Interview questions?

loopyloouk

Hi All,

I am off to give a presentation to a group of the consultants for the job interview (posted a few weeks back).

They have advised there is room for flexibility but i will talk about this at the interview with them.

I have to give a full presentation of my QMS skills to a group and then an individual interview.

As its been years since i had a proper interview how do i answer the dreaded questions of:-

'what would you say is your weakness?'

or

'what are your best qualities?'

any ideas.........

The last interview i had was 9 years ago and it was a walk in the door, take a seat, 'ooh your CV looks good, the jobs yours' kind of interview.:rotfl:

tea_lover

Weakness - don't go down the cliche route of "I'm a perfectionist" or something like that. Either choose something that isn't vital for the role (eg. if you would never have to give presentations, you could say you weren't great at speaking to large groups). Or, give an example of something that was a weakness but that you've worked on (eg. "I used to struggle with last minute demands for my time but used this as an opportunity to reassess my time management skills. I started using my outlook calendar more and am now confident that I can deal with last minute changes to my workload).

Best qualities - choose something relevant to the job role. If they've stated a few times that they're looking for someone organised, say that (if it's true!)

Good luck

I've found there's a lot of good advice out there if you have a quick scout around. Best thing I've found is to rehearse a few answers out loud beforehand.

roobee13

I was in a similar position last year, had an external interview for the first time in about 8 years! They're not that bad I promise

Tea has given some great advice but just wanted to throw in that I was asked a total curveball question that I hadn't expected. It was 'outside of work, what is your greatest achievement?'

I hadn't banked on being asked anything non-work related so said rescuing my second dog, training him and giving him a loving home (must've worked as they offered me a job!)

If they spring something similar on you, you could say children, something you've saved/worked hard for, i.e. house, or something totally personal. They may not ask it but best to be prepared I think!

Good luck

fivetide

Just remember to be yourself.


The questions about "where do you see yourself in five years?" and "what has been the biggest challenge?" are tough.


The worst I ever had was "can you give an example of when something did not work out?" which is very hard because it automatically starts on a negative. If they do that to you, remember to talk about the learnings that came from it and how it has made you an even better prospect they'd be stupid not to hire!


Good luck

Errata

'what would you say is your weakness?'

I have a tendency to be extremely tenacious and hang on to something long after common sense says it's time to let go - I'm working very hard on identifying the 'letting go' point and consulting with manager/colleagues/the dog on what the best way forward is.

georgie262

I find the competency based questions difficult - "Can you give me an example of a time you have worked on your own initiative"?
"Can you give me an example of when you have led a group to success"?
I sometimes draw a blank and can't remember ANYTHING I have ever done so always get some flexible examples of things you have done that you are proud of.

I was always told to use the STAR technique to structure your answer
Situation
Task
Activity
Result

http://careers.theguardian.com/careers-blog/star-technique-competency-based-interview

supermassive

The worst one is when the opening question isn't a question, but a demand. "Tell me about yourself" Oh, yeah, awesome. Thanks for that.

I usually start with "After many years living as various zoo animals, I was finally reborn as a human!"

I once also had "If you could be a cartoon character, which would you be?" Uh, what?

trailingspouse

And after the interview, when you think back to the questions they've asked and remember all the awesome answers that you could have given, write them down.

Most interviewers ask the same types of question most of the time so after a few interviews you'll have a good bank of answers that are personal to you.

tea_lover

trailingspouse wrote: »

And after the interview, when you think back to the questions they've asked and remember all the awesome answers that you could have given, write them down.

Most interviewers ask the same types of question most of the time so after a few interviews you'll have a good bank of answers that are personal to you.

So true. Also remember the stupid things you wish you hadn't said (or maybe that's just me!)

tyllwyd

I had an interview last year and the interviewer, who I found a bit too smooth, asked me what kind of person I didn't like to work with. I said something along the lines of someone who presented a false image of themselves - it was only when I was talking about it afterwards with my OH that he pointed out that the answer I'd given in the interview matched the description I'd just given him of the interviewer. Hopefully the interviewer didn't realise - I didn't get the job either way!

GreenQueen

one former boss of mine always asked the "describe yourself in three words" question