How to bring your ?A? game to the interview

01/22/2015

Telling an interviewer that you are focused and always get your work done on time packs more punch if you can give examples from your professional life.  Follow up those types of statements with a quick sentence or two that back up your claims.

Here are two examples:

If you say that you get your work done on time, give an example of what you have accomplished while multi-tasking and working on a tight schedule.If you want to impress on them that you are a ?people person?, tell them how you work collaboratively with teammates and what you all accomplished together or how you get personal satisfaction out of solving customers? problems.

Continue to impress the interviewer with some well-chosen documentation. Do you have a note from a satisfied customer singing your praises? An Employee of the Month certificate? These can also back up the fact that you are a candidate worth hiring.

But you do not want to be the one doing all the talking. That could set a negative tone for the interview. No one likes a person who drones on and on about him or herself. Ask the interviewer questions so he/she can talk and also show you are very interested in this position. Ask questions like ?what do you see as your biggest challenge in this department?? (This gives you a perfect opportunity to fill in how you can meet that challenge)

And don?t be afraid of the dreaded ?what is your greatest weakness??  You can answer that you want to solve every problem but you haven?t been able to yet. Turn that into a positive by saying it doesn?t keep you from trying.  Or, you could say that that you?re not much of a morning person but you set your sales appointments early to get you out of the office with adrenalin pumping, ready to make the most of your day.