How To Handle A Job Interview

Be Energetic But Not Desperate

HOW DO YOU HANDLE STRESS? (Top-Scoring Answer to this TOUGH JOB INTERVIEW QUESTION!)

There’s a fine line between being energetic and being desperate. Show that you’re interested in the job, but don’t be so interested that the interviewer thinks that this interview is your only one — even if it is. On the other hand, being “coy” can be a good approach, because if the interviewer likes you, he or she might do more to attract you to that company. However, being too coy might come across as aloofness and turn off the interviewer.

The best approach is to have a restrained enthusiasm. Even better, take your cues from the interviewer. If that person is quiet and reserved, you might want to adopt if you can that demeanor. If he or she is more outgoing, you could consider emulating that manner.

How To Answer Conflict Interview Questions

Conflict in the workplace interview questions often catch you off-guard and force you to talk about an unpleasant situation at work. It will be really difficult to answer the question on the fly, so it’s critical to do your research on conflict interview questions and answers to be prepared. You can use the STAR method to prepare your responses to these potential interview questions. This technique allows you to curate your answer by listing down bullet points for each of the key aspects of the story. Here’s how job seekers can use the STAR method to answer a conflict-type interview question:

Briefly describe the context for the conflict situation that arose at your workplace and describe your role in that situation. Be as specific as possible. It’s helpful to talk about a story that had a positive outcome for all parties and can be summarized easily.

Example: I was managing the creation of a new website for the company. The IT consultant that we engaged kept missing his deadlines and got angry at me when I confronted him.

Next, elaborate on the approach that you took to resolve the conflict. Be sure to emphasize the steps you took to resolve the conflict in a professional and productive manner. Focus on what you did, rather than what your boss or colleague did in resolving the problem.

Finally, end your response by describing the positive outcomes of your action/approach. It’s even better if the results are quantifiable .

What Are Your Pet Peeves

Heres another one that feels like a minefield. But itll be easier to navigate if you know why an interviewer is asking it. Most likely, they want to make sure youll thrive at their companyand get a glimpse of how you deal with conflict. So be certain you pick something that doesnt contradict the culture and environment at this organization while still being honest. Then explain why and what youve done to address it in the past, doing your best to stay calm and composed. Since theres no need to dwell on something that annoys you, you can keep this response short and sweet.

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What Should I Know Thats Not On Your Resume

Its a good sign if a recruiter or hiring manager is interested in more than just whats on your resume. It probably means they looked at your resume, think you might be a good fit for the role, and want to know more about you. To make this wide-open question a little more manageable, try talking about a positive trait, a story or detail that reveals a little more about you and your experience, or a mission or goal that makes you excited about this role or company.

What Other Companies Are You Interviewing With

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Companies might ask you who else youre interviewing with for a few reasons. Maybe they want to see how serious you are about this role and team or theyre trying to find out who theyre competing with to hire you. On one hand, you want to express your enthusiasm for this job, but at the same time, you dont want to give the company any more leverage than it already has by telling them theres no one else in the running. Depending on where you are in your search, you can talk about applying to or interviewing for a few roles that have XYZ in commonthen mention how and why this role seems like a particularly good fit.

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Questions About Children / Plans To Have Children

Most often asked of women in their childbearing years. Legally, this isnt any of the interviewers business, but it may be rooted in reliability issues with past employees.

You could always answer no, because its illegal to ask it is difficult to penalize you later and besides, everyone has the right to a change of mind.

If you answer yes, qualify it, like this,

But those plans are for way in the future, and they depend on the success of my career. Certainly, I want to do my best in my work. I consider that my skills are right for this job, and I am committed to making a long-term contribution.

How To Respond If An Interviewer Seems Concerned About Your Age

An unethical or untrained interviewer could pose a direct query about your age. Occasionally, a recruiter might fish around with questions that might yield some insight about your age, like asking when you graduated from college. In many cases, it is common for interviewees to sense some concern or hesitation on the part of the interviewer.

It isn’t just the presumption that an applicant is “too old” that is a concern for employers. Rather, it is the assumption that older employees will lack in some critical qualities which will impact job performance.

