best way to deal with common Interview questions?

j2u

Hi im just wondering how some people deal with the common interview questions by which i mean:

What are your strengths ? List 3 weaknesses ?

And then there is the most stupid question any employer can ask:
Are you a hard worker?
Now i always go with "yes i am a hard worker" but that is a question that irratates me. If anybody has interviewed poeople and asked that question honestly why? Are you expecting them to say "no i dont like hard work at all"???
I know people are going rant on that their not going to a get a job for me etc but i was just particuarly wondering whats a good reply when asked about your weaknesses?

Sleepy

Tell a story that demonstrates the trait that they're looking for. E.g. Are you a hard worker? Well, I've stayed well past midnight in a former position where the workday was supposed to be finished at 5.30 after xyz disaster occured... etc.

Nody

Something which is actually a weakness (i.e. if I get to hear one more time how someone's weakness is a variation of "stubborn" and that they "will simply not give up until the work is done" I'll probably strangle the person in my head). It also have to be relevant to the position; i.e. if you say your weakness is making cakes for an IT position I'd ask you for a relevant weakness (if I'm having a good day) or write you of as someone who don't know themselves (if I'm having a bad day).

Best bet is to look at the position and think of what area you might be weak in and also how you plan to resolve that weakness (i.e. your weakness is that you've never worked with C# programming but you plan to use your Java experience to bring you up to speed for example).

Eoin

OK, well one question "where do you see yourself in 5 years time", is not always a typical bullshìt HR question. Not all career paths are the same, so it might be a genuine question to see what you would like to be doing.

As Nody recommended: for the weaknesses question, I tend to use a specific skill rather than a character trait - something that could be overcome with training or experience.

3DataModem

j2u wrote: »

Are you a hard worker?
Now i always go with "yes i am a hard worker

Not a great answer IMO. The interviewer is not looking for yes/no answer - everybody says 'yes'! They are looking for an illustration of how you have demonstrated this in the past.

Otis Driftwood

Like others said,dont refer to weaknesses as being weaknesses,call them developmental gaps.

Eg,I dont speak a second language and in todays multi cultural business environment this could be an asset.I intend learning Spanish (or whatever).

Mrs OBumble

Your greatest weakness should be carefully chosen, pre-interview, so that when they think about it they see that it will actually be an asset to this particular position.

For example, "Sometimes I pay so much attention to the detail, as so lose sight of the overall picture of what I'm doing. This means I have to check myself from time to time, to make sure I'm on the right track" --- is a great weakness to have if the jobs requires strong attention to detail, and has a manager whose job it is to be in charge of the overall process.

Similarly "Are you a hard worker". I'd say: "I think of myself as a smart worker: I can work hard when it's needed, but if possible would like to do the intelligent thing so that we do the job right the first time and avoid overtime etc. For example, when I was in XXX I noticed that YYY, so I did ZZZ and this avoided WWW hours of work".

j2u

3DataModem wrote: »

Not a great answer IMO. The interviewer is not looking for yes/no answer - everybody says 'yes'! They are looking for an illustration of how you have demonstrated this in the past.

Fair enough i will keep the in mind but would it be so difficult for the interviewer to ask " gimme an example of what makes you a hard worker?"
why is that difficult?

Nody

j2u wrote: »

Fair enough i will keep the in mind but would it be so difficult for the interviewer to ask " gimme an example of what makes you a hard worker?"
why is that difficult?

Because it is your job to sell yourself as suitable.

Tabnabs

TBF, any interviewer should ask as many open ended questions as possible to get the best from the interviewee. At least, that's what I was always taught...

But also a good job applicant should answer to the best of his/her ability regardless

axer

j2u wrote: »

What are your strengths ? List 3 weaknesses ?

Anyone that asks this question should not be allowed to interview people. It is a ridiculous question asked by amateurs and only tells the interviewer whether this person has prepared an answer for this question or not.

You have to answer with a positive for this question wrapped up in a negative. You are better off to try and get through such a question without sticking out much. Avoid the main cliches and that is enough.

j2u wrote: »

And then there is the most stupid question any employer can ask:
Are you a hard worker?
Now i always go with "yes i am a hard worker" but that is a question that irratates me. If anybody has interviewed poeople and asked that question honestly why? Are you expecting them to say "no i dont like hard work at all"???

Answer yes with an example. That is what they are looking for here.

leeroybrown

axer wrote: »

Anyone that asks this question should not be allowed to interview people. It is a ridiculous question asked by amateurs and only tells the interviewer whether this person has prepared an answer for this question or not.

While I don't particularly like the question I wouldn't quite agree with this. It's not a dreadful question so long as the interviewer is willing to pursue the line a little further and actually take a candidate to task when they roll out the usual conceited or irrelevant responses that people use. Otherwise it's is a waste of time.

Mrs OBumble

axer wrote: »

Anyone that asks this question should not be allowed to interview people. ....

Answer yes with an example. That is what they are looking for here.

I don't think it's quite that clear-cut.

It all depend on the job you're being interviewed for. If the interviewer needs to know if you can anticipate likely questions and prepare for them, then it may be a great test-case to use, and gets away from banal "give me an example of ...".

I used to work for a company that had a policy of always using behavioural interviews. On the face of it, this was a "good" interviewing approach. But after a few years there, I (and most others) had learned a "bank" of desired answers to the questions that interviewers were allowed to ask. This meant that the so-called professional approach wasn't so effective after all.

axer

leeroybrown wrote: »

While I don't particularly like the question I wouldn't quite agree with this. It's not a dreadful question so long as the interviewer is willing to pursue the line a little further and actually take a candidate to task when they roll out the usual conceited or irrelevant responses that people use. Otherwise it's is a waste of time.

Any interview I have been in the interviewer only asked it because they thought it was a question that is asked at interviews. I accept there is a big difference between a good interviewer asking such a question as part of their interview flow and someone that just shoots out the normal cliche questions but I think you will find that it is bad interviewers that ask questions such as "list 3 weaknesses".

JustMary wrote: »

I don't think it's quite that clear-cut.

It all depend on the job you're being interviewed for. If the interviewer needs to know if you can anticipate likely questions and prepare for them, then it may be a great test-case to use, and gets away from banal "give me an example of ...".

Exactly as I said, if they want to know that you can prepare questions for the interview then it is a great test but I don't see much point in needing to know that since you would get that answer from all the other questions.