JOB TIPS - How To Crack The Job Interview No Matter The Interviewer

In the job hunting process, cracking the job interview is the heart of the matter. This is when you have to perform outstandingly in order to impress the interview panel and get the job. We imagine that you have done all the homework and you are standing outside the interview hall, waiting for your turn to go in. A few things you need to do:

i.    Be very observant, don’t be passive, read up notices. In some interviews, you could be asked to mention one thing you saw written on the notice board outside.

ii.    Be relaxed and calm. After all, being anxious that you could lose the job only increases your chances of losing it.

iii.    Make sure you are attentive and ready at any time so as not to keep the panel waiting when your name is called.

Now, imagine that your name has been called and you have been asked in.

i.    Walk in with a confident and bold look on your face but without being arrogant.

ii.    Keep eye contact with members of the panel and depending on the set-up, walk up to each of them and give a handshake. If they are many or seated far from you, you could just give a general formal verbal greeting.

iii.    Sit where you are assigned and sit up straight with your hands on your lap, your bag by your seat or your file on your lap.

iv.    Be straight to the point when you answer questions. Don’t be afraid to say you don’t know something or to ask the interviewer to repeat a question you did not get clearly.

v.    Keep eye contact with members of the panel and don’t be distracted (not even by the panel).

vi.    Throughout the interview, be relaxed regardless of whether you think you are getting things right or not. Smile often but don’t be stupid by smiling too much.

vii.    Keep up with your manners. Be polite always. Use words like “please”, “excuse me” and “thank you”.

Now that you are seated, you will be welcomed by the panel and introduced to the whole interview exercise. Then the questions will follow.

• Can We Meet You?

Answering this question needs you to go straight to the point and within two minutes, give a brief summary of what is on your CV. 

For Example:

I am Timothy Joshua, a Nigerian, native of Bende village, Oyo North LGA of Oyo State. I was born on 1st of June 1989 into a family of three children where I am the first child. I hold a BSc degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I am a natural leader, a goal-getter, a self-motivated person, etc. with six years of relevant work experience as an Engineer. I am single

Be as brief as possible, but make sure you highlight more, a few of your strengths. 

• What Do You Know About Us?

This question gives you an opportunity to distinguish yourself by convincing the panel that you know the organization you want to work for. Besides, people love it when you talk about them so well.

Share some of the things you have researched about them. Talk more about their vision, mission, objectives, values, achievements, on-going projects and products. Avoid talking about what you are not sure of. Speak like someone already working for them, and focus on their strengths.

• Why Are You Interested In Working For Us?

This question wants you to point out the things you know about the organization that have caught your interest the most. Thus here, talk on two sides: What aspects of the organization’s work relate to your passions and move you to want to contribute your best to help her achieve her goals; and in what way, working for them will help you achieve your personal goals. Be careful not to sound like you are more interested in what will benefit you.

• What Skills/Experiences Will You Be Bringing To The Job?

In answering this question, list some of your strongest qualities (skills and experiences) which are rare to find, that you think are relevant for the job. If there are any things you think you can improve on in the organization, don’t hesitate to mention.

Many employers fear that they could just be hiring the next person looking for a means of livelihood. Let them know that you have a major innovation to bring to their organization and even when they know they will not give you the chance to bring in such innovations, they will hire you because you are a resourceful person.

• What Have You Been Doing Since You Graduated?

Not many interviewers ask this question, but when it comes up, it must be answered with some caution. The reason why this question is asked in some interviews is to find out how hardworking, thoughtful and innovative a job aspirant is.

Employers want to know how you have been spending your time productively. This is a reason why whether you are employed formally or not, you must never be idle.

Apply your hands and brain on something profitable. You could as well be developing yourself by building on your skills and talents while searching for a job. These are things the employer expects to hear from you if you have not been on any formal job.

• Why Did You Quit Your Former Job?

