THE TOP FIVE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD KNOW HOW TO ANSWER

BY SCOTT STORICK

INTRODUCTION •  As daunting as interviews are, you have to

understand that these questions allow specific hiring managers understand the person behind the resume

•  For many of these positions, they are not just looking at your academic and professional experiences, but also they are looking to identify your personality, your strengths, your weaknesses, and your skillets to see whether you are the best fit for their organization.

OVERVIEW •  To help you with this, I have provide the FIVE most

asked questions and various tips of how you should answer them.

•  Before I begin, it is imperative that you create a narrative or story for your academic and professional background.

•  Having this holistic and internal understanding will allow you to better explain why you are the best candidate for said-position.

QUESTIONS 1:

Tell me about yourself.

HOW TO ANSWER QUESTIONS 1

•  This is where you are able to showcase your personal, academic, and professional achievements.

•  To answer this question more effectively, turn your answer into a narrative. Do not just tell them about your past jobs; that is what your resume is for.

•  Instead discuss your personal strengths and how it can attribute to the position you are applying for.

•  Remember to always refer to that position. Do this by highlighting any transferable skills from your previous companies.

QUESTIONS 2:

Why should we hire you? Why this company?

HOW TO ANSWER QUESTIONS 2

•  This is among one of the best interview questions a hiring manager can ask.

•  To answer this properly, make sure you have a strong foundational knowledge of the position.

•  Connect the dots of what led you to that position and your overall interest to the company.

•  The more you can speak candidly about the company and their values the better. It will show not just your knowledge and research of the company, but also how you can be an asset to their organization.

QUESTIONS 3:

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

HOW TO ANSWER QUESTIONS 3

•  This is, at times, a very difficult question. As complex as it is, it is imperative that you internalize your own strengths and flaws in any type of job.

•  Now this is not to criticize your work. Instead, it is to highlight areas where you can grow and develop professionally each and everyday.

QUESTIONS 4:

What was your greatest achievement at XYZ job?

HOW TO ANSWER QUESTIONS 4

•  For many hiring managers, they want to make sure that they are finding the most qualified candidate for their company.

•  To do this, they want to know your previous success stories at your company.

•  Be sure to know and internalize specific incidences that highlight the following skills:

•  Leadership and Management • Organization • Communication

QUESTIONS 5:

Do you have any questions?

HOW TO ANSWER QUESTIONS 5

•  Make sure you have a series of questions lined up for the your hiring manager.

•  Go beyond questions that can be found online or on their website.

•  Certain questions could be tailored to the culture of the company or the overall goals and development they are looking to achieve in the future.

LEARN MORE

To learn more about Scott Storick, please visit the following sites:

§ http://scottstorick.net

§ http://scottstorick.org/

§ https://www.crunchbase.com/person/scott-storick#/entity

§ http://www.slideshare.net/scott_storick