How to Answer Job Interview Questions: A Strategy for Success

You won't find the best way to answer job interview questions from a Google search of 'best answers to interview questions'. Mostly what you'll find are answers that make you sound just like everyone else.

The best way to answer interview questions is to do it with a strategy of your own. Your mission in this interview is to sell yourself for the job...so all your answers have to help you accomplish that mission. How can you talk about your background and your skills in a way that all works together to present you as a 'gotta have' candidate? That's a strategy.

The hiring manager's 4 biggest concerns, no matter the job, are:

Do you understand the job?

Can you do the job?

Will you do the job?

If I hire you, are you going to be a risk to my own job?

Your answers have to accomplish 3 things. They must:

(1) speak to the concerns of those questions
(2) say how you meet and/or exceed the requirements of the job
(3) sell you for the job in a way that demonstrates the benefits you'll bring to that hiring manager and that company

So if they ask, "Why do you want to work here?" they want to hear that you've researched the company and like what you've found. They want you to tell them why you're a good fit for the job and their organization. They want to know that you want this particular job, not just any job. You should show them the benefits they will get out of hiring you, rather than someone else.

So it should sound like, "I want to join this company because..." and then list 3 reasons why.

The first one should always show fit: "My skills would benefit your company with X, Y, and Z, and that means that it would also benefit me professionally and financially."
The second one can also show fit in another way...possibly because the company culture is a good fit. It shows that you've taken the time to find that out.

After you've answered the important things, you can personalize it a little at the end by saying something like, "This job is in a great location...I've always wanted to live here," or "I've always used products from this company, and I just love them. I'm excited about being a part of the organization." The first part answers "what's in it for them" and that's also where you spend the majority of your answer; the second part shows what's in it for you as well as your sincere enthusiasm.

All your responses throughout the interview should be targeted toward answering those underlying concerns of the hiring manager and selling you for the job.