Your skills and experience, highlighted in a detailed résumé, earned you an interview with a top company in your field. As a great interview plays a critical role in ultimately receiving a job offer, the real work begins. In the end, you need to impress the interviewer by answering clearly and confidently no matter the question.
With an exemplary performance in mind, here are a few tips on answering common interview questions. Leverage these insights to better prepare for the big day. Combining this advice with studying your résumé and researching your potential new employer leads to success.
How to Answer When Asked About Yourself
“Tell me about yourself” is a traditional interview question. If asked this question, don’t simply restate the contents of your résumé. Instead, provide a focused answer or pitch that details your current job role while providing insights into your career dreams. Close your answer by describing your excellent fit for their open position.
So Why Do You Want This Job?
This is another classic interview question that needs to be answered clearly and meaningfully. Once again, some of your answers likely touch on your career dreams and explain why you are a good fit for the position. Also, you need to show off your research by including information about the company in question. Mentioning their company culture, exciting project work, and career development opportunities is a wise approach.
How Did You Handle Your Greatest Challenge at Work?
Companies want to hire candidates with the ability to thrive under pressure. So expect a question or two along these lines during your interview. Make sure your answer highlights your ability to work within a team. More importantly, don’t criticize a former boss or coworker. A professional approach always works best when answering this line of questioning.
Describing a Professional Failure
Of course, any potential employer wants to understand how you dealt with failure throughout your career. Yet again, you need to take ownership of your answer. As noted earlier, don’t throw any coworkers or managers under the bus.
In the end, describe how much you learned from the situation and how it helped you grow as a professional. Presenting yourself as a talented, experienced, and selfless candidate needs to be your goal when answering questions like these.
Do you want more advice to help with your job search? Contact Harvard Resource Solutions, now hiring for jobs in Detroit MI.
