Ace that Interview
The interview is the most common tool used to assess people for roles. Let’s look at 5 questions you may be asked and tips on responding to each.
- What can you tell us about your career to date?
Many interviews start with this request. You should keep your answer brief and to the point. Cover your education quickly, your general career and finish with your most recent history. Keep it relatively simple and you’ll be off to a good start. - What aspects of your previous job did you like or dislike?
Concentrate on the like part of your previous role. When addressing the dislike part it may be better to change the emphasis to what you would have changed rather than being negative. - Why should we employ you?
Outline your personal qualities as they relate to the role you are applying for and how they will benefit the company. You should have established what the key aspects of the role are prior to the interview and build your answer around those key competencies. - What is a difficult situation that you handled well?
Highlight a difficult work situation and give the context, the actions you took and the result. Don’t share confidential information; don’t dismiss the efforts of others and avoid positioning yourself as a victim or a knight in shining armour. This question offers you the opportunity to show your reasoning skills and your ability to manage stress. - What are your strengths and weaknesses?
The natural inclination for the interviewee is to focus on the strengths while the natural tendency for the interviewer is to listen more closely to the weaknesses. As a general rule of the thumb, it makes good sense to cover strengths that are essential to the role and to raise a weakness that is non-essential.
If you want to talk to someone about career opportunities, contact RecruitmentPlus on 01 2788610 or visit www.recruitmentplus.ie .
