Gary Will's WORKSEARCH:
Selling Yourself To An Employer
Chapter 11: (continued)
Approaches to answering some common questions
From the book How to Prepare for an Employment Interview.
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This book shows you how to sell yourself in an employment interview.
[Chapter 11: continued from here
] Accept this. Don't worry about it. It's really not that important.
What is important is that you go into the interview prepared to talk as specifically as possible about what you can do for the company -- how your strengths match their requirements, what you can do that maybe they hadn't thought of, and that others may not be able to do. These are the issues to focus on.
If you've gone through the exercises above, you'll already have answers ready for many of the questions you'll probably face. Let's go through a few common questions. Please notice that I call them "common"-not "good." Several of these questions are inane and unlikely to lead the employer to any valuable information. Others are useful invitations for you to sell yourself.
What strengths would you bring to this position?
What can you contribute to this company?
Specifically, why are you the best person for this position?
What traits and skills do you think are necessary for success in this position?
These are the questions that nearly all your preparation revolves around. If you've completed the exercises above, you'll be able to answer these questions easily. The only problem you'll likely have is going on too long. You should choose 3-5 key areas from your list and go through the benefits you'd provide the organization and your supporting evidence. Try to include some strengths you'd bring that others are not likely to possess, at least to the same degree you do.
More than anything else, this is what you've come to say. Even if you're not asked these questions, you'll want to ...[Continued here]
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