Three Common But Tricky Interview Questions

Maggie LaMar

            The recruitment cycle is wrapping up for internships and fulltime positions. Therefore, the interview process has begun. It is extremely important to prepare well for an interview. You want to be prepared for questions so you look ready and interested, but you don’t want to seem rehearsed. Here are three common interview questions and how you should answer them naturally.

1      Tell me about yourself

This statement seems vague but it’s one of the best times to sell yourself. What you want to avoid is going on about things that may be important to your life but irrelevant to the position: your pets, relationships, favorite TV show, etc. Instead, take the time to describe your hobbies, experiences and skills that can be directly applied to the position. These experiences don’t always have to be directly career related. For example, if you’re a passionate member of Girl Scouts, you can mention that! Many organizations and clubs can be attributed to a professional setting. You can talk about how long you have been involved (commitment, loyalty), positions you have held (leadership, self-motivation) and details of what you have done that have increased your skill set.

2     What is your biggest weakness?

There are two common mistakes that I often hear people make with this question when helping them prepare for an interview. One is that they use a positive as a negative. For example, they’ll say that their biggest weakness is that they “they always volunteer to help with projects”. Another one is that they say too honest of a negative, like that they are always late to work. Instead of making this mistake, reflect on your professional self and find a constructive weakness. What I say is that I often find it hard to ask for help at work and then I explain how I have worked at this. Explaining your weakness by giving an example and supporting it by telling how you have improved is a good way to answer this question.

3      Why do you want to work here?

Researching the company well before your interview is important. This is also something you don’t want to fake because you want to enjoy where you work. Don’t just quote a timeline of facts. Instead, look at their values, mission statement and goals and apply them to what you want in a company and a career. Searching the latest news stories about them is also a good thing. If it’s been your lifelong dream to work for this company, mention that and explain why.

        Preparing for your interview is very important. Not only will you be able to answer the questions well, but it shows your sincere interest in working for the organization. This goes for jobs, internships or extracurricular organizations. No matter what, stay confident and true to yourself in all of your answers. Good luck on your interviews!