Common negative assumptions by employers about older workers include:

A lack of energy and therefore slow performance
Health issues
An inflexible approach to changing circumstances
Being out of touch with current industry trends
A poor grasp of the latest technology
An inability to relate to younger workers
An inability to relate to those from diverse ethnic backgrounds

Younger candidates are also subject to this question. Interviewers may be trying to determine how low they can go concerning their starting your salary.

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What Do You Like Least About Your Job

Tread carefully here! The last thing you want to do is let your answer devolve into a rant about how terrible your current company is or how much you hate your boss or that one coworker. The easiest way to handle this question with poise is to focus on an opportunity the role youre interviewing for offers that your current job doesnt. You can keep the conversation positive and emphasize why youre so excited about the job.

Describe The Outcome In Your Example

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Incorporate your strengths and skills into a quantifiable example of a time you successfully handled change. Try to demonstrate measurable success by including specific statistics or quantifiable achievements while experience change. For example, if you relocated to a new branch of your company to help increase sales, use a percent or dollar amount to describe the increase. You can use close estimates if you don’t have specific numbers.

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Do You Have Any Regrets

Employers might ask this question to get a self-assessment on possible shortcomings in your life. To answer this question, you might choose to say that you do not have any regrets in life for a certain reason. Be sure to let them know that you have made mistakes, you have learned from them to become better. If not, you might select a regret or shortcoming that is both professional and would not hinder your ability to perform the job in any way.

Example:I do always wish I had known what I wanted to do very early on in my career. Having more years to grow and advance would help me be even better at my job. However, I learned skills in my previous career that I wouldnt have otherwise learned that help my in me in my job today.

What Have Been Your Most Positive And Negative Management Experiences

Employers might ask you this question to understand what you like and dislike in certain management styles. This might help them decide whether or not you would be a good fit under a certain manager. You should answer this question honestly and as tactfully as possible.

Example:One of my past managers, while very talented, tended to manage our teams work closely with little flexibility on how things were to be done. It made me feel like I wasnt trusted and there wasnt much room for process improvement. My most recent manager was terrific at listening to my needs and helping me get the resources I needed to achieve my goals. I thrive under managers who create a collaborative, trusting team environment.

Why Are You Leaving Your Current Position

This is valuable information for employers to understand. It helps them ensure the opening will be a better fit, make sure they can provide for what your previous employer did not or see if you might have contributed to a negative experience for both you and the employer. Answer this question honestly, but refrain from providing too much personal or negative detail.

Example:While I highly valued my time at my previous company, there are no longer many opportunities for growth that align with my career goals. This position aligns perfectly with my skill set and how Im looking to advance my career.

List Of Strengths For Job Interviews

How To Handle Pretty Much Any Job Interview Questions ...

When considering your strengths, sometimes its helpful to reach out to friends, family, and colleagues and ask what they think your best qualities are. This can help you ensure that youre choosing your true strengths rather than just the strengths you would like to think you have. Some examples of strengths include:

Action-oriented
Time Management
Versatile / Flexible

Just like with weaknesses, some qualities that are considered strengths to an appropriate degree may become weaknesses if in excess. This is where providing additional context can help to distinguish.

Our resume builder tool will walk you through the process of creating a stand-out Architect resume.

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Use The Star Technique

The STAR interview technique can serve as a guide for developing a detailed response to this question. STAR stands for:

Situation: Describe the specific change you faced.
Task: Explain your role in the change.
Action: Discuss the steps you took to handle the change.
Result: Detail your results.

You can use this technique for this question and most other behavioral questions, like, “Describe a time you managed a conflict in the workplace.”

Here are some examples of answers to the question, âHow do you handle change?â

Talking Too Much Or Not Enough

Learning to strike a balance between talking too much and talking too little can be a challenge. Taking part in practice interviews with your university careers service can really help to ensure that you give the right amount of information.

Waffling is a common interview mistake and tends to be the result of nerves, but avoid talking about everything all at once. It’s important to sell your skills and experience without rambling. Once the interviewer asks a question, pause for a couple of seconds, take a breath and gather your thoughts before responding. If you’re talking too much or too fast you also run the risk of talking over or interrupting the interviewer.

Not giving enough information and forgetting to mention important points can be just as detrimental as waffling. To make sure this doesn’t happen, practise answers to common interview questions beforehand and make sure you have a number of examples from your studies and previous work experience to draw upon.

