As recruiters, we’re always rooting for candidates we get to interview for our client’s roles. However, as the interviewee, you have a critical role to play in showcasing why you should be considered for the position you’re being assessed for. To help you avoid making mistakes that may make recruiters/hiring managers not consider you, we’re sharing with you three ways we have seen candidates fail when answering interview questions in hopes that you’ll avoid making similar mistakes.
1. Not being direct – Simply put, this refers to the inability to be concise. Sometimes, candidates use a long-winded approach when answering questions in interviews. While providing context is important, it’s always good to ask yourself if the context being provided is relevant to that particular question(s). And if it is, how can you pick the most important parts of it to make sure you’re tying it to the position you’re being interviewed for? For example, when asked; tell us about a time you solved a conflict at work, the context relevant would be about what caused the conflict to begin with, why you had to step in to solve it, and what the outcomes were. As always, we encourage you to adhere to the STAR technique when answering questions. It’ll save you from making this blunder.
2. Rushing to answer before thinking it through – Admittedly, you won’t always be prepared to answer ALL interview questions. However, this does not mean that you cannot think through your responses during the interview. In certain instances, you can even ask to be given more time to think about a question if you’re unsure or feel like you need more time to have a concrete answer. How candidates answer questions, and how well thought their answers are, bear a lot of weight in the recruiter’s the decision-making process about whether or not they will be shortlisted, so always make sure you’re taking time to think through your responses before giving them to make your train of thought clear to the interviewer.
3. Providing vague responses – Unless you’re being interviewed for an internship position or a role that requires no past experience, interviews are meant to provide recruiters and hiring managers with information about how your past experiences have shaped you to succeed in the position you’re being interviewed for. Therefore, as a candidate, you should try and tie these experiences to said position as much as you can. For instance, saying you’re able to successfully achieve work results with minimal supervision without providing a concrete example of a similar situation in the past where this has been the case is very generic. Which is why we insist that you always prepare for interviews. It’ll help you anticipate questions and therefore, prepare accordingly.
Find much more similar content about succeeding in job hunting on our Career Happiness Center.