Practice, practice, practice


When you’re interviewing, practicing the answers to interview questions ahead of time is a great strategy. In fact, if you skip this step in your preparation, you are apt to miss the chance to make a connection with the interviewer. But, when you practice is as important as actually doing the practice.

Interviewing practice during the first interview is not a good strategy. In fact, it can cause you to lose the job opportunity.

Many job candidates see their first or second interviews as good opportunities to practice answering questions in a real-life setting, and that can be a mistake especially when interviewing for a job they really want.

Job seekers often rely strictly on their memories to recall accomplishments or — the complete opposite — they try to memorize their answers.

Just thinking about interview questions and how you might answer — without actually practicing the answers — is too risky when you really want the job.

A good way to start preparing for interview questions is to write down the ones that concern you the most. You will become more confident by practicing your answers ahead of time.

The more you practice answering difficult questions, the better you will be at developing rapport with the interviewer, and developing rapport is so important to getting an offer.

While you can’t prepare for every question, you can do your best to answer questions that would interest an employer. What would concern an employer about your background? What would interest them?

In “Winning Job Interviews,” Dr. Paul Powers offers a simple formula for practicing interview questions you can’t be prepared for ahead of time as well as those you can predict: experience + knowledge + personal characteristics.

Powers says every interview question is composed of a two-part question:

1. Can you do the job? This is your knowledge, experience and skills that confirm you have the technical or hard data to actually do the job.


2. How would you be doing the job differently from others? This question confirms your personality, personal characteristics or unique blend of skills that makes you different. That’s the soft data.

No matter what interview questions you are asked, whether or not you have prepared an answer, you need to focus on addressing both these issues.

When you answer only the first question, your answer will seem flat and impersonal. It doesn’t help you stand out from the crowd.

Answering only the second question can be too generic and vague. It doesn’t address the basic issue: Can you do the job?

What’s the most difficult interview question you’ve been asked? How did you answer?

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Kim Thompson