THE THREE MOST DIFFICULT QUESTIONS YOU WILL HAVE TO ANSWER IN AN INTERVIEW

How will you answer these questions, “TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF” or “WHY DO YOU WANT THIS JOB?” or “WHY DO YOU WANT TO WORK FOR THIS COMPANY?” These are real questions you are going to have to answer, usually at the very beginning of an interview.

Tell Me About Yourself

I once timed a client in a practice interview whose response to this question lasted 21 minutes! Unfortunately for him, I tuned him out after about 4 minutes!

The response to this question gives you the opportunity to show your presentation skills, your ability to concisely deliver your professional experience, skills and capabilities in a way that indicates your ‘brand’ and allows for you to verbally support what is written on your resume. A 3 to 5 - minute response should be your goal.

Why Do You Want This Job?

Inability to respond to this question with a thoughtful intelligent response, demonstrates two things; you haven’t done your homework and you really don’t know what the job is or entails, and secondly you won’t be able to make a connection for the interviewer of how your skills and abilities and experiences relate to the job.

Responding to this question effectively give you greater control of the kind of questions that will be asked subsequently.

Why Do You Want to Work for This Company?

Organizations want you to want them, just like you want them to want you! Interviewers are impressed when you know about their company, its history, its most recent activity. It screams to them that you are a person who is taking your job search seriously.

I was once interviewing a prospective employee who literally responded to this question by saying “I don’t know what your company does.” The interview ended at that moment!

Do your research. It is easy to find loads of information about any company or organization. To quote Nike; “Just Do It”