This could be a tricky question and so should be answered carefully else you give the employer reasons to believe that if you are hired, you will soon be looking for another job. Some good answers are:

1.    My job was no longer challenging so I found my skills and knowledge, wasting.

2.    The work conditions of my job were becoming deplorable daily and the job was getting riskier by the day.

3.    I had been on my job for 15 years and needed a change so I could acquire new skills.

The caution here is to make sure you don’t speak negatively about yourself nor your former employer. If you do, then you will most likely not speak well about your future employer.

• What Can You Bring To Our Organization?

This is kind of a repetition of question 4 above though with a little difference. Here you only need to emphasize on some of the things you have promised before to bring into the organization.

 Be very optimistic about what you can offer, but be careful not to look doubtful by sounding like you have the solution to all the problems they may have. This is a type of positioning error in marketing called: doubtful positioning. No matter how skillful you are, you can never have all the answers.

Also avoid the word “change”. I remember that in the job interview of a friend that landed him in his biggest job, this question was asked and he mentioned that he was going to change so and so. The interviewer asked him if he wanted to change their organization or contribute to improve on it. That day, we  learned a big lesson and admitted he was wrong.

• How Do You Handle Stress?

It could either be how you handle stress or if you can work in a stressful environment or both. The truth is that all jobs come with their different forms of stress. It could be from the demands of the job you do, the expectations of the organization, the people in the organization, the issues of your private life, and so on.

Be honest to say that no one loves to work in a stressful environment. However, stress is a part of our lives and comes up from time to time. So, you can work under stress but if there is anything that could be done to reduce the stress, you would rather do it.

As for how you handle stress, share some of the things you do when you are stressed up. You can never be wrong in your answer because it is about your methods and how they work for you.

• What Should We Pay You?

This question features almost always. The misconception here with most job aspirants is that the interviewer wants to use their answer against them, to present a smaller package than originally was intended for the position. So they go ahead to call unrealistic figures which only tell the interviewer how unserious they are.

What the interviewer wants more is to know what value you place on yourself. In other words, if you were the one to pay an employee that is like you, how much will you pay?

Just be sincere to value your worth vis-à-vis the value you will be adding to the organization and how persons with your qualification and potentials are paid averagely in your geographical area. This will help you give your employer a range for an answer.

Don’t answer this question if you don’t have substantial knowledge of the job you will be expected to do for the organization at least for a start. Don’t also tell the interviewer to pay you according to the policy of the organization. Give a salary range based on your worth and make it clear that you are flexible to negotiate.

• What Are Some Of Your Major Weaknesses?

Here, the intention of the interviewer is to test how humble you can be to admit you have weaknesses. Sometimes instead of this question, an interviewer could ask you to share the worst mistake you have ever made. You will be telling a lie by saying that you have none.

As much as you need to be real to share a weakness of yours that could be related to the job, you must not be too humble to talk yourself out of the job by sharing about all of your weaknesses or making yourself look so bad. Share at most two of your weaknesses and more importantly what you have been doing to improve in those aspects.

• Why Should We Hire You?

This is the last stroke on the camel’s back. Before this question you must have said a lot already, about yourself. This is the time to go straight to the point and mention at least three strongest qualities of yours that you know many of your competitors will not have.

The strongest things you can talk about are things centered on your past experiences, exposure, talent, skill, abilities, etc. that you think are important for the job you intend to perform for the organization. Mention at least three and let the interviewer know how confident you are that you are most suited for the job.

Also let them know that you know that they are impressed by your performance. However, be sure you have done your best.

• Are there any questions for us?

Very often, job aspirants make the mistake of answering this question with a NO, thinking it shows humility. Rather, this is another opportunity for you to convince the panel that you know some things about their organization and are very interested in working for them. 

Prepare at least one question for them, before the interview but make sure the question will not entail too much explanation or something any organization will want to keep private.

You could find out if they have considered a new product or practice or market or why they do something they do, the way they do it. This also tells that you know how they operate. 

This question is likely to be the last.

Before leaving the interview, find out how and when you should expect a feed-back from them. Thank the panel for their time and leave with the same smile you came in with. Get home and after a day, send a mail thanking them again for their interest in you. It could go a long way to further indicate your interest in working for them.

I hope that the above attempted answers have shed some light to some of the questions you will be expected to crack in the job interview.