Tag: Interview

The ‘Fun’ Twist: Tackling Some ‘Interesting’ Questions

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In many of our previous posts, we have talked about answering those commonly asked questions well. Questions like “can you walk me through your CV?”, “can you tell me about yourself?”, among others. Answering these generic, formal questions is relatively easy because these are the questions we expect.

But what if we are suddenly asked a question and the answer is expected to be…fun?

In other words, how should questions like the following should be answered?

  • Can you tell me a fun/interesting fact about yourself?
  • What are your other interests?
  • What do you like to do in your spare time?

 

Why Such Questions:

The logic is similar to the one behind “can you tell me about a weakness?”. That is, the interviewers want to take a look beyond the candidate’s interview persona. Such questions give them a sense of what they are like outside the office.

Everyone is formal and serious during the interview, but the world beyond the interview involves undertaking tasks, managing teams, coordinating with colleagues, talking to clients and associates, maintaining interpersonal rapport. A well-rounded  persona, with proportionate amount of seriousness and fun won’t harm, right?

Such questions are thus beneficial for the interviewer to know more about a candidate, and for the interviewee to show a different side of their personality.

 

What Can Such Questions Do:

Such questions asking about interesting aspects of one’s personality give the person getting interviewed opportunities to:

  • Shift the interview from a formal question-and-answer session to a more conversational interaction. We talk about this more later on.
  • Talk about their hobbies (if any, given that these days people don’t have hobbies) and interests
  • Give a sense of what they would be like during out of the office formal events like conferences, dinners, etc,.
  • Talk about themselves as a worker by drawing analogies

 

The Shift:

This is one of the strongest reason to cash in on such questions, when asked.

Answering (and listening to the answers of) generic questions can get boring. It’s not going to be interesting beyond a point. Think of the interview in terms of rhythm. Changing rhythms keep us engaged. Questions which take a look about the beyond the professional life  can change the rhythm of the interview.

There are times of a calm, almost quiet rhythm, when one talks about the more formal issues, like their skills, their work experience, their strengths and weaknesses; there is a little rise in the tempo perhaps when one begins to talk about how one handled a difficult situation. The rhythm will get peppier as one starts talking about the “fun” things. It will keep the interview interesting.

 

 

How Exactly Is One Supposed to Talk about this?:

You have been asked something about yourself. Generic is the last thing you want your answer to be. Relevancy and specificity are some qualities to keep in mind. And the answer should connect to some aspect of your professional life in some way, be it how the interest helped you develop certain soft-skills, or how you got better at a hard-skill.

An example will make it clearer.

A: “I like art.”

B: “I like art. I am not a pro, but I like drawing illustrations based on the everyday things I see around. The last illustration was about the quiet that I noticed in my building when the electricity went off, and how the people came out to talk to each other. It initially started as idle doodling but now I think I have developed an eye for minute details and for making ordinary tasks interesting.”

A is too general. What does it tell about the interviewee besides the fact that they pursue art in their spare time? Not much. On the other hand, B gives a sense of what the interviewee pursues, what their view of the world is like, and what other skills they have developed in the process. Fun fact indeed!

 

Talking about a fun or interesting fact about yourself in a balanced way can give the interviewer a sense of what kind of a worker and a person you are. It can give a glimpse of your soft-skills, good qualities and how you act when faced with challenges.

 

Avoid These Mistakes: What Not to Do For an Interview

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In the past, we have talked about the things which should be done before, during and after the interview. Today, we are going to talk about the things which shouldn’t be done when it comes to interviews. In other words, we are going to talk about some common mistakes to avoid if you want an interview to go well.

First, let us look at some very basic mistakes:

  • Turning up late: Time management and a margin for handling unforeseen delays should be thought of beforehand.
  • Dressing inappropriately: This includes being over-dressed and/or under-dressed. Being appropriately dressed matters, not only because of the impression it will create, but also because your level of comfort in your own skin will be reflected in how you conduct yourself.

Now, let us look at some not so basic mistakes to avoid:

 

  • Not Knowing Your CV Thoroughly:

An updated CV is important. But what is also important is knowing what you have included in it.

As basic and even silly as it sounds, it is a good idea to go through your own CV and polish up on your own understanding of the kind of brand you have created for yourself.

A question like “can you walk me through your CV?” shouldn’t leave you clueless about where to begin and what all to include in your response.

