomplishments.
• How these relate to the job for which you're applying.

The goal is not to summarize your resume -- the interviewer already has a copy of that. Rather, tell how you came to be interested in this particular company and job, and weave examples of past accomplishments throughout to demonstrate why you are the perfect candidate.

2. "Why Did You Leave Your Last Job?"

Did you resign? Get laid off? Get fired? Storm out of the office in a huff, never to return? Chances are, you'll have to explain it in an interview.

The most important point to remember when answering this question: STAY POSITIVE.

The biggest sign of a troublemaker is when someone trashes his or her former boss or company during an interview. It doesn't matter if your boss was a jerk or if you hated your coworkers -- an interview is not the place to vent past frustrations.

Rather, the best way to answer this question is to stay positive and talk about your desire for growth opportunities. This will paint you as a proactive employee who enjoys responsibility and challenges.

Here are some quick pointers for answering this question, depending on your circumstances:

• IF YOU WERE FIRED: Be honest, but quick about explaining it. Don't get into the political details; rather, explain what you learned from the experience and how it makes you an even stronger employee today. It's not a good idea to lie about your termination. When the interviewer calls your references, he or she will most likely find out you were fired anyway. So be honest, and explain what you learned.
• IF YOU WERE LAID OFF: This is not nearly as taboo as it was even five years ago, so don't apologize or act defeated. If a company goes bankrupt or had massive layoffs, simply explain, "Because of the economy, the company decided to eliminate six departments, including mine."
• IF YOU QUIT: Again, be honest and stay positive. State that the work being offered wasn't challenging enough, that you are seeking higher levels of responsibility or simply that you are ready to make the next step on your career ladder -- and that the job for which you are interviewing is the ideal next step.

The secret is to stay positive and discuss your desire for growth. Hiring managers love applicants who actively seek responsibility.

3. "What's Your Biggest Weakness?"

What are you supposed to do -- tell them why they SHOULDN'T hire you?

The "weakness" question is popular with interviewers not because they want to torture you, but because they're interested in hearing how you tackle challenges.

The most important thing to remember is that after you name your weakness, you MUST discuss what you have done to overcome it.

Pick a weakness that is real but understandable or relatively harmless. Whatever weakness you pick, be sure that it is work-related ("I have a tendency to overfeed my dog" is NOT an appropriate weakness) and that you present the strategies for how you overcame it.

Here are a few examples:

• "I used to have a tendency to procrastinate. So now I am always sure to set a strict schedule for all of my projects well in advance and I set personal deadlines. This organization has really helped."
• "Once in a while, I focus too much on the details of a project. So now, when I'm working on a project, I always make sure at the end of the day to sit back and take a few minutes to think about the general scope of my work. It forces me to keep priorities straight and helps me keep the right mindset."
• "I used to have some problems with organization. So now I carry a schedule book around throughout the day and I also use this Palm Pilot to keep me on track. It's worked out great!"

You don't want to pick a weakness that will torpedo your chances -- even your weakness should speak strongly toward your skills. The examples above all address honest weaknesses; here are a few other "safe" weaknesses that are easy to discuss:

• I tend to be a perfectionist.
• I sometimes work too hard, leading to unnecessary stress.

4. "Do You Have Any Questions for Me?"

Yes, you do.

You should always try to ask a thoughtful question or two at the end of an interview. It shows that you've been listening and that you've done your research on the company.

What should you ask? In his book 101 Great Answers to the Toughest Interview Questions, Ron Frey suggests some of the following queries:

• Does this job usually lead to other positions at the company? What kind of positions?
• What do you like best about this company? Why?

DO NOT ask about salary, vacation days, benefits or anything else that would make it look like you're more interested in the compensation package than the company. Also, don't ask too many questions; just a couple will be fine.

And the most important question of all: Don't forget to ask for the job!

I'm very interested in this job. It's exactly the kind of job that I'm looking for. What is the next step in the interview process?

Behavioral Interview Sample Questions...

Behavioral Interviewing Worksheet
Use the sample questions below to prep for a behavioral-based interview.


Sample Behavioral Questions
These are drawn from the characteristics sought by employers.

Coping
Tell me about a time when you had to cope with strict deadlines or time demands. Give me an example. (With this question, the employer is looking for whether the applicant overreacted or withdrew from demanding work, and whether the success or failure in coping will generalize to another job.)

Tolerance of Ambiguity
Give me an example of a time when you had to deal with frequent job changes or unexpected events on the job. What does this situation say about your ability to work in an ambiguous or unstructured environment? (With this question, the interviewer is trying to see if the individual is comfortable with a lack of structure on the job and able to manage delay and ambiguity patiently, or was there a need to seek closure, jump to quick conclusions, or speed up the process too quickly.)



Decisiveness
Describe a situation in which you had to draw a conclusion quickly and take specific actions. (Interviewer is looking for whether the individual was able to take quick action based on available information or was there a tendency to vacillate or postpone the decision.)

Assertiveness
Give me an example of a time when you had to be assertive in giving directions to others. (Evaluate the candidate's ability to speak in a clear, direct manner, and gauge his or her ability to communicate with authority figures, hostile people or manipulative personalities.)

More to come on this topic in my next post...

Know Your Success Stories

Behavioral Interviewingis becoming more and more common. Have you ever heard people say that the best indicator of how you will perform on a job is how you have performed on jobs in the past?
With behavioral interviewing, the interviewer is looking for specific examples of how you have handled situations or problems in the past. Behavioral questionsbegin with phrases like: "tell me about a time when..." or "can you give me an example of..."
When an interviewer asks such questions, this is your chance to talk about your accomplishments and prove that you're a suitable candidate for success in a future position.

Know Your Success Stories!
Take some time before your interview to write out stories of times when you have:

• successfully solved problems;
• dealt with ambiguity and conflict,
• showed creativity, assertiveness, decisiveness, or good communication skills;
• demonstrated goal setting and commitment to task.

Determine what stories you have that would be appropriate for the position based on its job description. They can come from jobs, classroom activities, or volunteer positions.

By preparing for an interview ahead of time and recalling your past successes, you will be able to have examples in mind and will not be caught off guard. You can not predict what the interviewer will ask, but you can prepare what you want him or her to know about your knowledge, skills, and characteristics.

Use the STAR Model

A useful tool to use in preparing "Job Skill Stories" is the S.T.A.R. Model. On paper, for each story, describe:


S = Situation: A specific situation that addresses the question.
T = Task: The tasks associated with the situation.
A = Action: The actions taken to address the situation.
R = Result: The results of your actions. Don't forget this, as it's very important.

The average answer to a behavioral interview question should be around 3 minutes long. Acing the Interview: How to Ask and Answer the Questions That Will Get You the Job