Page 159 - You're Hired! Interview Answers

non-ComPetenCY-BaSed QueStionS knowLedge-BaSed QueStionS The very best way of tackling this kind of question is to then relate your answer
to a real-life example, giving the interviewer concrete evidence – even though
they were not professional enough to ask for it!

For example:

“In fact something very similar to this happened to me when I was working at
ABC Ltd; one of my colleagues was being shouted at by a customer so I went
over and asked if I could help; the customer turned to me to explain, which
gave my colleague a few moments to collect her thoughts. I didn’t want the
customer to think we were ganging up on him, so once things had calmed
down I quietly withdrew. I spoke to my colleague afterwards and she said that
the pause in the argument had made all the difference.”

This answer, relating the question to real experience, gives a much more
convincing illustration of your behaviour in this kind of situation. It also lets
you apply the tried and tested CaR approach to building your answer. It is
hard to do this if you are limited to the hypothetical scenario provided by the
questioner.

There is a particular subset of hypothetical questions that focuses on the role
you are applying for. It usually sounds something like this:

So tell me what you would aim to do in your first 3 months
in this job.

It is well worth thinking through answers to this kind of question, depending
on the role you are applying for. Make sure that you factor task, thought and
people into the proposal you describe. You may have well researched views
about what would be required and how you would make a difference, but
the chances are that you will not know as much about the situation as the
interviewer does. For this reason the following tips are likely to help in framing
answers to the question in the above example:

n Emphasise learning, surveying the territory, getting an in-depth
understanding, researching.

n Emphasise getting to know key involved parties, understanding roles and
sensitivities.

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