7 Most DIFFICULT Interview Questions ANSWERED Business English Course Lesson 5
hello everyone and welcome back to
english with lucy today i’m going to be
talking to you about the most common job
interview questions and how to answer
them this is the second part of a
two-part lesson in the previous lesson
we discussed seven of the easier and
more basic questions in this lesson we
are going to discuss the more difficult
questions let’s get started with the
lesson question number one what is your
biggest weakness the dreaded question do
you turn it into a joke and say
something like chocolate do you answer
really honestly or do you use it as
another opportunity to show off what
your interviewer is really trying to do
with this question is judge your
self-awareness and your honesty and also
screen out any red flags let’s start
with what you definitely shouldn’t say I
don’t have any weaknesses
no one wants to have someone deluded or
arrogant in the office other big no-nose
include I can’t meet deadlines
or I have a temper
that makes you sound like a liability or
even a lawsuit waiting to happen
one cliche that you shouldn’t say is I’m
a perfectionist
everyone says it and nobody believes it
anymore
you absolutely must not lie employers
want to see that you can reflect and
improve think about something that you
aren’t particularly strong at but could
easily improve for example in my
previous role I could have been better
at delegating tasks or I’ve never felt
completely comfortable talking to large
audiences it’s something that I’m
actively working on I still get nervous
but I can handle it I don’t feel like it
holds me back number two is what are
your salary requirements this question
is frankly horrible and puts you in an
awkward situation but you need to be
ready for it you need to carry out
research on websites like Glassdoor to
get a rough idea of what you should be
expecting you could also see if you can
get any insider information from the
recruiter or from someone else in the
industry you need to state as high a
salary requirement as you can honestly
and reasonably justify but also say that
you are flexible and negotiable chances
are the interviewer already has a budget
and will negotiate with you at a later
date so you need to leave room for that
negotiation if you state a salary
requirement that is much lower than what
they might be willing to pay you are
cheating yourself out of proper
compensation if you walk into an
interview without a clear idea of what
you want to be paid then you are going
in unprepared so make sure you think
about this question in advance question
number three is do you have any
questions for us remember that an
interview isn’t just about the
interviewer seeing if you are a good fit
for the company you also need to use it
to see if the company is a good fit for
you you absolutely need to go into any
interview with a handful of questions
and also try and develop some questions
throughout the interview itself here are
some great questions that you could ask
in the majority you should use the
conditional what would my day be like
number one what would an average day
look like in the company number two what
projects are the team working on at the
moment
mint
number three what sort of budget would I
be working with number four is this a
brand-new role number five how would I
be trained
number six what’s the performance review
process like number seven what’s your
favorite part about working here
number eight who would I be reporting to
number nine what’s the company culture
like and number ten what is the next
step in the interview process
question number four is why was there a
gap in your employment
this is a hard question but you can
understand why an interviewer would want
to ask it it definitely raises a red
flag for them the most important thing
that you can do is be honest never be
tempted to extend your period of
employment in a previous position just
to cover up the gaps there’s every
chance that the interviewer will call
your previous employees to verify your
time there instead follow these six tips
number one is don’t over share they
don’t want to know the details of your
personal problems
number two is offer a simple explanation
don’t be too mysterious just say one or
two sentences about why you took time
off and what you did number three is
talk about the new skills you developed
in your time off volunteer work courses
classes reflection time did you have a
baby talk about the soft skills which
include communication adaptability
problem-solving and critical observation
number four is emphasize that you are
sure that you now want to work again
number five is be confident don’t
downplay what you achieved you shouldn’t
feel embarrassed about time off and
number six is move on there’s no need to
dwell on it
try and move the conversation gently on
question number five is can you tell me
about a time that you disagreed with the
decision made at work the interviewer is
really asking about your communication
skills with this question disagreements
do happen it’s what you do when they
happen that says a lot about you and
your personal skills they also want to
see that you maintain good relationships
so this is definitely not an opportunity
to talk badly about your previous work
mates and bosses you do need to prepare
a specific situation and this will be
different for everyone do not lie as
again they might bring it up whilst
talking to your references some tips are
that you should answer the question in a
positive way even if it was a difficult
disagreement
discuss how this situation will help
prepare you to handle disagreements in
the future
don’t be afraid to admit that you were
in the wrong if that’s what happened
the ability to admit that you’re wrong
is a good skill to have also don’t
pretend that you’ve never had a
disagreement at work this makes you look
like a yes-man an example answer is I
once disagreed with my boss over some
advice he was giving to a customer
rather than question his authority in
front of everyone I talked to him in
private I was open and honest about the
problems that I had with the way he
wanted to do things
it turned out there was just a simple
misunderstanding and my boss was
actually correct but he was glad that I
spoke to him as I then understood where
he was coming from for the future
question number six is why are you
leaving your current job or even more
difficult to answer why were you fired
this question is more about what not to
say number one never badmouth your boss
especially if you were fired it’s all
the more reason for them to contact and
question your previous employer number
two is do not say that you had a fight
with a co-worker and definitely don’t
try and blame them for it if you
couldn’t get on with your old workmates
who’s to say that you’ll get on with the
new ones
number three is don’t make it sound like
money is the only thing that you care
about instead you could say I didn’t
feel like there was opportunity to grow
or advance further in that role so I
decided a change would be best for my
career number four is don’t sound too
impulsive they are investing in you for
the long term and they want to minimize
their staff turnover
they’ll be hoping that you stick around
for a long time number five is don’t be
too vague or illusive if you look like
you have something to hide they might
find you untrustworthy so what should
you say if you were made redundant the
most important thing is to be honest you
could say my position was eliminated and
I was made redundant
layoffs happen you can be specific about
why because it wasn’t your fault just
remember to not badmouth the company
what about if you were fired well I
recommend that you tell the truth and
come clean it’s not worth lying and
getting caught later when they check
references even if you get hired at the
position if they ever find out you lied
it is grounds for termination question
number seven is are you interviewing
with any other companies
this is a tough question they want to
see how popular you are as well as
finding out the supply and demand in the
market they might also want to predict
what sort of salary you might be offered
at competing firms my advice is to link
it back to the company for example you
could say I’m in the beginning stages of
my job search I’m attracted to positions
that require keen analytical skills in
fact what I like most about this opening
is and then you can say something about
the specific role if you’re already in
serious talks with another company you
can mention that but it can both benefit
and disadvantage you so now we have
discussed all of the most common
interview questions and how you should
answer them please feel free to share
your model answers in the comments down
below and you can use each other as
inspiration
you can also provide constructive
criticism and feedback when the person
asks for it that’s it for this lesson I
hope you enjoyed it and I hope you
learnt something don’t forget to connect
with me on all of my social media I’ve
got my facebook my Instagram and my
Twitter and I shall see you soon for
another lesson
you
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