Spiders, zombies, bats, and shadows might keep children up at night this Halloween season, but not having a decent job this late in the year is a terror for many adults. Some are still struggling to find decent work despite a growing job market. Some are lucky enough to get interview invites. But these encounters didn’t result in new employment.
Job Interview Preparation
Sometimes, the frustrating outcomes from a job search isn’t about the applications. In some cases, you may have received the call but did not move forward after the interview. Yes, it helps to know the answers to the usual job interview questions. But a better advice for job seekers would be to know how to answer according to what recruiters evaluate.
Whether you’re about to have your first interview or your fifteenth, we want to help you tackle the structured interview questions. Previously, we provided you with articles on how to use the internet to find jobs, top jobs you could apply for, and resume mistakes you should avoid. Today’s job search advice is learning how to answer interview questions without fear. And the best way to do that is to know how to put your thoughts together.
Advice for Job Seekers
3 Acts per Answer
The STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) interview response method of answering and assessing structured interview questions is popular among job interviewers. Interviewees can use STAR as a good starting model to answer interview questions. But many recruiters combine Situation and Task into a joint category due to the overlap between the two segments. Plotting your answers is essential when preparing for a job interview because it will let your interviewer assess you more efficiently.
Think about how you resolved a situation or performed a crucial task as a story or play. There’s the beginning where the challenge became apparent. The middle part where you determine what to do and act on accordingly. Finally, the conclusion where the notable outcomes of your decisions materialized. Each portion is integral to displaying your merits. Even the first part, which will often be the shortest, is necessary to establish why you and your actions were so important.
It may be difficult to come up with three-act outlines on the spot. We recommend you take a couple of hours to lookup some of the more complex common structured interview questions you might encounter. Write down replies in a three-act fashion. This will allow you to recall them with better clarity during in-person interviews. Your notes will work even better during phone and video call interviews since you’ll have them on-hand to refer to.
If you’d prefer a new acronym, consider this way of how to answer interview questions as Task, Response, and Effect. Or TRE, for short.
2-Minute Answers
Now that we’ve covered a clear method of how to answer interview questions, you must also address how long you should answer them. The recruiters you meet are not superhuman. Unless they ask upfront, it is unlikely that recruiters will record your interview for future reference and consideration. It all depends on what the recruiter writes down and what they recall.
There have been studies by Indeed.com that a range between 30 seconds to four minutes per important structured interview question is a good range. We find that two minutes is an ideal median for your answers. Plot out your responses within the three-act framework. This will produce refined displays of your competencies that are simultaneously worth remembering and easy to remember.
And when your qualities are easy to remember, they’re easier to recommend.
Indicate Willingness for Improvement
A growing firm can ill-afford static staff. The workforce should have a healthy percentage of individuals who desire and can move up its ranks. Constant external hiring diverts a lot of resources that could’ve been put into talent development. This likewise applies to potential new hires. When given the choice between an applicant who wants to excel and one who just fills out the vacancy in perpetuity, a recruiter will be more inclined to pick the former no matter how well the latter answered their interview questions.
Spice Up Your Speech
This last section is an extra touch. Some garnish to spice up your speech. If you’re a candidate with an impressive resume and personable attitude yet still getting passed over, this could give you the edge over your competition. Express how motivated you were in your previous roles and how eager you are to improve.
Integrating a proactive spirit into how you answer interview questions will color them favorably in the notes of the recruiter, potentially putting your entry above others.