 

  • Talking Negatively About the Current/Previous Employer:

Perhaps the reason you are looking for a change is because your experience with your current employer is not going too well. You can’t wait to resign and you are desperate for a change. Or you have already resigned.

Your experience with your current or former employer may or may not have been that great, but it’s necessary to remain as diplomatic as possible when asked about them (except in very serious cases). That is, if being positive is out of question.

Bad mouthing the current or your former employer can go wrong in multiple ways:

What if the interviewers know them?

What if it gives the impression that you are telling only your side of the story?

What is the guarantee for the interviewers that you will not bad mouth them in the future?

 

  • Not Doing Enough Research:

By this, we mean research about the company, about the position you are interviewing for, the work culture and if possible, also about who is going to interview you. Good research gives the impression that you are taking the process seriously. Bad research leaves you clueless, hesitant in your responses and often leads to misunderstandings.

Moreover, research also includes researching on some potential generic interview questions and preparing loose scripts as responses. While it’s necessary to give space to spontaneity, it is also important to be as well prepared with the available information and knowledge.

That brings us to the next point.

 

  • Not Paying Attention to Social Cues:

Remember, we are talking about a “loose script” and not a recorded answer.

As the interview goes on, paying attention to the social cues, the changes in body language, expressions is necessary. And it’s not entirely one way: as you pay attention to what the interviewer says, you could ask relevant questions wherever necessary, or at the end of the interview.

Trying too hard to stick to a script only makes the response come across as too superficial, too generic, too robotic, too mechanical and less human.

 

  • Not Directly Answering the Question Asked:

A question is asked because the interviewers want to take away some key points from your answer.

Many candidates might feel the urge to side-step a question, especially if it means talking about a not so successful stint. Questions like:

-What are some of your weaknesses?

-Can you tell me about a development goal you have set?

-What is that one thing about you which you think you can improve upon?

As we talked about the article about answering such questions, it’s a bad idea to dismiss the question altogether by asserting you don’t have any weakness. Also, you don’t want to talk about a weakness and then through logical leaps and play of words prove that it is in fact, a strength. This may sound clever but can make you come across as cocky and a wiseacre.

If you are uncomfortable answering the question, let them know but don’t remain silent.

That brings us to the next point.

 

  • Over-sharing or Under-sharing:

Sharing only the relevant information about skills and experience is necessary, no matter what the interview question is. Unnecessary personal details and digressions, using too much jargon don’t lead anywhere. On the other extreme, giving only generic or incomplete answers could also become a problem; you don’t want to miss out talking about the remarkable things you did.

In one of our previous articles, we talked about the STAR method, especially when it comes to behavioural questions. To freshen it up a bit, STAR, stands for:

S: The situation and its details.

T: The task one is assigned with.

A: The action taken.

R: The result of the action.

 

Keeping this formula in mind will help you make sure you don’t over-share or focus on irrelevant details. It will also keep you from going into the other extreme of not sharing  crucial bits.

 

 

 

A clear grasp of the don’ts will ultimately result in a confidence necessary to ace any interview. Sometimes, a not-to-do can be more useful than a to-do list!

How to Answer “What is Your Biggest Weakness?”

 

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We can never talk enough about interviews. In the past, we have talked about answering some generic interview questions like “can you walk me through your CV?“, “can you tell me about yourself?“among others. Today we will discuss about how to talk about your weaknesses during an interview. In other words, how to answer “what is your biggest weakness?”

Some variations could sound like:

-What are some of your weaknesses?

-Can you tell me about a development goal you have set?

-What is that one thing about you which you think you can improve upon?

 

Why is this question asked, you wonder. There could be a couple of reasons like:

  • To try to look beyond your interview persona, wanting to get a more comprehensive understanding.
  • To see how self-aware and self-reflective you are.
  • To try to understand your standards of good and bad.
  • How you overcome a professional hurdle and a challenge which is essentially self-created.

 

Interviews can be really stressful and talking about one’s weakness can further increase the level of anxiousness. The following tips and cues will help you to prepare well and answer the question with conviction.

You can’t talk about each and every minor weakness you have. You need to “pick” a weakness which is real, relevant to the professional setting and fixable. Let us delve more in the three adjectives used:

 

  • Real:

The weakness picked should be real and authentic. You shouldn’t randomly “pick” a weakness from a Google search generated list of generic weaknesses just because its answer is readily available online and it sounds good.