Employers understand that nerves play a part in the process so, if your mind goes completely blank, politely ask for a couple of seconds to gather your thoughts or ask if it’s ok to come back to the question at the end, once you’ve had some time to think.

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Tips For Staying Calm During A Job Interview

Youre in the hot seat. Your palms are sweaty voice is shaky face is flushed and mouth is dry. Maybe youre bouncing your knees and talking too fast. Perhaps your heart is racing or your stomach is turning.

Youre nervous.

Why does this happen to so many job candidates?

When we perceive that we are in a high stakes situation, the brain doesn’t distinguish the high stakes of a job interview–where it would help to be calm, cool and collected–from the high stakes of being under threat from attack , says Dr. Tamar Chansky, author of Freeing Yourself from Anxiety. The body responds the same way–gearing up to run or fight for our lives. We experience a myriad of highly inconvenient and uncomfortable reactions which would make complete sense if there really were a tiger there.

In most cases, it may be the first time that the interviewer has met you and they will be making some initial judgments or first impressions, says Nichole Lefelhoc, associate director of career development and internships at Mansfield University. We want them to be good, of course, which makes us nervous. There could be some outlying issues that make us even more nervous for example, being unemployed or having little experience with interviews.

Lack of preparation is another common culprit.

This kind of anxiety can make it difficult to think clearly, Chansky says. Our focus is on hiding our anxiety and so our attention is divided.

Plan.

Be Careful About Bringing Up Health Concerns

How to handle Stress Interviews | Job Interview Tips

You don’t need to mention good health directly because you may bring up an issue that isn’t in the mind of the interviewer. However, if you have a solid attendance record, you could mention that you have missed few, if any days, and can be depended on to show up for work and to be on time. Sometimes, mentioning active hobbies like running, skiing, spinning, and dancing during the less formal stages of an interview can demonstrate vitality and a high energy level.

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How To Handle Rejection After An Interview

We have all been there, the dreaded rejection letter, email, or phone call. It is never a pleasant experience, particularly if you have faced several rejections so far in your job search, it can be easy to feel dejected and disheartened.

You may have been well prepared for the interview and felt that it went very positively, yet the final outcome was far from what you were expecting. This, of course, can be frustrating.It is important to remember that the way you handle rejection is just as important as the skills on your CV when it comes to securing a new role. If you allow rejection to knock your confidence and make you doubt your abilities, it could negatively affect your performance in future interviews.If a rejection email does ping into your inbox, here a few things to remember to help you remain positive, optimistic, and motivated.

Ask For Detailed Feedback

The key thing to do after a rejection is to think about what happened, and how you can learn from it.

Asking for and listening to feedback is the most valuable thing you can do when faced with a job rejection. Self-analysis alone wont paint the whole picture of why you werent the right person for the role.

So start by gathering all the feedback you can from the recruiter and through them, the employer. If the feedback feels a bit superficial or generic, dont be afraid to ask for a more detailed assessment. You put a lot into the process, after all, and youre entitled to get some actionable insights at the end of it.

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Volunteer Information To Counteract Assumptions About Your Age

When it appears that the interviewer has concerns about your age, the best approach is to volunteer information that will counter those assumptions.

Use questions like, “Why should we hire you?” or “What are some of the key strengths that will enable you to excel in this job?“, as an opportunity to show the interviewer that you are not only qualified but have all the other assets the employer is seeking.

What Is Your Teaching Philosophy

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This isnt a question solely for those applying to teaching positions. Employers may ask this of anyone who might be leading or teaching others. Your response will allow employers to gauge your personal skills and if you would be a good culture add. A good answer will concisely identify what you think teaching should achieve and include concrete examples to illustrate your ideas.

Example answer:When it comes to managing people, my teaching philosophy is to start by asking questions that hopefully get the person to come to a new conclusion on their own. This way, they feel ownership over the learning rather than feeling micromanaged. For example, in my last role, I was editing an article written by a copywriter I managed. The story didnt have a clear focus or hook.

In a one-on-one meeting, I asked her what she thought was the main point of the article if she had to sum it up in a sentence. From there, I asked if she thought the focus was clear in the article. She didnt think it was clear and instead thought she should rework her introduction and conclusion. As a result, the article improved and my direct report learned a valuable writing lesson that she carried into her future work.

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