Want to ensure you are putting your best foot forward? Today we will go over the first 5 questions and how to answer them.
- Tell me about yourself. No, they don’t want to hear your life story from the first picture you brought home in kindergarten to your decision to go to school for graphic design. What you want to do is brag about yourself without giving them a long story. A quick rundown of your qualifications and experience starting with your degree if you have one would be a great way to answer this question. Better yet, use your elevator speech or 60-second commercial!
- Why did you leave your last job? You never want to bad-mouth a past employer. You never know if the new company is friends with someone at the old company. Instead of bad-mouthing, you want to state positively what you learned at your old company and just say that it was not a fit for you so you wanted to move on so you could expand your knowledge and creativity at this new company.
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years? This interviewer is looking for a stable answer. They want to know that you plan to stay around and are not just taking this job in the interim while you look for something better.
- What are your weaknesses? Identify areas in your work that you can improve on but figure out how to do it in a way that shows how you are an asset to a future employer. Take your weakness and tell them how you have turned it into a learned or developed strength. This one you want to think on a bit and have an answer prepared before you step foot in the interview. You don’t want to try to rush through this answer.
- Why were you laid off? Nowadays, it is sometimes hard to know why you were laid off as they may not have told you. Answer as honestly as you can and let the interviewer know if you were part of a large layoff due to economy. Ensure them that it had nothing to do with your performance but rather the financial state of the company you were at.
Next time we will discuss the last 5 important, yet tough questions that interviewers love to ask!
