Interviewing for a new job can be incredibly stressful, especially when anticipating challenging questions. Being properly prepared for tough questions can help you maintain your confidence throughout the interview process.
There are several steps to take to set yourself up for a successful job interview:
In this case, it is important to stay positive and never badmouth your current employer. The best answers are related to personal growth, more challenging work, career advancement, or the opportunity to use skills or education that is not available in the current position.
Don’t take a strength and present it as a weakness. This is not only a facile and deceptive response, but it misses the point of the question which is to see if you understand your own weaknesses and that you are working to overcome them.
Be as honest as possible, but again, emphasize the positives where you can. Describe the reason for a gap, but point out how the time between jobs was spent productively.
If you are ready for it, these open-ended questions give you an excellent opportunity to sell yourself as the ideal candidate. Steer the conversation to your experience, strengths, and fitness for the job as related to the job description.
This type of question is used to gauge your long-term interest in the job you are interviewing for and to determine if you have realistic expectations for what the position can provide you. When answering this question, detail how your skill development and career trajectory goals align well with the opportunities advertised in the job description to demonstrate your ambition to further immerse yourself in your field and become more skilled as you continue working. Bonus points for doing research and describing what projects you will likely complete in that role over the next few years.
Employers ask this question to allow candidates to expand on what they have listed on their resume and to describe how you may have noticed a problem and designed a solution to overcome it using your resourcefulness and skills. Make sure to use numbers when possible to give a tangible and concrete representation of your achievement’s outcome.
While this may not be the exact question that is asked, this type of question is known as a “case study” question. The interviewer gives you a hypothetical situation, in which you can use your experience and skills to drive an outcome.
This question applies to positions where the employee would be working from home instead of an office environment. Interviewers are asking this to determine if the candidate can stay productive and get necessary work done while they work remotely without anyone else to keep them on schedule.
Related Reading: Behavioral Interview Questions: How to Ace Them
Preparation for difficult interview questions cannot only help you to manage a stressful situation, but it can ensure that you present yourself as the ideal candidate for an open position. Knowing how to present yourself while answering these common questions can also help you navigate a difficult phone interview.
Another way to better prepare for interviews is to work with a staffing and recruiting firm. Recruiters have great insights and, often times, long-term relationships with companies and can provide interviewees helpful tips and questions to prepare for. By working with a recruiting firm, like Sparks Group, candidates can easily gain a competitive edge in the job market.
Sparks Group brings nearly a half-century of recruiting and temporary staffing experience to the industry, placing candidates in challenging and rewarding positions. Our staffing agency's primary focus is to align job opportunities that match each candidate’s skill-sets, experience levels, career objectives, and growth needs.
To begin your next step towards your career goals, check out our Job Board to find new opportunities and reach out to our recruiting experts.