The importance of mastering the art of interviews: “ Learn to Impress” (Part 1)

So, after countless revisions of your resume, optimizing your LinkedIn profile, and submitting numerous applications to recruiters, you’ve finally secured an interview with the recruitment team of an organization.

Naturally, you’re ecstatic that the effort you’ve invested has eventually paid off. However, now you have to start preparing for the final step of the application process, the interview.

So, let’s talk about how we can prepare for that interview

Now, Contrary to belief, although there are no “one-size-fits-all” answers to any interview question, there are structural formats one can learn to form stronger responses that are universally applicable to the common questions asked by interviewers

So, let's go through some of these questions and how we can structure a strong response to better impress interviewers.



1. “Tell me about yourself”

This question is commonly used to ask applicants to provide a detailed profile of themselves.
However, we must remember to remain professional and not diverge into personal topics or irrelevant subjects.
A structure format we can use to answer this question is the “Past, Present, Future” format, and it is used as such:

Present: Use this section to describe your current role, responsibilities, and recent achievements

Past: Use this section to describe any relevant strengths, attributes, and experiences that are applicable to the applied position

Future: Use this section to reinforce you’re eligibility for the position, describing the benefits you will bring to the organization.

Check out this video for more information:

2. “Why do you want to work here?”

There are numerous similar variations to these questions such as “Why do you want this job?” and “Why are you interested in this position?". However, the structure format for such questions remains the same
To answer such questions, we must remember to emphasize three main attributes:

Growth mindset: Emphasize selfless reasons such as personal growth and challenges
Understanding: Show a degree of understanding of the responsibilities of the applied position
Enthusiasm: Emphasize body language, high-energy dialogue, facial expressions, and even the use of appropriate jokes

Remember that these questions are more so a method for the interviewer to gauge applicants rather than a genuine question.

Check out this video for more information:

Now, as our discussion in this post is getting quite long, we’ll be continuing this series of interview questions’ tips and tricks in Part 2. So, don't miss out and click right over to Part 2 to unlock even more secrets to interview success.