Even for the most fearless amongst us, job interviews can
be nerve wracking. In order to give us the best chance of
success we tend to prepare for many of the difficult
questions we anticipate, questions like:
-Why should we hire you?
-What can you do for us that other candidates can’t?
-What are your key strengths and weaknesses?
Of course, you can never predict how an interview will go
and what questions you will get. You might get an
interviewer who fires one tough question at you after the
other, or one that turns the interview into a more
comfortable, natural two-way conversation. Preparing,
therefore is difficult. In most cases we practice the answers to
a long list of possible questions. The problem is that this can
leave you over-prepared and as a consequence your pre-
conceived answers can come across a bit robotic.
From my experience, there are really only 3 questions you
have to prepare for and you can link most of the interview
questions back to these three. Preparing for these three
questions also means you can answer most questions more
naturally, simply by referring
mentally back to your preparations for these three questions.
Basically, any interviewer wants to establish 3 key things:
1. Have you got the skills, expertise and
experience to perform the job?
2. Are you enthusiastic and interested in
the job and the company?
3. Will you fit into the team, culture and
company?
However, during the job interview, the interviewer might use
many different questions and angles to get to the answers. If
the interviewer doesn’t get what he or she wants from one
question, they might ask them
in different ways. Or they might probe from different angles
to test for consistency in your answers.
Here is what’s behind these 3 questions:
1. Have you got the skills, expertise and
experience to perform the job?
Think about the key skills you might need for the job you
have applied for and assess your own level of expertise and
experience in that context. It makes sense to identify the
more specific or technical skills that your potential
employer might expect as well as some more generic skills
such as being a good communicator, having good IT skills,
being a team player, etc. Once you have prepared for this
question it will help you answer many
different interview questions without getting sidetracked into
talking about things that are not relevant. Remember that you
want to demonstrate that you are aware of the key skills,
expertise and experience required to do the job and that you
have what it takes to perform it. Always go back to the key
skills, expertise and experience when answering scary
(and sometimes silly) questions like:
-Tell me about yourself?
-What are your greatest strengths / weaknesses?
-What can you do for us that other candidates can’t?
-Why do you think you are right for this job?
-What do you think the main challenges will be?
-Etc.
2. Are you enthusiastic and interested in the job and the
company?
Any potential employer wants to know that you are interested
in the company and excited about the prospect of working
there. You therefore want to demonstrate that you have
researched the company, understand its strategy, current
performance, structure,
market position and products and that you can’t wait to join
them. For most, you will have done your homework before
you even applied for the job, but if you haven’t then check
out the about us’ section on their website and search for the
latest strategy documents, annual reports, key statistics as
well as the company history. Show that you know them and
demonstrate your enthusiasm for the job and company. Here
you might also want to think about your ambitions and how
they fit into the company you have applied for. You can then
use the insights for answering questions such as:
-What do you know about our company?
-What do you think our company is aiming to
achieve?
-What do you know about our products and services?
-Why do you want to work for this company?
-Why do you think this job is right for you?
-What motivates you?
-Etc.
3. Will you fit into the team, culture and company?
This final key question is about your personality and your
style and how you as a person fit into the team and culture of
the company. Companies have different cultures, which
translate into different ways of behaving and working. It is
important to make sure you fit in and don’t feel like a fish out
of water. In fact, it is important for the company as well as for
you. Again, hopefully you will have done some research prior
to applying for the job. Sometimes, it can be tricky to find
detailed knowledge about the company culture, in which case
you simply talk about your assumptions
and why you feel you fit in. One relatively new website that
offers a glance inside companies is Glassdoor. The site is still
in its infancy but provides a growing amount of data and
information about what it is like to work for different
companies. You want to map the
culture of the company or the team you are planning to join
and compare this to your personality traits, style and
behaviors. Again, once you have done this you can use it to
answer questions such as:
<b
>-How would you describe your work style?
-How would you describe yourself?
-How would your colleagues describe you?
-What makes you fit into our company?
-What makes you a good team member?
-If you were an animal, what animal would you be?
-Etc.
Of course, any interview is a two-way process. In the same
way the interviewer wants to find out that you are right for
the company, you need to assess whether the company is
right for you. Each of the questions can be turned around so
that you can assess:
1. By joining this company, will I make best
use of my skills and expertise and will they
help me to grow them further?
2. Is the company excited about having me
work for them and will they give me the
necessary support?
3. Is the company culture the right fit for me
so that I can flourish and be myself?
If you ask relevant questions from your point of view then
this will make the interview more balanced and create a more
natural conversation.
I hope this is useful? Please let me know your thoughts and
share any comments you might
have on the topic.

Fp pls

o boy see panel faces as e strong.chai

Incisive piece I must say.

I feel interviews are the cheapest of recruitment stages if and only if the applicant is smart, careful and pays maximum concentration. I was once interviewed by a Panel of 4, while I did introduction, I portrayed myself as a highflier that I am. After introduction, one of the interviewers asked me....

Interviewer: You seem to be a highflier and always a Leader. In fact, you even showed that during the Assessment Centre. Tell me about a time you were the least person in a group

Me: *thinking* Ma, I can't really remember one now

Interviewer: okay, tell me about a time you were not the leader of a group

Me: I'll like to talk about NYSC orientation camp. I was one of the most passive individuals in my platoon because I was an active member of the Orientation Broadcasting Service. After contributing nothing to many competitions my platoon took part in, I felt uncomfortable and told myself that I must do something for my platoon. I approached the Platoon Leader and told him I would like to represent my platoon in Quiz competition. Unfortunately, the Leader told me we had a representative already. I felt bad about this but I offered to practice some questions I've compiled with the individual that was to represent us. I practiced about 30 questions with him and my platoon came 1st out of 10 platoons that contested.

*Interviewers were very attentive while I narrated my story*

Interviewer: That is still Leadership, You were the coach.

Me: smiled confidently and told the woman that I didn't act in position of a coach, I just practiced questions with him.

*In my mind, I was dancing shoki because deep down me I was sure the interviewers were glad with my kind of personality. That particular interviewer was only trying to pull my legs*

Same interviewer: Are you sure you won't be stealing people's show or outshining your superior when we hire you?

Me: *carrying a serious look* Never ma! I always know when to talk and when not to. As you can see, there were times I kept my mouth shot during the Assessment Centre just because I needed to

The above is just an excerpt from a 35-minute panel interview. From that point, I think the interviewers fell in love and the remaining part of the interview was like an informal chat.

I got a success mail 4 hours after the interview and was invited for the final stage of the hiring process. Did I eventually land the Job? NOOOOOOOOO! I was dropped because of something they saw in my file. ( I really don't know why they attributed so much importance to that little thing).

Since then, I've not done any interview. Looking forward to having my next interview and I know by HIS special grace, I will not only perform excellently but also get the offer Letter.

At times, it's not only about how good you are. HIS Grace is always vitally important.

nice one @OP...but u didnt give proffer solutions to those questions lah?
abi ah no read ham wella nie?

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