Career Advice By Randy

Interview curveballs

Interviewers love to throw curve balls. We’re not sure why. Some managers truly want to get the best employees they can, but can’t figure out the best way to asses them. Some managers simply enjoy making people squirm as they lob tough question after tough question. Still some interviewers are stoic, reading only the questions on the sheet from HR, making notes, and then saying, “We’ll call you.”
The interview itself is an outdated mechanism for assessing employee fit. After all, most interviews have an astronomically low correlation to performance – biodata and job simulation are much better indicators of future performance than a 30-minute face-to-face staged conversation. Regardless, there’s a 99.9% chance that the next time you go for a job, you’ll face an interview. Here are a few questions and how to field them.

“What are your weaknesses?”
This dreaded question is coupled with, “What are your strengths?”. The best way to field this one is to give an answer totally unrelated to the job. For example, if you’re going for a supervisor position, don’t say, “I have trouble delegating responsibility,” or, “I have trouble keeping up with paperwork.” Something that is along the lines of, “I have a real weakness in accounting. I’m glad this job doesn’t involve in-depth financial analysis.” Don’t forget to mention that you ARE working on your weakness, for instance, by taking a class. 
“What is your biggest failure?”
To field this question, you should focus only on things that you have corrected, or something outside your work. Obviously, don’t cite anything that will highlight bad character. For example, you can share a story about when you were a novice and really screwed something up – as long as you also share the story about how you fixed the situation, and made it better than it was before.
“Where do you want to be in five years?”
The key here is to not mention anything that will send up red flags about your long-term sustainability with this company. Mentioning things such as going back to school, major career change, starting your own business, or anything unrelated to your job. A good answer will show that you’re not locked into this position, that you want room to grow, and that you have goals for your career.
“Tell me something extra about yourself I won’t get from your resume.”
In anticipation of this question, always make sure you don’t tell everything on your resume! A resume should be looked at like a data sheet, where the interview fills in everything else. A talent or skill that doesn’t fit into your employment history would fit perfectly here. If you have a hobby that shows dedication and a comparative skill set to the position, now would be a good time to mention it. For example, a position where you will be directing an independent business unit, you could mention how you are the president of your sewing club, and what advances you’ve made there in the past year.