Job Interviews: Answering Questions

For most people job interviews are stressful. However, there are a few techniques that you can use to make your interview easier and more successful.

When the interviewer asks a question pause for a moment or two.  You don’t have to answer immediately.  Think about the question and what you are being asked, and then which example you will use as your response.

Interviewers are looking for examples of how you have ‘behaved’ in certain situations and they are looking for your response to clearly outline what you did or the actions that you took.  It is really important to listen to the question so that you can relate your answer back to it.

Think of your answer as telling a story.  In a story there are three parts.  The introduction or outline, what happened in the middle and then the end.

This is the same for interview questions.  Your answer to each question should have three parts:

1.    A brief description of the situation

2.   The part you played – what exactly you did

3.   The outcome

When you use a structured approach to answering interview questions you should find it much easier to stay on track.

Written by the Your People Recruitment team