subject: Five Dirty Interview Questions You Must Ace [print this page] You might have encountered one of these five interview questions and regretted your answers. But in case youre dying to find out how to reply to them with tact, heres how:
1.Why should we hire you?
The question is so clich, yet it still probably is the toughest of them all. You cant take it by humor. You cant take it by another worn out answer. The trick in this query is that the hirer is making you feel anxious about the competition, so the solution to reply with the tact is to ditch the jitters. Face the interviewer as if you know that theyll hire you, and tell specific accomplishments. You may go as far as a brief story telling if you really must, just never answer with adjectives.
2.We see that youre currently employed. How did you find time for this interview?
And something pinches in your stomach. You know what he really meant: If you can be unfaithful to your current employer, there are pretty good chances that you will do the same with us. Definitely the nastiest of the five dirty interview questions, you may find it hard to answer the question because of its hidden accusative tone. But keep your calm. Focus on why you are considering the possibility of finding a better employer. Dont badmouth yourself or your company, and most of all, dont act like youre guilty. Simply answer the question politely, like saying that youve been waiting for openings from their company but you immediately got hired before they announced the posting.
3.Why were you fired/ laid off?
Rejection from your former employer is surely a touchy topic for you. However, get rid of emotions and never badmouth if youre being asked for details. Speak in an objective tone and say it briefly. And again, put the experience in a positive light. Say something simple like, The setup didnt work for me or My personality didnt match the company culture, then elaborate in a positive light or top it up with a positive statement like I guess there are other jobs out here that will best suit my personality and abilities.
4.What are your weaknesses?
You may find the irony here: in the first place you came for an interview to market yourself, so why should you tell your setbacks right? But there it is, you have no choice but to answer. Dont get upset. The best way to answer this dirty query is to answer it with a positive trait that looks like a negative one. Say: Well, my mother said Im very ambitious. Ive been observing for a while that Ive got too many grand ideas to improve my output. Never tell that youve got no weakness or incriminate yourself by airing that you sometimes get lazy. No, neither will give you a plus point.
5.Can you tell me why the sky is blue?
The last among the five interview questions is more common for positions that need communication skills like sales and support. If youre one smart aleck, you might try hard to explain to him about color frequency and other light theories that might prove that blue is the easiest color to reflect. However if you arent, it might be safer to invent your own reasons. The test is not actually intending to get specific answers. It is rather measuring your creativity and how lightly you can react to nerve wrecking situations. The trick: relax and act as if youre talking to your little brother or your sister.
