Many of the people that I work with in my career coaching practice express a concern about how to answer what they define as tough interview questions. It will come as no surprise that people define tough in different ways. So for example the person that has not prepared for an interview may class a lot of the questions as difficult. Whereas if they have prepared there is a certain type of question people see as tough.
Preparation
Preparation for any interview is the key to success and there is a separate article by me which gives much more detail on this. However the key points to good preparation are:
- Make sure you can run through your CV in three or four minutes
- Consider in advance the type of competencies an employer may be looking for in the successful candidate. So for example many roles require the ability to deliver results against tough deadlines. The interviewer will be looking for evidence of this and may ask a question like 'can you give me an example of where you had to deliver results against a difficult deadline. What did you do? What was the outcome?' If you can work out the competencies most of the questions are likely to follow this format
- So if you haven't prepared and you are going for a job that requires creativity you may well find this type of question tough 'describe a time where you had to be particularly creative. What did you do and what was the result?'
- Make sure you look at your experiences and achievements for examples of the competencies the interviewer is likely to be looking for in a good candidate. Be ready to give an example of where you have shown each competence, what you did, and the result
The Tough Interview Questions
In this group of questions I include all those questions that it is difficult to anticipate and for which it is hard to prepare. These are much less likely to be based on the competencies for the job. They are often questions that the interviewer has been asked before and found difficult. Alternatively they might be questions that are a favourite of the interviewer. From a candidates perspective they often seem to act to create a black hole in the interview, but they do not need to. I have listed below some of the questions my clients have reported back to me as being tough. Beneath each is a guide to providing a good answer which is unlikely to risk your prospects of getting the job.
Q If you were doing this interview what question would you want to ask next?
A Find a question that allows you to highlight your strengths and not one designed to reveal weaknesses. For example 'What strength do you think would be most valuable to our company?'
Q What has been your biggest mistake at work and what have you learned as a result?
A Find an answer that reveals a weakness that may be strength from an employer's point of view. For example, 'I have learnt that my drive to get results can be detrimental to the moral of team members who do not see the urgency and importance of a project. I am much more aware of this now and make sure I ask people if they are going to be able to hit deadlines beforehand'.
Q What do you see as the five greatest successes in your life?
A Give an answer that has at least three work achievements, an educational achievement or one related to an interest and one related to family and friends. This demonstrates your achievement orientation and a balance in your life.
Q What are you three greatest strengths and weaknesses?
A This is a chance to shine as well as show self-awareness. Give three positive strengths that are related to the requirements of the job. For the weaknesses find two that are strengths in disguise, and one minor weakness that will not impact your employment chances. For example, 'I know that sometimes I find it difficult not to finish a job before I leave and this sometimes means I stay longer at work than I should. I can be a bit of a perfectionist so my drive for top quality can sometimes irritate others. My wife sometimes says I should have more outside interests'.
Q Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
A With this type of question you need to balance your ambition with the expectations of the interviewer and reality. Firstly do not say you see yourself in a job outside the company. Do not say you see yourself as a Director if you are 18 and taking a role at the first level in the organisation. A safe answer would be 'I would hope to have demonstrated my skills and progressed to a level more senior to this job. This shows ambition and drive, as well as a realistic level of career aspiration.
Q Are there any questions you would like to ask us?
A Some candidates see this question as a kind of trap - it isn't. It may be an idea to ask a question to show an interest in the job but you don't have to. A good one that shows you are motivated to succeed would be 'can you tell me about the training and development I can expect to receive?'
There will be a lot of other questions similar to the ones listed here that come up in interviews. But by following the principles given here you will be able to answer them and give yourself the best chance of getting the job. I'm always interested in collecting more tough questions to help my clients. So if you get one please send it to me.
