Job interviews are a lot more than one on one conversation about one’s work and experience. The candidate is not only judged on his/her education and experience but is also evaluated on the basis of communication skills, body language, personal outlook and much more. Many times the interviewer might throw a tricky question your way to see how you deal with it. Here are a few tricky questions and how to answer them.
- What did you not like about your last job-
Remember the first rule for any job interview- Never bad mouth your current company or colleagues. Begin and end your answer on a positive note. Start with how appreciative you are of the opportunities and experience you’ve got there. Talk about the tasks that you found stagnant or mundane and how you are looking forward to certain opportunities the new job would provide. And whatever you do, do not complain about your present boss, colleagues or over-time.
- How will your colleagues / team describe you?
Use adjectives that directly describe your performance at work. You can use your performance reviews and ability to handle challenging situations and meeting deadlines well on time. The interviewer is not looking to gauge your personal relationship or rapport with your colleagues but is looking to find out how well you work in a team and achieve the given target. For the person hiring you, your dedication and ability to achieve targets and bringing in profits is what matters. Steer clear of complaining or bad mouthing your colleagues in the current work place. Highlight an instance where you helped your team in achieving your targets by assisting your team mates through developing a constructing and communicative work environment.
- Why do you want to work for us?
Make sure to do a thorough research about the company and the role you are interviewing for. The interviewer is looking to find out how committed you are for the role you applied for. Be very specific about how the position is suitable for you. This is the time when you talk about your skills and experience in handling work. Talk about your qualities that would make you an asset for the company and display genuine enthusiasm (not too much) about the new position and opportunities you’ll get out of it.
- What motivates you?
This question is often asked to get an idea about what approach you have towards challenging situations. Talk about instances where you faced challenges and how you overcame those with your perseverance and resilience. How the challenges you overcame gave you more confidence and personal satisfaction. No company would want to hire individuals who are afraid of challenges and crack under pressure.
- Why should we hire you?
This is where you can share your skill set and exposure, telling them how each one makes you a perfect fit for the role. Make sure you prepare for this question beforehand. List down skills and abilities that would help you add value to the company. You can draw attention to your motivation and dedication towards the role you have applied for. Be well researched about the company and role
TANYA CHOPRA
