The difference between successfully being offered the job you want or going away with another dent in your confidence is usually around 30-40 minutes of questions. Yes, the interview.
It’s a stressful situation, made scarier by the unknown. So, let’s shed a bit of light and make some of the unknown, well…. known.
Some interview facts.
The average length of time to answer an interview question is 2-5 minutes per question.
This means that interviews consist of around 7-10 questions on average within the standard time-frame.
By knowing the 2 most popular interview questions, you already can prepare for a fifth of your next interview. That’s not so scary after all. Ready?
Most popular interview questions and how to make your answer impressive.
- Tell me about yourself.
One of the most popular ice-breaker questions. It is a great open question, and it poses little threat because it is something that everyone can answer, hence its popularity as a favoured interview question. But it is also a question that can lead to an incoherent ramble leaving a terrible first impression.
Don’t: share your family history, love life, endless hobbies, names of pets, or any antidotes about how you woke up wearing only socks, in the early hours of the morning, in a train station after a rowdy night out.
Do: share some of your relevant previous work experience, skills you have that would be transferable to this role and what motivated you to apply. Keep it as a summary overview rather than lots of details (you’ll want to save specifics and examples for later questions).
- Why have you applied to this particular job?
Another popular question amongst interviewers is to find out why you want the job within their company. It is a way of finding out what has driven you to apply. But it is also the type of question which can trip candidates up if they have not considered the answer in advance.
Don’t: blurt out that you need the money and every other application you’ve sent out has been rejected, so you are desperate for a job; nor is it going to impress the company by sharing the convenience of the workplace to your house or that the hours fit childcare (even if it’s true).
Do: express particular aspects of the role that you’d enjoy doing / have strengths in achieving. Share briefly how your experience will be beneficial to this role to demonstrate your skills and suitability. Now is also a great time to say why you want to work for the company to show you have researched and selected them as a good mutual fit.
This will make you stand out from the rest who have just applied because it is a job close to their house!
How to score top goals to really compete in the career field.
Great… you have followed top career tips and are now a fifth of the way through your interview. You have already made a great first impression, so you are on track to being offered the job you want.
Career coaching is not some weird chanting and dancing about in the woods with fingers crossed in the hope that some magic formula might just work – well I can only speak for myself and a great network of coaching colleagues! Nor is it a job centre with a list of vacancies and someone badgering you to apply for anything, irrespective of suitability.
Career coaching is grounded in research, solid knowledge of employment and industry, using high-quality proven coaching techniques to deliver real results. Working with a career coach will enhance your chances of finding roles that are a perfect fit for you – and provide practical insights into how to go about getting the job offer.
Like the teams of coaches that are working with football players in the World Cup, coaches enhance skills and belief to turn great players into those who can compete on a world stage.
The difference? You don’t have to be a multi-billionaire to benefit from career coaching – you don’t even have to get sweaty to compete in the career field!
Ready to take your job search to a new level and find a career path that fits – then it is time to score your goals and book career coaching right here.
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