Successfully passing a job interview is becoming more difficult and complex for job seekers. Employers are beginning to ask tough questions that require the right answer. Knowing how to answer these questions is necessary to get that dream job. Here are some commonly asked interview questions and how to answer them:
1. Why should we hire you?
When asked, this is your time to brag. You can share your skills and abilities that are relevant to the job, as well as how you perfectly fit their criteria.
This is also your chance to share your additional abilities and skills that could be useful to the company in the future. You can lure them in with your additional skills and abilities that could be worth exploring.
2. What is your biggest strength and your biggest weakness?
Even though you have many strengths, focus on one strength that is needed by the company. Do you have a certain skill that is needed by the company? Or is your ability more related to people management? You need to tempt them with your skills and abilities, and you need to make them want to hire you then and there.
Do you know the saying, “anything you say can or will be held against you in the court of law?”. Do not admit any weakness, rather, turn a weakness into a strength by say something along the lines of, “I have a habit of putting in long hours at work to make sure the project gets completed successfully”. Or even, “I put the majority of projects on my shoulders because I take pride in a job well done”.
3. What are your short term and long term goals?
First off, establish your job goals and what you want to do with your job in the future, as well as any necessary steps you need to achieve them. As much as possible, relate your short and long term goals to the job. For long term goals, show that you plan to stay in the company and that you want to see the company flourish.
4. What salary do you seek?
Know the value of your services and skills. You can approach this two ways: you can give a specific figure if you're certain of the salary in your field or you can use statistics from what the industry standard is for salary. Rather than saying, “I want $60,000 a year” say something like, “according to Salary.com, the average salary for someone in my field, with the degree I have along with the years of experience, is paying $xxx,xxx a year”.
5. What can you do for us that others can't?
You need to highlight what makes you special. Judging from the job description, you need to extract a specific need that you can provide. Start with a general statement, then delve into the specifics of what makes you special. Citing specific examples of how you dealt with situations can further leverage your skills.
6. Why did you select my organization to interview with?
Employers ask this question to know if you fit in the company. They want to know what you liked about the company so they can evaluate if you can fit in with the company culture. You need to know why it's a great place to work in so do research online through websites like Glassdoor.com. Most of all, they need to feel you're excited to work for their organization. You could gush on about why you'd love to work for them. Keep it sincere and real.
7. Why have you not obtained a job so far?
When you're asked about employment dates, come out clean. You're not the only one that suffers from employment gaps. Present an acceptable reason for leaving your previous job. When you answer, keep your answer short, it may seem that you're covering up your mistakes. Remember, they want you but don’t yet know why. They want to make sure you’re not going to accept their job offer and then quit 3 months later.
8. What is the worst situation you have faced in your professional life? How did you deal with it? What happened?
Share tough situations that you've encountered in your professional career. Share the situation and its consequences. However, share how you've overcome the challenge, as well as the steps you've taken to resolve it. Finally, tie it up to the position you're applying for.
9. What do you look for in a job?
Be short and specific. Tell them you're looking for experience and a dynamic team that rewards your skills and abilities.
10. How long would you stay for us?
Tell them you have specifically chosen to partner with their company and their teams. You see their challenges today in a very competitive world and want to stay as long as there is always a challenge they face. Share your dreams and aspirations for the company, and how you'll be instrumental to achieving this.
Not everyone is skilled at job successfully passing a job interview. This is why many job seekers are hiring a Certified Professional Resume Writing Company in their local area. A lot of Resume Services offer Job Interview Coaching Services or Career Interview Coaching. Call a local affordable resume writing company in your area to see if they can help. If you are located in the Phoenix AZ area, Do My Resume.NET offers interview coaching sessions.