Knock 'em Dead.
This has been a dormant thread but worth the read. Warning, slight thread drift coming.
Years ago I came across an author by the name of Martin John Yate. He has a series of interview/interviewing books entitled Knock ‘em Dead, and the companion Hiring the Best; A Manager’s Guide to Effective Interviewing. His work is the best resource on the subject of interview preparation, tough question anticipation and interviewing techniques I have come across.
Mr. Yate’s business background was in high profile corporate recruitment, and he does an excellent job of explaining the rationale behind styles of questioning. Then he gives an analysis of answers. It’s been a long time since I read his works but I remember having spent much time with set of note cards with difficult questions on one side, and my prepared answers on the other side in groundwork for a competitive and demanding interview (I was successful and it led to my first turbojet job as a FO with a Fortune 500 Company’s flight department).
It’s important to understand what is significant to the interviewer and to be able to highlight her/his interests in your response to their questions. You need to be comfortable with your preparation to sound relaxed and normal rather than repeating a memorized answer.
What is a difficult interview question? How about this one; “Tell me, what are your weaknesses?” or some variation of that question.
The question is difficult because the candidates want to present themselves in a positive light and highlight their accomplishments. “I don’t have any weaknesses” is a terrible response as is “I have trouble figuring out the entry to a holding pattern”……or whatever. Prior to reading Martin’s material I would have tried to answer the question with some weakness without giving the interview a reason to show me the door like "cursing at referees and monday mornings". As I remember his suggestion was to take that question in another direction. He would recommend something along the lines of: “I like working within a group setting, but sometimes I find myself being troubled when I believe that others are not putting their best effort into the process. In those circumstances I try to remind myself to be positive and look for ways to encourage others in their effort, while I continue to put forth my best effort so that the team may have the highest probability of success”.
A closing thought from personal experience; if at all possible try to get some experience on the other end of the interviewing table, as an interviewer or observer, before you sit down for your own “big interview”. It’s amazing what you will see, both the good and the bad. That observation/conducting experience will help you judge and improve your own performance.
Good luck!
Last edited by Northbeach; 31st Jan 2010 at 05:58.