Describe a time when you were faced with stresses that tested your coping skills. What did you do?
Show that you are calm under pressure and know how to deal with stress through emotional inteligence, planning and time management.
Get focused and have perspective on what you do. (Flickr: dead squid)
What I do personally is try to breath deeply before I do or speak. I also shake my body and hands to get my energy flowing. And I repeat my “magic” words: “that’s only temporary stressful situation”. That allows me to detach from the situation. That’s how I control my response to the stressful situation. FOR EXAMPLE ….”
Describe a situation when working with a team produced more successful results than if you had worked on your own.
The Interviewer is trying to learn more about how you think, not necesseraly how well you get to work in team.
Inside your mind. (Flicrk: kwerfeldein)
Here is how you can answer this question:
I remember one situation when we had to brainstorm solutions for a particular client. Working with others often yields a richer brainstorming and greater compromise, and that translate into better results. That’s not always the quickest route to get any result, but the results last longer. In the long run team work is the key to growth. I try to get everyone involved in the same vision, and I allow in our meeting plenty of room for having your opinion. If nobody disagrees, the project won’t succeed. It’s human an natural to see things from different perspectives.
What have you learned from your mistakes?
Be brief and to the point. Don’t brag about your success. This question is about showing how you adapt and learn. It’s about humility.
Let go of past mistakes. (Flickr: Carlo Nicora)
Heres is how you can answer that question:
” I am constantly improving myself when I caught myself in a mistake. For example, I interviewed a customer and thought the interview had been successful. But the customer did not finally buy. I realized that I have to ask directly my customer if our product delivers 100% what he wants and what will it take to make the purchase decision. It’s not about my impression if the buyer will buy or not, it’s about asking him”.
What did you like best and least about your previous job?
All questions reveal a lot about who you are and what you want.
When answering, you must appeal to the Hiring Manager’s interests for that position you are applying.
When answering about what you did not like, keep it short and do not complain.
- Show how awesome you are. (Flickr: slushpup)
Now lets answer that first question:
What I liked about my last job was the fact that they trained me a lot. I had the opportunity to develop my sales skills. For example, I was able to sell to…
If you feel it’s appropriate to finish with a question like “what are the skills of those who are promoted in this company?”, do it. But most of the time you’ll want to keep silent so that the interviewer is able to process all the information you’ve given.
And remember to smile 3 times as you answer every question.
Why Top Job Interview Questions and Answers?
Simple: because it can make you get the job you love. Because if you are NOT prepared to the interview, another candidate will get the job. And because you won’t get a second opportunity with that same job.