Tuesday’s Tip: Are You Ready for Those Interview Questions?

We all wish we had a magical cheat-sheet with all of the questions (and the excepted answers) to all of those weird and illogical questions that those ill-prepared interviewers are bound to ask us in an interview. But unless I haven't been copied on the E-mail yet, that sheet probably doesn't exist. However, you can still pass the interview with flying "answers" if you are just prepared.

I once heard that "Facts swell and generalities smell". If you apply this along with "storytelling", you have a formula that shouldn't lose. The whole goal of an interview is to connect with the Hiring Manager so that he/she thinks, "I like this guy, and I think he can get the job done". The best way to accomplish this is by having 10-12 pre-planned stories about your career accomplishments and/or projects where you went above and beyond the "expected". You then need to look for opportunities to direct the conversation to the topics that you want to cover. Think of yourself as a politician. Listen to the question, repeat it, sort-of answer it, and provide a bridge to the message you want to deliver. The formula is Q = A + 1, where Q is the question, A is your answer, and the +1 is the point that you want to make. Now, the bridge needs to be such a "WOW" that they don't even realize that you might not have completely answered their original question. But they are now onto a new tangent that will most likely take up the next 5-10 minutes, and you are off the hook from answering "What type of tree would you like to be?"