Answering Key Interview Questions

Improving your performance in the interview even slightly can result in your getting a job offer over someone else. Many employers I've spoken with say that they would have hired someone if that person had just done a bit better in the interview. Spending a little time to learn how to answer the questions covered in this chapter can make an enormous difference to you in getting a job over other qualified applicants.

The 10 Most Frequently Asked Interview Questions-and How to Answer Them

In this section, I use the Three-Step Process from chapter 1 to create answers to the 10 questions you are most likely to be asked in an interview. For each question, I provide an analysis of what the question is really asking, followed by a strategy for answering it. I also provide one or more sample responses. These responses demonstrate the basic techniques, which you can then apply to your own interview situation.

Question #1: "Why Don't You Tell Me About Yourself?"

This is the classic open-ended interview question. You could start telling your life's history in two hours or less, but that is not what the interviewer wants to hear. Instead, such a question is a test of your ability to select what is important and communicate it clearly and quickly. Obviously, the interviewer expects you to relate your background to the position being considered.

There are two basic approaches to answering this question. One is to provide a brief response to the question as it is asked, and the other is to request a clarification of the question before answering it. In both cases, you would answer the question and then quickly turn your response to focus on the skills, experience, and training that prepared you for the sort of job you now want (see chapter 2 for more on discovering these). In other words, you want to relate what you say about yourself to the job at hand. Talk about your experiences as they relate to the position.

Sample Answer #1
If you answered the question as it was asked, you might say something like this:

"I grew up in the Southwest and have one brother and one sister. My parents both worked and I was active in sports growing up. I always did well in school, and by the time I graduated from high school I had taken a year's worth of business courses. I knew then that I wanted to work in a business setting and had several part-time office jobs while still in high school. After high school I worked in a variety of business settings and learned a great deal about how various businesses run. For example, I was given complete responsibility for the daily operations of a wholesale distribution company that grossed over two million dollars a year. That was only three years after I graduated from high school. There I learned to supervise other people and solve problems under pressure. I also became more interested in the financial end of running a business and decided, after three years and three promotions, to seek a position where I could have more involvement in key strategies and long-term management decisions."

Notice how this applicant provided a few bits of positive personal history and then quickly turned the interviewer's attention to skills and experiences that directly related to the job this applicant was seeking.

Sample Answer #2
You could ask interviewers to help you focus on the information they really want to know with a response such as this:

"There's so much to tell! Would you like me to emphasize my personal history, the special training and education I have that prepared me for this sort of position, or the skills and jobrelated experiences I have to support my objective?"

If you do this well, most employers will tell you what sorts of things they are most interested in, and you can then concentrate on giving them what they want.

Honesty is always the best policy, but that old adage doesn't rule out marketing yourself in the best light during an interview. Virtually all career counselors encourage job seekers to be positive about themselves and don't consider this positive spin as unethical in any way. But they also caution you to avoid taking credit for something you don't deserve, claiming to have experience you don't have, or bragging about your performance. You can talk up your achievements, awards, and promotions without misrepresenting yourself. A job interview is also not the place to talk about an unhappy childhood or make negative comments about past employers. Instead, focus on the positive by saying that your childhood helped you become self-motivated, resilient, and a hard worker.

Question #2: "Why Should I Hire You?"

Though this question is rarely asked this clearly, it is the question behind any other question that is asked. It has no hidden meaning.

Such a direct and fair question deserves a direct response. Why should employers hire you? The best response to this question provides advantages to employers, not to you. A good response gives proof that you can help them make more money by improving efficiency, reducing costs, increasing sales, or solving problems (by coming to work on time, improving customer service, organizing one or more operations, offering knowledge of a particular software or computer system, or bringing a variety of other talents to an organization).

Sample Answer

A person with considerable prior experience might offer this response:

"You should hire me because I don't need to be trained and have a proven track record. I have more than 15 years of education and experience related to this position. More than six of those years have been in management positions similar to the one available here. In my last position, I was promoted three times in the six years I was there. I most recently had responsibility for supervising a staff of 15 and a warehousing operation that processed over 30 million dollars' worth of materials a year. In the last two years, I managed a 40 percent increase in volume processed with only a 6 percent increase in expenses. I am hardworking and have earned a reputation as a dependable and creative problem solver. The opportunities here excite me. My substantial experience will help me to know how to approach the similar situations here. I am also willing to ask questions and accept advice from others. This willingness will be an important factor in taking advantage of what has already been accomplished here."

This job seeker's response emphasized the Prove-It Technique from chapter 1 and included a variety of specific numbers to support her accomplishments. Although she presented her skills and experience in a direct and confident way, she avoided a know-it-all attitude by being open to others' suggestions. She also made it clear that she wanted this particular job and why she should be considered for it.

Because having good reasons for why someone should hire you over others is so important to your job search success, I have included the brief activity that follows. Completing it will be a challenge unless you first complete some of the activities in chapter 2.