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Some Career Sites Just Don't Help at All

I was browsing on the net last night, searching for new interview questions and answers that other employment gurus have to offer, when I recognized something wrong. You can get literally piles of interview questions and answers out there but I did not spot a single site that shows readers strategies about how to answer the questions. They just provide the answers and that’s it.

Why is that bad?

Because almost all job hunters will merely copy those answers without really knowing them, so when the interviewer throws in a follow up question, come interview time, they end up getting lost. This fact makes most interview help web sites worthless.

Realizing the need, I decided to post this article and fill in the blank. There are actually several types of interview questions and I will go over 3 of them in this short article.

Behavioral interview questions – These kinds of questions are becoming more and more popular since they not only test an individual's behavior over a given situation, they also show how a person recounts past events and how effective they are in conveying a message. It is some sort of a communication skills test as well.

Here is a sample behavioral interview question and answer

Give me an example of a time when you encouraged others

"The current financial meltdown led a lot of companies to downsize; it affected nearly every industry including ours. Several of my colleagues back then were hunting for other jobs because they were afraid that they might get laid off. Realizing the problem, I began talking with my group and told them that we should not abandon the company, if we carry out our job well the management will notice and we'll be too valuable to let go of. So we stuck with the company and started multi-tasking because several jobs were left vacant. The corporation got through the crunch and we all got a reward for carrying out a great job."

Notice that the reply begins with a condition, followed by an action, and then an outcome. This is the proper way to effectively answer behavioral questions. It needs to be in that order so the message is clear.

Situational interview questions – These are the “what if” questions that are designed to test your problem solving and critical thinking skills. You are typically given a scenario where you must choose between 2 actions that have particular effects on your job or personal life.

Here is a sample situational interview question and answer

What would you do if a team member is resisting a new idea you are introducing?

“I’ve worked in a team before and have been in this situation. What I did at that time was to speak with the team member who is resisting the idea and I tried to find out the reason for his resistance. Issues like this almost always boils down to mis-communication and misunderstanding on the team member’s part. Once I found out the reason for his resistance, I then formulated a solution and then we all agreed on the new idea.”

These kinds of questions require some thought because there will be a consequence regardless of what action you choose. So you have to weigh your alternatives, evaluate the situation, prioritize, and then decide on which course to take.

Non-direct interview questions – These are general questions that don’t really ask for anything specific. One of the most common non-direct interview questions is;

“Tell me something about yourself”

In responding to this particular question, you need to be able to refer to your education, skills, experiences, and personality in as short as 2mins. Don’t get overly enthusiastic and start telling stories that are immaterial. As much as possible, relate your answer to the opportunity you are vying for.

Those are 3 types of interview questions, and most importantly, how to respond to them. It is appropriate to think about possible answers to as many interview questions that you can discover because you’ll never know just what questions will get asked. It is also best to practice saying your answers out loud and observe whether you are sounding like a robot or not. Nothing is better than an applicant who is very well prepared.

How to Answer Behavioral Interview Questions

Behavioral interview questions are meant to analyze your...well, behavior, as what the title signifies, and such questions need to be answered carefully and if possible with much thought as to what impression your answer would most likely convey.

It is a fact that you need to be 100% honest when answering interview questions, specifically behavioral ones, although we occasionally have a tendency to blurt out information in a different way that we are unable to convey the information the way we want to.

Here are some popular behavioral interview questions and answers that you can practice on.

Identify a time when you did something that you did not like

"When I was working as a customer service associate, I was selected to pioneer one of the new inbound customer care accounts where we addressed after sales concerns. The condition was I did not like phone conversation with customers; I was a chat support agent and have been one for the longest time. But, considering that I was offered the position and it is my responsibility as an employee to help get the job done, I accepted the job and it turned out that communicating with clients isn't so terrible after all."

Provide an example where you worked your way towards achieving your goal

"I started working at a construction firm right out of high school. While there, I worked as hard and as clever as I could and went up up to the highest attainable rank without having a degree. I then enrolled at a university in order to complete a business degree, then after graduating the business offered me an even greater responsibility. That for me is certainly one of my finest accomplishments."

Give me an example of a time when you motivated others

"The current financial meltdown led many companies to downsize; it affected nearly every industry including ours. Several of my co-workers back then were on the lookout for other jobs because they were afraid that they might get laid off. Spotting the trouble, I began conversing with my staff and told them that we should not abandon the company, if we carry out our job well the management will notice and we'll be too valuable to let go of. So we stuck with the company and started out multi-tasking seeing that so many jobs were left vacant. The company made it through the crisis and we all got a reward for carrying out a fine job."

Those are a few examples of behavioral interview questions and answers that you can model from. Do not copy those answers most definitely if it does not apply to you. Recruiters are quite good in terms of spotting dishonesty.

And if you've been reading closely, you should have seen that the answers start with a situation, followed by an action, then an outcome. Review the answers again and check. That is how you answer these sorts of questions. Situation, action, then outcome. There are plenty of other behavioral interview questions and answers out there but the most crucial thing is that you answer them with honesty and practice delivering them in an effective way.

2 Interview Questions that Applicants Fail On

Answering interview questions adequately may be the biggest problem a job hunter has; employers never appear to run out of unexpected questions and they render simple questions hard to answer. You don't really know if it's you or they're just too overwhelming that you just forget you have a brain.

One of the excellent methods to overcome interview jitters and stay in control during an interview would be to practice interview questions and answers some time before your scheduled meeting. With this, typical questions and answers are always fresh in your mind and you can prepare how you can say them confidently as well as in a non-rehearsed manner.

The following are standard interview questions and answers that you can practice on. Such questions never fail to arise in an interview. Note that you can not copy the sample answers to the letter; you have to generate your own responses for you to tailor them to your situation.

Tell me something about yourself

This is generally the first question you'll get asked and a whole lot of candidates never get this right. Don't take the question literally and start saying anything about yourself, keep in mind that you are marketing yourself and your reply to this specific question should do just that. And keep your answer short and concise. Here's a sample answer for somebody who is looking for a customer service job.

"My name is Mark Anthony, you can call me Mark. I've been in the industry for 3 years and I'm enjoying every bit of it. I like interacting with people, gaining new friends, and I find it both challenging and exciting whenever I get to interact with difficult persons...etc"

You can add other things such as spare-time activities but notice how I outlined characteristics that happen to be vital to customer service? It's definitely not easy to find somebody that finds dealing with difficult people a challenge. That statement alone will give you an edge over the competition.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

This is a complicated question and very common on interview questions and answers. It's easy to speak about your strengths but why would you want to talk about weaknesses that could cost you the job? It doesn't sound right. Here's a sample answer for the weakness part:

"I find it challenging to delegate for the reason that I always feel that I can carry out things better myself, which is not always the case. Now and then I find myself with too much to address. I've been taking care of this weakness though and I discovered that communication is key to attaining great things in a team."

In the example, you'll realize that what was stated is both a weakness and a strength. It is a predicament if you just can't delegate because you think that you can do things better but it also suggests that you definitely strive for greatness whenever doing a job.

Those are a couple of interview questions and answers that you can start practicing with. Try to remember, you ought to be sincere when answering questions so think of the best answer that reveals your real personality.