Monday, March 25, 2024

How To Start Answering Interview Questions

Don't Miss

Tell Me About A Time You Had To Handle A Difficult Patient

Job Interviewing Tips: ð¯ How to Start Every Interview to Get a Job

Nurses may interact with difficult patients from time to time. The important thing to remember when answering this question is to maintain a positive tone when discussing your patients and not violate their privacy by giving away any personal information. The interviewer wants to know that you’re able to manage difficult situations professionally.

Example:“During my placement, I had to help care for a patient with a severe condition. Through no fault of his own, he would often should at me and other nurses providing care. Instead of taking it personally, I decided to take the time to sit down with the patient each day and explain who I was and what I was there to do. He explained that he got most angry when he was confused, and the staff often didn’t have the time to explain things to him, which led to him getting upset.”

What Salary Are You Seeking

When you’re asked, “What salary are you seeking?” it is to your advantage if the employer tells you the range first. Prepare by knowing the going rate in your area, and your bottom line or walk-away point. One possible answer would be: “I am sure when the time comes, we can agree on a reasonable amount. In what range do you typically pay someone with my background?”

First Know What Youre Looking For

We cant start talking about how to conduct an interview or interview questions if we dont know the specific skills we want to assess. Interview questions will determine whether youll get enough useful insight to judge candidates suitability for the job. This means that your questions must be directly related to the job requirements. Otherwise, it will be challenging to compare one candidate to another on the criteria that really matter.

To do this, first determine what qualities you want to see in your new hire. Start with the job description . Ask yourself:

  • Which requirements do I want to assess during the interview? Make a comprehensive list and select those qualities you can assess through interview questions. Some of your requirements can be evaluated more effectively at previous stages .
  • What requirements carry the most weight? For example, you definitely want your salespeople to have great communication skills, but they might not need to have extroverted personalities. So, your interview questions should focus on communication skills, instead of extroversion.

For example, lets look at the complete list of requirements for the role of Content Writer. These exclude experience and education, which can vary considerably depending on the role and are elements you can evaluate directly from the job application phase.

Recommended Reading: What Are Good Questions To Ask At A Job Interview

Tell Me How You Think Other People Would Describe You

I hate this question. It’s a total throwaway. But I did ask it once, and got an answer I really liked.

“I think people would say that what you see is what you get,” the candidate said. “If I say I will do something, I do it. If I say I will help, I help. I’m not sure that everyone likes me, but they all know they can count on what I say and how hard I work.”

Can’t beat that.

Example Answer Template If Unemployed:

How to Answer Foundation of Reading Open Answer Question ...

In my most recent position at XYZ Company, I specialized in doing ___. The reason I applied for this job is I saw ___ on the job description and I think I would be able to help you ___ and ___. One of my key accomplishments in my last role for XYZ Company was helping them ___, and Im confident I can help your team get similar results here.

Read Also: How To Succeed In A Phone Interview

Tell Me About A Conflict Youve Had With A Coworker And How You Resolved It

Answer: During the team meeting, a colleague ended up expressing some frustration with our team process. I wanted to make sure I was part of the solution. So I asked them if there was something we as a team could be doing better. It seemed that getting the floor and asking for their opinion helped. We ended up taking some of the recommendations they made.

Related: Answering Tell Me About A Conflict Youve Had With A Coworker

Samples Of Short Interview Questions & Answers

Take the time to read these questions and to have carefully thought about how you would answer each when asked.

Before the interview, review the job description, and customize your answers to the employer and the specific opportunity.

Preparation is the key to interview success. There are no perfect interview answers, but there are good answers to important questions that can help you differentiate yourself from other job applicants. Use the Interview Checklist to identify and document your match with the job description.

Also Check: What Are Questions They Ask In An Interview

What Are Your Biggest Strengths

This question is most likely to lead you astray if you try to gauge your interviewer and say what you think they want to hear. Your best option is to be honest. Faking an answer for your interviewerâs benefit can backfire. Though choosing specific skills that are relevant to the job are ideal, your strengths can also be simple and applicable to every job. Some examples of universal strengths include: working well under deadlines, strong communication skills and punctuality. These skills are always nice to have, no matter what job is on the table.

Tell Me About Your Work Experience

How to Answer Behavioral Interview Questions Sample Answers

An interviewer may or may not already be familiar with your background. Regardless, this question gives you the chance to detail your experiences that are most valuable to the prospective role. Employers want to know that youve reflected on their expectations for a qualified candidate and that you have directly relevant or transferable skills. Consider these tips for answering:

1. Quantify your experience:I have 10 years of experience in personal finance management, and I have assisted 45 repeat clients in increasing their capital by an average of 15% every year.

