Interview questions you shouldn’t be asked
Laws like the Equality Act 2010 intend to prevent companies from not employing people because of their race, religion or sex. They’re designed to stop discrimination and mean there are certain questions an employer is not allowed to ask you in a job interview.
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But what if they do ask one of those questions? How do you know if the question is ignorance of the law – or something more sinister? What’s the correct way to answer? What action can you take against a company?
14 tricky interview questions and how to answer them
“When did you last lose your temper?” Tricky interview questions like this one are often asked as a way of establishing whether a candidate is the right “fit” for a company or not. They’re about discovering behavioural traits and personality types – and they’re difficult to answer if you aren’t prepared! To get a better idea of what to say and what not to say, we interviewed top HR professional Sharon Clews…
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Tricky interview question 1: Tell me about a time when you’ve had to communicate an unpopular management decision to your team. How did youInterview spotlight – Why do you want to work for us?
It may appear a simple enough question at first glance, but the interviewer is actually looking for a number of important points to be addressed – and they may not be immediately obvious…
If you spend some time considering your answer before you go to the interview, you won’t be caught out on the day and will be able to provide the interviewer with the information they are looking for. As the saying goes: “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
Interview spotlight – ‘What are your weaknesses?’
This tricky question is often a stumbling block for candidates – how will telling the interviewer about your flaws get you the job? As with all interview questions, it helps to be prepared, so take these suggestions on board…
Why are they asking me this?First of all, the question isn’t meant to catch you out: the interviewer is looking to see whether you are able to identify your own weaknesses and how you deal with them. In a business environment, some negatives can be seen as a positive. For example, you might be meticulous
How to present well at interview
If you’ve been asked to give a presentation, there’s no need to panic. It can be a nerve-wracking prospect, but with some simple planning and practice you can excel.
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Very few people are born presenters or public speakers. The difference between you and someone you know who presents brilliantly is almost certainly that they’ve done it more often than you have and know how to prepare. Take Steve Jobs, who used to dazzle the world each year with his relaxed demonstrations of new Apple gadgets. He was known to spend days preparing