TOP 10 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS & ANSWERS! (How to PREPARE for an INTERVIEW!) INTERVIEW TIPS!
Summary
TLDRThis script offers a comprehensive guide for acing a job interview. It presents a confident and structured approach to answering common interview questions, such as personal introduction, reasons for wanting the job, strengths and weaknesses, long-term career goals, and professional achievements. The speaker, Richard, exemplifies how to align responses with the job description and company values, while also providing strategies for staying organized and discussing salary expectations. The video concludes with advice on asking insightful questions to the interviewers, emphasizing the importance of research and preparation in securing a job offer.
Takeaways
- 😀 The importance of giving confident, top-scoring answers during a job interview to stand out.
- 🎓 Utilizing the SEAT structure (Skills, Education, Experience, Achievements, and Type of person) to effectively answer 'tell me about yourself'.
- 🔍 The necessity of researching the company to align your answer to 'why do you want to work here' with the company's values and culture.
- 💪 Highlighting strengths that match the job description and showcasing a willingness to take on additional responsibilities.
- 🚫 Avoiding negative comments about current or past employers when explaining reasons for leaving a job.
- 🤔 Presenting weaknesses that are not critical to the job role and showing a proactive approach to improving them.
- 🔮 Providing a long-term vision in response to 'where do you see yourself in five years' to demonstrate commitment to the company.
- 🏆 Sharing a significant professional achievement that had a positive impact on a previous employer, such as increasing sales or improving service standards.
- 📝 Discussing organizational strategies, like color-coding tasks by priority, to convey strong time management and organizational skills.
- 💰 Understanding the salary range for the position and industry, and being prepared to negotiate a fair starting salary based on your value.
- ❓ Asking insightful questions at the end of the interview to show interest in the company and the role, such as inquiring about team responsibilities and additional resources for learning more about the company.
Q & A
What is the SEAT structure mentioned in the script for answering the 'Tell me about yourself' question?
-The SEAT structure stands for Skills, Education and Experience, Achievements, and Type of person you are. It's a method to organize one's introduction in a job interview, ensuring a comprehensive and structured response.
Why is it important to show enthusiasm for the company during an interview?
-Showing enthusiasm demonstrates that the candidate has researched the company and is genuinely interested in the role and its alignment with their career goals, which can be a key factor in the hiring decision.
How does the script suggest handling the question about weaknesses during an interview?
-The script advises choosing a weakness that won't harm the candidate's chances, such as public speaking or impatience, and explaining how they are actively working on improving it.
What is the recommended approach to answering the question about salary expectations?
-The script suggests researching the salary range for the job and industry beforehand and providing a specific figure that reflects the candidate's worth while also showing flexibility for negotiation.
Why should a candidate ask questions at the end of an interview?
-Asking questions shows the candidate's interest in the company and the role, and it can also provide valuable information to help the candidate prepare for potential future interactions with the company.
What does the script imply about the importance of aligning one's professional achievements with the company's needs?
-The script implies that sharing professional achievements that have a positive impact, such as increasing sales or improving service standards, can demonstrate the candidate's potential value to the company.
How does the script define a 'forward-thinking company' in the context of a job interview?
-A 'forward-thinking company' is defined by the script as one that maintains high standards, innovates, and is open to new ideas, which aligns with the candidate's desire for professional growth and contribution.
What is the significance of mentioning the company's positive customer reviews during the interview?
-Mentioning positive customer reviews indicates that the candidate has done their homework about the company and recognizes the company's commitment to quality, which can be appealing to the hiring manager.
How should a candidate respond when asked about their future plans in the company?
-The candidate should express a desire for long-term growth within the company, mentioning the possibility of taking on additional responsibilities or earning a promotion, and show eagerness to contribute to the company's success.
What is the purpose of the script's emphasis on not being negative about a candidate's current or previous employer?
-The emphasis is to highlight the importance of professionalism and respect during the interview process. Speaking negatively about past employers can reflect poorly on the candidate and potentially disqualify them from the position.
Outlines
😀 Introduction and Self-Presentation
The speaker begins by emphasizing the importance of delivering confident and top-scoring answers in a job interview. They introduce themselves as Richard, highlighting their positive attributes such as being dynamic, enthusiastic, and a forward-thinking collaborator. Richard mentions his academic achievements and professional experiences, including teamwork, customer service, and leadership in challenging situations. He also discusses his desire to work for the company due to its high standards and customer reviews, aligning his values with the company's and expressing his eagerness to contribute to its success.
