Knockout interview answers: high-performance techniques to clinch your dream job

Introduction  1. What interests you about our particular industry?  Some interviewers are better than others. Good ones use open questions like this one to open you up and get you talking. Poorer ones fall into the trap of asking closed questions. Look out for open questions - you want them because they give you the chance to make your points.  2. What makes you a good leader?  The HR people will probably interview you at some point. Even if they don't you can bet that they're talking to the other interviewers behind the scenes. Understanding what they're looking for gives you competitive edge.  3. Please, take a seat  Delivering great answers to the interviewer's questions is the main skill in impressing people and getting the job
 but let's not underestimate the importance of the body language you use to get your nose in front.  4. How does your present team see you?  Prepare for this one by thinking about yourself from other people's perspectives. Make sure you use examples to show, firstly, that you do know how people see you and, secondly, that you learn from their feedback.  5. Talk me briefly through your history  A relatively easy one if you've done your preparation work well. The only real risk is that you'll talk about the wrong thing
 so keep checking that what you're saying is relevant.  6. Tell me of a time when you were risk averse  Senior businesspeople see business as a series of decisions about risk taking, or the balance between risk and return. This question is one way of checking your knowledge of and attitude to risk.  7. What are you like at getting difficult people to do things differently?  You're bound to get something about your ability to handle difficult people. This is a very specific example. How do you make people change what may be the habits of a lifetime?  8. Will you promise to see this project through to the end?  This is an easy question to answer if there is only one person in the room - the potential line manager. It's more difficult if you have to make a response that pleases two or more people looking for different things.  9. Could you send me your CV please?  Your CV is a selling document and the product it is selling is you. You want someone who is trying to fill a new post to reach for your CV and like what they see.  10. What do you think about team targets?  You will almost certainly get a question that asks you to explain what you think about the power of teamwork.  11. How do you go about managing projects?  At some point you're going to have a somewhat technical discussion about the nitty-gritty of the job you're applying for. Make sure you get the detail right for the audience you're speaking to.  12. How ambitious are you?  How do you explain that your career path is shaped like a bullet but that you realise you have to get your head down and do this job well and thoroughly? Be honest and enthusiastic but mainly keen to prove yourself in the job you're applying for.  13. Would you mind taking a simple test to see how you might fit in with your colleagues?  Despite the fact that you haven't sat a test since you were at school, there's no need to feel concerned. You need to understand a bit about the tests and limber up your brain.  14. Why do you want to work for this company?  Time to put on display the huge amount of research you did to get ready for this interview.  15. So, why do you want this job?  Turn a question like this into a selling opportunity by using a double answer - balance what you'll get out of the job with what they'll get out of hiring you.  16. How easy are you to work with?  This is the real question hidden under a number of aliases. In this part of the interview they're probing for how you work with your boss and whether you are likely to be an employee who causes problems rather than one who resolves them.  17. What is the one thing your team would most like to change about you?  Knowing yourself, or self-insight, is crucial. The answer to this question tells the interviewers a lot about you, probably including a hint of your main weakness.  18. What is your ideal organisational culture?  You're sitting there
 so you must have decided that you quite like what you believe to be their culture. Just describe your ideal place to work and if you've analysed them correctly you'll be describing their culture as well.  19. What's your definition of the ideal relationship with your boss?  Whoever you're talking to, this one's important. You don't want to end up with a boss who you can't stand or, worse still, can't stand you. So you need to be open in answering this question.  20. In your current role what are you most proud of achieving?  This is a great opportunity. Just take a good solid achievement that was down to you and tell them about it.  21. Do you enjoy hard work?  It's a rubbish question
 so hit it for six. What do they expect you to say? 'Good Lord, no, I've always tried to keep my head down and avoid the real action.'  22. What opinion have you formed of the people you've met so far?  This is a judgement question that invites you to show good observational skills and the ability to form an opinion about colleagues and express it positively.  23. I see you're not a graduate. Why should we change our habit of hiring only graduates into this job?  We'll take this specific question here and add to it how you handle the fact that you are clearly less qualified than the competition.  24. Give me an example in your career where you felt like giving up but managed to keep going  This question says, 'Are you hungry enough?' If you are, then you should look forward to this question in whatever guise it comes. You need a good story.  25. Where have you made your organisation take a big risk?  This is a combination question. They're looking to make sure that you are a risk taker, and they're also checking that given a big idea you've got what it takes to drive it through even a sceptical organisation.  26. Do you feel your lack of financial knowledge will be a disadvantage?  You won't tick every box on their wish list
