Hard to answer questions

tomtontom

noelphobic wrote: »

One of the questions was 'how would you keep in touch with your colleagues if you were working remotely'. I answered that I would keep in touch by telephone or email. I was then asked the same question about how I would keep in touch with my manager and I gave the same answer. Most of them were harder than that but I did wonder whether I was missing something on that one. It seemed too easy but I couldn't think of what else to say. Any ideas on that one?

Unless the job is very basic, you should have given fuller answers. For instance, if you were working on a project you would make sure you proactively informed others where you were up to, giving them the opportunity to share where they are up to, ask for/ give any help/ feedback etc.

J_i_m wrote: »

I sympathise with you.

I find it hardest when asked some very stock questions... like "Describe yourself" or "Why do you want this job?", "What attracted you to apply for this job?" "Describe a time when you handled a stressful situation"

And so on.

I find it particularly difficult when they ask you for an example of when you handled certain type of situation. I'm not someone who writes a book about how've I handled things in the past... and so invariably I end up having to make up a scenario on the spur of the moment and then answer it.

I'd much rather they'd ask a direct question "What would you do if" or "how do you manage stress or a difficult customer". Being invited to recall a past example really throws me.

On the most part that shows poor preparation. The key to answering stock questions is to have stock answers - you should have scenarios in your head before you go.

J_i_m

Well, I hope you haven't made a judgement about my preparation from a forum post.

The way I prepare is that I learn about the company and job I am applying to, I extensively study the job description and person specification to see how I can show that I meet the criteria.

I think about how my experience relates to that job description and what skills I can take to it.

I prepare areas on which I want to bring to the attention of the interview panel on areas on which I can expect questions.

I keep a reminder of what I consider customer service, data protection, stressful situations to be.

If possible, I arrange to visit the area of work before the interview to gain an overview.

I prepare an interview portfolio in which I hold copies of my CV, the job description and person spec, certificates of my relevant qualifications, questions I want to ask, areas I can expect to be questioned on, documents to verify my ID and references.

I really do as much as I can, I can only do my best.

And besides, many interviewers don't want "stock answers". They want to see that the candidate can think on their feet, that they're adaptable. What does a stock answer prove? It proves you made a script, learnt it and stuck to it. It doesn't always adequately answer the question though.

noelphobic

tomtontom wrote: »

Unless the job is very basic, you should have given fuller answers. For instance, if you were working on a project you would make sure you proactively informed others where you were up to, giving them the opportunity to share where they are up to, ask for/ give any help/ feedback etc.
.

Good points, which I will bear in mind. However, i was thinking that you would be doing all that in your phone calls and emails. It wouldn't have hurt to have elaborated though.

noelphobic

J_i_m wrote: »

I prepare an interview portfolio in which I hold copies of my CV, the job description and person spec, certificates of my relevant qualifications, questions I want to ask, areas I can expect to be questioned on, documents to verify my ID and references.
.

Do you refer to that during the interview?

On the basis of everything else you've said, I would give you the job - pity it's not in my power!

tomtontom

noelphobic wrote: »

Good points, which I will bear in mind. However, i was thinking that you would be doing all that in your phone calls and emails. It wouldn't have hurt to have elaborated though.

The thing about interviews is that you need to elaborate on what may seem obvious. Saying you would call them doesn't really tell them anything - for all they know you could be ringing to chat about the football

noelphobic

tomtontom wrote: »

The thing about interviews is that you need to elaborate on what may seem obvious. Saying you would call them doesn't really tell them anything - for all they know you could be ringing to chat about the football

Don't like football! Ringing them to make arrangements to go to the pub maybe! (Although it was a dire interview I didn't actually say that!) The one time that I said part of a situation I was describing was funny, nobody smiled.

DKLS

J_i_m wrote: »

I find it particularly difficult when they ask you for an example of when you handled certain type of situation. I'm not someone who writes a book about how've I handled things in the past... and so invariably I end up having to make up a scenario on the spur of the moment and then answer it.

Concise answers can be good, in a previous job the Md would join us for the final interview stage and his pet hate was candidates who waffled on, he always selected the ones who could give concise answers, occasionally I would advise candidates to keep answers concise, some people have some odd definitions of concise

J_i_m

noelphobic wrote: »

Do you refer to that during the interview?

