Page 164 - You're Hired! Interview Answers

Self-disclosure questions non-ComPetenCY-BaSed QueStionS knowLedge-BaSed QueStionS

n What do you think is the biggest mistake you made in your last job, what
did you learn from it?

n What are you proudest of in what you have achieved in the last 2 years?
n Where would you hope to be in 3 years’ time?

7 Poor answers:

“Well I’m not sure really, I want to see how I get on here first.”

“I think by then I’ll be ready for a role in a bigger organisation.”

“Doing your job.”

These are all awful responses, pretty much guaranteed to make you sound
unfocused, uninterested or glib.

3 Better answer:

“Hopefully making a strong contribution to the business in this role or an

expanded role, depending on how quickly I progress. I’m ambitious, but clearly

I’ll need to establish myself first.”

This answer manages to signal ambition and a desire to progress, without
sounding arrogant; importantly, it also makes it clear that you want to grow in
this business and you are not seeing it as just a stepping stone.

In terms of the impression you want to make, you should aim to create the
impact of someone who:

n is thoughtful about their performance
n is confident about their strengths (not too modest!)
n is able to be objective about their own attributes
n has learned from their experiences
n is purposeful about what they want to achieve.

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