Most Common Interview Questions and Answers.

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In the current economic environment where most people are loosing their jobs and Companies closing down, it only comes a surprise when you are invited for a job interview.
In most organisations, it is not common to receive hundreds of job applications for a position that requires only one candidate.
So, if you have been invited for an interview, congratulations! but how do you make sure that you are the one who gets the job.
Preparation is the answer! Prepare for interview questions, prepare your questions for the interview panel and research and know the Company or organisation that has invited you for the interview.
Generally there are going to be certain questions that arise at your interview that you can pretty much expect to get asked at any other interview you attend. The good thing is that you can rehearse your answers to these questions and with enough practice you will go through the interview with a smile on your face.
These questions are likely to be fired at all candidates applying for the job although they may sound personal to you and they are to a degree pretty standard interview questions:

Below are a few common questions and their answers, but remember these questions will not always be set in the same way nor will they be answered with the same answers, but we hope they will give a guideline on what to expect.

Tell Me About Yourself –
This question sounds easy and straight forward but it is not. Don’t start rambling on about how much you enjoy watching football or reading novels, that isn’t what the interviewer is expecting to hear. You probably need to answer this question with a question. Perhaps you could try saying “What would you like to know about me?” This then gives your interviewer the chance to get you to tell him exactly what information he is looking for. Whatever the information the interviewer wants from you, always pick your best attributes and achievements from your career and try to keep this part of the interview to a minimum.

Why Do You Want To Leave Your Job? -
This is a bit of a stupid question but can reduce your chance of getting the job if not carefully answered. There are obviously reasons why you are leaving your job, for example you have been laid off, your boss is a complete idiot or you just want more money. Whatever the reason, always stress the positive aspects of the change rather than the negative aspects of your previous job - you do not want to employ someone who is moving just because they hate their old boss. You can give your answer a long these lines; “I feel I have outgrown my current duties and I feel my contribution as part of a team could be put to much better use with a larger or more focused company where I can expand my skills further“. stress the transferable skills you have, such as leadership ability, organisational skill etc. Just try not to be negative about the job you are leaving or your boss, it doesn’t look good.

What do you enjoy most about your Current Job?
This is a fairly straight forward question but has a bit of a double meaning. Obviously there are going to be parts of your existing job that you don’t like doing otherwise you wouldn‘t have applied for the job. Stick to the positive aspects of your current job and what you have achieved. Mention problems you were able to solve and how you solved them rather than dwelling on how you enjoyed office parties. Show that you are a person who can solve problems rather than someone who lets things get on top of them. It is possible to use this question to your benefit but you need to make sure you pick something that is going to compliment the job you are applying for.

What Is Your Present Boss Like?
A question intended to assess the level of your loyalty and integrity. Lets face it, very few people actually like their bosses but It is not a good idea to be critical about any of the employers you have ever worked for. Your answer could be along these lines; “I like my boss and we get on very well. I respect and admire his knowledge and experience and he is good at his job”. Keep your answer to a minimum because the person interviewing you may well be your potential boss and they are weighing up your loyalty and integrity.

How much Do You Know about this Organisation?
Now if you have taken my earlier advice you will have done your research and read up about what the company is involved in. This is your chance to impress the interviewer with your knowledge of their company. Give them a run down of their products-services, sales figures, news, customers, and its strategy. You will really impress your interviewer if you are able to show that you have done some research about their company. As previously mentioned people like to think that if you are really eager to work for them you will have done some research about what they do and how they do it.

What Qualities Do You Think are required for this this Job Position?
Again, You will have reviewed the job spec and the key responsibilities so you will be able to select several areas where you feel your qualities will stand out. These may include leadership ability, supervisory skills, communication skills, interpersonal skills, problem solving, analytical skills, etc This is your chance to shine. Tell them about your achievements in your previous position(s) which are relevant to the new position you are applying for.
Always give examples when stressing your achievements, for example you could say something like this “I have experience of working in the complaints department where a sympathetic touch is required dealing with disgruntled customers. I am very tactful and am able to defuse situations using my personal skills and communication skills”.

