The eight killer questions of a job interview: how to answer them
How to come up with good answers to difficult questions at a job interview? A career adviser and job hunting expert guides you on how to best sell yourself.
1. Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself to start off with?
This is a difficult question, because should you start by telling them where you were born?
No, states Robert Fabrin.
"The answer should primarily be about your professional life, but feel free to add why the position suits you so well, and to share who you are as a person," he explains and continues:
"The long and the short of it is probably to know what the purpose is of your story. I mean you should explain the pathway that has brought you to the job interview and triggered your interest in the job in question."
He suggests that you keep your answer between 45 seconds and 2 minutes.
"In that way, you won't bore people with a tedious explanation of all sorts of things that are irrelevant to the position."
2. Why is this opportunity appealing to you?
Robert Fabrin believes that the way to approach this question is to focus on why you are a good match for the company in question.
"You could say something about how you've followed what they've done in the past and that you like specific projects or the way they work," he explains.
The pitfall is focusing too much on yourself.
"Please don't say anything about how you have applied because you want to earn more money than you do in your current position," says Robert Fabrin, underlining that it is of course a valid reason to apply for a job to put food on the table. But you shouldn't mention it at the interview.
3 What could you contribute with at our company?
This question aims to test you, and you should take the chance to demonstrate your value.
"I would dive into the specific tasks that I know for a fact have to be solved in this position. And I would have prepared for such a question so that I'm ready to explain my previous successful results.
The purpose is for you to elaborate quite specifically how you may contribute professionally and in terms of values.
"You may also move on to softer topics, such as how you perform in a team, but I would start off with the task-related matters,"establishes Robert Fabrin.
5. Where do you see yourself in five years?
"It's simply a crappy question," claims Robert Fabrin and continues:
"Who knows where they will be in five years? Nobody knows that," he says.
Instead, he recommends trying to make the question less about time.
"Boil it down to what you hope to succeed with over time. Mention a few specific tasks. And add your ambitions for your working life. For instance, I want to try this, manage this kind of projects or whatever you can think of."
And although no one can predict the future or where they will be in five years, it's good to be aware of what you want to achieve in the long term, believes Robert Fabrin.
6. What motivates you at work?
You might be tempted to say that it's great to have a delicious lunch scheme and a lot of good colleagues to chat with about this, that and the other at the coffee machine. But don't, is the advice from Robert Fabrin.
"How about talking to customers? As the new customer supporter, you'll be spending 90 per cent of your time on that. So let's include your core tasks in your answer about your job motivation," he says and points out that it is quite okay to emphasise a good atmosphere and a healthy working culture.
"But it has to be secondary. First and foremost, you should thrive on and be motivated by your tasks."
7. Why are you interested in changing jobs?
The question could also be "why don't you want to stay at your current workplace?", and, according to Robert Fabrin, it is very important not to talk negatively about your current manager or colleagues when answering this question.
"This is a test of not necessarily why you want to come work for them, but more whether you're a type of person who would talk badly about other people in general. "It reflects badly on you if you involve other people in disputes you have had with a previous manager," he says and stresses that variations of this kind of statement may be acceptable.
"Of course it's okay if you say, 'Actually, my relationship with my immediate manager could be better.' Some might then ask you to elaborate. This will give you the chance to say that you don't want to talk badly about others," explains Robert Fabrin.
In his opinion, it is quite fair for you to elaborate as long as you make sure to talk about yourself only.
"You could say something like how you are not too comfortable with the managerial methods of your manager." You'd prefer a different management style," he explains.
8. Any questions for us?
You should always have that, states Robert Fabrin. Because being curious about the workplace and the people you'll be working with is a really good sign, he believes.
"A job advertisement could never include all the details you seek about the position or the company," he states.
Therefore, he recommends preparing a few questions for you to ask when encouraged to do so at a certain point during the interview.
Of course, you may find that your questions have already been answered during your interview.
"But then it's okay to say, 'I had questions about these specific things, but we've already discussed them'," says Robert Fabrin.
He also has a suggestion for a joker question that you may use in such a situation.
"You could ask the question 'before we finish, what doubts do you have about me in this role?' In this way, you anticipate their doubts a bit.
However, having said that, curious questions about the workplace and the way things work will mirror how you're someone who makes sure that this position is a match for you. For this reason, I would prioritise them," Robert Fabrin concludes.