💼 Professional Strengths and Weaknesses
Richard outlines his strengths, focusing on his responsiveness, adaptability, and leadership during challenging problems. He provides an example of how his responsiveness can benefit the company by increasing productivity. When discussing weaknesses, he mentions public speaking and impatience, explaining how he is actively working to improve these areas. He also expresses a willingness to take on opportunities to enhance his public speaking skills within the company.
🔍 Long-Term Career Vision and Reason for Job Change
The speaker shares his vision for the next five years, aiming to build a long-term career with the company, taking on additional responsibilities or earning a promotion. He envisions gaining experience across different departments and contributing to the training of new team members. Richard explains his reason for leaving his current job is that he has reached his full potential there and is ready for new challenges where he can utilize his skills alongside ambitious and talented colleagues.
🏆 Greatest Professional Achievement and Organizational Skills
Richard describes his greatest professional achievement as implementing a customer service feedback system that led to a 15% increase in sales and improved service standards. He also details his organizational approach, which involves creating a prioritized task list, color-coding based on urgency, and focusing on task completion without distractions.
💼 Salary Expectations and Interview Questions
The speaker discusses his salary expectations, suggesting a figure based on industry research and expressing willingness to prove his worth through performance. He also provides a strategy for asking insightful questions at the end of the interview, such as inquiring about the company culture, team responsibilities, and additional resources for learning more about the company. The paragraph concludes with a call to action for viewers to download a guide with top-scoring interview answers and to engage with the speaker on social platforms.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Interview
💡Confidence
💡SEAT Structure
💡Research
💡Company Values
💡Strengths
💡Weaknesses
💡Professional Achievement
💡Organization
💡Salary Expectations
💡Questions for the Interviewer
Highlights
The importance of giving top-scoring, confident answers in a job interview.
Introduction of a real job interview scenario with Richard as the candidate.
Richard's self-introduction emphasizing his dynamic, enthusiastic, and collaborative nature.
Mention of Richard's educational background and its relevance to the job role.
Richard's experience in team collaboration and problem-solving leadership.
His approach to taking ownership of professional development and being a useful team asset.
Richard's reasoning for wanting to work at the company, citing research and alignment of values.
Describing strengths such as responsiveness, adaptability, and leadership in challenges.
Admitting weaknesses in public speaking and impatience, with a plan for improvement.
Richard's five-year career plan with the company, including additional responsibilities or promotions.
His reason for leaving the current job, focusing on reaching full potential and seeking new challenges.
Richard's greatest professional achievement in improving customer service and increasing sales.
His method for staying organized through task listing, prioritization, and time management.
Salary expectations discussion, with a researched range and a proposed starting salary.
Richard's strategic questions to the interviewers to show interest and initiative.
Introduction of the SEAT structure for answering 'Tell me about yourself' in interviews.
Advice on aligning strengths with the job description for effective self-promotion.
Guidance on choosing无害的弱点 to discuss in an interview setting.
The significance of demonstrating long-term commitment to the company in interview responses.
Richard's approach to answering the question about leaving his current job without negativity.
Recommendation to share professional achievements that benefited previous employers.
Emphasizing the importance of good organizational skills in the workplace.
The necessity of researching salary expectations before an interview.
Importance of asking insightful questions at the end of an interview to show engagement.
Offering additional resources such as slides and a PDF guide for top-scoring interview answers.
Encouragement to subscribe for more content and to connect on LinkedIn for professional networking.
Transcripts
If you want to pass your job interview, you are going to have to give top-scoring,
confident answers to the most-asked interview questions. Here I am in a real job interview
about to give exactly that; top-scoring answers delivered with confidence. Here we go. Welcome
to the interview. Please tell me about yourself. Well, first of all, thank you very much for giving
me this opportunity. I'm very excited about the possibility of working for your company. My name
is Richard and I am a dynamic, enthusiastic, positive, forward-thinking and effective
collaborator who has the skills and qualities to meet the role’s demands. I graduated from
college with really good grades in subjects that will be perfect for this job role and industry.
I have experience working on small and large teams, delivering outstanding customer service,
delivering on time sensitive projects and also taking the lead during challenging problems. I am
a high achiever with a track record of success. For example, in my last job, I received praise
from my manager for my flexibility with my job description and how I brought creative ideas to
the team. If you hire me, I will be a positive role model for the company and take ownership of
my professional development to ensure I am always a useful asset to the team, and I look forward to
sharing additional details in the interview regarding my suitability for this position.
