What Do They Want to Hear?
key strategy is to first uncover your interviewer's greatest wants and needs before you answer questions from your analysis of the job advert, you can work out the key skills and characteristics that the employer is looking for. Paraphrasing a few of these back to the employer is an effective way to answer this question. When paraphrasing key skills and characteristics, make sure to change the wording slightly – simply repeating them verbatim will make you sound like a mindless parrot.
Prior to any interview, you should have a list mentally prepared of your greatest strengths. You should also have, a specific example or two, which illustrates each strength, an example chosen from your most recent and most impressive achievements. Then, once you uncover your interviewer's greatest wants and needs, you can choose those achievements from your list that best match up.As a general guideline, the 10 most desirable traits that all employers love to see in their employees are:1. A proven track record as an achiever...especially if your achievements match up with the employer's greatest wants and needs.2. Intelligence...management "savvy".3. Honesty...integrity...a decent human being.4. Good fit with corporate culture...someone to feel comfortable with...a team player who meshes well with interviewer's team.5. Likeability...positive attitude...sense of humor.6. Good communication skills.7. Dedication...willingness to walk the extra mile to achieve excellence.8. Definiteness of purpose...clear goals.9. Enthusiasm...high level of motivation.10. Confident...healthy...a leader.
A couple of examples:
[1] As an office manager with Global Gadgets, I have excellent organisation skills and really good attention to detail – I’m not the sort of person who does things by halves. I also believe that I have good communication skills in dealing with not only external customers but also all members of the internal team – from the senior managers to the junior researchers. [2] I have been told that I’m a very good manager. My team tells me that I give them a lot of freedom in how to do their work, which they really appreciate. They also say that I’m really enthusiastic, so when we’re faced with too much work, they tell me that my manner really helps to keep them motivated and calm. My boss also tells me that I’m very innovative in terms of finding new ways of working that cut out inefficiency.
Have an example up your sleeve to justify each of your alleged strengths. An interviewer can easily ask you, Why do you believe those are your strengths?
For example, the Global Gadgets manager mentioned earlier in this section may go on to reply: As just one example, our company moved offices recently. I had to co-ordinate the entire move and make sure that our server and all of the computers were set up correctly in the new office. At the same time, I dealt with all of our staff and customers to ensure that day-to-day business was not at all disrupted.
Try to sound confident without sounding over-confident or arrogant. If you’re worried about sounding over-confident, use phrases such as I’ve been told that I am . . . and I believe that I am . . . rather than just saying I am. . . .
Variations
1- If You Could Change One Thing About Your Personality Just By Snapping Your Fingers, What Would It Be and Why?
2- Tell me about the one thing in your life you’re proudest of.3- Tell me about the worst decision you ever made.4- Tell me about the one thing in your life you’re most ashamed of.
What Do They Want to Hear?An answer most interviewers would fine acceptable would reveal a weakness that you’ve already corrected or, in a slight redirection of the question, a mistake you made in a previous job and the lesson(s) you learned from it. In both cases, you would be turning a negative question into a positive response. - This is an eliminator question, designed to shorten the candidate list. Any admission of a weakness or fault will earn you an “A” for honesty, but an “F” for the interview.
That you have weaknesses (of course you do!) but none that are lethal. Conventional career advice has been to cite a weakness that you can easily show is really a strength: “You know, sir, I just work too hard. I have to take more time off than just Sunday from 5 to 7.”
PASSABLE ANSWER: Disguise a strength as a weakness.Example: “I sometimes push my people too hard. I like to work with a sense of urgency and everyone is not always on the same wavelength.”Drawback of This strategy is that it's so widely used, it is transparent to any experienced interviewer.BEST ANSWER:
“Nobody's perfect, but based on what you've told me about this position, I believe I' d make an outstanding match. I know that when I hire people, I look for two things most of all. Do they have the qualifications to do the job well, and the motivation to do it well? Everything in my background shows I have both the qualifications and a strong desire to achieve excellence in whatever I take on. So I can say in all honesty that I see nothing that would cause you even a small concern about my ability or my strongdesire to perform this job with excellence.”Alternate strategy (if you don't yet know enough about the position to talk about such a perfect fit):Instead of confessing a weakness, describe what you like most and like least, making sure that what you like most matches up with the most important qualification for success in the position, and what you like least is not essential.Example:
“If given a choice, I like to spend as much time as possible in front of my prospects selling, as opposed to shuffling paperwork back at the office. Of course, I long ago learned the importance of filing paperwork properly, and I do it conscientiously. But what I really love to do is sell"
Example (For one thing in your life that ashamed of):
“You know, I really can’t think of anything. I would add that as a general management principle, I have found that the best way to avoid regrets is to avoid causing them in the first place. I practice one habit that helps me a great deal in this regard. At the end of each day, I mentally review the day’s events and conversations to take a second look at the people and developments I’m involved with and do a double check of what they’re likely to be feeling. Sometimes I’ll see things that do need more follow-up, whether a pat on the back, or maybe a five minute chat in someone’s office to make sure we’re clear on things…whatever.”
