Written by Joseph Holevinski, Converge multimedia journalism intern and Senior at Gwinnett School of Math, Science & Technology (GSMST)
If you are reading this, you’ve probably been in an interview, because statistically speaking, it’s almost impossible to have not ever been in an interview in your life. Whether it was for college applications, becoming an intern or getting a job, interviews are an essential step to enter the workplace.
Not all interviews are created equally; some vary in formality, length and the content covered. However, there are certain questions that are in almost every interview. In this article, I’m going to show you how to answer some of the toughest interview questions masterfully.
One of the first and arguably most difficult questions interviewers ask is “Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?” Many find this question so difficult because of its open-endedness. The problem is that there is no clear direction to go so you either end up rambling about yourself or you don’t say enough to actually get a clear understanding of who you are.
What you should do is start out by outlining what you are going to say about yourself by saying something like “three main things you should know about me are…” and continue on from there. This lets the interviewer be able to listen and not worry about you stopping abruptly because they know to expect you to talk about three things.
Another thing that interviewers may ask you is to say a fun fact about yourself. This can be really difficult to think of on the spot, especially if you aren’t prepared for it. I like to have two or three mentally prepared ones that I use repeatedly whenever I get asked that question so that I don’t have to spend a lot of time thinking about it and dragging out the question.
When thinking of a fun fact, think of something unusual or interesting that not many people can say the same. It doesn’t have to be profound or glamorous. Most of the time it is more interesting to have something funny or lighthearted or even better, something that gets them to want to ask more questions.
For example, the one I use most often when asked to give a fun fact about myself is that I was bitten by a flamingo. It’s just interesting and unusual enough to give you more questions. And for how that happened, all I can say is it’s a long story.
Most other interview questions are about prior skills and workplace experience. For those, it is best to just say how your experiences were but focus more on the positives and what you enjoyed from your prior workplaces. With these tips in mind, all your future interviews should go smoothly. Go get that job!