 so you need to know the key ones. Think through what you think they will regard as essential attributes and use the interview to check them out.  27. Is there anything you want to ask me?  This often comes near the end of the interview. If everything's gone well then make sure you don't at this point snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. On the other hand, if you think there's a problem, here's a good opportunity to go back into an area where you  think they have doubts about you.  28. Tell me of a time when you generated a creative solution to a problem  OK, they're looking for creativity and you've got to show them you've got it. Your example can be big or small. You don't need to have designed a brand new product
 any change that you originated can be a good answer.  29. How important to you is your work/life balance?  The answer to this is important, as much to you as it is to them. Make sure you do know what that balance should be before you go in. Here's a way of working that out - plus some suggestions to make them love your answer.  30. What really gets you up in the morning looking forward to work?  Your response here reveals a lot about you. Think about the main points you're trying to make about you and this job. Show how you've spent time and energy in creating what for you is an ideal working environment.  31. What's the key to influencing people in parts of the organisation where you have no direct control?  In today's organisations cross-functional teams and cross-discipline projects are becoming more and more necessary. Give an answer that demonstrates that you understand the need and have thought about how to respond to it.  32. May I pass you over now to my colleague?  Aha, you're in a panel interview. There are special techniques for handling a group of people in a more formal environment.  33. Tell me about yourself.  This is an open question that can go anywhere. You have to ask a clarifying question to make sure that you talk about the angle they're looking for.  34. In your current role what has been your major disappointment?  You have to be prepared to talk about some things that didn't go so well. The key here is to show what you learnt from the situation and how you would handle a similar situation better in the future.  35. Would you be surprised if I told you that my colleague found you a bit arrogant?  A question like this means that you haven't left someone with the impression you'd planned. Make sure you're acutely aware of the outcome you're aiming at and you're more likely to succeed. Take the remark positively.  36. What's your style of influencing people?  This is a slightly trick question. The good team leader can change their style of influencing to suit the person they're working with.  37. What are your outside interests?  This may be a very important question for someone applying for their first job. The key is to find some connection between your interests and the job without sounding simplistic.  38. Can we ask you to do a role-play and some group exercises?  The use of assessment centres to evaluate potential employees is widespread. Don't think you can't prepare for them.  39. It says in your CV that you took control of your last project when the project manager went sick. How did that go?  You must make your CV entirely consistent with what the interviewers will discover in interview. If you try to bluff them, they'll almost certainly trip you up and you'll have done  yourself no favours.  40. How will you know when you've found the right job?  This is a useful question for both sides. Preparing for it gives you a huge insight into what you're really looking for. The interviewers may see a deal breaker in your criteria
 or they may give them clues how to present the job to its best advantage.  41. Give me an example in your career where you felt like giving up and did  They're looking for a balance as usual. They want people with determination and tenacity
 but they don't want you to keep banging your head against a brick wall.  42. Is it all right if we take up your references now?  The days when employers didn't bother to check on references are long over. There are some referees whom you can use and some whom you must.  43. What other roles are you considering, and how does this one stack up?  They want to know how well they're doing in attracting you. It's one of a number of questions concerning your job mobility.  44. Would you say you're a glass-half-empty person or a glass-half-full?  For most interviewers a positive mental attitude is almost an obsession. Find a way of displaying yours, and talk about the difference it can make.  45. What are your strengths and weaknesses?  This is a very general question that you should expect. It deserves a well-prepared answer. You need to demonstrate not only a high level of self-insight but also corroborating evidence from other people.  46. Would it be OK for you to go and see our occupational psychologist?  A growing number of companies are using the services of psychologists to check a person's fit into their organisation. Such psychologists mainly test and interview people applying for senior jobs.  47. How do you go about making an important decision?  They're looking for method here, checking that you've thought about decision making per se and that you look at a situation from all angles before you decide what to do.  48. What reservations would you have if we offered you the role?  This question could offer room for negotiation. It's also a direct request for information. What you say could, of course, affect whether or not they actually make the offer.  49. The division you'd be managing has its head right down at the moment: how will you set about re-motivating them?  A fair and difficult question. Answer with a process to fix the immediate problems, and a plan for boosting motivation in the long term.  50. How do you get things done?  Research shows that all successful managers are strong in two areas: general intelligence (helps you to figure things out) and conscientiousness (helps you to get things done). Here's a series of questions specifically about the latter.  51. How good are your time-management and presentation skills?  Two items that often come up in second interviews or assessment centres are in-tray exercises and presentations.  52. Is the gap between what you want and what we're offering significant enough to stop you taking the job?  The interviewer seems to have moved into negotiating mode. In answering this type of question remember that they're in a competitive position too - you could go and work for someone else.  The end .