Find the Best Answers For Interview Questions
STOP! Don't answer that question!
During practice and actual interviews and networking meetings, many job
seekers are tensed and primed, ready to jump all over the questions they get.
They eye the pitcher, praying for a high fastball across the center of the
plate. Here it comes! Inwardly, the interviewee exults: "I've seen this
question! I've rehearsed a smooth, punchy response...even outlined my talking
points. I'm going to nail this question, dazzle 'em with my footwork, win a 10.0
from the Russian judge."
Too many job seekers view the interview process as an athletic competition.
They assume the challenge is to score the maximum number of points for style on
each question, racking up an aggregate score that exceeds the competition's.
Their performance will "win the interview," secure a job offer and, presumably,
allow them to live happily ever after.
This is a superficial understanding of how interviews work and interviewers
think. Of course, you're being evaluated and you have a justifiable reason for
wanting to appear articulate, credible and attractive. However, your goal
shouldn't be to give a good performance. You actually have four goals: to build
rapport, create a relationship that lasts beyond the interview, understand and
address the potential employer's concerns and priorities and treat the interviewer like
a human being, not an adversary. Your emphasis should be on
overall fit, not fancy footwork.
So before you unleash a canned one-size-fits-all answer to the question
flying in over the plate, stop. Rein your impulse to provide an automatic
response. Instead, view the interview strategically. Your meeting isn't about
you answering a string of unrelated questions. It's your chance to paint a
coherent picture that develops and reinforces fundamental themes.
As trial lawyers often coach critical witnesses before testimony, there are
many ways to answer a question. A few are better--more succinct, informative and
responsive--than the rest. And of those, one will be the most effective under
the circumstances. But knowing which response to use means knowing the intent
behind the question.
Before you answer, take a moment to figure out where the interviewer is
coming from. What does he really want to know? What does the question mean? How
does it relate to previously asked questions? What's appropriate in this
context? What pitfalls lurk beneath the surface of this question? Where will
your answer lead?
It's always wise to anticipate topics that will arise in an
interview. Job
seekers who wing it often blow it. The key to confidence is thorough
preparation. But there's a distinction between thinking about how to approach
certain issues and prefabricating canned responses that you regurgitate on cue.
Your preparation should focus on two concerns:
-
the employer's needs, priorities and values and
-
what you should say about your skills, abilities,
aptitudes, values, style
and motivation to give the interviewer an accurate picture of you.
What Do They Want, Anyway?
The good news is that there are only two interview questions. That is,
regardless of what you're asked, the employer really only wants to know:
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What value can you add to my enterprise as an employee (and can you prove
it)?
-
Why do you want this job?
Every interview question probes some dimension of your capability or
motivation. The problem is that interviewers sometimes ask questions without
knowing why they're asking them. Therefore, they can't always distinguish a
constructive answer from an evasive but adroit dodge. Moreover, some questions
shouldn't be taken at face value. The challenge for job seekers, then, is to
build and buttress a coherent picture of their strengths and figure out
what's going on in the interviewer's head.
Assume you've just arrived for an interview and you immediately spy a copy of
your resume filled with notes, underlines and exclamation points in front of the
interviewer. Next, he hits you with that mushiest of all questions: Tell me a
little about yourself. This information is obvious from your resume, so, you
think, what does this clown want to know? What's the point of the question and
why is he asking?
Your mind reviews the punchy openers you've rehearsed: I was born at an early
age and from that point forth I had a dream...or I'm a highly motivated,
bottom-line oriented shirtsleeves go-getter, a people-person and problem-solver
with a proven track record in...or some other blather. All along, you hope the
interviewer's demeanor will signal whether you're on the right track.
But instead of offering a pat answer that tanks, consider the question in a
different context. Employers have two concerns--needs and priorities. You're
selling three solutions: expertise (knowledge or technical skills), experience
(transferable abilities) and motivation (the roles and activities that ignite a
fire in your belly). Why not frame your answer in terms of the intersection
between the employer's needs and your attributes? You might say:
Sue, perhaps the most relevant way to address that question is in terms of
how my skills and abilities match up with the most pressing needs and
priorities you have right now. If I read your ad correctly, you need someone
to streamline and re-motivate underperforming field sales staff while
orchestrating a shift from a product-driven to a market-driven sales strategy.
When I saw that I was really enthusiastic (motivation) because a number of my
most satisfying accomplishments (capability plus motivation) required the
ability to diagnose and turn around sales-force problems. For example, last
year with U.S. Widget....