Nor you should just invent or “borrow” a weakness you don’t actually have just for the sake of answering the question.

For your answer to be convincing and specific you have to talk about a weakness you think you actually have. Interviewers can generally see past inauthentic storytelling and generic answers.

But make sure to differentiate between a peculiar habit and a weakness. That brings us to our next point.

 

  • Relevant:

Peculiarly bad habits might be seen as a weakness in a sense but if they don’t interfere with your professional life in any way, talking about them is useless. After all, the interviewer wants to know how you overcome challenges at work and more specifically how you overcome professional challenges which involve just you.

For example, nail biting when nervous is a peculiar habit but it doesn’t really concern work.

Talking about weaknesses which will never even potentially affect your work in any way is useless. Your inability to draw won’t matter if you are not involved with the fine arts and graphic designing.

 

  • Fixable:

The weakness you talk about should be fixable.

Let us look at an example of a fairly quickly fixable weakness and one of a weakness that may take time to fix. Lack of delegating skills is a fixable weakness which can be learnt by simply reminding oneself to delegate and learning a few tricks; whereas a fear of public speaking is a weakness one overcomes gradually.

So when you talk about a weakness, let the interviewer know the steps you are taking/planning to take to tackle that.

A note of caution here: a weakness which goes against the nature of your job should get you thinking whether you want to go for such a job in the first place. Plus it risks becoming a red-flag for the interviewer. Could a salesperson who doesn’t have good interpersonal skills be a good salesperson? Or could a person who works in an ad agency afford to not be creative? Your shyness might be irrelevant in a job where you mostly work on your own but a hurdle if your job will involve talking to team members and large groups.

 

Finally, this brings us to how not to answer this question:

  • By not answering the question: No one is without a weakness. Make sure you don’t dismiss the question altogether by asserting you don’t have any weakness.
  • Mental gymnastics: You don’t want to talk about a weakness and then through logical leaps and play of words to prove that it is in fact, a strength. This may sound clever but can make you come across as cocky and a wiseacre.

 

Thus talking about one’s weakness could be seen as one exercise of planning self-improvement and self-reflection. Talking about a real, relevant and fixable weakness can help the interviewer as well as the interviewee in seeing things with clarity.

 

Constructing an Answer to “Why Should We Hire You?”

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There are some interview questions which are generic and commonly asked by most interviewers, but still leave the interviewee clueless about how to answer them. One of the most commonly asked confusing question is “why should we hire you?”

Let us take a look at some tips for answering this deceptively simple question.

Similar questions are:

  • Why are you the best candidate for this job?
  • What would you bring to this position?
  • Are you the best fit for this job? Why?

It is a good idea to think of a response for these questions beforehand as a part of your interview prep.

 

Evaluate:

As part of your interview prep, the obvious first step is to take a look at the job requirements. See which requirements you meet and which ones you fit just about and which ones you don’t really meet.

This gives you an idea about your own strengths and weakness. This, in turn, would let you construct a “script” where you can play up strong points and find a response to compensate for the weak points, if any.

That brings us to the next point.

 

Emphasize the Right Things:

It is necessary to emphasize your skills and knowledge when you are asked this question, because that’s what the employer wants to hear; in fact they want to know what you can contribute to the company. Putting emphasis just on your interests and requirements might not work.

Some do’s and don’ts would make this clear.

Do put emphasis on:

  • Your skills
  • Your knowledge
  • How you can contribute to the company
  • Your experience

Do not put emphasis on your personal reasons like:

  • I have always been interested in xyz…
  • I really need this job…
  • I could really use a raise in my income..
  • Your office is really close to my house and I wanted to reduce my commute time…

It is necessary to remember you are talking in a professional setting, and not casually talking with a couple of friends.

 

Keep it Concise:

As with most interview answers, this should also be clear and concise. It is a good idea to keep in mind four or five points about your:

  • Technical skills and qualifications
  • Industry experience
  • Awards and remarkable accomplishments
  • Education and training
  • Soft skills

 

Imagine you are structuring a sales pitch…for yourself. This mental trick should help you to quickly think about what all you want to include. Keep the loose script in mind and then use it according to the situation.

Make sure the pitch is about how you can contribute to the company through your skills/education/experience. Remember, we aren’t answering “tell me about yourself”.

