3 Questions You Have To Be Able To Answer Well In Job Interviews To Get Offered The Job?

Job interviews are often a challenge.

Being well prepared can certainly make the process a whole lot easier.

In a job interview you can expect a whole range of questions.

Ideally you want to give good answers to every question you are asked.

In reality there are probably going to be a few that you don’t answer as well as you would have liked.

There are 3 questions however that I believe you have to be ready to answer well in any job interview.

Question 1: Why are you interested in the job?

Employers want to understand your motivation.  They want to find out if you are the person who thinks things through, is able to make decisions and doesn’t just see the job as providing you with a salary at the end of the month.

How good is your answer to this question?

For me a good candidate will be able to demonstrate they have researched the organisation and know where this role fits into their longer term career aspirations.

They will easily convince you that this would be their job of choice even if they are looking at different opportunities.

Question 2: What have you got to offer?

The employer has a role to fill.

That role requires a blend of knowledge, skills, experience and personal qualities.

Ahead of the interview you should have considered what is critical to success in the role from the perspective of the employer and from your own perspective.

Having done that it’s a matter of matching what you have to offer with what the employer is looking for.

Question 3: Why are you the ideal candidate for the role?

Here’s the thing.

You have no idea who else is in the running for the job (unless it’s a more senior role where you might be assessed over a couple of days along with other candidates).

The employer understands this.

What the employer is really doing is inviting you to sell yourself.

And the simplest way of doing this is to talk about around 5 areas where you perfectly fit what they are looking for.

A list of points is good.

Sharing stories of successes in those areas is even better.

In reality job interviews are always going to be a challenge.  At the same time there is plenty that you can do to stack the odds of success in your favour.

About the Author Duncan Brodie

Since 2006 I’ve worked with in excess of 8,000 accountants and professionals in workshops, seminars and one to one helping them land their next jobs and become better leaders, presenters and business partners. Before that I spent 25 years in accountancy climbing the career ladder from Payments Clerk to FD. I’m a CIMA Fellow, Certified Professional Coach and Team Coach Facilitator.

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