Nail your interview- Top 5 Questions You Need to Answer
This is Part One of a Five-Part Series
Part 1: “What Are Your Greatest Strengths?”
Over the years and for your benefit, we have spent a lot of time researching. We have listened and learned from many hiring managers and other decision-makers. Our findings have led us to what truly works best in helping a job candidate prepare for the interview process, and we want to take the next several weeks to really emphasize the top 5 most important questions that are commonly asked.
To kick it off, let’s talk about the golden interview question, which you can guarantee will be heard. And it sounds so simple. I mean, who doesn’t like to talk about themselves? Even if you take the modest approach, everyone finds it rather relaxing to answer a question that allows you to pump yourself up to share why exactly you are so great and will be an asset to the company. But you might be surprised at how often candidates get tongue-tied by this question. It’s like, all of a sudden, you lose your words in explaining what comes to you so naturally!
Nail Your Interview! Know Your three to five strengths.
We’re here to shed some light on a few helpful hints that will work together to help you avoid that moment. We do not want to see that job interview as a failure for you, and thankfully, the key to its success is largely within your grasp.
Let’s start by learning to evaluate ourselves and developing a list of our strengths. You want to gather a solid list of three to five strengths. The same strength will not always work with every job opportunity, even in the same company, so you want to have a list to choose from. These strengths should speak to the qualities about yourself that come easily to you and benefit those around you. These strengths can typically be categorized as follows:
- Knowledge-Based Skills
- Transferable Skills
- Personal Traits
Basically, you need to know where these skills originate. Is it a unique quality that you were born with, such as being friendly or expressive? Or is it a strength you gained from your degree and educational experience? Understanding yourself first will help relay that particular strength to the hiring manager.
Secondly, you need to keep in mind the question behind the question. The ultimate concern in asking about your greatest strengths is determining whether you are a good candidate for this job. Do your strengths align with the job opening? Will you be the right fit for this company? Having this ultimate question in the back of your head throughout the interview allows you to tailor your answers accordingly.
When describing your strengths and assets, you want to use words that appeal to the job specifically. Highlighting the award that you received three years ago at your former company may mean nothing to the hiring manager, whereas discussing the positive performance review that you had six months ago may be very telling of the same skills you can bring to this new job. Knowing what sort of characteristics the employer is looking for ahead of time will help you in knowing how to write down exactly how you want to express yourself and your strengths.
Nail the Interview! Back up your words with examples
Lastly, you should always be ready to back up your greatest strengths with specific examples. Instead of just describing yourself as tenacious, give a specific example from a former scenario within your work environment that proved your tenacity. Being a detailed and successful problem solver is a great strength to have, but let the hiring manager know about that one particular time when you handled that very messy problem with ease and triumph.
These examples speak volumes, and you should have great confidence in them. You need to share your greatest strengths with authority and be able to carry those away with you intact, regardless of the outcomes along your path.
If you need to practice your interview skills, Platinum Resumes offers Interview Coaching. Don’t take chances with your chances! Take the time and prepare by increasing your chances of nailing that interview!
This article was originally published in June 2015 and has been recently updated.
