Chapter 4 - The Three Keys ("Know …")
Before you go for the interview, you must have these three keys at your fingertips: your goals, desires, strengths, and weaknesses; your competition. And the hiring manager's expectations. So let's discuss them in detail.
What are Your Goals and Desires-Expectations, Strengths, and Weaknesses?
Besides your qualifications, professional experience, skills, and well-crafted cover letter, employers also look out for your goals, desires or expectations, strengths, and weaknesses. Usually, employers focus on questions that will give them insights about your personality and work ethic and plan for the future to determine how they align with the company's objectives. Employers want candidates who have plans for their future that is why they will ask you questions in this line:
What are your goals for the future?
What are your career goals?
Where do you see yourself in x number of years?
What are your plans if you get the job?
What do you hope to accomplish in x number of years?
What professional goal do you have?
It will benefit you to prepare for job interviews by practicing the answers to some common questions that hiring managers ask. For example, one of the questions you will likely encounter during a job interview is, "what are your career goals? Therefore, you must learn about these practices for responding to this type of question, as it can help you develop a thorough response that will impress the interviewers.
Why do Employers Ask Questions About Your Career Goals?
As stated earlier, hiring managers want to know how ambitious you are, so they ask questions about your career goals, skills, and weaknesses. They also ask this question to know if you hope to advance in it in the coming years. You aren't just going for the job as a short-term option that may see you leave within a month of being given the job. So it is also a way of knowing how long you will likely stay in the company.
Asking these questions helps your employer determine if you'd be a valuable addition to the organization and worth the effort required to hire, train, and maintain as an employee. In addition, these interview questions present a great opportunity to highlight how you'd like to advance in the future in the role you are interviewed for.
Therefore, let's dive in:
1. Where do you see yourself in 3-5 years?
This is one common way hiring managers ascertain our goals and if they align with the company's objectives. They may also want to find out if you see yourself with the business in the long term. To create an appealing response to employers, look at their website to learn about their company's mission and goals. Next, try to describe yours to reflect theirs. Below is a response suggested by Indeed.com.
"In the future, I hope to work full-time as a partner at this insurance agency. I think starting as a representative is a good way to learn about all of your offerings and start building relationships with customers. After a couple of years, I want to become an account executive, then start learning what I can do to become a partner."
2. What are your long-term career goals?
Employers like to hear about your long-to-short-term goals. This helps them see how much you have been thinking about them. When seeking a job, it is essential that you at least have general career goals. This helps you apply for positions that can help you achieve your objectives. During the interview, endeavor to explain your goals to show that you have been thinking about a potential future with the company.
Possible answer as suggested by Indeed.com: "I ultimately hope to become a broker with Wesson and Brown Realty Company. While I enjoy being a real estate agent for this wonderful company, I do hope to be able to broker deals as well. So, I hope to take classes over the next few years to earn my brokering license as I grow as a real estate agent."
3. Do you plan on furthering your education?
Hiring managers ask this question to see if you want to pursue more education and how it might affect your career. One way to answer this question is to describe any definite plans to pursue additional education. Also, state if it would advance your work. Plan to get more educational qualifications. It will also be helpful to describe how classes or academic work may affect your time on the job and your plans to manage it.
Here is a possible response from Indeed.com: I ultimately hope to become a broker with Wesson and Brown Realty Company. While I enjoy being a real estate agent for this wonderful company, I do expect to be able to broker deals as well. Therefore, I hope to take classes over the next few years to earn my brokering license as I grow as a real estate agent."
4. What are your most relevant skills, experience, and accomplishments?
In addition, hiring managers ask this question to learn about any particular skills or training programs you have or may be willing to learn. Also, I will encourage you to answer this question honestly and briefly to allow the hiring manager to find opportunities to assist you in learning new skills. Plus, the employer may grant you access to a training program that best fits you.
