by Terry Wynne…Excerpted from her Master Interview Coaching Program
The key to being able to effectively answering interview questions is identifying the most commonly asked interview questions, preparing your answers, and practicing your answers out loud. However, even if you conceptually know how to answer interview questions, how do you know if your answers are professional enough to receive the job offer? As a job candidate, you need to know what the interviewer wants to hear in an answer and you need to be able to say it concisely. Here are the steps to follow to ensure your answers are truly effective:
The best way to identify if your answer is concise and on target is to read examples of effective answers to each question.
Next write your own answer and examine each sentence in your answer. For example, in answering the question, “Tell me about yourself,” instead of stating your entire life story, make yourself a formula for what you want to say in each sentence of your response.
Practice your formula like a script that you can say effortlessly. Ensure you don’t say so much that you ramble, but say enough to impress the interviewer with your answer.
So to prepare for interviews, identify the interview questions to expect, read examples of compelling answers, identify a formula for answering each question, make a script of what you need to say, practice your answers out loud, and ask for feedback. Sound like a lot? Practice with a friend or your career coach.
HallieCrawford.com offers interviewing skills coaching by providing a comprehensive handout showing commonly-asked interview questions, formulas for how to answer the questions, examples, descriptions, rationales, and scripts. Then through role-playing, the coach asks you interview questions and provides you with feedback about your answers and suggests ways to improve. From the feedback, you know whether or not your answers are professional and you can adjust your answers as needed. You need to prepare for interviews, but instead of struggling alone, ask for help.
Contact us for your career coaching needs and to learn how to answer interview questions in such a way that because of your answers to interview questions, you’re the one who receives the job offer!
We hope this is helpful to you! Terry L. Wynne, Ed.S., LPC, BCC, Career Coach at HallieCrawford.com. Want more Job Search Tips? Watch these helpful videos Hallie has created by clicking here.
