Answering routine questions without getting tripped up - Sterling Career Concepts

Answering routine questions without getting tripped up Answering routine questions without getting tripped up Most interviewers won’t come out and directly ask Whats your top strength? so as you prepare and practice your answers for standard interview questions, it’s important to remember that a number of questions are designed to assess what differentiates you from other candidates in other words, what are your strengths. These can include: Tell me about yourself. Why should we hire you? What would an old boss say about you? How would you add value to this department? With this in mind, as you prepare for an interview, identify your top two or three strengths as they relate to the job position and aim to convey thesepointsto the interviewer before the interview concludes. That way, 20 minutes into the interview,when youre asked What makes you different from our other three candidates? you can pull from a short list ofkey strengths that haven’t been discussed yet. Also remember to personalize the strengths youplan tohighlightas your leading qualities. Telling the interviewer that youre hard working, a quick learner, or a people person is boorrrrinnng. These phrases dovery little (if anything) to differentiate yourself from other candidates. These conceptshave become so overused that you are wasting an opportunity to show a potential employer what you bring to the table, be it analytical abilities, negotiating skills orthe ability to leadfractured groups. It’s also important to beef up your answer up with an example that conveys your strength a time or a situation where your strength was of particular value. Offering an example does three things: (1) distinguishes your answer, (2) makes the answer more memorable, and (3) provides concrete proof of your strength. You’re not just telling someone you have exceptional time management skills, you are providing an example. So there you have it three ways to avoid getting tripped up on routine questions: (1) strategize to work your top strengths into other questions that differentiate you from others, (2) customize your strengths for the position, and (3) incorporate stories to solidify answers and make them memorable.