English Part V
Hey friends!
As promised I’m continuing with some more most frequent and toughest job-interview-questions.
Being asked about one’s weaknesses is meant as „eliminator“ questions, designed to shorten the candidate list. Any admission of a weakness or fault will earn you an `A‘ for honesty, but an `F‘ for the interview. Therefore disguising a strength as a weakness could be a vital strategy. For example:
‚I sometimes push my people too hard. I like to work with a sense of urgency and everyone is not always on that same wavelength.‘
This strategy is better than admitting a flaw, but it’s so widely used, it is transparent to most experienced interviewer L! – Best strategy (provided you have already a thourough description of your employer‘s needs): Try to assure your interviewer that you can think of nothing that would stand in the way of your performing in this position with excellence. Then, quickly review your strongest qualifications.
An alternate strategy (if you don’t know enough about the position to talk about such a perfect fit): Instead of confessing a weakness, describe what you like most and like least, making sure that what you like most matches up with the most important qualification for success in the position, and what you like least is not essential.
Why are you leaving (or did you leave) this position? – never badmouth your previous company, boss, staff, employees or customers (especially avoid words like ‚personality clash‘, ‚didn’t get along‘. This rule is inviolable: never be negative!
If you have a job presently: if you are not yet 100 % committed to leaving your present post, don’t be afraid to say so. Since you have a job, you are in a stronger position than someone who does not. But don’t be coy, either. State honestly what you’d be hoping to find in a new spot. As stated often before, your answer will be all the stronger if you have already uncovered what this position is all about.
If you do not presently have a job: Never lie about having been fired. But try to deflect the reason from you personally. If your firing was the result of a takeover, merger, division-wiede layoff, etc., so much the better. But, even if it hurts, describe your own firing – candidly, and without a trace of bitterness – from the company’s point-of-view, indicating that you could unterstand why it happenend and you might have made the same decision yourself. Your stature will rise immensely and, most important of all, you will show you are healed from the wounds inflicted by the firing.
For all prior positions: make sure you’ve prepared a brief reason for leaving. Best reasons: more money, opportunity, responsibility or growth.
So far my tipps for today, getting back to you soon!