A good response suggested by Indeed.com goes thus: "I believe that learning more technology skills would help me become more efficient in my role. Since technology evolves every day, I feel like I'm possibly falling behind in learning how to use new devices and software. I think attending training sessions or workshops on using these new materials would help me do my job better."
5. What do you hope to accomplish at this company within the next five years?
Hiring managers will ask you this question because they'd like to gain insight into any goals you may have within a given time limit. One way to answer this question is to clearly outline what you hope to achieve within that period and how you may accomplish your goals.
Here is another good response from Indeed.com: "In the next five years at Taylor's Shoes and Clothes, I hope to increase my sales rate by at least 50%. I plan to accomplish this by taking a more hands-on, interpersonal approach to interacting with customers and helping them find the clothing and shoes they're hoping for at the store. In addition, I'm taking workshops to improve the customer service experience and generate more sales, which I hope can start my sales plan and help me reach my goals in a shorter amount of time."
6. What are your weaknesses?
The major reason why interviewers ask questions about your weakness is that they want to know how honest and self-aware you are. They also seek to know if you are motivated to improve your weaknesses. The best way to answer this is to honestly explain your weakness to your interviewer and provide an example of how you are actively working on it. Here are some tips to help you answer this question:
Do not choose a weakness that will harm your chance of succeeding in the role. Focus on your weaknesses will not prevent your employer from considering you.
Be honest and choose a real weakness. For example, do not claim to be a perfectionist as a weakness or that you are too nice.
Give them examples of how you have worked to improve your weaknesses or learned new skills to deal with them.
Try to humanize yourself by focusing on weaknesses in your personal life, as this will make the interviewers connect with you on a personal level.
Think of where you want to be and the support you may need to get there.
Do not be arrogant about your weakness. A weakness isn't something to be proud of. On the other hand, do not underestimate yourself because of your weakness.
How to Identify Your Weakness
As I mentioned earlier, your answer has to be honest and, at the same time, should not ruin your chance of getting the job. Therefore, here are a few tips to help you figure out your weaknesses.
Make sure your weaknesses are not listed in the required job description. If they are, rule them out.
Consider using weaknesses that you have overcome and then mentioning your journey during (your early struggles) and after overcoming them.
You can look through your old performance reviews for inspiration. This will be helpful because they provide you with some of your strengths and weaknesses.
Below are two weak responses suggested by Hubspot writer Caroline Forsey.
Weakness: Impatience
Response: "I don't have much patience when working with a team — I am incredibly self-sufficient, so it's difficult when I need to rely on others to complete my work. That's why I've pursued roles that require someone to work independently. However, I've also worked to improve this weakness by enrolling in team-building workshops. While I typically work independently, I must learn to trust my coworkers and ask for outside help when necessary."
Weakness: Lack of organization
Response: "I struggle with organization. While it hasn't ever impacted my performance, I've noticed that my messy desk and cluttered inbox interfere with my efficiency. Over time, I've learned to set aside time to organize my physical and digital space, and I've seen it improve my efficiency levels throughout the week."
Weakness: Trouble with a delegation
Response: "I sometimes find it difficult to delegate responsibility when I can finish the task well. However, when I became manager in my last role, it became critical I learn to delegate tasks. To maintain a sense of control when delegating tasks, I implemented a project management system to oversee the progress of a project. This system enabled me to improve my ability to delegate efficiently."
Weakness: Timidity
Response: "Frequently, I can be timid when providing constructive feedback to coworkers or managers out of fear of hurting someone's feelings. However, in my last role, my coworker asked me to edit some of his pieces and provide feedback for areas of improvement. Through my experience with him, I realized feedback could be helpful and kind when delivered correctly. Since then, I've become better at offering feedback and realized I can use empathy to provide thoughtful, productive feedback."
Weakness: Talkative
Response: "I enjoy developing a relationship with my coworkers by engaging in conversation, and that's a great team-building skill. However, I have a habit of carrying on a conversation to a point where it may distract other coworkers. I have learned since then that there are other ways to connect with my coworkers and that if I'm asking about their day, I need to keep it brief and redirect myself back to my work."
