You read the books, did your research, knew what to expect and impressed the
HR recruiters and line managers equally. So much so in fact that they have now
been elevated to a different level of questioning altogether; you have made it
the final round, the lion’s ring, the platinum enclave, and the employer is now
trying to determine if you really are as perfect, as unquestionably suited for
the job as you seem to be. In the most professional behavioral based interviews
you will often not even be aware of the exact behavior or history of behaviors
the interviewer is probing for or trying to ascertain.
Below are some of the questions/tactics you might expect during a really
tough interview as the employer struggles with the decision of are you really
the right candidate for the job are have you simply memorized the latest
Interview Skills Almanac and rehearsed at length with the Interview Brigade.
1. Silence
The silence left by an interviewer is not an invitation to babble or a
license to ramble. In fact, it is a calculated tactic used by many a
sophisticated employer to make you do precisely that. Avoid breaking the
silence and above all don’t lose your cool. Stay casual and relaxed, maintain
your friendly demeanor and wait for the employer to break the silence. Remember
in an interview the nonverbal cues you give are being observed as closely as
your words, tone and diction.
2. Tell Me A Little About Yourself
Stick to business and to those aspects of yourself that specifically related
to the job at hand. This is not the time to pretend to enjoy soccer if you
don’t know how many people play in a team, who won the last World Cup and what
the rules of the game are.
Nor is it
the time to reveal personal information
that has no bearing to the professional setting and might impede your chances
of success. This is your chance to really sell yourself and expound on all
those character traits, accomplishments and success stories that have a direct
bearing on the job.
Reassert why you are there and your interest in the
position and reaffirm why you are uniquely qualified and suitable for the role
at hand. Substantiate your claims with concrete and positive examples from your
past experience that reflect on your abilities, aptitudes and values. Show that
you understand the requirements of the role and portray yourself in the best
light possible to occupy that role by virtue of
your goals, interests,strengths, skills and past successes.
3. Tell Me a Story
Trust us, the interviewer is not interested at this specific moment in pop
culture, nursery rhymes or the sequel to the latest blockbuster.
He is
interested in his bottom line and in finding a candidate who can augment that
while being a pleasant and welcome member of the team.
Stay focused on why you
are there and what the interviewer is looking for.
Asking a question to get the
conversation back on the most relevant professional track is your best course
of action.
“What would you like to hear about?” may narrow the parameters but
then again the interviewer may not be forthcoming.
You can then volunteer “Can
I tell you about why I am here today and why I truly believe I am uniquely
suitable for this specific job” and proceed to reiterate with passion and
sincerity why you firmly believe you are unequivocally the best person for the
job.
4. Why Should We Hire You?
This question delivered sometimes in a condescending manner may come at a
late stage of the interview by which time you thought you’d already expounded
on all your virtues or it may be used as a shocker right at the beginning. Either way don’t be discouraged or exasperated. Use it to drive home exactly
why you believe you are uniquely and fundamentally and beyond any shade of a
doubt qualified for the very specific role being discussed. This is where your
homework comes into play and you need to really understand what the employer is
looking for in terms of skills, strengths, values, track record and cultural
fit. Align your goals and interests with the employer’s and reiterate that you
are confident you can not only meet the deliverables and perform the
requirements of the role but really excel!
Show confidence, enthusiasm and
energy without being boastful or arrogant. Above all be sincere.
Your sincere and
honest interest in the job and faith that you will perform beyond all your
expectations will communicate itself to the employer better than any canned
superlatives and coined metaphors.
5. What kind of people do you find it difficult to work with?
Every workplace has its unique personalities and character profiles, some
less ideal to work with than others. This is not the time to point fingers,
generalize, compartmentalize or wax lyrical about your ideal team environment. Show you are tolerant, flexible, easygoing and able to get along with
practically anyone and resolve conflicts professionally and productively.
Say
you understand everyone brings to the table their very own skills, strengths
and experiences, that you enjoy the challenge of working with new people and
can really appreciate the differences.
Emphasize that you are a team player who
enjoys interacting with and bouncing ideas off of others and thrives on the
feedback and reinforcement, the energy and vitality inherent in effective and
collaborative teamwork.
