• Food
  • Family
  • Beauty & Health
  • Style
  • Great Women
  • Events/Win
  • Domestic Diva Awards 2022
  • Food
    • Eating Out
    • Cooking Tips
    • Festive Food
    • Asian Recipes
    • Food
    • Celebrity Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
    • Healthy Recipes
    • Quick & Easy Recipes
    • Western Recipes
  • Family
    • Family
    • Save Money
    • Parenting
    • Sex & Marriage
    • Travel
  • Beauty & Health
    • Beauty & Health
    • Skincare
    • Makeup
    • Hair
    • Awards
    • Diet & Nutrition
    • Fitness
    • Wellness
  • Style
  • Great Women
    • Career
    • Great Women of Our Time
    • Real Life
  • Entertainment
  • EVENTS/WIN
  • #SchoolForLife
  • Hair Awards
  • Great Escape
  • Explore Singapore
  • Also available at:
Privacy Menu
SPH Media

Copyright © 2023 SPH Media Limited. Co. Regn. No. 202120748H. All rights reserved.

  • Food
  • Family
  • Beauty & Health
  • Style
  • Great Women
  • Events/Win

Career

Tricky Job Interview Questions And How To Answer Them

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Career

Tricky Job Interview Questions And How To Answer Them

July 23, 2018

Have you ever walked out of a job interview wondering if you answered the questions correctly? Here’s how to impress.

READ MORE:
Want To Get More Done At Work? Don’t Put This On Your Work Desk
Horror Job Interview Stories You Have To Read
Work In An Office? This Is What’s Making You Gain Weight

https://www.womensweekly.com.sg/gallery/great-women/tricky-job-interview-questions-and-how-to-answer-them/
Tricky Job Interview Questions And How To Answer Them
1. Can you tell me about yourself?
image

This question can stump interviewees if they don’t know how much or little to tell. It’s best to keep your answer to a minute or two at most as this is often asked at the start of an interview as a rapport-building question.

Narelle Hess, organisational psychologist at Challenge Consulting, says you should briefly outline your career to date. “The key to remember is that this is a job interview so the information provided should be job-relevant,” Hess says. “Give a short summary of your most recent experience, key skills, and any relevant interests — be succinct and don’t tell your whole life story.”

2. What are your weaknesses?
image

Employers ask this to understand how you manage your weaknesses so they don’t impact your work performance.

Melissa Johnston, career consultant at Suzie Plush Consulting, says people who don’t prepare for this question before the interview struggle with answering it in the right way. “Turn one of your weaknesses into a positive by wording it appropriately,” Johnston says.

For example, if you say that your weakness is that you are a perfectionist, then you should be prepared to explain how you overcame it by developing your organisational skills in past roles to ensure you prioritised and met competing deadlines.

3. Where do you see yourself in five/ten years time?
image

No one expects you to know exactly what you will be doing five or ten years from now. But if you can show how the role you are applying for fits in with your general long-term career plan, it will signal to employers you are motivated and capable of personal growth.

Start off by explaining why the job will help you develop your desired skills. Research the company’s organisational structure so you can say what new responsibilities you may wish to take on in the future.

If employers can see that you want to succeed in this role as part of your long-term plan, they will be more likely to decide you will perform well in the job.

4. Can you tell me about a time when you had to make an unpopular decision?
image

This is a behavioural-based question that is designed to predict your future behaviour in the workplace, says Johnston. It is best to prepare for behavioural-based questions by coming with examples that show when you have successfully solved problems.

Look at the position description and the key competencies required for the job, as these are usually where behavioural-based questions are drawn from.

5. Have you ever not got on with a manager or colleague? Why?
image

Here employers want to know how you manage challenging situations.

To demonstrate that you can be proactive in resolving conflict, give an example of when you were faced with a challenging person at work and go through the steps you took to improve the relationship.

Text: Bauer

  • TAGS:
  • Inspire
  • interview
  • job
  • job interview
  • real life
  • work
  • working
SHARE THIS ON

What’s Hot

Career

This Woman Went From A Job In Accounting...

Career

How To Explain Your Career Gap To Employers

Career

What To Tell Your Company If You Want To...

Career

The Fastest Growing Jobs In Singapore Ac...

Career

What It Was Like To Work Remotely From B...

Career

Nurul Aini On Her 20-Year Showbiz Career...

Career

Can Your Relationship With Your Manager ...

Career

She Uses Her Corporate Skills To Power H...

Career

Should You Include Short Job Stints In Y...

Career

How This Eco-Friendly Local Brand Became...

Career

A Female Founder And A Funder Discuss Lo...

Career

How To Stay Out Of Trouble At Work When ...

Editor’s Picks
  • Parenting 5 Companies Great For Mums To Work At In Singapore
  • Fashion 5 Female Leaders On What Power Dressing Means To Them
  • Career This Woman Went From A Job In Accounting To Running Uncle Ringo
  • Real Life He Wants To Build More Empathy For Underprivileged Women
  • Career How To Explain Your Career Gap To Employers
  • Real Life Her Work Helps To Shape & Scale Programmes For Low-Income Women  
Don't Miss Out Ever Again!
Tips & tricks to stay sane + win invites to our events!

By signing up, you indicate that you have read and agreed with our Privacy Statement
Footer Menu
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Conditions of Access
  • PDPA
  • Privacy Policy
?>">
SPH Magazine

Copyright © 2023 SPH Media Limited. Co. Regn. No. 202120748H. All rights reserved.