There is always a good reason to be nervous when going for job interviews – fear of the unknown – or rather the fear of what might transpire which you were unprepared for. And these fears are largely rooted in the kinds of questions that might be asked at the interview session – this is why it is so important to learn and anticipate questions that might be asked in order to enable you to prepare for them.
In this wise, there are two ways to deal with job interview fears: anticipate and prepare for the toughest and most embarrassing questions; assume the mindset that it is not a do-or-die affair and job interviews are not a life-threatening situation where you have a sentence of life or death passed on you.
Here are the top 7 tough interview questions that you might be asked in your forthcoming interview and how to best answer them:
1. Tell me about yourself
Never be deceived into thinking that this is a very easy question; and that the employer wants to learn about how your parents migrated from one part of the forest to the city and how you were born in a manger like Baby Jesus. No. Just tell the employer about your education and how it has served to prepare you for the desired job.
You might also talk about your positive attitude to work and how passionate you are to see a company grow and develop. Tell about your attitudes and positive personality traits and how they could be of service to the organization.
2. Why should I hire you?
You should not be afraid to say “You should hire me because I’m the perfect fit for this job. There might be other suitable and equally qualified candidates, but I have a passion for excellence and organizational objectives that others wouldn’t have. I am a team player and I have the skills and attitudes to working under very severe conditions”.
3. What are your short-term goals if hired?
My short-term goal is to be the best editor/accountant/driver/manager this company has ever had, and this-and-this is what I am doing to make it happen. My long-term goal is to help this company become an industry leader in the country while also building my career with it.
4. How has your education prepared you for your career?
My education has not only been theoretical class tutorials, but they have also been very practical and real-to-life. We have played out real work situations in class scenarios to help me deal with real career assignments. For instance, we conducted a class project where we gathered data through a survey from companies in the electronics sector, and the results we achieved showed that…
5. Why were you fired from your former workplace?
I wasn’t fired for any particular fault of mine. My job was redundant and the company felt there was no point paying me again since everything had become so automated. About five of us were retrenched because of the automation so I wasn’t really the only one, and the company apologized to all of us for the decision they had to take and we all understood without any hard feelings.
6. What are your greatest weaknesses?
My greatest weakness is my inability to use a computer, but I have just enrolled in a computer class to learn basic computer skills before progressing to harder ones that relate to my given job.
7. What do you stand to benefit from this job if hired?
There is no denying the fact that I desired to be adequately paid for my job, but above this, I also want to develop myself and have a career here. My dream is to be the best political editor in the country and this newspaper organization can afford me that opportunity while also helping me to make the business what it wants to be.