6. How do you handle stress?
Stress is an inevitable part of life and the employer needs to hear you
realize that and have already mastered the art of recognizing stress and coping
with it effectively.
Mention that you take time to really think through a
situation before reacting and never allow matters to blow out of proportion or
lose your calm. Give an example of a particularly stressful project you worked
on and how you managed to reduce the stress level through proper planning,
organization time management. Show you have an arsenal of real stress-busting
habits too which successfully serve you in ameliorating stress whether they be
yoga, running once a week, meditation at night, swimming, meeting up with
friends, or some other sport, hobby or activity that shows you positively for
the well-rounded person you are.
7. What was your biggest failure?
Obviously this is potentially your opportunity to talk yourself out of the
job so be very careful and above all don’t bring up a failure that has any
impact or ramifications whatsoever on the job at hand.
You may bring up
something relatively insignificant that happened very early in your career and
turn it into a story of remedial action and great success as directly affects
and impacts your potential for contribution to the present job. Demonstrate
that you have dramatically
learned and grew from that experience. You may
mention for instance a formal training program you really wanted to get into
that you were not permitted to join and how that forced you to pursue your own
learning tangent which actually proved much more rich, fruitful and relevant to
your chosen career path.
Or talk about an account you lost very early on in
your career due to sheer inexperience and how you instantly took remedial
action, learned from your mistakes, took the counsel and advice of your boss
and mentors and won the account back and have since made them into one of your
biggest customers.
8. To what do you attribute your success?
The interviewer probably wants to verify that you really are successful
professional at this stage by gauging your sincerity when you respond to this
question. He/she is also interested in your value system and character. Mention
some of the values you hold most dear to you – honesty, integrity, character,
discipline, and mention that you are an energetic, ambitious “doer” who has
always been very persistent, organized and disciplined in setting and meeting
goals.
Don’t be arrogant or over-confident when answering this question or ramble
on endlessly as this is also a “likability” question. Remember to attribute
some of the success to the wonderful people you have been blessed to work/
learn with – whether it is a unique boss, mentor, teacher, peer or group of
people.
9. Describe a situation where you were faced with a problem that had no
precedent?
This question probes your problem-solving and analytical skills.
How well
can you think outside the box, wrap your mind around a particular quandary, get
the full measure of it and formulate the means and method to resolve it in an
exemplary fashion?
This question is especially relevant in the case of start-up
companies or divisions, consultancy roles and many positions which require
braving uncharted territory and designing new systems and procedures and
operating apparatus.
You need to show creativity, clarity of thought,
confidence in your analytical and problem-solving skills and willingness to
take a risk and create your own precedent.
10. How do you deal with difficult customers?
Give an example of a difficult client you had to work with and how you
maintained the relationship and made it profitable by really listening to him,
respecting his needs, issues and constraints, following-up rigorously,
maintaining very high professional standards and not allowing ego to get in the
way.
Chose an example where you were able to really turn the situation around
to everyone’s advantage.
11. What has been your greatest accomplishment?
Choose a significant success story and make sure you position it in terms of
how it positively impacts your potential for success in the new role. Give
facts and figures to elaborate if possible.
You may want to talk about winning
the most important account in the industry if that is relevant to the job at
hand, about your relationships with clients which have won you an unrivaled
track record at client retention, or about exceeding ambitions goals through
hard work, perseverance, client follow-up, effective communication and cohesive
teamwork.
Show how you mobilized resources and gained approvals and how you
then carried through to successful implementation and follow-up without losing
sight of either the big picture or the details and while effectively
negotiating several difficulties on the way.
12. What is your ideal work environment?
Emphasize your flexibility and your ability to be productive, happy and
efficient in any number of environments. This is not the time to demand the
corner office with the park view or uninterrupted close-door policy.
Versatility goes a long way in today’s fluid workplaces and you need to show
that you are able to focus on the job at hand and “fit in” seamlessly
regardless of extraneous factors be they the physical surroundings, team
dynamics or general level of noise and activity in the office.
Indicate
examples of how you have managed to excel in the past in sub optimal work
environments and done so quite happily. Convey that you like the challenge of
fitting into a new role and know from your history and track record that you
can adapt immediately regardless of the environment.
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