Hard to answer questions

noelphobic

soupdragon10 wrote: »

It might be useful to practise interviews before the real thing. Having to come up with answers in simulated situations can often help you to develop a variety of answers to wide ranging questions.
I run one day interview skills courses in the community and much of the day is spent looking at the variety of questions that can be asked and practising in different ways how to give reasonable responses.
It might be worth investigating local courses to see if something is running in your area, as getting together with others to discuss and debate how to respond in interviews can get you thinking.

I'm not signing on at the moment, for various reasons. I think that can limit the availability of courses like the ones you mention, although I am sure they could be really useful. I did get some one to one advice as part of my redundancy package but didn't find it all that helpful.

wapow

jscott05 wrote: »

Some good points raised on the thread that i will be stealing in the coming months.
Could someone tell me if this answer sounds right recently went for an inteview and was asked if the way i acted would change in front of certain people I answered that i feel they way i act at all times is correct so no. Found it a strange question never got job and feedback sounded a bit generic so unsure if i messed up.

The answer to this should not be a direct yes or no. What they are looking for is honesty and also if you understand yourself enough to know how to act around people of different status and meaning to, in essense the company. Honestly I don't think anyone behaves "correct" at all times.

So an example answer could have been -


"I understand myself well enough to know that I behave differently around people of different meaning to me. So for example, I keep respectful conversation when I'm around my parents, I may push the boundary a little but I understand when it is appropriate to do so. Certain topics im more comfortable talking about with my friends than I would be around my parents.


With that understanding, I recognise how important my speech and actions would within this company and also those external who may be related to the company such as customers who may be making a site visit. My actions and words would be a representation of this company and there will always be someone listening in so its always beneficial to make a great impression first time."


That's a rough draft you could spruce it up with some more buzz words they all like to hear these days.

wapow

Just remember the main thing - EVERYTHING YOU ARE BEING ASKED relates to you and your actions WITHIN EMPLOYMENT.


They are not bothered about how you are outside with other people unless they specifically ask you this.


If your mate took an overdose how would you react? If hes giggling away then chances are you probably will too. You would not answer" if a person who took an overdose is laughing cos theyre high then that might rub off on me and id start laughing too" because they do not want to hear this from an employment perspective. They want you to be structured and logical.


If they ask you how you are with people, you cannot say "well I swear all time and talk about sex when im with friends and family and anybody else I don't care what people think" because this type of answer is not beneficial to a company that holds an image amongst its clients and users/followers! REGARDLESS of how YOU feel about the world and all its shortcomings, realise that YOU require something FROM them which is why you've applied!

trailingspouse

I really don't like these 'Tell us a story' type interview questions. And I'm not alone. But that's the way many big companies do it at the moment.

The truth is, the decision to hire (or not) is made within about 2 minutes maximum. The rest of the interview is simply to build up enough evidence to support the decision, whichever way it may have gone.

What I've found helpful in the past is to write down a list of stock questions, then write down your 'perfect' answer. As you go to more interviews, add new questions to the list, and then write what you wish you'd said. It's much easier to think of the perfect answer when you're not under pressure.

In my successful interviews in the past I've, at various times, argued with the interviewer, counseled the interviewer on her future plans to have children, and used the phrase 'iterative process' (I don't think they had a clue what I was on about). Can't for the life of me remember how I answered their questions about how I would deal with a difficult situation.

noelphobic

trailingspouse wrote: »

I really don't like these 'Tell us a story' type interview questions. And I'm not alone. But that's the way many big companies do it at the moment.

The truth is, the decision to hire (or not) is made within about 2 minutes maximum. The rest of the interview is simply to build up enough evidence to support the decision, whichever way it may have gone.

What I've found helpful in the past is to write down a list of stock questions, then write down your 'perfect' answer. As you go to more interviews, add new questions to the list, and then write what you wish you'd said. It's much easier to think of the perfect answer when you're not under pressure.

In my successful interviews in the past I've, at various times, argued with the interviewer, counseled the interviewer on her future plans to have children, and used the phrase 'iterative process' (I don't think they had a clue what I was on about). Can't for the life of me remember how I answered their questions about how I would deal with a difficult situation.

The interviews I've been for have actually had marks for each question and the person with the highest score gets the job. That's the theory anyway. If that's the case then it can't be decided in the first 2 minutes.

noelphobic

wapow wrote: »

Just remember the main thing - EVERYTHING YOU ARE BEING ASKED relates to you and your actions WITHIN EMPLOYMENT.


They are not bothered about how you are outside with other people unless they specifically ask you this.


If your mate took an overdose how would you react? If hes giggling away then chances are you probably will too. You would not answer" if a person who took an overdose is laughing cos theyre high then that might rub off on me and id start laughing too" because they do not want to hear this from an employment perspective. They want you to be structured and logical.


If they ask you how you are with people, you cannot say "well I swear all time and talk about sex when im with friends and family and anybody else I don't care what people think" because this type of answer is not beneficial to a company that holds an image amongst its clients and users/followers! REGARDLESS of how YOU feel about the world and all its shortcomings, realise that YOU require something FROM them which is why you've applied!

The overdose question was directly related to the job I was applying for (working with people with mental illnesses). It was probably one of the easiest questions, albeit a little scary for the first question in the first interview for decades!

My previous work history is in admin and I would have been somewhat startled to be asked that if it was an interview for an admin job!

wapow

Some interviewers like to throw people off, see whether they can keep their composure and think logically. You're absolutely right as it would strike me as odd if I was asked something like that when Im expecting something related to admin only!
Stranger things have happened.

J_i_m

noelphobic wrote: »

My previous work history is in admin and I would have been somewhat startled to be asked that if it was an interview for an admin job!

That could depend on the level of service user contact that admin staff would have.

For example, if someone came into reception and said "Excuse, me.. I've just taken an overdose"

What are you going to do?

trailingspouse

Yes noelphobic, that's the theory.

J_i_m

WolfSong2000 wrote: »

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.

This is something I'm trying to work on, and I have prepared some scenarios based on things from my experience which I revise before going into interview.

I'm about two thirds through my interview marathon week now, so that's four out of seven down.

Two of them went really well, the other two "so so". I've already received rejections on two of them, and waiting on a decision from the other two.

One of the feedbacks said my verbal and written reasoning test was very good, but I didn't provide enough specific examples in my answers. I've been invited to apply to any more vacancies in the future though.

The other unsuccessful feedback told me that I interviewed very well and related my experience and skills to the job very well indeed, I asked if there was any answer that they felt was weaker compared to other candidates and they said that there wasn't, the only reason they didn't offer me the job in the end was because another candidate was more experience in using a certain database. They also expressed the view that I wouldn't be "stretched enough".

So if anything it seems that I over sold myself, which is frustrating because I'm still looking for that balance between doing enough to beat the other candidate who "raises the bar and leaps over it" and not overselling myself.

I've got another two interviews tomorrow.. and I've also just received an invitation for an interview next week. Which takes me to over ten interviews so far this month :whistle:

I just wish I was as good at interviews and I seem to be at getting them.