End of Interview Questions

 Over the last three weeks, I covered a series of interview questions.

The cream of it is:

Asking Great Questions at the end of an Interview

👍🏻 Remember
Always research and check that the question is relevant to the role that you applied for. Prepare suitable questions for each specific interview.

📌 Tip
Never say that you don’t have questions. The interviewers will think that you aren’t interested in the job. Also, avoid asking questions about pay/benefits.

👉🏻 Most common questions to ask:
✅ What would I be doing on a day-to-day basis?
✅ What kind of training would I get initially?
✅ How will my performance be measured?

👉🏻 Finding out why the employer is recruiting:
✅ Why has this vacancy arisen?
✅ How do you see this role developing?

👉🏻 Asking about learning and development:
✅ What is your policy on staff development?
✅ Are there opportunities to change roles in future?
✅ Does a formal appraisal system exist here?

👉🏻 Turning your questions into exciting discussions; ask open-ended questions:
✅ That’s interesting. How did that come about?
✅ May I ask more about that?
✅ So what does that mean for the organisation?

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Competency Based Questions: Personal Effectiveness

 DAY 14: PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS 🧍🏻‍♀️🧍🏻🧍🏻‍♂️👩🏻‍🤝‍👨🏽

🤔 Here the employer is keen on finding out your ability in how you motivate and develop yourself. How you face setbacks or what do you do when you spot a weakness. These questions are mostly related to personal development.

👍🏻 Remember
Always talk in the first person. This is about YOU!

📌 Tip
Emphasis should be put on your personal enthusiasm for your professional development.


✅ Tell me about a time that you failed to achieve your goals
✅ How did you respond to the last piece of criticism you received?
✅ Give me an example of how you have developed yourself

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Competency Based Questions: People and Customer Skills

 DAY 13: PEOPLE AND CUSTOMER SKILLS 👩🏻‍🤝‍👨🏽👩🏻‍🤝‍👨🏽

👍🏻 You need to demonstrate your skills in how you handle other people. You need to show the employers that handling situations like influencing, persuading, and dealing with difficult colleagues and customers is not a problem for you.

👉🏻 Remember
Make sure to portray yourself on how you managed to work effectively with a difficult colleague or customer.

📌 Tip
When you are relaying your situation, make sure to include or mention the different communication methods you used - face to face meetings, emails, faxes, letters, telephone conversations, etc.


✅ Tell me about a time that you persuaded someone to change their mind.
(Explain your situation. An initial disagreement with your viewpoint. What did you do or say to make the other person understand your viewpoint)

✅ Have you ever had to give someone negative feedback at work?
(Remember it is good to praise publicly and criticize privately. Explain that you gave your colleague some advice on a one to one basis.)

✅ Give me an example of a time you exceeded a customer’s expectations
(Explain your initiative to do something out of the ordinary. Mention if you received a letter of thanks from the customer, praise from your manager or even repeat business)

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Competency Based Questions: Leading and Managing Skills

 DAY 12: LEADING AND MANAGING SKILLS 🤴🏻 👸🏻

🤔 If you have applied for a supervisory or a management role. You are likely to get asked questions on managing others.

👉🏻 Remember
Don't talk about a situation where you implemented Command and Control, that will certainly not help you.

📌 Tip
Talk about a time when you motivated and supported your team members. This will definitely portray an empowering image.

✅ Tell me about a time you inspired a team
(Think of an occasion you motivated or encouraged someone; or offered support when bad news like restructuring or redundancies, was received)

✅ Talk me through how you coached or developed a team member
(Share an example of how you took time to understand a team member’s weaknesses and what you did together to tackle those weaknesses)

✅ Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult team member
(Talk about dealing with a difficult member and how you turned them into a productive member - perhaps through training or coaching)

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Competency Based Questions: Thinking and Planning Skills

 DAY 11: THINKING AND PLANNING SKILLS 🤔

👊🏻 Competencies are usually broken down into different categories. Interviewers are on the lookout for employees who have decision making, planning and organizing skills.

👉🏻 Remember
Use the STAR technique. Have a personal (work-related) example ready. Explain if there were any lessons learned.

📌 Tip
Take a few moments to think of a specific example. If you haven’t prepared an example, just request the interviewer for a few moments. Don’t panic.

✅ Tell me about a significant project you managed
(Talk about the project; what was the project; why was the project given to you; what actions did you take to make the project a success)

✅ Give me an example of a difficult decision that you made
(Talk about a difficult decision; why was it difficult; was it tough; was it right; was the decision tricky; what were the consequences)

✅ Tell me about a mistake you made and how did you rectify it
(Pick a work-related mistake; describe the actions you took; how did you resolve it. Don’t fall into the trap of saying you never made a mistake)

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Competency-Based Questions

 DAY 10: COMPETENCY-BASED QUESTIONS

⚒️ Competency-based questioning is just a technique used by interviewers to understand if you have the relevant skills required for the job, based on your previous experiences. They just want to understand how you describe these skills and how you behaved in those situations.

👉🏻 Remember
The S.T.A.R (Situation, Task, Action, Result) technique works every time. Explain a situation, the task you were faced with, the actions you took, and the result that you achieved. Talk about a single incident and relate it with specific details - names of people involved, approximate dates or even locations. Talk about what you did as a person, not as a team.

📌 Tip
Do not exaggerate. Do not lie. The interviewers will ask you a lot of questions to check if you are telling the truth. So stay calm and answer honestly, as you are bound to “make a boo-boo” if you are caught lying.

✅ Give me an example of a time when you. . .
✅ Tell me about an occasion when you. . .
✅ Talk me through a situation that you have been in when. . .
✅ Can you tell me about an instance in which you. . .

If you hear questions like these, the interviewer will want a specific example that you have experienced.

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Interview Series: Why Have You Been Out Of Work?

 DAY 09: WHY HAVE YOU BEEN OUT OF WORK FOR SO LONG? 🤔

👉🏻 Given the job market situations in recent months and the unstable economy, employers and interviewers are aware of this, but what they need to know is how well have you been utilizing your time.

✅ Remember
You must be able to relate your answer in a processed manner. Start by telling the interviewer what steps you have taken to find a job. Talk about rejecting offers because you are keen to find the right organization to work for where you can make a difference.

📌 Tip
Don't forget to mention that you have had other job offers too, as this increases your worthiness in the interviewer's eyes.

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