Everyone dreads the difficult interview questions.  The interview questions I  most dread always begin with the words Tell me about at time that you…

You may not know exactly what questions you will be asked during your interview, but there are several things you can do to make sure you are as prepared as possible to answer them:

1.  Use the STAR method for answering. Start by identifying an example of that Situation, then describe the Tasks that were necessary for that situation, the Actions that you took to address that situation, and the Result.  Here is an example, answering the question “tell me about a time you were able to satisfy an upset customer”:

Situation: Our new product was set to be released in May, and was very anticipated in the industry.  In fact, one of our biggest customers was already relying on our product to include in their own business platform.   Unfortunately, one of our suppliers didn’t meet our contract needs in April, which delayed our product release and would have made that customer very dissatisfied.

Task: To address this problem, my team had to find a new supplier as quickly as possible or look for an alternate way to satisfy our customer.

Action: After conducting rapid research into likely suppliers, it became evident that none would be able to help us meet our product specs as written.  Leading the product team back to drawing board, we altered the design of our product in a way that let us utilize a ready supplier without compromising the primary functionality of our product.

Result:Because we worked with what the new supplier had readily available, we were able to complete production  on schedule.  The cost of the new supplier was less than the original, so our own price point was able to be reduced, as well.  Both of these results greatly pleased our customer, who ended up increasing their order and putting us over our sales goal within the first 3 months of product availability.

Have several of these “stories” prepared before going into the interview.  Use the accomplishments on your resume as a starting point.

2.  Stay on message! Think of your interview as an advertising campaign that sells your knowledge, talents, and abilities to your future boss. You need to deliver a consistent message, one that says “You really need to hire ME for this job; I’m your best choice.” In every answer that you give, you need to stay true to your message.

3.  Check for understanding all the way around. Before you answer, rephrase what you have been asked to make sure you will be answering the right question. If you are not sure what the employer is asking you or why they are asking it,  seek clarification.  When you feel that you have completely answered a tough question, get the employer’s feedback before moving on.

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