By: Reem Hussein
Ever been to an interview and received an awkward question and thought to yourself “how the hell do I respond to that?” You become particularly self-conscious when you’re so desperate to land that job; we feel you. You are not alone in this. We compiled for you some of the most troubling questions that have made us struggle to come up with an answer.
1. What can you add to our company?
2. Why should I hire you?
Uh…because you posted an announcement for a job vacancy and you need employees? And don’t even think of saying the cliché: “Because I’m a hard-worker and a fast-learner”. No seriously, we believe that you should have intra-personal (inner) smartness and a very clear understanding of your passion in order to really know what you can add to the company. We’ve seen people talk about things they’re really passionate about and believe us it can easily be detected.
3. Can you function under stress?
4. Where do you see yourself in five years?
We don’t even have a pla… . We know it’s not always easy to have a future vision of yourself but don’t think in terms of specific goals like don’t even say I want to achieve xx position in xx field. This will make the answer more difficult. Think in terms of the broader outlines of your future and this allows you to be flexible with your goals as well.
5. Would you like to ask me anything?
No honestly, it’s time to flee this awkwardness and go buy myself a McDonald’s to get myself back into my comfort zone.
Interviews are always nerve wrecking, but remember to try as much as you can to remain calm, take your time before answering and never volunteer too much information because you’ll seem like you’re rambling on and on without a purpose. And always be CHEERFUL!