The type of answers I propose may sound unorthodox compared to what students would typically hear from conventional career development resources but that is exactly what will make you stand out. A common question/statement may be, “Tell me about yourself.” The reason this request causes so much anxiety is because it is so open-ended, particularly at the beginning of an interview; candidates don’t know what type of answer the interviewer is looking for – personal, academic, or professional.
The rookie mistake I have seen countless times is when candidates respond by reciting the information from their resume verbatim. At best, this is redundant if the interviewer has already reviewed your resume; even if they hadn’t, you have squandered a valuable opportunity to engage with the interviewer much more effectively. Use this opportunity to show the hiring manager who you are by explaining:
- Who inspires you
- What motivates you
- How you got interested in the field
- Why you are interested in the industry
You will make a much stronger impact by being as specific and detailed as possible with your answers to the points above.
Additional common questions candidates find challenging include, “What are your strengths?” and “What are your weaknesses?” To answer the strengths question, avoid the “Boy Scout” answers of honesty, hardworking, dedicated and even passionate – these traits are expected and common answers provided by many candidates. Instead, provide an answer which can pique your interviewer’s interest; for example, possessing intellectual curiosity, having a contrarian perspective or being an iconoclast.
You want to show that you are an independent thinker and have examples to back it up; when have you challenged conventional wisdom? Examples can come from school where you respectfully challenged a professor’s viewpoint or championed a contrarian position. Or they can come from your observations of technologies or the markets: CRISPR/Cas vs. TALENs for genetic engineering or why China’s economic rise may not continue because of demographic trends, despite many experts’ predictions to the contrary. The key is not whether you are right or wrong but rather that you can effectively support your viewpoints.
There is really little value for interviewers to ask candidates about their weaknesses but the question does come up so you have to be prepared. The “strengths as weakness” answers such as “being a perfectionist”, “work too hard”, or “expect too much from others” are disingenuous and are generally not well received by hiring managers. The answer can be as simple as not having practical experience in the industry; explain that you have the academic credentials but realize that you can only learn the business from on-the-job training. Another strategy is to explain a non-core skill that you are working to improve upon. For example, if you are a marketing major, you can say that you are taking some programming courses to improve your technical skills. If you are an engineer, you can say that you are working on overcoming your fear of public speaking or improving your presentation skills with a technical writing course.
Jerome Wong
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Hello! Cool post, amazing!!!