Getting ready for a job interview? If so, you might have seen the websites and books offering answers to 100 or even 1,000 interview questions. Well, that should be effective. Just memorize several hundred answers to questions you may not be asked and you’re good to go.
And while you’re doing that, here’s what your competition is doing: Preparing to meet his or her future boss by identifying the company’s needs and his or her own abilities to fill them, then preparing to enter into a dialogue to check the “fit” for the position.
If that sounds like the experience you’d prefer, you’ll need to hold up your end of the dialogue, and possibly even initiate it. In last week’s column, I said that the questions themselves are simply launchpads for providing the information the interviewer needs. Thus, the dominant rule for the Q&A is to answer the “real” question. That is, don’t focus on the question as it is asked, but instead on providing the information the interviewer really needs to hear.
An example I often use comes from workshops I used to teach for women leaving welfare. Illegal or not, these candidates were sometimes asked, “How many children do you have?”
Infuriating? Maybe, but here’s the thing: Employers had a reason for asking. I focused on teaching the candidate to think like the employer and answer the real question. In this case, the interviewer doesn’t want to know about the kids. Rather, the question is an awkward way to deduce whether the candidate will be focused at work, arrive on time, etc.
The answer to the real question? “I know you’re concerned about my ability to get here on time and stay focused on the work. I am reliable, punctual and extremely serious about this opportunity. If you need proof, I can provide attendance records from my training program and references who can vouch for my reliability.”
To be ready for this level of confident interaction, you’ll need to know your two or three main messages for this employer. If the job requires reliability and that’s your thing, that could be one of your primary messages. Or you might focus on a key skill set or your uncanny talent for closing sales ... as long as your messages can be backed up and are chosen to match the employer’s needs, you will have a winning interview.
Now you just need to fit your messages into the framework provided by the question. To help, here are six question styles that I have observed:
Factual questions. Some responses don't need to be elaborate. When asked your college major, just give the answer.
Standard questions. You've seen the list of common questions, and chances are you'll be asked a few. "Where do you want to be in five years?" and "Tell us your strengths" are two. Don't sweat these; just choose one of your key messages and build your answer on it.
Gotcha questions. Here's a tip: When asked to describe the worst manager you've ever had, don't. Instead, answer by only slightly acknowledging the question itself: "I get along well with my managers and I think one reason is that I learned early on to adapt to both the hands-on and the hands-off style of supervision. Looking back, I think I've had my best experiences with the hands-off bosses, but both fit well with my work style."
Storytelling questions. Usually called behavioral questions, these queries focus on a past situation as a way of predicting future behavior. For example: "Describe a mistake you made and what you did about it." My best tip is to ensure your stories have a beginning, middle and end. That is, set up the problem, describe what you did about it, and end with a successful outcome.
Hypothetical questions. Usually called situational questions, these are foretold by the words: "What would you do if ... ." Watch out! Here's where the desire to impress can overcome common sense. Instead of launching into an elaborate description of how you would improve something, weave a safety net by saying, "I'd need to know more about what you've already tried, but one thing I might do ... ." Now you can answer without worrying about stomping on toes or giving an altogether wrong answer.
Home run questions. Anytime you can use all your key messages in one answer, you're hitting it out of the park. "Tell me about yourself" and "Why do you want to work here?" will be your new best friends as you prepare to answer the employer's real questions, which will always be: What can you do for us, and how will you solve our problems?
Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com or at 626 Armstrong Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55102.
About the Author
