There are
three questions that are almost guaranteed to be asked in a job
interview. We will tell you what these questions mean and how you can
answer them correctly.
1. Tell us/me something about yourself.
When asked to "tell something…" you mustn't tell the interviewer a
story from your birth to the present day; the idea is not for you to present
your autobiography. The interviewer wants to know whether you are able to
filter out the key points, which key points these are and what is important to
you.
Be prepared for interruptions. It is not unusual for interviewers to ask
"why?" and "could you explain that?" This is intended
mainly to determine whether you are in command of "your subject" and
whether you can be ruffled.
What you can do in advance:- Write down some important key points a few days before the
interview. Pick out the ones that you think could be important to your
potential employer.
- Beside each point in your final list write down a keyword and a verb.
- When
you are finished simulate your response to being asked to "say
something about yourself" – preferably out loud or, better still,
with a friend who plays the role of the interviewer.
2. Why did you apply to join our company?This is mainly to find out whether applicants have done their homework. If you
have read up on the history of the company, the corporate policies, the mission
and the vision (on the website, image brochures, other publications…), you can
create a link to the focal points of your qualification and strengths.
Example: A more than hundred year old, tradition-steeped company that focuses on
sustainable innovation is the ideal employer for you if you are a research
engineer who identifies with the subject of sustainability. The fact that you
find the advertised job interesting is obvious – otherwise you wouldn't have
applied.
What you can do in advance:- Read up on everything you can find about the company, and consistently write down what the company represents.
- List your personal features that suit the company (strengths, past jobs, etc.).
- Create
links and sketch a draft of your answer (don't write down complete
sentences). By the way, this question is asked in many different ways,
such as: Why are we interesting to you as an employer? Why do you
believe that
our company is the right/suitable employer for you?
3. Why do you think that you are the
right person for this job?
By asking this stress question the interviewer wants to see how you react. So
now you really have to keep calm. Mention your qualifications, important
aspects of your profile and create a link to specific points of the advertised
job.
You could also say that you completely identify with the company's corporate
philosophy.
What you can do in advance:- Analyze the job description systematically and write down the
individual points of the requirements profile in a table on the left
side of a sheet of paper.
- Check what you have to offer for every point.
- Then enter the result of your comparison on the right side of your table.
The more points of the requirements list from
the advertisement that meet your "competency account" the greater is
the chance that the advertised job is the right one for you. You should then
present this as precisely and factually as you can.
back
top
