You have done your research, hit the pavement, and finally landed a job interview with a company that you would love to work for. The only thing that worries you is answering some of the tough interview questions that are often thrown a perspective employees way.
Below you will find a few of those tough interview questions and some of the possible answers you can give to help you get through them and onto being hired for the job.
Why do You have Gaps in Your Resume?
This is one of the easiest questions to come up blank on. It is not uncommon to have gaps in your resume, especially in today’s uncertain economic times. The trick is to make the gaps look like they are going to be helpful to your future employer.
For example, saying that you took some time off work to volunteer for a project will score you more brownie points than saying that you didn’t work because the economy is awful and the company you worked for went out of business.
Tell Me About a Time You Failed
This is one of the most asked and most awkward interview questions. Nobody wants to talk about a time that they failed, because they are afraid that they will tell too much, so they stammer and make themselves look even worse. The best way to answer this question is with brutal honesty.
After you answer the question, then go on to explain how you failed, what you learned from the experience and how you improved from the failure as well.
Why did You Leave Your Last Place of Employment?
While this might seem to be a simple enough question, it can actually be a trick question that gets you into tons of trouble. You have to be careful about everything from your tone of voice to the reasoning behind leaving to get through this question successfully.
You need to answer this question in a positive, up beat manner and never, ever put down the company you left or are thinking of leaving.
What is Your Greatest Weakness?
Very few interviews don’t throw in some variation of this question. It is a very awkward one and few people know how to answer it. Experts agree that the best way to answer this interview question is by trying to put a positive spin on it.
Other experts however, recommend being honest about your weakness. Very few employers are actually going to not hire you because you lack organizational skills. According to the experts, they are looking for honesty and would prefer to know what you lack so you can be trained on that task.
These are just a few of the difficult interview questions that often get thrown at people during a job interview. If you take your time, keep your cool, and answer them well you should have nothing to worry about. Remember, honesty is always the best policy and putting a positive spin on things doesn’t hurt your case any.