What Is Your Biggest Weakness?
Very tricky question, no one wants to show their weaknesses but we all have them and do not try to impress by trying portray that you are Miss or Mr perfect. Try and find a way of turning this question into a positive one with a positive answer. So you could perhaps say “I have worked greatly on improving my organisational skills and currently I find no problems with scheduling and prioritising my work load thus being able to achieve my targets”.

Where Do You See Yourself In Five Years Time?
You may have ideas about where you want to be in a five years but try and answer the question positively but not too arrogantly. You do not want to appear as a potential threat to your boss’s job who could be on the panel, but at the same time you do not want to portray yourself as goalless person with no ambition - perhaps you could say something such as “I have always been very career minded and ambitious. I would like to keep progressing up the career ladder and feel that your organisation will be able to offer me that opportunity”.

What’s Your Greatest Strength?
This is your chance to show off and please use it. The interviewer wants to know what you are good at. When answering this question try and provide strengths that relate to the role that you are applying for, so if the job requires the need to be organised and a good team leader provide these as strengths within your answer. Show how you have progressed throughout your life and how you have accepted and taken on responsibility for the actions of yourself and others. If you have not really had many work related responsibilities you can mention other responsibilities you have had outside work.

What interests do you have outside work?
Your hobbies and interests can tell an employer a lot about you, including whether you are sociable or solitary, and whether you can take on 'leadership' roles. So you should think about which interests will paint the right picture of you given the position you are discussing. If you don’t like football or snooker don’t say that you do, just provide honest answers. There is nothing worse than saying you follow a sport and then it turns out that the interviewer is mad about the subject and starts asking you questions you can’t answer. You will look a fool and your honesty will be under scrutiny.

What did you earn in your last job?
You have to be very careful when answering this question because once an interviewer knows your current salary they will try and fix your next remuneration based on this figure. This may be satisfactory if you only wanted a modest rise in salary and your current salary is in line with their salary range, but, what if your current salary is substantially lower than the rate for the job, or if you want a substantial salary rise? In these cases you would be best advised to say that you do not really want to prejudice yourself by being too high or too low. Ask if you can discuss this later after the responsibilities for the job have been discussed; you may also want to ask them what the range for the job is (if you do not already know).

What would be your ideal job?
Again, remember where you are! Describe the job in terms of the criteria they have used to describe their job. An ideal job might include things like challenging work, a fair rate of pay for the job, nice colleagues, good career prospects, good team atmosphere, opportunity to learn new skills, apply old skills, etc

What is the Biggest Challenge You’ve Ever Faced In Your Career and how did you solve it? This is a really great question and a great opportunity for you to shine! You are more than likely to be asked this question and it is a really great opportunity for you to blow your own trumpet. Pick a challenge where you have been successful and explain how you overcame the challenge and the outcome. This question can also be used by the interviewer to gauge what you consider to be a challenge.

Lastly the Dos’ and Don’ts on the Interview:
Don’t:
- Do not ever answer your phone in the interview.
- Crossing Your Arms: Makes you look defensive.
- Sit on the edge of your seat- make you look nervous
- play with your pen, notebook, jewellery or hair.
- Never be confrontational - it damages the rapport.
- Interrupt when being asked a question.
- Ask nonsense or irrelevant questions
- Never say no when you are asked whether you have a question.
Do:
- Switch off your mobile phone before the interview
- Get to the interview venue well before time.
- Smile as frequently as possible (especially when you are asked a question and respond to the person who has asked the question) but don’t over do it!
- Keep your hands in your lap don’t wave them around all over the place.
- Keep eye contact at all times. If there is more than one interviewer flick from person to person.
- Be articulate and listen carefully to each question before giving your answer.
- Keep calm and don’t panic.
- Endeavour to ask a question if given the opportunity.
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