Strategies To Deal With Interview Questions
You know that when you go in to that interview room, you are going to get bombarded with a load of interview questions don’t you. Most of the questions can sound like gobble-dee-gook, sometimes. You must stay with the programme and focus on responding to their questions as best you can. I remember that some of my answers in an interview of mine, initially seemed crazy, but ended up getting me one of my most enthralling posts…
A few years ago, I applied for a teacher’s assistant post at our local junior school. After the preliminary greetings, I found myself sat across from the headmistress. She wanted me to answer the “What’s your greatest weakness?” question. I don’t know if it was the whole – sitting in front of the head teacher thing – but I just blurted out the truth. I told her that when I first meet a new person, I am usually painfully shy and quiet. The challenge is that people can think that I am a little aloof and remote. To my huge relief – she just laughed and confided in me that she had the same issues when she was at my stage of career.
Never be frightened of your weaknesses. Never lie and don’t just re-use the ones that you have heard before. There are some really tired responses to this question, such as the “I just can’t say no”. If you use one of these “standard” answers – you may come across as being a liar and untrustworthy.
What clinched my interview for the teaching place was a lot more unexpected than I thought. I was asked an excruciatingly easy question that almost made me marvel, “What is this lady getting at?” The director gazed at me earnestly, cocked her head to one side, and inquired, “If I needed to send you into a room by yourself for a few minutes, and you weren’t used to the schoolroom or the children, what would your initial response be?” I chuckled and answered, “Probably try to placate them and keep them occupied by playing the Hokey Pokey, or another sort of game.”
Do you know what? A few months later, when I was in the post – the head teacher told me that the reason that she gave me the job was that mad answer!? She was intrigued by my honesty and felt that my personality would be the biggest asset that the school would use. Weird eh?
Once again, asking coworkers and family for advice on naming your strengths and weaknesses, will give you great insight into your candidacy. Ordinarily, you might have to put up with a little bit of teasing from them – especially when it comes to your weaknesses. Just laugh, and tell them to get serious – it is for a job you are looking into. Be sure, all the same, to limit your strengths and weaknesses to the business you are applying for. An interviewer at the local department store is not concerned with your strength to withstand tickling under your arms, just as much as they are probably not too interested in your weakness for cheese!
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Tags:career,CV,doctor,interview,job,job change,medical school,Personal Development,resume,self improvementRelated posts
Tags: career, CV, doctor, interview, job, job change, medical school, Personal Development, resume, self improvement
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