Successfully Preparing for Even the Most Difficult Interview Questions 

A) HOW TO ANSWER THE INTERVIEWERS QUESTIONS

You should always answer questions directly and try to use the appropriate examples from your past experience to demonstrate your skills and personal characteristics to address the employer's hidden concern. Don't be afraid to take the time mentally to understand what the concern is that is driving any question being posed to you.
Keep your answers concise and relevant and if you cite an example, keep it brief and don't lapse into telling a long- winded story. Be careful also not to make too much use of humour as it is generally unsuitable for an interview situation. Limit yourself to no more than two or three humorous moments during the entire interview process.
Most interviewers will know that it is difficult to remember every area of your past quickly. They will also appreciate your wanting to provide a suitable response by taking the time to consider your answer. So don't be afraid to say something along lines of, "Let me think about that for a moment." Your moment should be no more than 10 seconds. Anything more than that will become an irritation to the interviewers. However, you need to balance this moment of reflection with the realisation that sometimes the answer is less important than how you respond to the situation.
Being able to tell the interviewer about particular situations that relate to each question will be far more effective and make a far more positive impression than responding in general terms. Being able to quantify results will also be of great help because numbers easily impress people.
It is impossible to predict every question that you will encounter over the course of an interview. The best that you can do is to approach the meeting with a well-memorised inventory of your strongest points. You should consider each question posed to you as an opportunity to sell yourself by providing some of your strengths.
You will be evaluated on your answers and not the strength of your resume/CV. Don't assume that just because the interviewers have pieces of paper in front of them that they know everything that is written on them. You have no idea how well prepared an interviewer is for this meeting. Very often they are looking for confirmation of what is written and may be attempting weed out any lies that some people include in their applications.
 
B) YOUR SPEECH AND TONE OF VOICE
 
All the way through the interview you want to be able to maintain a constant and predictable manner in the way in which you answer questions. You do not want to be able to answer some questions immediately as if you are reciting a script because there will be times when you won't immediately know the answer. Every answer that you give should seem as if you have given it to a moment's thought and your delivery of that answer is natural and in keeping with your character.
Throughout the exchange of information your voice should be firm and warm, well modulated and relaxed. Try to be conscious of not speaking too fast and becoming emotionally involved to such a degree that your speech and voice are affected. If you feel rushed during the interview, this will manifest itself in the way that you speak. By remaining calm your voice won't let you down and thus won't create unnecessary problems for you.
 
B) SITTING DOWN & YOUR BODY LANGUAGE
 
When you're seated to begin the interview you will want to be as comfortable as possible.
At the same time you will want to appear as enthusiastic and professional as is appropriate under the circumstances. At all times you should sit up straight and towards the front edge of your seat so as to appear eager.
Do not lean back in your seat and definitely do not slouch in it.
To prevent your hands distracting others, simply cup them together and let them rest either in your lap or on the table before you. This should prevent you from making any gestures that can detract from your attempt at a professional image. If you do find yourself having to use hand gestures, then the smaller they are the better.
Keep all your gestures subdued.
If you can't hold your hands together, then perhaps hold onto the pen that you brought along. Just don't be tempted to tap with that pen because that is worse than distracting - it is irritating.
Some other things that you shouldn't do are: chew gum, twiddle your thumbs, hum or whistle a tune, stretch any part of your body, find yourself staring at someone, use slang or swear, fidget and touch anything that isn't yours that is on the table or in the room.
Never cross your arms because, not only is this a very defensive position, it also creates a very negative impression.
When you are asked a question - even a difficult one - do not cast your eyes downward, or look up towards the walls and ceiling for the answers. You won't find them there and it is somewhat childish. Instead strive to maintain eye contact with at least the interviewer who asked you the question.
Once you've completed your answer look to the other interviewers and smile politely. If they are pleased with your answer or with how the interview is going, you will find that most interviewers cannot help but smile back at you. If they don't smile back, then it is a signal that you still have some convincing and selling of yourself to do.
We all know that a picture is the equivalent of a thousand words and in an interview situation your face can be worth several times more. Your facial expressions will convey your sincerity and honesty in answering the question. They can add as well as detract from your words, so be careful not to wince or pull any negative facial expressions. Making a concerted effort to end your answering of especially difficult questions with a slight, but natural smile should overcome your giving away feelings of discomfort or any other negative emotion.
 
C) PRACTICE QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU PREPARE

  • Tell us about yourself
  • What is your career ambition?
  • Why should you be given the job over another candidate?
  • Where do you see yourself in 3/5/10 years’ time?
  • If you were to start your career again what would you change?
  • Tell us about your best/worst manager.
  • What are your main strengths?
  • What is your main weakness?
  • Give us three adjectives that describe you best.
  • Why do you want to join our company?
  • Why do you want to leave your current job?
  • What do you think will be your biggest challenge in this job?
  • What makes a good team player?
  • What makes a good leader?
  • How would you describe your management style?
  • How would you handle a non-performing colleague?
  • How do you measure success?
  • How would your manager motivate you?
  • I am worried about your lack of experience.
  • Do you work better as part of a team or alone?
  • What job have you particularly liked/disliked?
  • How do you handle stress?
  • How do you deal with criticism?
  • Describe an instance where your work was criticised.
  • How would you rate your communication skills and what would you do to improve them?
  • What do you know about our company?
  • Do you enjoy working?
  • Have you ever been in a conflict situation with one of your colleagues and how did you handle it.
  • What could you do to improve the organisation and running of your
  • Describe something you have done to maximise or improve the use of resources beyond your own work unit to achieve improved results.
  • Tell me about a time when you changed your priorities to meet others' expectations.
  • Describe a time you created a strategy to achieve a longer term objective.
  • Give an example of how you provided service to a client/stakeholder beyond their expectations. How did you identify the need? How did you respond?
  • Tell me about a situation where your communication skills did not succeed in getting something done?
  • Describe a situation in which you were a member (not a leader) of a team, and a conflict arose within the team. What did you do?
  • Tell me about a time when you coached someone to help them improve their skills or job performance.  What did you do?
  • Describe a time when you provided feedback to someone about their performance.
  • Describe a situation where you inspired others to meet a common goal.

OK, so now you’ve got an initial set of questions which leads us to coming up with answers for each of these questions.
In order to help in your preparations, think about two or three bullet points / three things you could say (in summary form) for each of these questions.
Once you’re finished with that, read out the question aloud... and then use your 3 bullet answer to help you answer the question in full this time – out loud again. Try to keep to the question asked... be concise and confident!
 

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