Tell me, why do you want to work here? I want to work here because my research tells me you are a
forward thinking company that does everything to a very high standard. I read some of your online
customer reviews, and your customers are very complimentary about the standard of products
you create, and also the service you deliver. This tells me I will get to collaborate alongside other
ambitious and talented people who want to do great things in their work. I also want to work here
because your company values align with mine. You clearly have a positive workplace culture where
I will get lots of opportunity to put forward great ideas that will help the company thrive,
and that will give me lots of job satisfaction. What are your strengths? I have lots of strengths
that I believe are a great match for the job description and person specification. One of my
greatest strengths is being responsive. Give me a task to complete and it will be done on time to a
very high standard. My responsiveness also means I tend to get more work done than the average
employee, which will give you a great return on my salary. Another strength of mine is adaptability.
I will willingly carry out tasks and duties that are outside of my job description. And finally,
perhaps my greatest strength is taking the lead during challenging problems. What are your
weaknesses? My weaknesses are public speaking and impatience. I sometimes get slightly frustrated
when stakeholders and contractors take a long time to complete their work. I get impatient because I
want to get my work completed as fast as possible. However, I am learning to motivate and influence
other people to speed up their pace of work. My second weakness, which is of public speaking,
is because I don't yet have much experience of giving talks or presentations to groups of people.
However, I do want to develop this weakness, so if there are any opportunities in this role
for me to give talks or presentations to my team, then I would love to give it a try. Tell me,
where do you see yourself in five years? I plan to build a long term career with your organization.
Therefore, in five years’ time, I would like to be either still in this role with additional
responsibility or having earned a promotion. In five years’ time, I would have experience across
different company departments, have completed lots of training courses to diversify my skills,
and also be someone the company could use to help train new team members whenever
they join the organization. Richard, why are you leaving your current job? I am leaving my
current job simply because I have reached my full potential. My employer has been great to
work for and we have achieved lots of positive things while I have been in the role. However,
I am now ready for the next chapter of my career where my skills, knowledge and experience can be
put to good use while I work alongside ambitious and talented people with different skillsets. I
am hoping the next chapter of my career will be in this role for your company. What is your
greatest professional achievement? My greatest professional achievement was in my last position.
I wanted to find ways to improve customer service standards, and I noticed that the company had no
way of gathering feedback from customers. Therefore, I recommended to my manager that
we should implement a customer service feedback form on our website. The form was sent to all
customers after every purchase. The customers completed the survey, and the information that
we received from customers enabled us to not only improve service standards, but it also
gave us lots of great ideas on the types of products and services our customers wanted.
The feedback form increased customer service standards and it also helped increase sales by
15%. How do you stay organized? I stay organized in my work by first creating a list of the tasks
and duties I am responsible for. I then color code that list in order of priority against my team's
objectives. Red tasks are urgent and require immediate attention. Blue tasks come second, and
green tasks can be left for when I have more time available in the working day. I also then assess
how long each task will take to complete, and then block out all distractions before setting to work.
What are your salary expectations? I researched the salary range for this job and industry before
coming to the interview. The salary range is between $55,000 and $68,000. Now, while
I believe I am worth $68,000 based on my knowledge and experience, I respect and appreciate that you
don't know me and I have a duty to prove to you my worth. Therefore, I would be comfortable with
a salary of $66,000 and the opportunity to have my salary reviewed annually based on my contribution
to the team. For $66,000, I will ensure you see a great return. That's the end of your interview.
Do you have any questions for us? Thank you. Yes, I have just three questions I would like to ask,
please. The first question is, what's the best thing about working for this company? My second
question is, can you tell me more about the team I would be a part of in this role
and their responsibilities. And finally, my third question is, is there any information that I can
read to learn more about the company while I wait to hear the result of my interview? Okay, so in
this next section of the video, I am going to give you those exact answers I just gave in that live
interview to write down. Here they are. Okay, so in this next section of the video, I am going to
give you those exact answers I just gave in that live interview to write down. Here they are. Okay,
so the first question I had to answer in my job interview was, tell me about yourself. A brilliant
structure you can use when responding to this first question. It's called my SEAT structure.