 

But what if we you have applied for a different industry?

Simply saying “I am interested in…” will not do, right? Worry not! Many skills are transferable and a lot of times, the interviewer could be looking for a certain positive and confident attitude. So, how do you talk about your interest, without making it just about you? Let us look at an example.

Example:

“Although I am an IT person, I feel this is a good opportunity for me to explore teaching. My previous job involved interacting with clients from all kinds of backgrounds, while delivering suitable IT solutions. I have interacted with people from small districts in the state who wanted to educate the denizens about IT, with teachers from international schools who were looking for a technological upgrade for their classrooms. I feel I have the necessary interpersonal, social and educating skills that would help me pay attention to the needs of each individual student.

I have always been interested in technology, and it would be nice to impart my skills to budding minds.”

This communicates the interest, the soft skills, and of course the motivation behind applying for a job in a different industry.

 

So the next time you are prepping for an interview, you know what to do!

 

How To Answer “Where do You See Yourself in Five Years?”

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In the past, we have talked about answering some common interview questions like “can you walk me through your CV?”, “can you tell me about yourself?”, and now we are back with another FAQ: “where do you see yourself in five years?”

It’s one really tricky question because it’s open ended and forces you to talk in the long term.

Who plans what they are going to do in the next five years, you wonder. I don’t even know what I am going to do in the next five months, you scream out in your head.

And what is the guarantee that you are going to stick to the supposed plan?

Hiring managers/employers/interviewers know this.

There are a couple of reasons why they ask this question:

  • To see what you come up with on the spot.
  • To gauge if you plan to stay in the company long term.
  • To gauge if you are a good investment.
  • To see what your definition of success is.
  • To gauge what growth you are looking for.
  • To gauge if the company can provide something that matches your expectations.

 

Hiring can be a time consuming process, and companies want to make sure that they choose someone who would be worth all the time spent in scanning resumes, creating shortlists of candidates, interviewing etc,. Everybody looks for the perfect candidate, don’t they?

 

Here are some tips to keep in mind if you are ever required to answer the question: “where do you see yourself in five years?”

 

  • Don’t be Bluntly Honest:

Honesty is a good policy, but it might not be the best when it comes to this question. You don’t need to worry if you think your long term five year plan won’t really sit well with the interviewer. You don’t need to be that blunt.

Mind you, that doesn’t mean you lie. It merely means you practise some diplomacy.

Refrain from  saying things like  “I don’t see myself here in five years…”, or “I probably will go back to my hometown to look after my family…”

Even if you intend to do something like that, you don’t need to make it known. Because that is not what the question is about.

 

  • Balancing Act:

On the flip-side, you might be tempted to show how ambitious you are, and how seriously competitive you are. Which is a good response, but that needs some generality.

You don’t need to go into specifics here. It is not a good idea to be saying bluntly specific things like “I see myself in your job in the next five years…” or “I intend to become a VP by that time…”

 

But that doesn’t mean you don’t show your enthusiasm.

  • How to Talk About Your Goals without Being too Blunt and Direct:

The company wants to know how enthusiastic you are about working there long term, and what your goals are. Being too blunt and specific is a problem, but funnily enough, being a little, just a little, grand isn’t.

Instead of saying “I intend to replace you and become a VP…”, you can say something like,

“I wish to become an expert in the industry, and reach a position where I can lead and act as a mentor. I also would love to learn a bit more about management in the coming years…”

Such an answer talks about the fact that you want to reach a particular kind of post, you want to acquire a specific skill related to your industry, and you want to reach particular milestones. Without making it sound like an attack.

 

  • What to Do About the Question When You Are Switching Industries:

But what if you are switching industries? How do you handle the question then?

Again, since you don’t need to be too specific here, you can say something like,

” In the next five years, I would like to have expanded my knowledge about the industry and my skill-set. I think it is important to always put in efforts to gain skills, regardless of one’s post…”

Such an answer conveys that you will be spending time in learning and expanding your skill-set, even when you reach beyond your entry level position.

It is just about general and just about specific, isn’t it? And notice how there’s no lying involved. Just re-framing things in a way that conveys a growth-mindset.

 

One just needs to strike a balance between being general and being specific! Between being grand and being articulate.

“Where do you see yourself in five years?” is a question that subtly looks at your definition of growth, goals, success, learning and development.