Tough Interview Questions

I hate job interviews yet they are the gatekeepers to the next level of success, so I might as well adapt and learn to provide winning answers. 

If you’ve lived and worked long enough, you’re bound to endure a job interview. A few of you excel at them, but I’m not one of those people. How about you sit down and read my resume before asking me the same dumb questions that have nothing to do with my ability to perform the role? Having said that, let’s get down to the nut-cutting. None of these responses are to be taken seriously; the use of any of these replies will usually transfer your resume/application to File 13 instead of the next round.

“Tell me about yourself.”

Let’s be honest:  I am a lousy interview. This may be the true reason why I have landed in positions which I am so overqualified Stevie Wonder can see it and he’s laughing because he sees the wasted genius. “Tell me about yourself” is the opening invitation to set yourself apart from the crowd as it is the opportunity to share with the interviewer whatever you think is important in his or her hiring decision. This is for a job interview, not a random chit chat. Save the beautiful baby pictures and weekend hobbies for a different time.

“Where do you see yourself in five years?”

Paid, duh!

While this is the easiest to answer, not being able to answer this question may show a lack of direction. Once upon a time, it may have been acceptable to sit back in an entry-level position to soak up the knowledge and gradually grow with the organization. Today, we don’t have that luxury. This question lends itself to ambition – however, if you aren’t applying for a supervisory or management position, the interviewer likely isn’t too concerned about managing large sums of data or classroom behavior. Remember which position you are applying for and tailor your responses to it – even if your supervisory skills are second-to-none.  This is also the question that I think about the least solely for this reason:  If I am still a part of the organization after five years, then obviously I am happy with the job as I have advanced my skill set and have enough opportunities to challenge myself in addition to visually recognizing my own value.

The catch with this question is not to be cocky (“I’d like to have YOUR job in five years”) or sounding overly ambitious (“I’d like a senior level position”) if the job does not offer any advancement.  

“You’ve been in your current position for ____. Why would you want to make a change now?”

This one popped up toward the end of my last interview, and it seemed like the interviewer insinuated that I am grossly overqualified for the job I was applying for. Perhaps I am – prior to joining the company four years ago, I was a high school teacher who happened to be in the throes of career burnout and needed something to do to hopefully recharge my batteries. While playing golf and drinking beer all day long were what I really intended on doing for six weeks, my wife thought differently about sitting on my rump as she worked all day. To properly address the question now that I’ve had time to think about it, staying in the same position for the past 3 ½ years is due to not finding a position which I felt like I would excel at and I was still enjoying the challenges each shift presented. What I did not mention was the birth of my daughter and my desire to be a full-time daddy to her.

Was I offended when the interviewer’s tone to that question? Not really; I heard it for several years as my second job was in retail stocking shelves, inventory tracking, and feature building/replenishment. Hey, working at Wal-Mart is better than not working anywhere – especially when bills have to be paid.

“Why should I hire you?”

Answering this query can be tricky, particularly if the role you interviewed for is a completely different field than your traditional expertise. You don’t want to come off as so knowledgeable that not only the hiring manager is intimidated by what you know but also the supervisor you report to should be comfortable with you on your team. I’ve bungled this one up; being the smartest guy in the room and the one most likely to clearly defend/explain gray decisions in a black-and-white organization is not going to easily make friends. Say something along the lines of being a team player and present yourself as the go-to person regardless of how brightly your star shines as you reiterate the mandatory skills needed plus a few more that the interviewer may not have considered in the near future.

Bottom line:  Every job question (within reason) is fair game. Think about how you answer them and differentiate yourself from the crowd to get the job offer!