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Answering Difficult Interview Questions

Do you enjoy hard work? It's a rubbish question; so hit it for six. What do they expect you to say? 'Good Lord, no, I've always tried to keep my head down and avoid the real action.' If they mean by 'hard work' energy and drive, then, yes, you've got it in buckets. This is a closed question, but the answer 'yes' won't do. You'll be surprised how easy it is to take a closed question like this and mould it into some points that you want to make, in almost any area you care to choose. So it's an opportunity to deliver the set pieces that you have so carefully prepared. You could go towards the 'work/life balance' or 'don't work harder; work smarter' or anything that shows you will be an energetic contributor to their enterprise. We'll look at the question as it is and then at other questions getting at the same thing.

YOU CAN ALWAYS MAKE THINGS BETTER

'I've always been enthusiastic about my work. I've generally been in jobs that I enjoy, so that makes putting the effort in quite easy. This is particularly true when I'm working for an organisation with whose objectives I can easily identify.' You can try balancing an answer like that with another benefit they're after - people who are constantly looking for ways that they and their team can do things better. 'I do regard it as part of everyone's job to suggest improvements. When I've asked people in my team if they can see better ways that they could use to get the job done, it's amazing; in almost every case the answer is "yes". This is also true if you ask them about their interface with other parts of the organisation. They can always suggest even quite small changes that another department could make that would make their job easier and their performance more effective. So if I or other people in the team are having to work longer and longer hours, it's always worth looking for suggestions as to how we can improve the way the work gets done.' This could lead to, 'How would you deal with a person in your team who complained continuously about how hard they had to work?' To which you might reply, 'First of all I'd take it very seriously. I'd ask them to discuss it with me and perhaps keep a record of their activities over a period of time. We'd look together for ways to reduce their workload or change our systems and procedures in some way. If I became sure that we were making unreasonable demands on the person, I'd raise the matter with my boss and try to find a solution. You have to be careful, though. I've found that some people do work hard, but don't want to change anything - not even the fact that they moan all the time about how hard they have to work.'

OTHER PROBES IN THIS AREA

'How are you at working under pressure?' To which you might say, 'Oh, I've had to handle that in all my jobs and I'm comfortable in that environment. Having said that, I try to plan ahead and avoid deadlines and crises creeping up on the team or me. That way we keep the pressure at a sensible level.' 'Are you most comfortable with fairly regular hours?' Answer this one as usual with a balance: 'I'm well aware that in a competitive industry such as this you can't expect to work completely regular hours. In fact I'm not sure I'd like to have to do that. But there are some regular parts of my family life that I like to protect. For example, last year my daughter went to ballet every Wednesday evening. It suited us for me to take her and her friend to the class. I therefore agreed with my boss that I would always get away on time on a Wednesday and it worked out well.'


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