2. Illustrate connections to role:As a financial analyst, Ive used visual growth charts to show my clients how each saving plan option can impact their goals. When I became a senior financial analyst, I supervised other analysts and trained them in providing the most helpful experience to our customers.

3. End with a goal statement:“As your senior financial consultant, I aim to integrate my individualized approach to helping clients build the retirement fund they will depend on.

Read more: Interview Question: Tell Me About Your Work Experience

Read Also: What Questions Do You Get Asked In A Job Interview

Make Natural Transitions Between Questions

Having a list of interview questions to ask is good practice, but it has an inherent difficulty: it might make the interview seem more robotic and inflexible.

For example, imagine youre listening to a candidates answer. When they finish talking, you may suddenly feel awkward, so you nod and say something akin to OK, interesting and then you move on to the next question. This isnt how a natural conversation would flow, and it might make the experience less pleasant for the candidate .

How To Structure Your Interviews

Structured interviews are effective methods of predicting job performance. Their three main characteristics are:

  • You ask all candidates the same questions.
  • You ask questions in the same order.
  • You evaluate answers based on standardized rating scales.

The first two characteristics are easy, yet critical for success. If you ask different questions of each candidate, its impossible to objectively compare their answers. This will result in you trying to make a hiring decision on your gut feeling which potentially leads to harmful biases and discrimination.

So, when you decide which interview questions to ask, spend some time putting them in order. To do this, use the format of an interview scorecard its possible your applicant tracking system has a function to help you build scorecards and share them with your team.

The third characteristic of a structured interview the rating scales is immensely helpful in ensuring youll hire objectively. You create a scale and then you evaluate candidates answers with that scale. To do this right, define what exactly each item on the scale means.

Alternatively, you could use a simpler scale, such as Yes, No and Definitely

Recommended Reading: How To Send A Follow Up Email After An Interview

How To Answer Tell Me About Yourself

How you respond to the Tell me about yourself question can set the tone for the rest of the interview. Overall, when you practice your answer, you want to tell a great story about yourself that you can share in no more than two minutes. In your response, do the following:

1. Mention past experiences and proven successes as they relate to the position.Begin by rereading the job description. Take note of the required skills that you have, and identify recent stories that demonstrate them . Ideally, you should draw primarily from recent professional experience however, volunteer work can also support your narrative while demonstrating a commitment to your community.

2. Consider how your current job relates to the job youre applying for.Is it a more senior role? If so, explain how you are taking on more responsibilities in your current position. If you are making a lateral transition to a role with different skills, describe how your current skills translate into the new position.

3. Focus on strengths and abilities that you can support with examples.When you start building the script of each example, focus on details and outcomes that you can quantify if possible. For example, stating that you improved customer service is less impactful than increased customer service response rates each quarter by 1015%. If you dont have the exact information, estimate a realistic value.

Present, Past, FuturePast, Present, Future

Question: Why Do You Want This Job

Top 10 head start interview questions and answers

There should be a heartfelt answer on this one. Your gut should be giving you the answer.

Although, if the reason is about money, location, work schedule, benefits, and other factors not tied to actual role, you may want to think a little more about your answer. None of those reasons are important to the hiring manager.

Focus on them: They want to hear that this job is exactly what youve been thinking about as a next step in your career.

Of course, the follow-up question theyll ask is: How so?

Be prepared to answer with your rationale for how this job meets your professional needs and how you can contribute at your highest potential while in this role. People want to feel like their work means something. There is nothing wrong with sharing that feeling in a thoughtful way.

Read Also: How To Handle An Interview

How Have Your Clinical Placements Prepared You For A Career In Nursing

This is a good opportunity to talk about your education and clinical practice. In your answer, be specific about what you gained from the experience.

Example:“During my studies for my Bachelor of Nursing, I had the opportunity to do a placement at a local hospital. This gave me the chance to start building my hands-on experience of caring for patients. I also had the opportunity to practice performing several routine tests and provide daily clinical care.”

How To Prepare For An Interview

Use these questions and example answers to prepare for your interview by making them your own and tailoring them to fit your experience, the job and the company youre interviewing for. Its important to get comfortable with what you could be asked and understand what a good response might be.

Much like preparing for a test in school, the best way to succeed in your interview is to study and practice. Research the company and the job, and practice your talking points until you feel confident about your answers. The more you prepare, the more likely you are to leave a lasting impression and outperform fellow candidates. Come equipped with examples of work from previous jobs, as well as ideas for the new job. Try and make the interview as conversational as possible by showing genuine interest in the job, company and your interviewer.