Weakness: Trouble maintaining a work-life balance
Response: "I've struggled with work-life balance, especially after I started working remotely during the pandemic. This increased my stress levels to the point where my productivity was at an all-time low, and I didn't bring my best self to work. Because I want to continue working remotely, I've added more structure to my day and instituted a strong start and end time. As a result, I've already seen improvements in my levels of focus during work hours."
Weakness: Micromanaging
Response: "I used to work in industries where I had to cultivate a solid work ethic in my employees. This training style has been so ingrained in me that I've forgotten to discern who may need that coaching and who does not. I've read books on effective delegation and team building to work on this shortcoming. One technique that works for me is assuring myself that if I establish clear expectations, my team will follow. I've also learned to trust my team members."
Weakness: Harsh self-criticism
Response: "My inner critic can be debilitating at times. I take pride in producing good work, but I struggle to feel satisfied with it, leading to burnout. However, I've started to push back against this inner voice by taking care of myself before and after work. I'm also learning to recognize when my inner critic is right and when I need to dismiss it."
Weakness: Indecisiveness
Response: "Sometimes I struggle with ambiguity and making decisions when directions aren't clear. I come from a work environment that always gave clear and direct instructions. I had such a strong team and leadership that I hadn't had much practice making decisions in the heat of the moment. I'm working on this by leaning more into my experience and practicing listening to my gut."
Weakness: Weak data analysis skills
Response: "I'm not great at analyzing data or numbers. However, I recognize this flaw can prevent me from understanding how my content performs online. Therefore, in my last role, I set up monthly meetings with the SEO manager to discuss analytics and how our posts were performing. Additionally, I received my Google Analytics certificate, and I make it a point to analyze data related to our blog regularly. As a result, I've become much more comfortable analyzing data through these efforts."
Weakness: Lack of tactfulness
Response: "My blunt, straightforward nature has allowed me to succeed over the years as a team manager because I'm able to get things done efficiently, and people often appreciate my honesty. However, I've recognized that my bluntness doesn't always serve my employees well when delivering feedback. To combat this, I've worked to develop empathy and deeper relationships with those I manage. Additionally, I took an online leadership management course and worked with the professor to develop my ability to deliver feedback."
Weakness: Fear of public speaking
Response: "I get nervous during public speaking. Although I don't need to do much public speaking in my role as a web designer, I still feel that it's an important skill — especially when I want to offer my opinion during a meeting. To combat this, I spoke with my manager, and she recommended I speak at each team meeting for a few minutes about our project timeline, deadlines, and goals when developing a website for a client. This practice has enabled me to relax and see public speaking as an opportunity to help my team members do their jobs effectively."
There is strength in every weakness
It doesn't matter whether you are bad with numbers or afraid of speaking in group settings; there is a strength behind every weakness. The strength lies in how you work to overcome it. Additionally, leaning on your teammates who excel in those areas is another effective way to show that you will work well on the team. It also indicates that you know how to use your resources to solve problems. Another option is to take professional development courses with the ones you already have. Some courses help you improve on your weaknesses and add a feather to your cap. Plus, taking extra courses shows that you are willing to work toward improvement. Therefore, no matter the answers you share with the recruiters, the company will be very open to helping you grow and exceeding the expectations attached to the job description.
Tips for Answering Questions About Your Career Goals
You could consider several best practices when you answer questions about your career goals. Here are more tips for reviewing to help you with this type of question.
Try honesty: Any question regarding your career goal requires honesty. Therefore, be honest and present authentic details of where you envision yourself in the x years. You will be helping the hiring managers determine if you're the right fit for the job and if you'd be a good fit for their organization when you do this.
Keep it brief: Do not be superfluous with your explanation; go straight to the point. Succinct responses will benefit you more than lengthy and elaborate answers. Ensure that you deliver short but impactful answers because it shows your assertiveness and proves that you are confident in the answers you are giving. More so, you are helping to save time for yourself and the interviewers.
