How Do You Think The Interview Went
Not every question from the interviewer is supposed to be an interview question. However, since it is better to be safe than sorry, it is better to assume that the interview doesnt end until you are out of the office.
An interview question like this is to gauge your overall self awareness to see if you know that youve done a good job . If the interview went as well as can be expected, then you have nothing to worry about. Let the interviewer know what you enjoyed about the conversation, and perhaps ask about the next steps to be taken.
‘i Believe My Skills And Experiences Make Me A Good Fit For A Job’
While you mentioned your skills align well with the job during your introduction, you can elaborate on this statement during the interview. For example, you may provide specific examples of these qualifications when the interviewer asks, “Tell me about yourself’. Instead of merely listing your skills that show your preparedness for the role, you can impress interviewers by providing specific examples of how you’ve used these skills successfully. When possible, show your value by explaining how these skills led to measurable or positive results for prior employers.
Things You Should Say In An Interview
Today’s job market is as competitive as ever. You need to be able to effectively communicate your skillset so that you will give yourself the best competitive advantage to secure employment. During the interview process, you want to highlight as many of your strengths as possible.
An easy way to do this is by slipping a few simple phrases into your next job interview. Here are seven things you should say in an interview.
7 Things You Should Say In An Interview
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What Are You Passionate About
What They Want to Know: What’s most important to you? What do you love doing? The answers to this question don’t have to be all about work. The company is looking to determine if you’re a well-rounded person, and what you enjoy doing outside of work can give them insight into the type of employee you’d be if you were hired.
I am passionate about folk music, and love to attend festivals during the summer. I also play fiddle with a local band on the weekends.
More Answers: Interview Question: What Are You Passionate About?
Tell Me About A Time You Disagreed With A Decision What Did You Do
No one agrees with every decision. Disagreements are fine it’s what you do when you disagree that matters.
Show that you were professional. Show that you raised your concerns in a productive way. If you have an example that proves you can effect change, great — and if you don’t, show that you can support a decision even though you think it’s wrong .
Every company wants employees willing to be honest and forthright, to share concerns and issues, but to also get behind a decision and support it as if they agreed, even if they didn’t.
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What To Say At The Start Of An Interview
At the beginning of an interview, you can introduce yourself and express your interest in the job opportunity. This portion of the interview serves as your first chance to make a positive impression before delving into more details in your responses to the interviewer’s questions. Here are several examples of things to say as you start the interview:
What Is Your Greatest Weakness
What They Want to Know: There are different ways to tackle questions about weaknesses. One is to turn a negative into a positive by sharing an example of how something you considered to be a weakness actually helped you on the job. The other is to speak about additional skills you now have because you worked on those that needed an upgrade.
Im an introvert, which I used to regard as being a weakness because I was always shy about reaching out to people. However, part of being an introvert is that Im a great listener, and I find this has really helped me as a Help Desk Technician. Im able to focus on our customers issues, ask the right questions to elicit information, and resolve their tech issues.
More Answers: Interview Question: What is Your Greatest Weakness?
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Example Strength : Interpersonal Skills
Im an empathetic person whos skilled at relating to people and making them feel heard. In one memorable instance from earlier this year, I was on a support call with a customer whose contract we had terminated. Reinstating the service agreement would have increased her rates dramatically. She was understandably upset and felt trapped because she couldnt be without car insurance for her and her family. It became clear very quickly that we couldnt meet her needs but I wanted her to walk away with a favorable impression of the service we had provided. I talked her through some of her other options, even letting her know of other providers who might be able to offer her a lower rate so she could avoid a lapse in coverage. In the feedback survey from that interaction, she specifically mentioned that she would still be recommending our services to others. In my career in customer support, Ive had many interactions like thisthey are complex but end with the customer still feeling positive.
What Can We Expect From You In Your First Three Months
Ideally the answer to this should come from the employer: They should have plans and expectations for you.
But if you’re asked, use this general framework:
- You’ll work hard to determine how your job creates value — you won’t just stay busy, you’ll stay busy doing the right things.
- You’ll learn how to serve all your constituents — your boss, your employees, your peers, your customers, and your suppliers and vendors.
- You’ll focus on doing what you do best — you’ll be hired because you bring certain skills, and you’ll apply those skills to make things happen.
- You’ll make a difference — with customers, with other employees, to bring enthusiasm and focus and a sense of commitment and teamwork.
Then just layer in specifics that are applicable to you and the job.
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Be Ready For The Small Talk
Getting the small talk right can have big consequences. Its a way for people to build rapport and affinity, and start to generate that elusive, intangible quality of chemistry that characterises all effective business relationships.
So as part of your interview preparation, its a good idea to think ahead to some likely topics that might come up, so as to help keep the conversation flowing smoothly. The key is to come up with topics where you have a shared interest, so that youre able to both ask and answer credible questions.
For example, if you see a picture of your interviewers family, perhaps you could ask about them and be ready with a family anecdote of your own. Or if youre a sports fan and you spot signs that your interviewer is too, perhaps you could ask a suitable question that youve also got an interesting answer to .
Think, too, about topical themes. For example, has your potential employer been in the news recently? Or could you ask about the potential impact on the company of a recent development, such as Brexit or falling share prices or a serious malware attack? In each case, make sure you have an interesting thought of your own to contribute too.
What Was Your Biggest Accomplishment In This Position
What They Want to Know: What are you proudest of? Was there a time something didn’t work out, but you were able to learn from it? Let the hiring manager know what you achieved, again sharing examples from your most recent job.
Im most proud of having convinced our CEO to implement an internal training and promotion program that allowed our personnel to steadily advance within our organization.
More Answers: Interview Questions: What Were Your Biggest Successes and Failures?
