Job interviews can be intimidating, especially when you're asked a question that you don't know how to answer. However, with the right preparation and practice, you can make sure that you're ready for any question that comes your way. Like “Tell me about yourself”, this question is a common way to open interviews. Instead of focusing on the qualities and abilities that make you best for the position, your answer should group your qualifications by your previous jobs and tell the story of your career.
You can choose to tell this story chronologically, or start with your current job and then talk about what brought you here and where you're going next. In any case, when you talk about your “past” and “present”, highlight your experiences and achievements most relevant to this work and end up talking about the future, that is, connect your past and your present to demonstrate why this work should be the next one you add to your resume. Below is a list of 10 common job interview questions, along with answering techniques that will help you impress your prospects and hopefully land you the job you want. The first question is often “Tell me about yourself”.
Let your interviewer know that your sabbatical year was not about delaying the transition from childhood to adulthood, but rather it added value to the self-confident professional you've become. Read the job description carefully, do research about the company, and be sure to pay attention during the first interviews to understand any problems they hire you to solve. In addition to that, I recently had an informative interview with James, from the marketing team, after sending him a message on LinkedIn, and he shared a little bit about the company's culture; mainly, the emphasis on collaboration and open interaction between different departments and groups. While I was there, I decided that every week I would invite someone from a different team to have a coffee to learn about their work and career path. When asked about your qualifications for the job, highlight your best personality traits and how they fit the requirements of the job.
If Steve works for the company and suggested that you apply for the position, explain why he thought you would be the perfect person. With any of these decision-making questions in the job interview, hiring managers want to know that you've made good decisions in the past and that you're comfortable making a difficult decision under pressure. Instead of giving a vague answer, make a proposal that is concise and convincing and that demonstrates exactly why you're the right person for the job. When an interviewer asks you about your work style, they're probably trying to picture you in the position. Make it clear that you know what this position entails and that you're ready to perform those exact tasks in your next job.
After getting my first job as a front-end programmer, I continued to invest time in mastering interface and back-end languages, tools and frameworks. When asked why they should hire you over other candidates, on one hand express your enthusiasm for this job but at the same time don't give them more advantage than they already have by telling them there is no one else in the race. Show them that you know what their job entails (at least everything you can learn from the job description and company website) and that you're excited to be interviewed for this position. Your answer should be based on the research you've done on the company culture and the position in question.
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