A big part of what we do at Onward Search is to help guide you through the placement process and ensure you are in the best possible position to get your dream job.
One of the milestones in this process is acing your interview, so I asked some of Onward Search’s recruiters for their thoughts on which questions you absolutely need to know how to answer before you walk into your next interview.
Question 1: What would be the first three things that you would do once you were in this position?
The person asking this not only wants to see if you have done your research on their company, but more importantly, if you’ve already started thinking about how you can impact their business in the role you are interviewing for.
The secret to acing this question is to be specific. This is not the time to hold your cards close to your chest or talk in broad generalities. The interviewer wants to understand both your thought process around how you are going to drive results for the company as well as validate that you understand the scope of what they are asking you to accomplish.
Question 2: Tell me about a time when you failed.
It’s a simple enough question, yet so difficult to answer if you’re caught off guard. No one likes to think about the time they messed things up, but explaining how you handled a failure can speak volumes about your problem solving abilities.
Start by offering a brief explanation of what led to the failure, but be careful! Resist th urge to dodge fault or blame someone else. Pointing fingers will undermine all that work you’ve done to show what a strong leader you are. The best approach is to quickly cover what happened then shine the spotlight on what you learned and how you’ve applied the experience to challenges that followed.
Question 3: What are your salary requirements?
Just tell them what you want/deserve, right? Not so fast. Your response could shape the outcome of your interview even if you’re close to landing the job. The goal here is to justify your value before you have this conversation and provide a realistic salary range only when asked. Today’s job market doesn’t cater to inflated or overly modest price tags so knowing your numbers is crucial. If you go too low, you’re undervaluing your abilities. If you go too high, a tight budget could quickly knock you out of the running. Do the salary research, remain flexible and don’t waiver too much when it’s brought up.
Preparing for your interview is key and the advice above is just part of the support and guidance our recruiters offer. If you don’t have an interview coming up, take a look at our current Internet marketing and creative opportunities. Our recruiters will happily guide you towards the job of your dreams.