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Then While I Was At Happy Hour
Is your underwear riding up your rear end as you sit in that interview? Did you totally run a red light so that you could be on time? Did your husband lose $15,000 at a craps table in Vegas last weekend? How interestingyet all completely off-limits conversation topics while youre in the interview. Even if youre interviewing for a role within the most free-wheeling, fun-loving organization, the fact remains that you are in an interview. Never, ever get wooed into believing that the casual nature of the environment frees you to enter the TMI zone.
How To Make The Best Impression
DONT GIVE AN INTERVIEWER REASONS NOT TO HIRE YOU: Employers are going to be less enthusiastic about candidates who might have transportation, family, or other personal issues that can interfere with their work attendance and productivity.
BE CONFIDENT: An interview is not the time for soul-searching or expressing doubts about the job or your qualifications for it. Focus on selling the talents and skills that you know you’d bring to the position.
BE POSITIVE: Interviewers want to hire employees who will be positive contributors to their operations, not complainers. Avoid all negativity when talking about previous employers or your own readiness to assume the responsibilities of the job.
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Can You Tell Me More About The Team I Would Be Working In
This will help you understand the way the company is structured, who you’ll report to and the department the role sits within. These are the people you’ll work most closely with, so it’s worth trying to find out about the team dynamic and working methods.
Depending on the response, it may also give you the opportunity to mention any experience or success you’ve had working in similar teams – just to give the employer one final example of how well you’ll fit in if you get the job.
Other useful questions to ask at interview include those about:
- performance appraisals
- opportunities or challenges facing the department/company
- company-specific projects or campaigns.
If the employer doesn’t give an indication of what happens next then a good way to wrap up the interview is by asking about the next steps and when you can expect to hear from them.
Top Questions You Should Ask In An Interview
An interview is a moment to sell yourself in a way that highlights the necessary skills that make you a qualified candidate for the job. You’ll need to practice responses to questions that may relate to the job posting and the qualifications listed for the position. Also, you must come prepared with questions to ask the interviewer to show your interest in the position.
In this article, we discuss the types of questions you should ask when you’re interviewing with a hiring manager.
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I’d Like To Learn More About The Company
Mentioning your interest in learning more about the company shows that you are genuinely interested in hearing the company’s story from the perspective of a current employee or the founder. Although you are the one being interviewed for the job, the desire to learn more about the company indicates that you need more information to decide if the company will be a good fit for you.
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Tips On How To Answer: Tell Me About Yourself
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I Am Highly Motivated
A motivated employee is a productive employee. Talk about how your high level of motivation has led you to accomplish many things. If you are a meticulous worker, discuss your organizational skills and attention to detail. Companies are always looking for dependable employees whom they can count upon.
Can You Describe The Working Culture Of The Organisation
Asking this question is a great way to assess the working environment of the company and it gives you the opportunity to discover whether you’ll fit in.
From the recruiters response you’ll learn if and how the organisation prioritises employee happiness, of any benefits on offer and what the work-life balance is like.
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I Am Very Familiar With What Your Company Does
Letting a prospective employer know that you are familiar with what a company does shows that you have a legitimate interest in the business and are not just wasting their time. Do your homework before arriving for an interview. Check out the company website for information about products and services. Search for the latest transactions and pertinent business news.
Be sure to let the interviewer know that you are familiar with the newest company acquisition or the latest product that was just developed. Explain how your skills and experience are a perfect fit for the employer.
I Built A Synergistic Network Of Strategic Alliances
If your interview answers sound a little too much like Weird Als song, Mission Statement, youre probably not going to be the most memorable candidate. Turns out, listening to abstract words only activates areas of the brain related to language processing. Alternatively, concrete words like carrot juice, smoking car engine, and stood in front of 150 people are easier to picture, activate more areas of the brain, and are therefore more memorable. Pull in the five senses and describe actions taken. Youll be remembered positively rather than for being a jargon bot.
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What Are Your Goals For The Future
What They Want to Know: When you respond to questions about your future goals, it’s a good idea to mesh your objectives with what the company might offer as a career path. At the least, make sure your goals involve staying with this company for more than a short-term basis.
My goal is to sign on with a national retail organization where I can eventually advance to a role as a regional sales manager.
More Answers: Interview Questions About Your Goals for the Future
Changing Your Salary Expectations
Mike Astringer, founder and principal consultant at Human Capital Consultants, noted that HR professionals interview candidates based partly on their initial compensation expectations.
“We know that they fit into our overall compensation range,” he said. “All too often, a candidate will interview for a job, become overconfident then dramatically increase their compensation expectations.”
Astringer said he makes an offer to a candidate based on those initial salary expectations. Candidates should avoid greatly increasing their expectations at the final hour, he said.
“It makes the candidate look bad, it makes me look bad, and it wastes everyone’s time,” Astringer added.
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Question : What Areas Need Improvement
Below we discuss two different answers to this question, being a skill-based answer and a character-based answer.
Sample answer 1
Im currently working on improving my public speaking skills to become a confident and compelling speaker. As I progress in my career, Ive realized that if I want to become a top manager, I have to sharpen my communication skills as well.
Whether Im talking in a team meeting or presenting in front of an audience, I have to speak publicly more often as I develop myself as a professional.
Sample answer 2
Im very focused when it comes to working on projects, and for me personally, its important to work according to set deadlines and keeping them. However, for instance, if Im working on a project and Im assigned to smaller new tasks in between that I can finish quickly, I put the initial project on hold and work on the new project. What Ive noticed is that if I switch gears often during a workday, this prevents me from delivering the best work on projects that require focus for a longer period.
Im currently working on my planning and prioritizing skills by following a project management course to structure my workdays as effectively as possible. I already see the results of this course, and Im becoming more efficient and effective at my job while being able to manage my time better as well. This way, everything I work on gets the attention it needs to provide the best possible results.
