Any advice on answering common interview questions/?

Question

I'm terrible at interviews, everytime I get asked "name a time where you have overcome a great obstacle in your job or personal life" or "a difficult challenge"- I freeze. Even when I practice my answers at home before the interview, I still can't come up with anything for these answers. I mean, I've been through a lot in my life and going through that has shown me that certain problems which may be "challenging" or "difficult" to some, I simply shrug off as " it happens." This however leaves me with no answer. Should I use personal triumphs over hardships during interviews or exaggerate work related problems so they seem greater then what they were? Any advice, examples anything would be great!

Answer 1

why would we hire you?

I believe that my experience and education, will enable me to best suitable for this job mainly cause of my ability and skills to lead, supervise, manage subordinates, motivate employees, conduct performance appraisals, oversee training requirements, develop personnel, and develop relations with clients and other business contacts which I think ther are essensial in the ............ Job .that is plus being a college graduate from a recognized ........ school,good computer knowledge and my experience in the application of the ............ industry packages,my excellent public relations skills,having more than five years experience in reputed hotels.also my ability to plan short and long term goals, knowledge of strategic planning, knowledge of financial analysis, knowledge of budgeting and forecasting, effective verbal and written communication skills and ability and vision to identify trends and need areas.then last but not least my excellant experience on working .



why you are looking to move on and why you wish to leave your present positions?

"Actually, I'm happy at my current work however recently I have been keeping my eyes open for other opportunities. I don't need to leave except for the right opportunity where I would get a promtion,a better package and working on a more professional atmosphere

Where would you like to be in your career five years from now?

Response:
"In five years, I want to have gained solid experience ............ managerial levels and be developing my skills to reach even higer positins in the ..........................."

Tell me about your proudest achievement.

Response: Tell interviewer how you came up with a creative solution to a problem you once had


What are three positive things your last boss would say about you?
Hard worker, punctual , working under pressure

*What negative thing would your last boss say about you?

Response: "I don't think he would have called it negative, but he identified that I needed to work on being more dynamic in (choose something you have already developed and is not too essential in your work) and on my very next appraisal I have seen that I succeded to acheive real improvement on it.

Tell me about yourself.

almost the same like above ,Hard worker punctual,energetic,working under pressure intitative on solving problems,also I believe I had improved my manegrial skills to great extant that I am always in control of my staff while having a good balance of courtesy and professionalism through which I can run the operation smoothly.

How would you describe your work style?

you can also use the above answer plus the following

Efficiant,I'm very self-motivated,I have strong communication skills.I'm good at managing my time.I have excellent leadership qualities.team player,taking challenges,ability to learn

Hope that would help ,Good Luck

Answer 2

Well for a start, you're cheating by asking for answers on here! But.. 1) Tell me about yourself: Tell the interviewer stuff that will be of use to him/her. Not things like your life story, etc. You want to win them over with your pin sharp personality, attitudes towards goals and how to achieve them, etc. Don't bore them, and show your enthusiasm whilst telling them! 2) What have your achievements been to date? Have you received a promotion? Have you learned a new job at work? Have you tackled a problem at work that cut the deadline in half. That sort of thing. Not stuff like "I used to be late all the time, but now i'm always 15 mins early every day......" 3) Tell me the most difficult situation you've had to face and how you tackled it? A new project, and not enough man power and how you managed to overcome this by keeping the same manpower. Or how you dealt with situation at the workplace that gained you recognition. 4) What are your strengths? Your attitude to work and employees. Your ambitions. That sort of stuff, I think you get the gist... but don't make it sound like me me me me!! 5) Careful with this answer. Don't say you have none? Cos we all do. We're not perfect. I'll let you work this one out!!! Edit: I just read the above post for their answer, and well, that's not the way to do it. That person won't get the job lol. If it frustrates you that you can't get the objective done, then say that. But don't say stuff like you get impatient for no reason. It's not good. Good luck anyways.....

Answer 3

well i've had a lot of interviews, and given a lot of interviews. Even tho ur like me and shrug it off most the time, use it as an example still. What is nothing for me and you, maybe the person interviewing would look at is as challenging obstacle. There usually isn't a stupid answer to those overcoming great obstacle questions

Answer 4

The following are the most common questions asked during an employment interview. This will help you to get ready for a winning interview.

Answer 5

Don't exagerate. If you get hired for the job, the employer may have the reasonable expectation that you can handle much more than you may be capable of.

Use a personal life experience. Keep it honest and don't exagerate. If you don't lie about it, you never have to try to remember how you told the story.

Use catch phrases -- I faced the challenge head on, I stepped back a moment and weighed all my options, I had to act quickly and decisively and in retrospect I should have done ______.

It's never wrong to show that you have faults. Everyone does, but it's how you overcome them that shows your strengths and weaknesses.

Good luck!