Like it or not, companies ask you tough interview questions to gauge your personality and how you handle pressure. An employer needs to find the best person for the job, and one misstep can cause a headache for both HR and the supervisor.
The interview process may seem forbidding with several suits sitting behind a table asking questions that make you sweat. Rather than fold under the weight of the decisions of those complete strangers, realize why you hear these five interview questions you hate to answer. Then you can prepare for these sneaky queries and handle the surprises with ease.
1. "What Is Your Greatest Weakness?"
Answering this question honestly shows that you know yourself well enough to ascertain your greatest weakness. Like many interview questions, this one tries to determine a personality trait that your potential supervisor can live with or live without. Try to avoid talking about a weakness that directly relates to a critical job qualification, such as poor communication or lack of persuasiveness. Of course, everyone has a weakness — even though an interview is supposed to be about the strengths, skills and qualifications someone brings to the table rather than the traits someone lacks.
2. "Where Do You See Yourself in Three Years?"
Interviewers ask this question to see if you give forethought or planning to events down the road, even if no one can predict the future or know what trends may occur in coming years. Unforeseen circumstances may cause you to leave the firm or earn a promotion. However, interviewers ask this to see if you understand that little things you do during projects now affect the company's bottom line months or even years into the future.
3. "What Do You Bring to This Team?"
Interview questions such as this one seek to get a unique answer from you that no one else has in their repertoire. Cynically, you might feel as if you need to prove yourself to your interviewers again despite having a flawless resume, fantastic references and a rock-solid career to this point. As with any question, put your best foot forward, smile, and talk about your highest qualification that brings out your greatest attribute.
4. "What Would Your Last Manager Say About You?"
This question tries to gauge whether your answer correlates to the one your previous manager actually gave. Unfortunately, if your answer differs from your former boss's, it's up to the interviewers to determine which one is the correct answer.
5. "Why Should We Hire You?"
When it comes time to ask your potential employer any interview questions, you should turn this around and ask, "Why should I work for you?" Although this question sounds similar to number three, make sure to come up with a different answer. You might discuss how well you know the company at this point.
Prepare yourself for any type of interview question, even the ones you may hate to answer. How you handle the queries — for example, if you give answers that interviewers don't expect — may lead to an opportunity.
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