Want to land your dream job? It all comes down to how you answer the questions you're asked during your interview. Just as there are identifiable phases to any job interview, there are a few easy steps to come up with the best answer to any interview question. Let's be clear here. I'm not talking about a pretty good answer, or a rather good answer.
I'm talking about the kind of amazingly, astoundingly good answer that causes interviewers to think, "Can I hire this person right this minute? No, I have to finish the interview first!"
Here's the best news: I can teach you to transform any old mundane, lackluster, half-hearted answer that you might come up with, into that amazing answer. All you have to do is use my special formula, which I'll tell you about in a moment. Very simply, there are only 2 steps in answering any interview question that you may encounter. They are:
1) Identify the type of question
2) Use my Special Formula to create an answer
2) Use my Special Formula to create an answer
Identify the Type of Question
It may seem that there are an infinite variety of questions in interviews. In reality, there are only 6 types of questions that routinely occur in interviewers. And, all 6 usually occur in each and every interview.
In fact, I would hazard a guess that if you encounter an interview without all 6 types of questions, you are dealing with a very inexperienced interviewer. That's actually to your advantage, since you are rapidly becoming VERY skilled at interviewing.
The 6 major types of questions are:
1. Personality questions
2. Strength questions
3. Weakness questions
4. Motivation questions
5. Education and Experience Questions
6. Work Habits questions
2. Strength questions
3. Weakness questions
4. Motivation questions
5. Education and Experience Questions
6. Work Habits questions
By the way, the questions are listed in this order, because that is the order in which they are most commonly asked. Work Habits questions may occur at any point during the interview, but the other types of questions occur in a fairly predictable order. In the sample questions, we'll discuss each type of question in detail. If you can effectively answer those 6 types of questions, you can ace any interview.
My Special Formula
Once you have identified the type of question; create an answer using my special formula. This formula is guaranteed to help you successfully answer any question.
Over my decades of experience as an interviewer, I gradually began to notice that the best answers had a common format. I refined that format into an easy to use, foolproof formula. By keeping this formula in mind during the interview, you can react to any question thrown at you, no matter how challenging or unusual.
Positive Attribute + Elaboration = The Best Answer
In this equation, P stands for a Positive Attribute. Be sure that your initial statement frames the answer in a positive way. For Strength and Work Habit questions, P should always equal one of the skills you identified in your preparation. For the other types of questions, simply frame the answer in a positive way, instead of a negative one.
The E stands for an Elaboration. For a skill, this is one of your short anecdotes illustrating how you handled a specific challenge at a previous job. If you're a student or recent graduate, use an example from volunteer work or your personal life.
For other answers, E equals an illustration, supporting detail or an example of what you mean. For a highly theoretical or unusual question, this may explain the "why" of your answer.
To review, here's the simple 2-step system to answer any interview question:
1. Figure out what type of question this is
2. Use my special formula to create the BEST answer!
2. Use my special formula to create the BEST answer!