How to answer those 5 common interview questions

In the world of interviewing, there are some commonly asked questions that, if you know ahead of time, can be answered correctly and thereby improve your chances of making the right impression.  If you’ve ever been in an interview yourself, you will remember them. The online career site Theladders.com listed them.  So, what are they and how should they be answered?  They are:

1. Tell us about yourself? 

This is a very common question. You want to make a simple, but effective “sales pitch” for yourself here.  In concise terms, tell about your skills, experiences and personality.  Relate your self-decription to how you see it matching the needs of the prospective employer.

2. What are your strengths?

Identify 2-3 strengths ahead of time that you can elaborate by solid examples when asked this question. You want to “toot your horn” here.  Don’t be modest, but don’t exaggerate either. Cite quantitative measurements of your successes using specific figures.

3. What are your weaknesses? 

We all are expected to have some, right?  But, here, you want to identify something that isn’t going to be a deal-breaker for the prospective employer.  So, state a weakness that is common to lots of people, such as procrastination.  Then, follow up by stating how you are learning and practicing ways to improve upon it.

4. Why do you want this job? 

Before going into the interview, know how to answer this question in a way that expresses both a benefit to the employer and you. After all, the interviewer wants to know “what’s in it for his company” if they hire you.

5. Why should we hire you? 

Before any interview, list three strong reasons on paper why this employer should hire you. Memorize them so, during the interview, you will be able to confidently answer this question. Blend skills, qualifications, aspirations already expressed in previous questions to the needs of the position. You want to answer this question in such a way that the interviewer understands hiring you would represent a “win-win” proposition for both you AND his company.

From The Key Corporate Services Blog Team