| You are in the middle of an important interview and | | | | team member confrontation, and (2) how did the |
| are confident that you are doing an excellent job of | | | | confrontation get resolved. When answering this |
| presenting your skills and qualifications for the | | | | question, focus entirely on the first part initially. Set |
| position. The interviewer asks the next question - and | | | | the stage for the conflict that arose, giving the |
| it's a difficult one. You didn't see this question coming | | | | interviewer all of the necessary details. Once this is |
| and have no idea to answer it. Words catch in your | | | | done, you can then move onto the next part, which is |
| mouth. You start to sweat as your illustrious visions | | | | detailing how the conflict was resolved. This is truly |
| of landing your dream job are rapidly spiraling away at | | | | the "meat" of the question. The interviewer is more |
| a breakneck speed. What do you do? | | | | interested in hearing about how you handle conflict and |
| For starters, the best offense is a good defense. | | | | stressful situations than the actual specifics of the |
| Preparing for an interview in advance is the best way | | | | conflict itself. So don't skimp on the second part - the |
| to ensure that you will be at your peak performance | | | | resolution. This pattern is true of a majority of |
| when the time comes to answer the question "Why | | | | multi-part questions: one section of the answer is |
| should you get this job?". Compile a list of interview | | | | merely the opportunity to set the stage for the other, |
| questions, both general questions and those that are | | | | more pertinent part(s) of the question. |
| job-specific, that you could potentially be asked. Then | | | | If you are asked a question you don't know the |
| practice answering all of the questions. It may be | | | | answer to, it is often better to admit that are unsure of |
| necessary to practice some questions several times | | | | the answer than to try and buffalo your way though |
| until you can clearly present a solid answer. A good | | | | an answer. Most interviewers are highly experienced |
| rule of thumb is to practice until you are no longer | | | | at recognizing "BS" answers and can easily pick up |
| uncomfortable with the question itself or your resulting | | | | that you making stuff up. If this happens, they will |
| answer. | | | | either call you on the table about your fake answer or |
| Tempting as it may be to dismiss more | | | | write you off a being a fraud - neither of these is going |
| straightforward questions, such as "Tell me about | | | | to help you land a job. An appropriate response |
| yourself", you should rehearse your answer to every | | | | would be to admit that you do not have an answer for |
| question. Oftentimes job applicants get so caught up | | | | the question, but that you would like to do some |
| in preparing for the "tough" questions, that they neglect | | | | research at the conclusion of the interview so that you |
| the ones they perceive to be the "easier" ones. As a | | | | have this knowledge for future reference. Such an |
| result, they are ill-prepared to answer basic questions | | | | answer not only shows integrity, but it also shows that |
| and stumble in their answers. | | | | you are not adverse to expanding your learning and |
| It would be impossible to think of and practice every | | | | are willing to take the extra effort necessary to keep |
| question you could be asked, so you will inevitably run | | | | your skills sharp. |
| across some questions during the interview process | | | | A few other helpful hints for answering difficult |
| that you hadn't thought of previously. When this | | | | questions: |
| happens, the first thing to do is take a deep breath. | | | | It is okay to ask the interviewer to repeat the question |
| Repeat the question to yourself, either in your head or | | | | if you didn't hear it the first time or if it is a long |
| aloud to the interviewer, to ensure that you have | | | | multi-part question. |
| heard the question correctly. Then use your practice | | | | It is also okay to ask the interviewer for clarification if |
| sessions to draw correlations between this question | | | | the question is unclear. |
| and others you have practiced. Is this new question | | | | Never volunteer personal information that is not |
| a variation of one you have answered before? Is it | | | | job-related. |
| similar to any other question? If you can draw a | | | | Try to always turn negatives into positives. For |
| parallel to questions you are already comfortable with, | | | | example, when asked about your weaknesses, |
| then the new question will not appear so daunting. | | | | demonstrate how this weakness can also be an asset |
| Another good tactic is to break the question into | | | | in other areas. |
| smaller components so that you can take it bit by bit. | | | | Relax! Interviewing is a learning process and you will |
| This is especially useful for multi-part questions. For | | | | get stronger each time you interview for a potential |
| example, imagine you are asked: "Tell me about a time | | | | position. So if an interview goes bad, rather than |
| when you found yourself at odds with a team | | | | dwell on it, identify where things went wrong and work |
| member. What were the circumstances and how did | | | | on correcting those areas so that you can perform |
| you handle the confrontation". The first thing to do is | | | | better in your next interview. |
| break this into two parts: (1) provide an example of a | | | | |