Interview tactics

A job interview can be stressful at the best of times, but when conducted in English... even worse! Well, take a deep breath and have a look at the following questions. How would you answer them?

1. What did you like/dislike about your previous job?
2. What were your main responsibilities?
3. What were your starting and final levels of compensation?
4. What major challenges and problems did you face? How did you handle them?
5. What is your greatest strength?
6. What is your greatest weakness?
7. How do you handle stress and pressure?
8. Describe a difficult work situation/ project and how you overcame it.
9. What was the biggest accomplishment / failure in this position?
10. How do you evaluate success?
11. Why are you leaving or have left your job?
12. Why do you want this job?
13. Why should we hire you?
14. What are your goals in the future?
15. What are your salary requirements?
16. Tell me about yourself.
17. Who was your best boss and who was the worst?
18. What are you passionate about?
19. What were your supervisors and co-workers like?
20. What are your career goals?

See if you can match these sample answers to the questions above:

When the software development of our new product stalled, I coordinated the team which managed to get the schedule back on track. We were able to successfully troubleshoot the issues and solve the problems, within a very short period of time.

I well understand that this company is on the way up. Your website says the launch of several new products is imminent. I want to be a part of this business as it grows.

Stress is very important to me. With stress, I do the best possible job. The appropriate way to deal with stress is to make sure I have the correct balance between good stree and bad stress. I need good stress to stay motivated and productive.

This job is a good fit for what I've been interested in throughout my career. It offers a nice mix of short and long-term activities.

I use my time efficiently at work and, for the most part, it's not the number of hours I work, but how effective my time has been to accomplish the job. I'm sure my references will tell you I was more than willing to put in the time to be sure the job was completed as quickly and as professionally as possible.

I've worked with someone whom I found difficult to like as a person. However, when I focused on the skills they brought to the job, their ability to solve problems and the two things I did appreciate, slowly my attitude towards them changed. We were never friends, but we did work well together.

One of the reasons I am leaving is that I felt I was not challenged enough at the job. There was no room for advancement in the company. I feel my skill set can be better utilized elsewhere.

When I am working on a project, I don't want just to meet deadlines. Rather, I prefer to complete the project well ahead of schedule.

I evaluate myself in different ways. At work, it is meeting the goals set by my supervisors and fellow workers. It is my understanding, from talking to other employees, that the company is recognised for not only rewarding success, but giving employees opportunity to grow as well.

Tips:

Be specific and positive about previous positions.
Connect past experience to the job you are being interviewed for.
Give examples and don't embellish.
Show that you are willing to work your way up through the company.
Don't be critical of past employers.
Talk rather, of yourself and what you are looking for in a new role.
Make sure what you say matches your job application form.
Turn weaknesses into positive answers by showing how you dealt with problems.

Source: www.about.com

Hope this has been helpful. Let's end on a lighter note with Spud from the film Trainspotting showing us how not to do an interview!