By focusing on your career goals, constantly up-skilling yourself, creating a great CV and honing your interview skills, you will be better prepared to identify and explore new career opportunities.
Daphne Pereira, Director of Career Development & Recruitment at The Options Group, offers the following advice on how to prepare for common interview questions.
1. Tell me about yourself?
Prepare a short 2-minute statement and convey information that’s relevant to the job being applied for.
2. What do you know about the company?
Research your answer thoroughly in advance by looking up the company you're interviewing at online.
3. How do you see your previous experience fitting with the position we’re recruiting for?
Describe how your experience, qualities and achievements would make you an asset to the company.
4. What are your greatest strengths?
Select four or five strengths, relevant to the position, and give examples thereof.
5. What are your weaknesses?
Discuss weaknesses that aren’t key competencies for the position and demonstrate what you are doing to address them.
6. What is your salary/package expectation?
Investigate the market rate for the position, indicate if you are negotiable and avoid asking for more without offering an explanation.
7. Why did you leave your last job?
Truthfully explain why you left the job and, if you were fired, explain what you learned from the experience and what you have done to deal with those areas of concern.
8. Why do you want to work here?
This is to determine how you envision yourself becoming an integral part of the team, growing with the company and aligning your wants with their needs.
9. Do you have any questions?
This offers an opportunity to discover more about the job and ask what a typical work day in the position might look like. However, avoid asking questions about leave, hours of work, benefits etc. as those can be asked if and when you receive an employment offer.
IMAGE CREDIT: 123rf.com