S.E.A.T. So, you talk about the SKILL you can bring to the company. You then mention your
EDUCATION background and any EXPERIENCE you can bring to the role. You then briefly talk about
any ACHIEVEMENTS you have gained in life so far. And then, finish your answer by telling them the
TYPE of person you are and what you will do in the role if they hire you. And you can easily remember
my S.E.A.T structure for tell me about yourself, because you will be sitting down on a SEAT at your
interview. So, here is that brilliant top-scoring answer I gave in my job interview. Tell me about
yourself. First of all, thank you very much for giving me this opportunity. I am very excited
about the possibility of working for your company. My name is (Insert Your Name) and I am a dynamic,
enthusiastic, positive, forward-thinking and effective collaborator who has the skills and
qualities to meet the role’s demands. I graduated from college with good grades in subjects that
will be perfect for this job role and industry. I have experience working on small and large teams,
delivering outstanding customer service, delivering on time sensitive projects and taking
the lead during challenging problems. I am a high achiever with a track record of success. For
example, in my last job. I received praise from my manager for my flexibility with my job description
and how I brought creative ideas to the team. If you hire me, I will be a positive role model for
the company and take ownership of my professional development to ensure I am always a useful asset
to the team. And I look forward to sharing additional details in the interview regarding
my suitability for this position. So that is a really strong answer. Take note of it and practice
it before your interview. And don't forget you can use the SEAT structure when answering tell
me about yourself. And SEAT stands for Skills, Education and Experience, Achievements and
the Type of person you are. The second interview question I had to answer in my job interview was,
why do you want to work here? It is imperative you tell the hiring manager you have RESEARCHED the
company, and then talk about the positive things you have learned. Here is that brilliant answer
I gave. Why do you want to work here? I want to work here because my research tells me you are a
forward-thinking company that does everything to a very high standard. I read some of your online
customer reviews, and your customers are very complimentary about the standard of products you
create and the service you deliver. This tells me I will get to collaborate alongside other
ambitious and talented people who want to do great things in their work. I also want to work here
because your company values align with mine. You clearly have a positive workplace culture where I
will get lots of opportunity to put forward great ideas that will help the company thrive, and that
will give me lots of job satisfaction. That's a great answer. You can see how all these responses
are going to impress the hiring manager at your job interview. Here is the next question I had to
answer. What are your strengths? Now the best way, the most effective way to answer this difficult
but common interview question is to align your strengths with those featured on the job
description. Here is the exact answer I gave in my interview. What are your strengths? I have lots of
strengths that I believe are a great match for the job description and person specification. One of
my greatest strengths is being responsive. Give me a task to complete and it will be done on time to
a very high standard. My responsiveness also means I tend to get more work done than the average
employee, which will give you a great return on my salary. Another strength is adaptability. I
will willingly carry out tasks and duties that are outside of my job description. And finally,
perhaps my greatest strength is taking the lead during challenging problems. That's a brilliant
answer. Now, the next question they will likely ask you is, what are your weaknesses? Do not give
any weaknesses that are in the job description. So for example, if the job description says that
you have to be a good communicator, don't say one of your weaknesses is you are not yet very good
at communicating with people. Choose a weakness that will do you no harm. Good weaknesses for
job interviews include public speaking, being impatient, and also delegating. But here is the
exact answer I gave in my interview. What are your weaknesses? My weaknesses are public speaking and
impatience. I sometimes get slightly frustrated when stakeholders and contractors take a long time
to complete their work. I get impatient because I want to get my work completed as fast as possible.
However, I am learning to motivate and influence other people to speed up their pace of work.
My second weakness, which is public speaking, is because I don't yet have much experience of giving
talks or presentations to groups of people. However, I do want to develop this weakness,
so if there are any opportunities in this role for me to give talks or presentations to my team,
then I would love to give it a try. That is the perfect response. Here is the next question I had
to answer in my job interview. Where do you see yourself in five years? Remember this:
it takes a lot of time, energy, effort, and resources to hire someone in a job role.
Therefore, the hiring manager wants someone to stay committed to their company for a long time,
so they see a return on their investment. Here is exactly how I answered this difficult but common
interview question. Where do you see yourself in five years? I plan to build a long term career
with your organization. Therefore, in five years’ time, I would like to be either still
in this role with additional responsibility or having earned a promotion. In five years’ time,
I would have experience across different company departments, have completed lots
of training courses to diversify my skills and be someone the company could use to help train new
team members whenever they join the organization. Another great answer. You can see how all of these
responses will help you pass your interview. Here is the next question that needs a careful answer.
