Great Answers to Tough Job Interview Questions

Would you say you’re a glass-half-empty person or a glass-half-full?

For most interviewers a positive mental attitude is almost an obsession. Find a way of displaying yours, and talk about the difference it can make.

It’s true that the attitude with which we approach events does have an impact on how things turn out.

If we wish to perform at our best and to help others do the same we need to start from the attitude that everyone is equipped with the ability to succeed. Now, how do you get that into the answer to an interview question?

WE CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN

What’s behind this question is a rather negative probe. The supplementary questions are likely to be in the area of how you handle setbacks and how you behave when things are not going as well as they might. So start with a huge smile and an assurance that you are naturally a very positive person. Then use an example of someone you have known who passes that attitude on to others. Try to give examples of what they did, to show that the attitude comes out in real activities as opposed to anything that’s airy-fairy.

‘At heart I’m definitely an optimist. I’ve worked with both types of people. I’ve worked with a team leader who was a terrible pessimist and moaner. He was always criticising the company and the people in it. I had to keep reminding myself that nothing was as bad as he was making out; but some people in the team got infected with the glass-half-empty bug, and didn’t enjoy their work. I know our performance suffered as a result. I’ve also worked with a woman who was the opposite. She refused to use the word “problem”, and put messages on the board saying, for example, that “I can’t” or “we can’t” were both banned phrases. We all expected to succeed in her environment and we did.’

This is an area where an analogy with sport can be useful: ‘It’s interesting when you consider sport. There’s an obvious phenomenon that champion sides win even when they’re not playing very well. I think it’s something to do with the fact that they’re simply expecting to win. The “positive mental attitude” that sports coaches talk about does have an effect.’

AND WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH?

A person who expects everything to go right at work is not an incurable optimist so much as a fool. They’ll probe for your response to adversity. ‘How do you handle rejection?’ This is particularly asked of customer-facing people in a competitive industry. If they can’t handle losing a few then they should be in another profession: ‘I think that being rejected from time to time is part of the process of being a salesperson. After all, if every customer said ‘yes’ the company wouldn’t need a sales force in the first place. I try to take responsibility for a loss without taking it as a personal rejection. That way I can move on knowing that I’m one campaign closer to my next sale.’

Another way to probe for negativity is, ‘Why do you want to leave your job?’ It’s quite possible to answer this one positively, even though you are leaving because of the lack of something. Just show how there is nothing anyone can do about your reason for leaving: ‘It’s a small business. I’ve learnt what I can from it and there is no advancement possible.’ Or: ‘The job was interesting when I started, and I’ve enjoyed doing it and being successful; but I think the time has come to tackle something more challenging.’

For more information visit: http://www.infideas.com/self-development/interviews/