Interview
Questions Guideline
In any interview, it is possible
that you will be faced with the
situation of having to give what
seems to be a negative response.
Examples of such may be what you
consider your weaknesses to be, why
you failed an exam or even
explaining why you were dismissed
from previous employment. Try to
turn such a situation from a
potentially negative situation into
a positive one, which can, most
times be quite hard to achieve.
The interviewer might be testing you
to see how well you respond to such
pressure. It is of utmost importance
that you remain calm when the
question is posed to you and do not
appear flustered in any way.
Examples:
QUESTION -
What do you consider your weaknesses
to be?
One must avoid answering such a
question with "I have no
weaknesses….." You must show
the interviewer that you are able to
look at yourself objectively and to
criticise yourself where
appropriate. Together with the list
of what you consider your weaknesses
to be, you must also try and provide
active steps you are taking to
overcome them.
TIP - Avoid saying that one of your
weaknesses is to work too hard or to
push yourself too hard. This answer
is often considered to be a cliché
and sounds almost like it came
straight out of a poor book on
interview techniques!
QUESTION -
Have you had any previous experience
in this line of work?
Even though you do not have the
required experience, make it clear
that the reason for applying for the
position is so that you can gain
experience in a line of work that
has been of interest to you for some
time. Highlight any skills or
experiences you do have that are
perhaps transferable to the position
which you are applying for.
QUESTION - Why
did you leave your previous
position?
NEVER give a negative impression of
your previous
employer as this can
be seen as a sign of disloyalty.
Some good and positive answers to
give here will be along the lines
of:
Seeking further advancement and
personal development;
Needing a change;
Hoping to achieve greater training
opportunities;
Looking for a new challenge ;
However, in some circumstances, you
may have actually been dismissed
from your previous role - Be honest
when answering this question,
acknowledge responsibility for the
causes of your dismissal but say
that you have learnt a great deal
from the experience and know exactly
how you should behave if similar
circumstances occur in the future.
Explain the reasons for your
dismissal and how you know now that
you were in the wrong.
This applies also if you have left
because you were being bullied. Be
careful how you explain this since
it can be mis-understood to
expressing bitterness or
recrimination, traits not
necessarily attractive to a
potential employer. Where possible,
try to demonstrate forgiveness and
show that you have become a stronger
and better person as a result of
your experience and do not feel
tempted to be apologetic about the
situation.
QUESTION - How
would you handle the following
situation...
An interviewer may often pose a
hypothetical scenario asking you to
imagine yourself in a difficult or
negative situation and ask how you
would deal with it. Below is an
example of such a question and a
model answer that should impress an
interviewer by showing your ability
to prioritise and to "fire-fight"
and not to become easily flustered.
EXAMPLE:
You are a receptionist working on
the front desk when all of a sudden
a fax arrives, several phone lines
start ringing, clients arrive at
your desk and a courier delivers a
package that requires your
signature. How do you cope with this
situation?
"My first priority would be to
answer the calls whilst
simultaneously presenting the
waiting clients and the courier with
a professional and friendly smile,
thus acknowledging all of our
clients. The calls can be answered
and put straight through or be put
on hold, allowing me to deal with
the client and the courier
thereafter. The people waiting in
front of me are able to see just how
busy I am, whereas those on the
phone will simply feel ignored if
their calls are not answered and may
consider it unprofessional if their
enquiries are not dealt with
promptly. Having successfully
prioritised the visitors and the
calls, I will then be able to
respond to the fax when there is
more time."
QUESTION - How
are you on punctuality?
QUESTION - What's your sickness
record like?
It may be tempting to give the
interviewer an impressive record of
your perfect timekeeping and your
complete lack of illness over a
given period of time. However, it is
important to remember that the
interviewer will most likely be
seeking references from your former
employers and these are just the
kind of facts that they may well
check up on. If you have been absent
from work for significant illnesses,
do not be embarrassed by this - the
interviewer will understand that
people do fall ill from time to time
and as long as they are given no
reason to suspect that the illness
was fictitious, you should have
nothing at all to be worried about.
Punctuality is very important in any
job as it demonstrates your
commitment, dedication and loyalty
to the company. If you have had a
poor record of punctuality in the
past, you must be sure not to try to
hide this but to explain that,
despite your track record, you are
more than aware of the importance of
punctuality in ensuring that all
daily deadlines and workloads are
achieved and that you are able to
offer 100% commitment.
QUESTION - How
would you explain gaps in your
career?
Gaps in your career might include
travel, long-term sickness or simply
inability to find a suitable
position. Each of these can be
explained in a positive way.
Examples include:
World Travel - Explain how the
travel was self-funded enabling you
to experience total independence and
how you sought part-time and
temporary employment in the
countries that you visited if
necessary. The experience provided
you with an invaluable insight into
different cultures and has enhanced
your ability to integrate into a
multi-cultural environment.
Long-Term Sickness - As mentioned
above, this is never something that
should be discussed with any feeling
of shame or embarrassment. Feel free
to talk about your illness as openly
as you like and explain that you
used the time at home as
productively as possible, for
example by reading literature
relevant to your profession.
General Unemployment - Sometimes,
the right job is not available at
the right time and there is nothing
that you can do about this. Make
sure that the interviewer
understands that you were proactive
in your job seeking during this time
making use of the internet, local
recruitment agencies and jobs papers
to help find the most suitable job
for you. Also, perhaps indicate that
the reason it has taken you so long
to find a job is that you are
waiting for an appropriate position
to come along rather than leaping
into an unsuitable role simply to
remain in employment.
QUESTION -
What disadvantages can you see in
working for us?
Be honest in this situation - if you
genuinely believe that there will be
any disadvantages then talk about
them but make sure that you have
done your homework and know enough
about the company to pass judgement.
Also, do not simply be negative
about the company - if there are
disadvantages, explain how you would
overcome these and, if possible, how
you have overcome similar situations
in the past.
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Interview - Job Interview
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