Do your research: It is important to research the organization you are applying for. The study will help you see how your goals and objectives align with theirs, and it also helps to see if you will be a great cultural fit for the organization. The recruiter would also want to know whether your career goals align with the objectives, mission, culture, goals, etc. Therefore, your plans will also hint at how long you will stay with them. Approaching the question this way will also help you ensure that your time is allotted well and in the direction that suits the company.
Tips for answering interview questions about your career goals
You may consider following some best practices when answering interview questions about your career goals. Review these tips for answering these types of questions:
Be honest: When answering questions regarding your future career goals, being as honest as possible can be helpful. Hence, you present your authentic self to hiring managers. Doing so can also help to hire managers to determine if you're the right person for the job and if you'd be a good fit.
Keep it short: Being able to answer career goal questions succinctly can be beneficial. Keeping your answers short but impactful can assert confidence in your answers and help the interview function time-efficiently.
Do your research: You can research the company you're applying for to see how your career goals may align with their company culture, objectives, mission, and plans. If you do this, you can ensure you allot your time wisely in the direction of relevant companies.
What is a Hiring Manager's Role in the Recruitment Process?
You may be wondering why this information is important to you. Knowing the roles and responsibilities of some of the people interviewing you could give you a perspective on how to approach the interview process. It could also help you with the needed psychological fertile ground to thrive during the interview process. Therefore, let's dive in.
Who is The Hiring Manager?
Generally, the hiring manager is responsible for hiring the best applicant for an existing job vacancy. Hiring managers do not have to be – and usually are not –HR employees. The hiring manager is often in charge of the department the recruitment has been open for, so they are your future manager in the department you are being interviewed for. Knowing your hiring manager could give you a perspective of what you should expect.
Therefore, the Hiring Manager is not responsible for the recruitment process itself. What do I mean? They aren't directly in charge of the candidate sourcing, screening, interview invitation, etc. This isn't their role. Nevertheless, the Hiring Manager is the key person in the entire process, and the outcome of the interview process depends on them.
What are the responsibilities of a hiring manager?
Next, let's look at some of the responsibilities of the hiring manager.
They decide that there is a need for a new employee and formally request hiring one. For example, it could be the replacement for an employee who has decided to leave the company and create an entirely new role within the company.
They discuss the above with senior management involved in making key financial decisions, such as the CEO or COO then get formal permission to begin the recruitment process.
They create the precise job description for the HR department, which then base the job advertisement on. This is crucial because it will decide if the whole process succeeds or fails. Therefore, they do their best to ensure that candidate requirements are realistic and adequate for the job responsibilities. In addition, they ensure that both are described in great detail.
They define the requirements and expectations for HR regarding recruitment and the interview especially. For example, its character, length, number of stages, tests and tasks they'd request candidates to complete, etc.
The Hiring Manager sends information about new openings internally and externally, operating independently of the standard HR responsibilities. This includes their professional network outside of the organization. The aim is to encourage candidate referrals that meet the criteria.
They conduct interviews with HR. Also, they evaluate your skills and experience and – even more importantly – your compatibility with the overall group and the organization's culture.
They verify candidates' references if there is a need.
They select the best candidate, offer them the job, and negotiate the contract and salary.
They build a rapport with the new employee regarding that 'in-between' stage once the job proposal has been accepted and before starting work.
Listen to or read the newest “Interview Prodigy” Amazon Audible & Kindle Book Series
Friends, greetings. Here are the newest “Interview Prodigy” audiobooks & ebooks series on Amazon for your reading-listening pleasure (https://tinyurl.com/57ehhjb2).
JavaScript Full Stack Developer: Capture the Job Offer and Advance Your Career (Audible) (Kindle)
AI Software Engineer: ChatGPT, Bard & Beyond (Audible) (Kindle)
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