Today’s job market is challenging to say the least, with far more people seeking employment than there are roles to fill. For candidates, this has meant that the recruitment process is a lot tougher than it has been in the past with added pressure to do well as they are up against a greater number of people for the same position.
One of the many pitfalls that can lose someone a role is not being able to handle the tough or tricky interview questions that the interviewer can throw out. Like anything else in life, if you are well prepared for these though, the interviewer will no doubt look at your application far more favourably as it shows that you can think on your feet and handle anything that is thrown at you.
To help you give the best possible answer to some of the difficult questions that regularly come up in interviews, Agile Recruit has compiled the top tricky questions candidate are likely to be faced with below.
What is Your Biggest Weakness?
This is the question that most often throws off candidates as they think that if they are entirely honest about their weaknesses, the interviewer may see those as reasons not to hire them.
What they are actually looking for when they ask this question is how self-aware you are about your own strengths and weaknesses and what, if anything, you are doing to compensate for them. If you find yourself facing this question, be honest about what some of your weaknesses are but don’t forget to mention what you are doing to overcome these weaknesses.
Why Do You Want to Work Here?
Tricky though it may seem at first, you should only have any issues answering this question if you haven’t done your research. Which is precisely why interviewers often ask it; it is a great way to check whether you have actually looked up the company and consciously decided that you want to work there, or simply came across an advert for the role on another site and applied.
To ace this question, make sure that you pepper your answer with company-specific information such as what drew you to them specifically. If you can find any recent news about the company or a new launch, it’s always good to try and mention those too, to show that you’ve done your research not only into the company but also into their latest launches.
Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years?
Hiring someone new is a significant financial investment for any company, and they want to gauge how long you’re planning on sticking around for. Otherwise, they could be wasting their money. You don’t necessarily have to say that you want to stay in the same role but mentioning that you want to be living in a different area or doing a completely different role in five years will both be red flags.
The way to answer this one is by focusing on your commitment to career progression in your role as employers always respond well to someone keen on always learning new things and bettering themselves.