Recommended Reading: How To Prepare For Rn Interview

Why Are You Looking To Leave Your Current Company

If youre job searching while employed, this is one of the most important interview questions and answers to know.

Otherwise, the most important thing to do when they ask why you are looking to leave your current job is to stay positive and never badmouth your current employer, boss, or even team members.

Rather than complaining or talking badly about your situation, say that youre looking for more of something positive. What are you hoping to gain from a job change?

Is your current boss a jerk? Say that youre looking for an environment with more leadership you can learn from.

  • Sound positive and focus on what you want to gain by making a move
  • Show gratitude for your current job
  • Sound like youre ambitious, motivated, and eager to find the next challenge in your career.

Dont:

  • Badmouth your current employer in any way
  • Sound like youre trying to escape a bad situation, or youre failing or not fitting in at your current job
  • Say youre struggling or failing to perform the work
  • Say its too difficult or stressful
  • Say youre not sure

Good sample answer:

Im looking for more leadership opportunities. Ive been at my company for three years and have really enjoyed the experience but I feel in order to take the next step in my career, itd be helpful to join a larger organization and use what Ive learned in the past to lead more projects. Thats why this Project Manager role excited me.

How Much Money Are You Looking To Earn

How to Answer BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Using the STAR Method (TOP 10 Behavioral Questions)

This question is left off of many lists of common job interview questions, yet its extremely important and the wrong answer can cost you thousands of dollars.

The best answers to this question follow one rule: DONT say a specific number or even a narrow salary range that youre targeting.

Why? You have the least amount of leverage possible at this point in the job interview and job search process. You havent finished interviewing with this employer, and they dont even know if youre a good fit for the position.

So you cant command a high salary right now. Theres nothing to gain by answering salary questions so early, and quite a bit to potentially lose.

If you go too low with your desired salary range, it could limit the offer you receive later, even if they would have offered more normally. Or, you could worry them that youre not at the level they were hoping for!

Meanwhile, if you share a number or range thats too high, you could scare them off before they get to know you and see your worth! Whereas, after talking with you in a few interviews, they might have been willing to stretch their budget to hire you! Ive seen this happen frequently as a recruiter.

Therefore, its a lose-lose to tell them your salary target before you know theyre interested in hiring you. When youre preparing what to say in a job interview, especially an early-stage interview, salary goals should not be a part of it!

Dont:

Example answer:

Also Check: What Kind Of Questions To Ask In An Interview

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.

Read More:What Interviewers Really Want When They Ask, What Do You Like Least About Your Job?

What Are Your Goals For The Future

Employers ask this question to make sure you dont plan to leave the company right away. It also helps them learn how ambitious you are, and whether your career goals work with the company structure.

In your answer, focus on how you want to grow within the job and the company. Research the company beforehand to get a sense of the career paths offered at the organization. Employers like to see candidates who want to grow in ways that align with the company.

  • I plan to continue to develop my skills as a teacher, particularly through the help of your teacher mentorship program. Once I gain additional experience, I would love the opportunity to serve as a department head or take on another administrative role. However, for now, I am looking forward to applying my in-class teaching skills and continuing to develop as an instructor.

Read Also: How To Ace An Online Job Interview

Examples Of The Best Answers

The best answers to this request are honest, brief, and confidently delivered. Your goal is to share something interesting about yourself that illuminates who you are as a person and an employee.

Come prepared with a few things to share and be sure to tie them to the skills and qualities that are most valuable in this job.

Tips On Choosing Examples For Your Star Answer

Valanglia: JOB INTERVIEWS: 9 TOP QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS YOU ...

Choosing the right example is vital. It must be relevant and real and here are our top tips.

Relevant: Make sure that the example is relevant to the role you are being interviewed and clearly relates to the competency being explored. For example, if talking about Making Effective Decisions you should make specific reference to what the decision was, what data you gathered and used, what process you followed and how you met the objectives successfully while dealing with obstacles.

Complex: The task or project must be sufficiently complex for the role. It should also have been long enough in duration and complex enough in terms of actions completed to adequately demonstrate the skills required at this level. Choose one where you had to use other competencies at the same time. In addition make sure that you can talk about problems or obstacles overcome.

Impact: Choose an example with impact in terms of scale, reach, growth, results delivered or improvement made for example.

Recommended Reading: What Are Some Good Interview Questions To Ask A Candidate

More articles

Popular Articles