How to Answer Tricky Interview Questions, Part 1
Your career is your most valuable financial asset, offering you many financial benefits. You can make the most of it by getting a college degree and managing your career to its full potential. Doing this well can earn you millions of dollars in extra income throughout your lifetime.
No matter who you are, what you do for a living, what industry you're in, etc., it's almost guaranteed that you'll need to interview for a job (or several) throughout your career to move on, move up, or move out. And the key to doing well in an interview is being able to give great answers to tough interview questions -- answers that sell your skills to the max. This piece from CareerBuilder offers advice on how to answer tricky interview questions. I'll be running these in several parts -- telling you what they advise and throwing in my two cents as well.
Before we get to the questions and answers, the article starts off with some great advice that I have to share with you. Namely:
Take the proper amount of time to prepare for your interview. Being well-prepared will boost your confidence and lower your anxiety. Experts recommend that you spend at least three hours preparing for each interview.
You should draft answers to the most common interview questions and practice speaking them out loud. You also should read up on the company with which you will be interviewing and prepare some questions of your own. This lets the interviewer know that you are truly interested in the company and the position.
Yes, yes, yes!!!!! This is simply EXCELLENT advice!!!! I've used it myself in getting my past few jobs and it works wonders. Here's what I do specifically:
1. I write down the questions I expect them to ask. My last list was somewhere in the 30-question range.
2. I write out an answer for each question. This takes time and effort as I write them out (really type them on the computer), then edit and re-edit them a few times. I get them to the point where they are short yet packed with examples from past work experiences that highlight my points and make the interviewer salivate at the thought of hiring me.
3. I also add some questions I have for them. Don't think you can just come up with these on the spur of the moment. Instead, think about them in advance, then write them down.
4. I rehearse the answers to the interview questions over and over until I can deliver them flawlessly. I concentrate on hitting all the main points as well as making sure that the answers sound new/fresh/unrehearsed. You can only get to this point after going over them again and again. I usually review them once a day for two weeks prior to the interview.
I have personal experience doing this and I know it works like a charm. I go in knowing that I have great answers to almost anything they ask and as such I'm more confident, relaxed, and prepared (especially compared to the competition). Using this method, I've ALWAYS gotten a second set of interviews and have had a job offer all but one time (and then only when I was interviewing for a spot that I was under-qualified for). Try it for yourself and you'll see what I mean.
Stay tuned to Free Money Finance too. We'll cover the interview questions over the next few days and I'm sure you'll find it enlightening and useful.
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