Interviewing: Two Questions to Answer

The two most common interview questions asked candidates are:

1. Tell me about yourself?

2. What are you looking for?

   Its really important to have answers to these questions. But don't make the mistakes that most people make. What is the first mistake most people make? These are easy questions and can be answered off the top of your head. They are not simple questions and you need to be prepared. The other mistake people make is akin to throwing spaghetti on the wall hoping something sticks. The candidate who keeps talking until they get a reaction is losing the interview.

   Consider this: in the interview you cannot pass along negative info, a negative vibe or answers that would create a poor perception. So you need to be prepared to answer these questions. However, your responses in the interview need to come across in a confident, positive and natural way. If your replies sound like canned answers they will be discounted. So you really need to have the answers down pat.

   Another thing to consider is who is your audience? What does the interviewer want to hear? When they ask you about yourself, do they want to hear your life story from when you were born up to today? No! They want to know what you bring to the table that will benefit them and their organization. When they ask you about your ideal position they don't what to hear about how you would like to cure world hunger, unless of course you are interviewing with the World Health Organization or UNICEF. They want to hear what roles you could fulfill that would make them look good to their bosses. I have some examples on my website check them out.

   It is important to keep in mind what the interviewer is looking for. People hire people to solve problems and they ask questions to ascertain who can do that for them. Question one is really asking about your skills and abilities. Question two is slanted toward learning about the roles and responsibilities you would be willing to cover. If they are a fit to what is needed on the team, you're moving forward.

   You also want to keep the answers brief, between 50 and 100 words. My examples in the website average 66 words per response. A good answer is general enough to capture the interviewer's attention to envision you in their team. But maybe the most important thing about answering any interview question is to be positive!