Some interviewers are tougher than others. It helps a great deal to know some of the questions that you are likely to be asked. This article details some of the most difficult and some tips that will help you to answer them. Fail to plan and plan to fail- more than just a buzz phrase- really good advice to get you through that tricky interview
Tell me a little bit about yourself. An old question but one designed to start to open you up. Find out if they want to know about your career or you as a person- try and keep control of the interview if possible. If you can't bring yourself to ask for clarification, start talking about your recent achievements in a job role appropriate to the company that you are sitting in front of. Be prepared to answer this one- it's almost certain that you'll get asked this
Why are you interested in this role? A bit of a banana skin this one- they are looking for your motivation. You need to talk about the challenges that you believe you will be facing, and also point to achievements that you have delivered in the past, referencing them to how they will benefit the new company
What do you think about the company that you used to work for? Red flashing light alert- they are trying to trap you into saying something awful. Even if the company you used to work for was the worst slave driving place on earth, find something good to say about it. You went there in the first place for a reason and no company is all bad. Stay positive, explain what you learned and stay right away from any criticism
How much money are you looking for? Pretty straight forward answer to this one. Ask them what sort of money that they were looking to pay. What budget figure did you have in mind is another useful response. As a general rule, avoid bringing up money yourself. In this case, they started the discussion. Stay positive, they are interested in you or they wouldn't ask
Is is always right to tell the truth? Great question, simple answer. Of course the answer is that you never lie. This is designed to take you off guard and to probe if you would actually lie. Never a good idea lying, sometimes though you can't tell someone the whole truth though. Be on your guard- an interviewer asking this question is good
What is your worst characteristic? Oh dear, a flashing red light- this is a trap. The answer is to focus on something incriminating- for example, I can be a bit of a perfectionist- I like to get things right and sometimes this can annoy people whose work is less than satisfactory
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About the writer: Glenn Hughes owns and runs a professional cv services business based in Wales. A cv service can really help you with your job chances