How to Prepare for 10 Common Job Interview Questions - Graduate

I thought I'd start my first post with a serious one. I've helped a few people prepare for job interviews who have been quite successful. Hopefully someone else out there will find this useful.

I found that this kind of knowledge is probably the most important thing you should learn before you graduate; something universities are woefully bad at teaching to students as they move them through like cattle in the pursuit of profit. Anyway that's a rant for another post and luckily its never to late to learn.

Essentially for this post I will discuss how the interview will generally unfold and how you can prepare for it. So without further ado let’s start with the 10 interview questions. Assuming it's a formal interview, the questions in their simplest form will be as follows (in one form or another).

1. Tell me a bit about yourself

2. What are your career goals?

3. Why do you want to work at (*insert company name*)?

4. Why do you want to be a (*insert job title*)?

5. Why should we hire you?

6. Tell me about a time you had to work under pressure

7. Tell me about a time you had to work in a team

8. Tell me about a time you had to show initiative

9. Hypothetical scenario question (not all interviews have this question and sometimes it can replace any of Questions 5 to 7)

10. Do you have any questions for us?

Question 1

Before I begin, i'd like to point out that some of the interview questions are survival questions. What you say generally will have no bearing on the outcome of the interview as long as you say something positive about yourself.

Question 1 - Tell me about yourself is no exception. However, many people fall into the trap and they talk about their accomplishments (i.e. I studied accounting or engineering; I work part time in a bar). What I suggest you talk about are things that allow the interviewer to gain an understanding of what you are like as a person. So instead of being the best bartender, talk about your good personality traits, hobbies, favourite sports team etc. You can still be the world best bartender but you must elaborate. Add things in like why you like being a bartender (is it developing new drinks, the client interactions, the enjoyment you get from you being with your co-workers).

#TIP 1: My tip here is to keep all answers short (around 5 to 8 sentences). The interviewer will miss probably 70% of what you are saying so if it’s not short and sharp, the words will be wasted. Also make sure you conclude your answer by restating the question - In this case you could conclude by says and that’s a little bit about me. If your concluding sentence fits what you have just said, chances are you haven't spoken 'hard to follow' garbage and congratulations on surviving Question 1.

Questions 2 & 3

I've lumped questions 2 and 3 together as I think you should answer both of these the same way. Again this question is more survival than chance to shine so keep your answers simple and save your good ideas for the next set of questions.

What I have found to be most effective is to being by come up with some short term career goals (say within 12 months from now) and some longer term goals (say 5 years from now). Now the trick here is to ensure that the company that you are interviewing with can provide or facilitate an environment for you to achieve these goals. So make sure you research the company beforehand. A good starting place (especially if you are going for a graduate position) is to understand your profession's possible career paths and tailor your answers around that.

#TIP 2: It often is looked on favourably if you state you want to become chartered (e.g. engineer, accountant) or the equivalent in other professions

Conversely, you could also answer these two questions as follows:

I've found that you need to know where the company is in the industry's pecking order (if it’s near the top, say it’s one of the biggest; if its new, say it’s an up and comer; if its small, say it’s a niche company and so on). The second part is to then talk about how the company is different from its competitors - companies are just like people; they like to be seen as unique. The difference doesn't have to be ground breaking, just something you like about them that a competitor hasn't done (even if it’s helping a local community that you identify with or personal phone calls when a natural disaster occurs).

This is the weaker answer of the two, but it’s good to have a backup on the off chance the interviewer asks both questions 2 and 3.

Questions 4 & 5

Questions 4 and 5 may initially seem similar to questions 2 and 3 but I think the best answers involve your personality. Now before you get too confused, many of the questions will overlap so depending on how you answer certain questions, the interviewer may skip certain questions.

So going back to what you should say. You need to think about your personality and how it positively applies to your skill set. If the job is a sales position and you like to talk to people then you should link the two. Diversity is currently a big thing in the work force at the moment so things like being well travelled or enjoying the experience of other cultures will be looked on favourably. Flexibility is another big thing as well. Wanting to travel or at the very least being open to travel will be another positive tick in your column.

The final thing you should definitely talk up is something that will separate you from other people competing for the same job. Things like being multi-lingual, diversified skill set (as long as it's useful to the company) and strong personal networks should be mentioned.

#TIP 3: I suggest only saying things that you feel you can say naturally. Kudos to you if you're comfortable at the art of bullshit but for the majority of us, overselling yourself without conviction is a disaster waiting to happen.

Questions 6 to 9

We are now into the business end of the interview where you get your chance to shine. Questions 6 to 9 can come in any order or number (they might ask the same question in 2 different way) so I suggest you have two examples for each question (especially questions 6 to 8).

I'd like to point out here that the interviewer will be looking for at least 1 of 3 things in all your answers; how you react under pressure, can you work in a team and can you show initiative if required to do so.

However, often any example you have for each of these 3 things will invariably incorporate 2 of them to some degree. Hence, that is why I suggest you need to have 2 examples for each aspect. Nothing is worse in an interview than for everything to be going good and then you completely stuff up one question. This will be remembered by the interviewer and many of your good answers will count for less.

When preparing answers for these questions I suggest you set them up as follows:

a. Set the scene - don't say any more than you have to as you are just wasting words

b. Present the problem - sometimes this is already done in point a.

c. Discuss how you specifically influenced the situation

d. What was the outcome

#TIP 3: I suggest you choose stories where there was a positive outcome (everyone loves a happy ending) or if you can only think of examples with have negative outcomes, choose an example where you learnt a life lesson (i.e. you learnt you needed to take more ownership or you learnt there's no point arguing when things go wrong and so on)

Question 9 tackles the same themes that questions 6 to 8 address, except they analyse your on the spot thinking. Just make sure you talk your way through the scenario and don't be scared to ask for clarification from the person who asked the question.

#TIP 4: Good things to say are what options you are considering and discussing why you are considering them  and whether they will or won’t work.

Question 10

This question is for you to ensure that the interviewer actually read your resume. A good place to start is to ask is there anything on your resume that you could elaborate on further.

Additionally, if there is anything you think the interviewer should know that you haven’t been able to talk about until now, this is your chance.

#TIP 5: Finishing by saying you are really thankful for this opportunity is a nice way to conclude the interview. 

So there you have it. Hope this helps. Stay tuned for more brain dumps. Comments are always appreciated.

Also if anyone's interested, I'd be happy to share my thoughts on things like 'what to wear to an interview' and 'how to make your resume standout'

Thanks

#Hanbaobao

To stay up to date with all the latest posts follow me on:

Instagram: @the_over_correction

Facebook: facebook.com/theovercorrection

Alternatively, any sharing of a post using the share bar below would be greatly appreciated and would be greeted with multiple imaginary high 5's.