Preparing for a Job Interview Part 2 | Examples
Last month’s post explained a process for preparing for a job interview. This month’s post is part two, illustrating the preparation process through examples. If you haven’t read last month’s post it would be a good idea to read it and then come back to this post.
Okay let’s jump into the examples. The first example outlines the basics of a personal narrative.
Structure of a personal narrative.
How ever you decide to structure your narrative it should reflect your personality and telling your story should be comfortable for you. This is how I might structure mine:
I have been in workforce education for nearly 30 years. The profession has held my interest for such a long time for a couple of reasons. First, best practices in workforce education change as society and the culture change and this requires me to constantly update my skills and knowledge. The second reason this field appeals to me is because I feel like I make a meaningful contribution to the organization by helping others be successful in their jobs. I am a lifelong learner and value helping others and specifically helping leaders navigate the challenges of supervision. I was a supervisor for a long time, and I know firsthand how hard it can be to be a supervisor. Most of my experience is in (list professional skills) which allows me to use (list and describe transferable skills). I have a genuine passion for (fill in the blank). I feel good about what I have accomplished as a workforce educator and in particular I am proud of these accomplishments (describe 2 -3 briefly). Moving forward what I am interested in doing is…
It is unlikely you will ever tell your story in one long answer. The purpose of a personal narrative is to help you create a congruent professional image of yourself. When you have a clear narrative, it's easier to communicate your background, skills, and experiences to others and provides confidence in how you present yourself.
With a clear narrative, you can easily field questions about your background and career choices and steer the interview in a direction that showcases your strengths and achievements.
Examples of Common Interview Questions:
Effective answers are informative yet concise. A common mistake an interviewee makes is giving a rambling answer or a too detailed answer. The listener can miss the point if it is buried in too many details. The following examples illustrate key aspects of an answer and are not intended as the “perfect” answer.
Q: Tell me about yourself
Your answer is about your professional self. A good way to answer this question is to showcase your strongest transferable and professional skills as the following example demonstrates.
There are several things I'd like to tell you about myself, but I'll start with these three. I believe I am hard working, great at organizing and an effective problem solver. What I mean by hardworking is that I come to work ready to work, I complete my tasks on time and don't like to sit around and I am always looking for more to do more. I have this built-in ability to organize things. I come into a job and make sure I am ready by organizing my space and work so during the day I can find things easily and know which things I need to do and when. And I am a good problem solver. When working with a customer complaint I listen carefully to what they are saying, ask questions to make sure I understand and then think of options that may work for them. I really try to solve problems by myself but will ask for help if I can't.
Q: What do you know about our organization?
Make sure to research the organization (or department if it is an internal interview) before you go to the interview so you can have a short statement showing that you know something about what the organization does.
"I looked at your website and what I learned (three major points would show your initiative to find out about the organization).
If the company has competitors, it is a good idea to know who they are.
Q: What are your goals?
Structure for this answer: In the short term I'd like to (fill in your answer). After that I am looking to (fill in your answer). My longer-term goals are (fill in your answer).
A behavioral question answer using the SAR format.
Q: Tell me about a time you worked with a difficult colleague.
Early in my career I had a boss that had a prickly demeanor. He didn’t interact with me unless it was regarding my work, didn’t show any interest in me as a person and the most difficult behavior was his feedback was mostly critical of my work. I liked the job, the work, and the other people so I wanted to stay in the job. The situation was hard for me, so I sought out some advice from a more experienced colleague (not at the work site). After discussing the situation with my colleague, I decided I was okay with his aloof behavior, but the criticism was tough to take. I started to ask more questions about how I could improve. As he and I talked more I got to know him better and I think he saw that I wanted to do well. He seemed to soften towards me and the criticism was less although he gave no positive feedback or compliments. I came to understand that was his style. I stayed in that job for about 18 months, and I am glad I did. I learned a lot of skills and the importance of a reasonable boss. The experience also help me look at a problem that was effecting me personally and work through it in a thoughtful calm way.