So, my interview is on Friday at 4PM. I am a little nervous. It's been awhile since I have interviewed anywhere, and I don't have that much experience interviewing to begin with. I haven't told that many people about it for various reasons. Only two people at work know, not including my bosses. I don't even know how much the job will pay or if it will be worth it for me to switch jobs. While my current job can be pretty stressful, it is generally a pretty good job to have. My bosses are way above average, my co-workers are for the most part above average, and I am pretty comfortable in the day to day workings of my job. I like my clients. I like negotiating. I like a lot about what I do. Obviously one needs only look a few posts back to realize that this might change on a day to day basis.
I am trying to think up answers to generic interview questions. How do you really answer the questions "what is your biggest weakness?" because that is the LAMEST question ever. Also, I don't like talking about myself much. I can talk about what I do, but I don't like talking about why I do it.
Any words of wisdom?
I always answer the "biggest weakness" question by telling about some fairly benign issue I've had in the past and mostly dealt with by this point. The important things is to downplay the effect it has had on your work. For example, in your case you could say (hypothetically), "Well, sometimes I feel like I get a little too personally invested in certain cases, but I'm working on maintaining the proper professional distance and I feel like I've made good progress on this over the past 6 months." The question is meant to probe at whether you are capable of evaluating your own performance and then making the necessary adjustments in your work habits. So it's important to mention how you've improved or even just that you feel that you have improved.
ReplyDeleteIn most interviews I've had, I haven't had to expressly talk about myself that much, although the dreaded "tell us about yourself" question is always a possibility. In talking about your work, though, you are telling things about yourself. Interviewers want to know what kind of experience you've had, how you handle yourself on the job (hence the popular "how would you handle this scenario" or "tell us about a time when x happened and how you dealt with it" questions), and how you will fit into their organization. This last point is important and where a lot of people fail because they haven't done the proper research. Learn as much as you can about the position and the organization and then match your skills and ideals (if applicable) to the job and org. Highlight these matches throughout the interview, as appropriate.
I think you'll be fine. I mean, it's basically just a role to play. Be personable, try to smile a lot, act relaxed even if you're not (concentrating on breathing helps!), don't be afraid to pause before answering to collect your thoughts, and speak with authority.
thanks! I will keep all of this in mind....and I will report back...
ReplyDelete! i just saw this and i'm too late for any advice to matter BUT you're supposed to pick a weakness that isn't integral to the job you're interviewing for and then just mention the weakness briefly before turning your answer around into a "how you overcame that weakness" thing
ReplyDeleteit's a bad question, though, because it's so vague. so i hope you didn't get it. i think that adept interviewers would ask something different
either way i hope your interview went well!
Thanks Kelly. Luckily I didn't have to answer those kinds of questions. How are you? Moving to Philly? Exciting! We should catch up for reals some time...
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