What are some ways to ace a job interview and what are some trick questions that employers ask you?
Monday, June 14th, 2010Also what are the best ways to answer these trick questions? ( I have no job experience and I’ve never had a job interview)
A lot of the questions may ask be phrased like you have had previous work experience. They may say, "Tell me about a work experience when…" But you can just use examples of when you were a student, experiences during projects, volunteer work. Just use your life experiences.
One of the most common "trick questions" you will be asked will be to tell them about one of your weaknesses. The worst thing you can do is to say that you don’t have one, or that you can’t think of one. Everybody has a weakness, and we have enough that you should be able to list many (but don’t list more than one.) Be honest, but don’t tell them about a weakness that will stop them from hiring you. Don’t tell them you have a hard time being punctual, don’t tell them you can’t work as a team, don’t tell them you have problems with authority. Those things will NOT get you the job.
What should you say? Tell them something that you can make adjustments for. This would be my answer. "I have a hard time remembering things. So I am sure to carry a small notepad with me. Not only to meetings, but everywhere. I do this so if somebody asks me about something, or gives me some additional instructions when I see them in the hallway, I can make note right then and not forget them before I get back to my desk."
Another tricky question that is often asked is to explain about a confrontation you had at work and how you dealt with it. This isn’t too bad. Just be sure to give them a situation when you handled things well.
Another one might be to give them an example of when you made a mistake and what you learned from it. Again, don’t BS them. Everybody has made mistakes; just don’t give them an example of something really bad. My example would probably be something about communication. I used to have poor communication skills. When I was a new supervisor, I thought everybody understood what they I expected from them. So when I gave somebody instructions I never explained in detail and never asked if they had questions. I wasn’t mean, if they did ask I would explain. But they sort of had to “hunt me down” to ask for clarification. I learned a lot those first couple of years. Now I make sure I explain in detail, watch their body language (you can see if somebody looks confused) and ask if they have questions.
Another question might be “What would you do if you didn’t agree with your instructions from your supervisor.” This is a really tricky question because you don’t really know what the instructions. My answer would be something like, “I have always let me supervisor know if I don’t agree with him/her. I am never disrespectful, but I do often like to offer alternative ways of doing things. But I also understand that my supervisor makes the final decision. If I have offered suggestions, and the supervisor still wants thing done that way, then I will follow those instructions. With the exception of doing anything illegal.” This answer may be a turn off for some employers who do NOT want other opinions, but I really don’t care to work in those types of places. So for me, if it’s a turn off to them, then I wouldn’t be happy there anyway.
I also suggest just searching for "interview questions" on the internet. You will find lots of questions and the more you go over and think about an answer, the better prepared and more comfortable you will be.