In short, sell people what they need, nothing else. If you aren't clear about
how a potential employer perceives his needs and priorities, try asking:
Joe, probably the most relevant way to respond to that question is in terms
of how my skills and abilities match up with your needs. The problem is that I
don't know enough about your priorities to give you a focused answer. So if
it's okay with you, could I ask you to expand on what you need in this
position so I can touch on my strengths that would be most important?
While you won't always receive a target to shoot at, this approach is
interactive, collaborative and helpful. It promotes an exchange of information,
not an adversarial contest.
What's the Point?
Good interviewers will ask questions to gain specific information ("Do you
know how to do research on the Internet?") or examples of capability ("How have
you approached new product development in the Pacific Rim?"). They'll also
explore your insight, self-awareness and ability to put yourself and your prior
career in perspective. But when they ask such questions as "What do I need to
know about you to get an accurate picture of what makes you tick?" or "What
forces--positive and negative--do you think were most instrumental in shaping
your style and your values?", they're probably less concerned with the content
of your answer than with your willingness to take a big-picture view of your
past, present and future.
At face value, questions such as "Where do you see yourself in five years?"
or "What are your life goals?" seem pretty silly if they're merely requests for
information. But you can view them as opportunities to demonstrate the serious
thought you've given to your values, priorities and driving motivational forces.
Your responses should reflect optimism and the ability to reality-test forces
that shape your career development. "I'd like to have your job" probably isn't
the most insightful answer.
One seasoned interviewer asks job seekers to define what four terms--success,
achievement, challenge and growth--mean to them, then describe examples of when
they've expressed those definitions at work.
"People are always saying, 'I want more challenge' or 'I want a job that will
allow me to grow,' " he says. "So I ask, in effect, what do you mean, grow?
What
do you mean, be successful?"
This interviewer doesn't expect--or enjoy--glib responses to this question.
"It's meant to be thought-provoking, and I want to see their thought processes
in action," he says. "If they're afraid to pause and reflect, even to stumble
and bumble as they wrestle with the question, then how can I assume they'll be
open and reflective on the job? Confident candidates should be willing to reveal
themselves a bit in an interview."
When an interviewer asks "What are your greatest strengths?" she may, in
fact, be asking several distinct questions:
-
In what ways could you add most value to us?
-
Can you organize your capabilities into distinct functional categories?
-
What evidence or proof can you provide to substantiate your claims?
-
Can you prioritize: If a lot of things are true of you, what things are
most true of you?
Simply laundry-listing a mixed bag of self-laudatory adjectives--"I'm kind,
trustworthy, brave, clean, reverent, wholesome, goal oriented, innovative,
collaborative and strategic"--hardly addresses or suggests you're aware of the
interviewer's concerns.
"What are your weaknesses?" is a classic example of a question that shouldn't
be taken at face value. The interviewer isn't asking you to disqualify yourself;
she's really asking, "Should I worry about your ability to deliver the goods?"
This is the first issue to address in your answer:
Sue, I'm sure we all have some developmental areas we should be aware of,
but I must say that as I understand them, your needs and priorities play to my
strengths, not my soft spots. I don't think there are any fundamental issues
that would affect my ability to perform well in this position.
If you can't say this with a straight face, then you probably should take
yourself out of the running for this position. For there to be a real fit, the
answer should be true. By comparison, the common approach of turning a strength
into a weakness ("When the stakes are high and the deadlines are tight, my folks
might say I can be pretty demanding") rings false. It's an attempted con and few
astute interviewers will be fooled.
The Last Resort
If you can't determine what a question means, try asking the interviewer for
help:
Leo, I'm not sure I understand the thrust of your question, and I certainly
don't want to appear evasive or unresponsive. Could I ask you to tell me a bit
more about what issues or concerns you'd like me to address?
Rarely will a polite request for clarification result in contempt or
hostility, particularly if the interviewer is interested in helping you to put
your best foot forward. While you may meet nasty or sarcastic interviewers,
always assume a non-defensive posture. It's the interviewer's job to evaluate
whether a candidate will be a good fit for a position and organization, not to
give potential employees a tough time. Since it's in his interest to elicit
useful, reliable information, he has little incentive to trick you.
Help the interviewer give you a good interview. Think of each question as an
opportunity to collaborate and elaborate and for give-and-take. If you're asked
an inarticulate, imprecise or inappropriate question, use your answer to ennoble
the query, provide useful information and validate the underlying concerns.
Reality-test your responses: "Have I addressed your question fully? Am I being
clear?"
Avoid patronizing, pontificating or professing. You gain little by trying to
outthink or outmaneuver the interviewer; you gain much by communicating a desire
to be responsive and sensitive to the interviewer's needs, personalize the
interaction and build a relationship. Leave stock answers at home. Arrive
prepared to open your ears and mind before your mouth.
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