Why are you leaving your current job? Do not be negative in any way about your current employer,
coworkers, or boss. If you are negative, you won't get a job offer. Here is the exact answer
I gave. Why are you leaving your current job? I am leaving my current job simply because I have
reached my full potential. My employer has been great to work for and we have achieved
lots of positive things while I have been in the role. However, I am now ready for the next
chapter of my career where my skills, knowledge and experience can be put to good use while I
work alongside ambitious and talented people with different skills. I am hoping the next chapter of
my career will be in this role for your company. Perfect answer. Here is the next question. What
is your greatest professional achievement? Now, I recommend you give an achievement that either
helped your current or previous employer increase sales, improve service standards, or save money.
Here is the exact answer I gave. What is your greatest professional achievement? My greatest
achievement was in my last position. I wanted to find ways to improve customer service standards,
and I noticed that the company had no way of gathering feedback from customers. Therefore, I
recommended to my manager that we should implement a customer service feedback form on our website.
The form was sent to all customers after every purchase. The customers completed the survey,
and the information that we received enabled us to not only improve service standards, but it
also gave us lots of great ideas on the types of products and services our customers wanted. The
feedback form increased customer service standards and it also helped increase sales by 15%. That's a
great achievement. Here is the next question. How do you stay organized in your work? Here is the
exact answer I gave. I stay organized in my work by first creating a list of the tasks and duties
I am responsible for. I then color code that list in order of priority against my team's objectives.
Red tasks are urgent and require immediate attention. Blue tasks come second, and green tasks
can be left when I have more time available in the working day. I then assess how long each task will
take to complete and block out all distractions before setting to work. So, that shows that you
have good time management and organizational skills. It's a really good answer. Here is the
next question. What are your salary expectations? Make sure you research the salary range for your
job, role and industry before you attend the interview. You can research the salary range
on the website GlassDoor.com. Here is the exact answer I gave in my interview. And all you have
to do is research the range and change the figures I am about to give in my answer. What are your
salary expectations? I researched the salary range for this job and industry before coming to the
interview. The salary ranges between 55,000 and $68,000. While I believe I am worth $68,000 based
on my knowledge and experience. I respect and appreciate that you don't know me and I have a
duty to prove to you my worth. Therefore, I would be comfortable with a salary of $66,000 and the
opportunity to have my salary reviewed annually based on my contribution to the team. For $66,000,
I will ensure you see a great return. So that's a really good answer. All you have to do is change
the figures. Here is the next question. Do you have any questions for us? Lots of people say,
no, I don't have any questions, you covered everything in the interview, but that is a big
mistake. Ask 3 smart questions that show you want to do great things in the role for their company.
Here's the questions I asked in my interview. Do you have any questions for us? Thank you. Yes,
I have just three questions I would like to ask, please. The first question is what's the
best thing about working for this company? My second question is, can you tell me more about
the team I would be a part of in this role and their responsibilities. And finally, my third
question is, is there any information that I can read to learn more about the company while I wait
to hear the result of my interview? So those are three really great questions to ask. Now, the next
thing to do if you want to download the slides plus an additional 50 quick top-scoring, easy to
remember answers to difficult interview questions in a PDF guide, click that link right now in the
top right-hand corner of the video. Head straight through to my website, Passmyinterview.com,
and you can instantly download these slides with all the answers, plus an extra 50 top-scoring
quick answers to difficult but common interview questions. Make sure you check out that link.
Also, don't forget to hit the subscribe button. Thousands of you are passing your job interviews
on the first attempt. I can only help you if you are subscribed. Please do HIT THE LIKE BUTTON
because that motivates me to create more great content for you. And don't forget to connect
with me on LinkedIn. I have put my LinkedIn link in the description below the video. It
is always an honour and a pleasure to connect with like-minded professionals such as yourself. Thank
you for watching and I wish you all the best for passing your job interview. Have a wonderful day!
Browse More Related Video
Best strategies to answer 10 Top Questions asked in Interviews
TOP 16 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS & ANSWERS! (How to ANSWER COMMON INTERVIEW QUESTIONS!)
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS & ANSWERS! How to PASS a JOB INTERVIEW! (LIVE MOCK INTERVIEW!)
TOP 21 QUICK ANSWERS TO JOB INTERVIEW QUESTIONS!
Top 10 Answers to Interview Questions
17 ‘BRILLIANT ANSWERS’ to the MOST ASKED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS!
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)