{"id":32876,"date":"2020-12-03T11:07:59","date_gmt":"2020-12-03T11:07:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.joblife.co.za\/?p=32876"},"modified":"2020-12-29T15:13:40","modified_gmt":"2020-12-29T15:13:40","slug":"3-worst-interview-questions-answer-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.joblife.co.za\/blog\/3-worst-interview-questions-answer-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The 3 Worst Interview Questions and How to Answer Them"},"content":{"rendered":"

So, you\u2019ve slaved over a\u00a0well-organized CV<\/a>\u00a0and sent applications out far and wide. After weeks of holding your breath, you finally have an interview – now what?\u00a0Most interviews are not quite as bad as we think<\/a>, but every once in a while, a prospective employer will throw you a curveball\u2026 and you\u2019d better be prepared. What are the worst interview questions that can be thrown at you? Let’s go through a few and look at how to answer them.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Some of the worst, most tricky questions that can be asked during a job interview.<\/h2>\n

\u201cSo\u2026 what are your weaknesses?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

This question can feel like a trap. Here you are supposed to show yourself in a good light<\/a> and the interviewer is asking about your weaknesses. What they really want to know, however, is if you are aware of your weaknesses and what you\u2019re actively doing to fix them.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t say: \u201cOh, I\u2019m just a big old perfectionist!\u201d<\/p>\n

Say: \u201cWell, I had a tendency to take feedback a little too personally at my last position, but I\u2019ve learnt to handle it a lot better. Actually, I joined an entrepreneur\u2019s group recently to improve\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t try to evade the question by reframing a strength as a weakness – this in fact looks weak! Rather, be honest but immediately follow up with something that shows your employer you care about being better.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy did you leave your old job?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

With this question, the employer wants to find out how trustworthy and reliable you are, and get a sense for your level of ambition. Be honest, but be careful. Your employer wants to see that you make smart long term decisions, so show them you take leaving a job very seriously<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t say: \u201cI needed to do something new\u2026 and I hated working for them\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Do say: \u201cI learnt so much at that job. But honestly I wanted to find a position that was a little more challenging and a better fit for my skills\u201d<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s OK to mention practical reasons (the company folded, you had a baby) always relate this back to the bigger picture: what role did your old position play in your career in general? Whatever you do, don\u2019t badmouth past employers – even if they were awful. Politely say that the fit wasn\u2019t right and move on. No matter how much they were in the wrong, complaining about them makes you look bad.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s this big gap on your CV?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

So, you\u2019ve been unemployed for a long time and the interviewer wants to know why. This can be one of the hardest questions to answer gracefully. Primarily, your interviewer wants to be sure that you actually have enough drive and\u00a0initiative to succeed\u00a0at the position, so frame your answer carefully.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t say: \u201cThe economy\u2019s really bad!\u201d or \u201cI took time off to find myself and practice my photography\u201d<\/p>\n

Do say: \u201cI\u2019ve been steadily interviewing at different places but I want to make sure a job is really the best fit for me. In the meantime, I\u2019ve been volunteering\/learning a skill\/networking\u201d<\/p>\n

The interviewer won\u2019t mind so much that you have empty gaps in your CV as long as they actually aren\u2019t empty: show you\u2019ve actively used the time to develop yourself<\/a> and seek out appropriate work<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In many ways, the question an interviewer asks is kind of incidental – while they may want to know specific details about you, a prospective employer is also assessing you for how well you cope with pressure and whether you can think on your feet. So take a deep breath, think positively and keep an eye to how you\u2019re a perfect fit for the position.<\/p>\n

UPDATE: We created an addon to this post with\u00a0more interview questions to prepare for<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So, you\u2019ve slaved over a\u00a0well-organized CV\u00a0and sent applications out far and wide. After weeks of holding your breath, you finally have an interview – now what?\u00a0Most interviews are not quite as bad as we think, but every once in a while, a prospective employer will throw you a curveball\u2026 and you\u2019d better be prepared. What […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":171948,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joblife.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32876"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joblife.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joblife.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joblife.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joblife.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32876"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.joblife.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":171951,"href":"https:\/\/www.joblife.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32876\/revisions\/171951"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joblife.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joblife.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joblife.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joblife.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}