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How to Answer ANY Interview Questions

by Stefanie Spikell,
The William Shakespeare of Resume Writing/Career Coaching

Getting the resume ready is the easy part.  Preparing for the interview…….well that’s another matter.  You can learn to answer any questions that comes your way by learning how to direct the conversation to the topics you want to discuss.  To do this, you must be prepared with two or three “messages” you want to deliver during the interview.  Your purpose in the interview is not to wait to be ASKED, but to GUIDE the conversation to the place you want it.

 Here are some things you need to do so that you can guide the interview:

• Know the employer and know the job so that you can answer direct questions before segueing into a discussion of your qualifications and fit with the company.
• Answer the questions but always with an idea of showing how you can add value to the company, based on whatever the question was.
• Be ready with anecdotes that will show your skills.  Interviewers often ask “Tell me about the time…….” Type questions. Come up with several anecdotes that fit most any category of questioning whether it’s leadership, or financial controls, and technical information.
• Know the challenges the company is facing and try to have a story ready that demonstrates how you overcome this sort of challenge.

• If asked about a mistake you made, accentuate the positive and tell what you learned from the mistake. 

Stefanie Spikell, owner of two companies, Expert Resumes and Clear Communications Business Consulting (www.expertresumewriter.com), is a noted business/careers coach, management consultant and resume writer. In her 20-year career, she has managed marketing communications departments for major engineering firms, taught at the university level, published hundreds of business-related reports and articles, and written thousands of winning resumes.