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At the risk of stating the obvious, here are some of the things you should do before and during and interview and some you most definitely shouldn't.
Find out as much as you can about the job and the company. The more prepared you are, the more confident you will feel. Have a look at their website or surf the Internet for any information or press releases.
- Make sure you know where you are going and do a "dummy run" if you can. Allow yourself extra time for traffic and public transport problems.
- Dress smartly. First impressions are very important. Little things like dirty nails or shoes, bad makeup or too much perfume can be off-putting to an interviewer before you've even opened your mouth! On one occasion we had to lend a candidate some more sober socks to replace the Homer Simpson ones he obviously thought would do nicely.
- Be pleasant and friendly to the staff that meet and greet you. Interviewers, especially in smaller companies, often ask the support staff (reception, secretaries, PA's etc) for their opinion of candidates.
- Shake hands and make eye contact with the interviewer when you meet him or her.
- Take 2 copies of your CV with you even if you have already provided one. It's always useful to have one to refer to during the interview.
- Be prepared to explain why you left your previous jobs and why you are looking for a new one now.
- If you left any of your previous jobs "under a cloud" try to present it in a positive light (without being dishonest).
- Try to keep your answers to the point and don't ramble on. Be aware of the interviewer's body language and try to pick up any signals that you are losing his or her interest.
- Prepare some questions to ask at the end. This will prevent your mind going blank.
- On your way out shake hands again and thank the interviewer for seeing you. Confirm that you are interested in the job (if you are) and ask when you can expect to hear from them.
- Don't criticise former employers or colleagues or blame them for any problems you might have experienced.
- Don't be afraid to ask for clarification if you are unclear what the interviewer is looking for.
- Don't EVER ask about holidays, benefits or even salary at this stage. That comes later.
- And lastly, don't swear, eat, chew gum, text or answer your mobile phone. Oh, yes. You'd be surprised...
HR interview Questions
Interviewing is a two-way process. The interviewer wants to find out if you have the skills and experience that he is looking for and you want to convince him that you do.
Sometimes interviews are so informal they amount to little more than a chat. This might be less stressful for you but it isn’t always the most effective way of selecting the best candidate for the job.
One more structured type of interview is “Competence Based”. The employer decides which skills (or competencies) he needs for the role. He then designs questions which invite the candidate to give specific examples of times when they have displayed those skills. Obviously, the competencies required vary from one job to another but some common ones are Customer Focus, Problem Solving, Resilience and Persuasiveness.
Let’s take the example of Customer Focus.
Definition: Individuals who display this competency understand and believe in the importance of customer focus. They listen to and understand the needs of customers and meet and exceed their needs to ensure satisfaction.
The interviewer might ask you,
"Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a very angry customer. What was the situation? Why had it happened? What did you do? How was the situation resolved?"
He is looking for a specific example of a situation you have actually dealt with in the past. You should not generalise. Don’t say "Oh, it happens all the time." Tell him about one occasion when you dealt with a customer complaint and brought it to a satisfactory conclusion.
To help you structure your answer, you should follow the "STAR" model:
- Situation Describe the situation or the problem you had to deal with
- Task Describe the task that the situation required
- Action Describe the action you took and the obstacles that you had to overcome
- Results Describe the end results emphasising the positive outcome
To help you prepare, you should look at the job description carefully and identify the skills that are likely to be required for the role. Then identify situations that show you using these skills.
Having a few good examples well-prepared in advance will stop your mind going blank and help you make the most of the interview. Below are some standard questions asked by interviewers and we have listed some answers that might prepare you better for it.
1. Tell me about yourself ?
Start with the present and tell why you are well qualified for the position. Remember that the key to all successful interviewing is to match your qualifications to what the interviewer is looking for. In other words you must sell what the buyer is buying. This is the single most important strategy in job hunting.
So, before you answer this or any question it's imperative that you try to uncover your interviewer's greatest need, want, problem or goal.
To do so, make you take these two steps:
Do all the homework you can before the hr interview to uncover this person's wants and needs (not the generalized needs of the industry or company.)
As early as you can in the interview, ask for a more complete description of what the position entails. You might say: “I have a number of accomplishments I'd like to tell you about, but I want to make the best use of our time together and talk directly to your needs. To help me do, that, could you tell me more about the most important priorities of this position? All I know is what I (heard from the recruiter, read in the classified ad, etc.)”
Then, ALWAYS follow-up with a second and possibly, third question, to draw out his needs even more. Surprisingly, it's usually this second or third question that unearths what the interviewer is most looking for.
You might ask simply, "And in addition to that?..." or, "Is there anything else you see as essential to success in this position?:
This process will not feel easy or natural at first, because it is easier simply to answer questions, but only if you uncover the employer's wants and needs will your answers make the most sense. Practice asking these key questions before giving your answers, the process will feel more natural and you will be light years ahead of the other job candidates you're competing with.
2. What are your greatest strengths ?
You know that your key strategy is to first uncover your interviewer's greatest wants and needs before you answer questions. And from Question 1, you know how to do this.
Prior to any interview, you should have a list mentally prepared of your greatest strengths. You should also have, a specific example or two, which illustrates each strength, an example chosen from your most recent and most impressive achievements. You should, have this list of your greatest strengths and corresponding examples from your achievements so well committed to memory that you can recite them cold after being shaken awake at 2:30AM.
Then, once you uncover your interviewer's greatest wants and needs, you can choose those achievements from your list that best match up.
