Interviews can be incredibly stressful, and sometimes you blurt out something you don’t mean or didn’t think through. Be prepared for your next interview with these ready-to-go answers.
When they say: “So tell me a little about yourself.”
Never say: “There isn’t much to say,” or “I’m not a very interesting person.”
You may think it comes across as humble, but your interviewer isn’t asking this just to be polite. They want to get to know your personality to see if you would be a good fit with their company culture and current staff. Tell them about your career goals, or any other interest that could help them better understand how you’d be a perfect fit for the position you are applying for.
When they ask: “Why did you leave your last job?”
Never say: “I hated it there”, or “My boss was an idiot”, or “I couldn’t get along with my coworkers”.
If you talk about your former boss poorly, why would your interviewer think you wouldn’t do the same to their company? Even if the entire work environment was suffocating in your last job, tell your interviewer some other reason why you left. You can tell them that you were ready to advance your career and that company didn’t have the opportunities you were looking for. You could even tell them that you’re looking for a different work environment than what you had before. But, never bad-mouth your last boss no matter how much you may want to.
When they ask: “What are you most interested in in this job position?”
Never say: “I don’t know much about the job, I’m just trying to find work as soon as possible.”
Employers want to hire those who are genuinely excited about the job, and people they know are invested in the company. Even if you are on a desperate job hunt, you don’t need to tell the interviewer that’s the only reason you applied. Find a reason why you would genuinely enjoy working with them before the interview. If you can’t think of even one reason, you don’t need to be applying in the first place.