Toughest (and Most Common) Interview Question

"So, tell me about yourself?"  You've probably been faced with this question every time you've been interviewed.  You may not have even known it was part of the interview.  It seems like such a harmless question...on the surface.  On the other hand, your first impression rides on this question.  So, how should you answer?

Let's start with what NOT to do.  They don't need your family history, your birthplace, your age, marital status, number of kids, dogs, fish, goldfish...  They don't need to know about any "issues" you are currently facing, why you left your last job, your political or religious views, or anything else that might seem controversial.  Basically, don't waste your first impression by giving details that do not show why you are the PERFECT FIT for the company and the position.

What you DO want to tell them is: Who you are, What you can do, and How you are going to make their company better.  Some call this the "Elevator Speech".  Simply put, if you were riding an elevator with Donald Trump, and you knew that you only had the length of that ride to convince him to give you a job, what would you say?

Let's break down the pieces just a bit.

Who are you?  This is your name, possibly your degrees, certifications, strengths, and any particular skills or abilities that set you apart from your competition.

What can you do?  Give 2-3 BRIEF and SPECIFIC examples of recent successes you've created...a team you lead, a project you completed, an process improvement you developed, etc.  Your comments heat should not be theoretical.  Nothing about what you hope to do or think you could do.  Just the facts.

What are you going to do for the company?  This is where you need to be able to tie your abilities to the needs of the company.  This also means that you have to do some research ahead of time so you know what the company is looking for.  You might also mention how you positively relate to the company's mission or core values to show that you are the right type of person for the job.

You should be able to answer these questions in 30-60 seconds.  It should come across as confident, but not rehearsed.  It should be prepared well in advance of your interview and practiced on a regular basis.  You should be able to present your elevator speech at a family barbecue just as well as you can at a formal interview.  Let's be honest, more jobs come from networking opportunities than from formal interviews anyway, so you might as well give a good first impression at social events too.

Practice, practice, practice.  This needs to be a habit that you add to your list of successful career search activities. 

Strangest Interview Question Ever

Everyone has faced an awkward interview question at some point, but I distinctly recall the one that threw me for a loop.  Not only was this question odd, but it was totally unrelated to the position.  In fact, it was unrelated to just about anything that I could think of.  It was one of those questions where your initial response is probably something like, "Excuse Me? Apparently I didn't hear you right."

While sitting in the room with an elected official and two other company leaders, I was asked, "If you were a character from the Wizard of Oz, which one would you be and why?"  I wish now that I could go back and see the look on my own face when I realized how ridiculous that question was.  How was this job related?  Well, apparently this particular elected official was from Kansas and had a bit of a fascination with the Yellow Brick Road.

So, what could I do?  I stalled for a moment with phrases like, "Hmmm.  Wow.  That's and interesting Question" so that my brain would have a few seconds to formulate a response.  Then, I gave the best HR related answer that I could come up with.

I suggested that of all of the characters, I most identify with Dorothy.  My rationale, I explained, was that Dorothy did not initially have all of the skills and personnel required to achieve her goal.  She developed a team of individuals, each with differing strengths, to assist her in getting home.

I then went on to discuss how great Human Resource Management assembles teams with complementary strengths, all working toward a common goal and how no one individual has all of the necessary talent to make a business successful.  In hindsight, I am actually pretty impressed with my answer.  I am not sure how heavily that question weighed in to the hiring decision, but I am happy to say that I landed the job.

So what is the learning experience in this?  For me, I now realize that there is no way that you can ever be fully prepared for an interview.  You can have good answers prepared for the most common questions, but at times you will need to be ready to think on your feet.  It also taught me that the more questions you practice answering, the better you get at applying good interviewing techniques to difficult situations.

In the next few days, we'll look at some of the more common, and often tricky, interview questions along with some tested tips to help you get through them.  Until then, feel free to post any interesting or difficult questions you've faced into the comment section.  I'd like to add them to our discussion.