As a general guideline, the 10 most desirable traits that all employers love to see in their employees are:
- A proven track record as an achiever...especially if your achievements match up with the employer's greatest wants and needs. Intelligence...management "savvy".
- Honesty...integrity...a decent human being.
- Good fit with corporate culture...someone to feel comfortable with...a team player who meshes well with interviewer's team.
- Likeability...positive attitude...sense of humor.
- Good communication skills.
- Dedication...willingness to walk the extra mile to achieve excellence.
- Definiteness of purpose...clear goals.
- Enthusiasm...high level of motivation.
- Confident...healthy...a leader.
3. What are your greatest weakness ?
Disguise a strength as a weakness.
Example: “I sometimes push my people too hard. I like to work with a sense of urgency and everyone is not always on the same wavelength.”
Drawback: This strategy is better than admitting a flaw, but it's so widely used, it is transparent to any experienced interviewer.
BEST ANSWER: (and another reason it's so important to get a thorough description of your interviewer's needs before you answer questions): Assure the interviewer that you can think of nothing that would stand in the way of your performing in this position with excellence. Then, quickly review you strongest qualifications.
Example: “Nobody's perfect, but based on what you've told me about this position, I believe I' d make an outstanding match. I know that when I hire people, I look for two things most of all. Do they have the qualifications to do the job well, and the motivation to do it well? Everything in my background shows I have both the qualifications and a strong desire to achieve excellence in whatever I take on. So I can say in all honesty that I see nothing that would cause you even a small concern about my ability or my strong desire to perform this job with excellence.”
Alternate strategy (if you don't yet know enough about the position to talk about such a perfect fit):
Instead of confessing a weakness, describe what you like most and like least, making sure that what you like most matches up with the most important qualification for success in the position, and what you like least is not essential.
4. Why are you leaving (or did you leave) this position ?
(If you have a job presently tell the hr)
If you’re not yet 100% committed to leaving your present post, don’t be afraid to say so. Since you have a job, you are in a stronger position than someone who does not. But don’t be coy either. State honestly what you’d be hoping to find in a new spot. Of course, as stated often before, you answer will all the stronger if you have already uncovered what this position is all about and you match your desires to it.
(If you do not presently have a job tell the hr.)
Never lie about having been fired. It’s unethical – and too easily checked. But do try to deflect the reason from you personally. If your firing was the result of a takeover, merger, division wide layoff, etc., so much the better.
But you should also do something totally unnatural that will demonstrate consummate professionalism. Even if it hurts , describe your own firing – candidly, succinctly and without a trace of bitterness – from the company’s point-of-view, indicating that you could understand why it happened and you might have made the same decision yourself.
Your stature will rise immensely and, most important of all, you will show you are healed from the wounds inflicted by the firing. You will enhance your image as first-class management material and stand head and shoulders above the legions of firing victims who, at the slightest provocation, zip open their shirts to expose their battle scars and decry the unfairness of it all.
For all prior positions: Make sure you’ve prepared a brief reason for leaving. Best reasons: more money, opportunity, responsibility or growth.
5. Why do you want to work at our company?
This question is your opportunity to hit the ball out of the park, thanks to the in-depth research you should do before any interview.
Best sources for researching your target company: annual reports, the corporate newsletter, contacts you know at the company or its suppliers, advertisements, articles about the company in the trade press
6. Where do you see yourself five years from now?
Reassure your interviewer that you’re looking to make a long-term commitment…that this position entails exactly what you’re looking to do and what you do extremely well. As for your future, you believe that if you perform each job at hand with excellence, future opportunities will take care of themselves.
Example: “I am definitely interested in making a long-term commitment to my next position. Judging by what you’ve told me about this position, it’s exactly what I’m looking for and what I am very well qualified to do. In terms of my future career path, I’m confident that if I do my work with excellence, opportunities will inevitable open up for me. It’s always been that way in my career, and I’m confident I’ll have similar opportunities here.”
7. Why should I hire you?
By now you can see how critical it is to apply the overall strategy of uncovering the employer’s needs before you answer questions. If you know the employer’s greatest needs and desires, this question will give you a big leg up over other candidates because you will give him better reasons for hiring you than anyone else is likely to…reasons tied directly to his needs.
Whether your interviewer asks you this question explicitly or not, this is the most important question of your interview because he must answer this question favourably in is own mind before you will be hired. So help him out! Walk through each of the position’s requirements as you understand them, and follow each with a reason why you meet that requirement so well.
Example: “As I understand your needs, you are first and foremost looking for someone who can manage the sales and marketing division. As you’ve said you need someone with a strong background in sales. This is where I’ve spent almost all of my career, so I’ve chalked up 18 years of experience exactly in this area. I believe that I know the right contacts, methods, principles, and successful management techniques as well as any person can in our industry.” “You also need someone who can expand your distribution channels. In my prior post, my innovative promotional ideas doubled, then tripled. I’m confident I can do the same for you.” “You need someone to give a new shot in the arm to your sales, someone who knows how to sell in space. Here, too, I believe I have exactly the experience you need. In the last five years, I’ve increased our book sales from INR X to Z.” Etc., etc., Every one of these selling “couplets” (his need matched by your qualifications) is a touchdown that runs up your score. IT is your best opportunity to outsell your competition.
We understand that the questions are not limited to above, in case you need to know more or something specific to your career you can write to us at resume@talentdiscoveri.com |
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