On the basis of everything else you've said, I would give you the job - pity it's not in my power!

Well, I wouldn't necessarily read off my sheet of prepared answers no. I use that to revise the things I need to be thinking about immediately before going into the interview so that (hopefully) it's all fresh in my mind. I also try having some information on the company at hand, and their core values so I can work that into my answers.

Preparing a script before the interview is all very well, but you need to be flexible enough to adapt if they deviate from their script and start asking some off key questions or something which despite your best efforts simply hadn't considered in your preparation.

And for that reason, once I've done my preparation I will still try to have a degree of spontaneity to my answers.

I will however, refer to my list of prepared questions during the actual interview because, very often I'd completely forgotten what I'd wanted to ask or they'd answered them already anyway.

It's at this point that I'll also offer to show them my 'interview portfolio' to show them that I'd taken my preparation seriously and that I can organise myself effectively.

It's also a good moment to show them any certificates you have.

If you attend the interview armed with a 'portfolio' then you may as well try to show it to the panel, otherwise it just looks a bit daft having walked in with posh shiny portfolio but having not used it.

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I think sometimes, it also depends on the interview skills of the panel. Lets not simply assume that the employer is always the one with the superior technique here.

Sometimes I've had a panel, which you can tell are very inexperienced when it comes to interviews, they're very dry, they struggle to be personable, are very rigid to their script.

As the candidate it's very difficult to show too much personality if the panel itself is very 'wooden'.

I actually feel that I perform better when the panel is personable and when they do deviate from their script. Because then it becomes much more like a conversation as opposed to an interview. I begin feeling far more at ease and then communication and rapport comes more naturally. And it's then I find it easier to relate my experiences and skills to the job and also delivery of answers becomes much more natural.

One of the best interviews I had recently was where, from the very second they invited me in, they were off their script, and they made no secret of that. They were very welcoming and personable. They'd even prepared a glass of water for me before I'd walked in.

That's the first time I'd ever attended an interview, where something so fundamental as a drink of water had been thought of and provided before I even arrived. I considered this to be 'good customer service' and I wasted no time in using this as an opener to advertise my understanding of customer service and the skills I'd bring.

But it's precisely because the panel were so accommodating and personable that I was able to relax and perform. I didn't get the job unfortunately, but they went to lengths to tell me that I interviewed "extremely well".

So sometimes.. you can prepare as diligently and thoroughly as conceivably possible.. but still be undone by a poor panel.

J_i_m

tomtontom wrote: »

The thing about interviews is that you need to elaborate on what may seem obvious. Saying you would call them doesn't really tell them anything - for all they know you could be ringing to chat about the football

That's true.. but DKLS also raises a relevant point about 'waffling on' and failing to be concise.

But I tell you... there's a fine line between failing to elaborate on the point, and waffling on. It's not always an easy target to hit.
On one of my recent interviews the feedback was that I was 'too detailed' :doh:

And I forget this sometimes.

WolfSong2000

firstly, as no one else has mentioned this: when answering interview questions, the STAR technique can be useful in helping you structure answers...

Situation
Task
Action
Result

Helps you answer with clear and concise examples which illustrate your experience and abilities.

Personally I had recently what I considered to be the "interview from hell". It was for a fairly senior procurement position. I'd previously worked as a procurement assistant for a few months, but I was going through an agency and they only gave me the job spec (which ran to over 3 pages) 15 mins before the interview.

During the interview I was asked questions such as "give us an example where you have, in your current procurement role, led your team through a period of change". Now, I'd been working as a procurement assistant so hadn't "led" anything so instead I gave examples of projects I had used my initiative to develop, how I worked with the team, etc...I basically "manipulated" the question to allow me to highlight my strengths whilst keeping it as relevant as humanly possible.

That particular interview went on for over an hour and I thought it had gone terribly, but apparently the interviewer was very positive about me. I didn't get the job in the end - the organisation restructured and gave it to someone already working there, but feedback was still positive. Went for another interview more recently, same strategy and landed the job, plus perks (50% increase in initial pay offered plus flexi time) so there is hope