During a recent discussion with a client, “Tom,” we were strategizing around his career and how he could be intentional and create the career he wanted. The fastest way we determined he could have the career he wanted was through a strategic role transition. After identifying the role I suggested Tom have an important conversation with his boss to see if the company would be willing and flexible enough to get a plan in place for an internal transition. Unfortunately due to how his company had been performing in the recent months they declined. This left Tom no other option but to apply to external jobs. Luckily I was able to help him with his resume and prep him for some interviews to which he successfully made his transition to his next role. Today I want to talk about some of the interview prep questions we went through because I am sure that he isn’t the only one who has struggled answering some of these questions. This will be a new series of articles we publish on a regular basis so be sure to check back for help on other questions.
The first interview question I would like to cover in this series is how to answer “How would your friends describe you,” in an interview.
The biggest tip for answering any interview question is to understand what the interviewer is trying to assess when asking the question. Understanding what they are trying to learn about you from your answer enables you to answer sufficiently and presents the information they are trying to extract. How your friends would describe you is assessing 4 main points which will be discussed in detail. After discussing the details I am going to write about reverse psychology steps you can think through to help understand how I have come up with my tips so that eventually with practice from reading this series you'll be able to do this yourself.
This question taps into psychology to see if your self-assessment contains any cognitive dissonance. If the description your friends would use for you aligns with how you have presented yourself in the interview then it shows that you are self-aware. Therefore, you have an accurate understanding of your own strengths and qualities. It demonstrates your ability to reflect on your interpersonal relationships and how you are perceived by others.
Reverse Psychology: Ask yourself how you would answer to ensure you negatively impact your interview with your answer. If I wanted to ensure a negative impact on the interview with my answer I would be sure to answer in a way that would bring my authenticity and self-awareness into question. For an interview I typically try to answer questions to demonstrate that I am conscientious, diligent, and a good communicator. To bring all those points into question I would say my friends view me as lazy, that I lack attention to detail because I forget all the details of events we plan, as well as a terrible communicator because I only respond to them when I feel like it.
Now that we understand how to fail the question we can do the opposite with my answer to ensure a satisfactory answer. To have a satisfactory answer I need to ensure my answer demonstrates alignment between the character I have created with all of my previous answers. If I don’t show consistency then the interviewer will begin to doubt my self-awareness and therefore the accuracy of my previous answers. I can’t be in the interview with you so I can't tell you what kind of picture you have been trying to paint, but if you keep that picture in mind you can answer authentically while reinforcing your previous answers. If you want to work with me, schedule a consultation and we can get the next closest thing to me being in an interview with you through mock interviews and feedback.
It may be surprising to some, but how your friends would describe you assesses company fit. Many companies now understand that cultural fit increases the likelihood that a candidate is going to stay longer and therefore reduce their employee churn. As a business any kind of churn whether customer or employee hurts the bottom line making it more difficult for the business to keep growing. Your answer is going to give insights to your personal qualities and values. Assessing these helps the interviewer determine how well your qualities and values align with the companies and therefore how easy it will be for you to integrate into the existing culture.
Reverse Psychology: How would I answer to ensure negatively impact the interviewers opinion of my fit for the company culture. Pretty simple actually, I would just need to answer by saying that my friends would describe me in a way that is antithetical to the company's values or highlight values that are irrelevant to the cultural fit.
To have a positive impact on the interviewer's opinion of my fit for the company culture I would need to have my answer demonstrate how I already live the values the company holds and even highlight how my values align with the companies. In order to do that I suppose I'll probably need to know the values the company holds so before going into an interview, I would read up on the company and their values.
How your friends perceive and describe you allows the interviewer a perspective on your interpersonal skills and how you relate to others. Interpersonal skills are used every day in the workplace so if you have them with your friends then it is not unreasonable to think you would use them at work.
Reverse Psychology: How would I answer to negatively impact the interviewer’s opinion of my interpersonal skills. I would answer in a way that shows I completely lack any interpersonal skills such as by focusing on being blunt, disregarding others' emotions, and potentially causing offense. It demonstrates a limited understanding of the importance of empathy and tact in communication.
To have a positive impact on my interviewer’s opinion of my interpersonal skills my answer would need to convey that I have a good communication style, ability to work in a team, overall likeability, and empathy. These qualities are often highly valued in team-oriented work environments.
Similar to the tip provided for the first aspect of the question. By asking how your friends would describe you, interviewers seek to validate the qualities and characteristics you have presented throughout the interview. It provides an opportunity for you to reinforce your strengths by sharing genuine feedback from people who know you well.
Reverse Psychology: To negatively impact this aspect of the interview I would need to answer the question in a way that invalidates my previous claims. This can easily be done by introducing new information about myself that is completely opposed to the claims I have made earlier in the interview.
To validate claims you make earlier in an interview, be cautious when introducing new information; be mindful that it does not invalidate your previous claims. It is okay to introduce new information in this question so long as this information is expanding upon and further validating the qualities you have presented throughout the interview.
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