Contributed by Tanya S.
In addition to doing my homework before a job interview, I prepare answers for the most common job interview questions. I tailor each answer to fit the job description and what I am looking for. I do pretty well on interviews and have been coaching a few of my friends for their job interviews. As part of my coaching, I do mock interviews and their answers to some typical questions were extremely surprising, even venturing into some areas that need to be avoided.
Confessions. The first answer a friend gave me was a confession about how they probably wouldn’t be able to do the job. I know my friend and I have worked with her; the job she was going for was within her capabilities. What she was lacking was confidence. We reworked her answer to focus on how she has been studying up on the requirements for the job. Instead of “I am unsure how well I would perform as I just learned how to do that” we changed the answer to: “I’m so excited about the field that I keep taking classes.”
Your whole life story. Do not rehash your whole life. Just highlight the parts of your past career or education that apply to the job. Go over the job description and your resume to find out what matches. For example, if the position involves customer relations your experience at McDonald’s might be valuable asset. However, you don’t need to explain that you had to work to help take care of younger siblings because you grew up in a dysfunctional home with a father who was an alcoholic and could not hold a job.
Getting personal. Sometimes people start to talk about their personal life – their children, recent divorce, etc. The interviewer is interested in how you will be able to perform the job not about your personal affairs. Bear in mind that it is illegal to ask questions about marital status and age so be careful about volunteering this information.
Before each job interview, prepare and practice your answers beforehand so you can be thoughtful, genuine and unhesitating during the interview.
Are there other areas that you recommend avoiding during a job interview? We invite you to share your ideas in the comment box below.
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