The Interview Answers That Always Win Me Over
From Recruiter to You: Interview Answers That Actually Work
His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy.
There’s vomit on his sweater already, Mom’s spaghetti.
Even if you’re not preparing for a rap battle, an upcoming job interview can be just as unsettling as in Eminem’s Lose Yourself scenario.
Especially if you really want that job.
Days and hours before the job interview, your mind is already racing:
What questions will they ask me?
Will I make a fool of myself?
Will Mom’s spaghetti stay put in my stomach or dislodge onto the interviewer’s suit?
I have 8 years of recruiting experience. Let me share a few of my favorite questions and what I would have considered a good answer.
Why Did You Apply to This Company?
Original, isn’t it? I am proudly tapping my shoulder over this one right now.
But seriously: As boring as it may seem, the question is rooted in a sad history of talents leaving my team with the next offer that pays slightly more.
I am not interested in you pretending to be sleeping in PJs with my company’s logo on them.
Neither am I interested in your ability to remember random company figures.
I want to see one simple thing: Did you prepare for this meeting?
Whatever you can tell me about the company will show me you cared enough to prepare.
Obviously, this will never be a guarantee of you staying for several years. But I will take this over anybody who barely manages to pronounce the company’s name correctly.
There’s actually one more thing I can learn from your answer: Honesty.
My previous company was not particularly prestigious. Outside of the automotive industry, I doubt that anybody would know its name. I didn’t before I joined.
So, again: Please, no made-up stories about your nightgown.
One of the best answers I heard:
I am trying to come to Germany to have a better life for my family and myself. And the company is working on some great products.
Followed by a pretty detailed explanation of the products he had researched.
This guy showed integrity and came prepared!
How Would You Rate Your XYZ Skills on a Scale From 1 to 10?
This isn’t a question I asked myself. Instead, I once heard it from a co-interviewer. It was his reaction to the response that surprised me. That’s why I want to share it with you.
Again, the intention behind the question is not as straightforward as it seems. In the interview I participated in, the interviewer asked the young woman to rate her organizational skills.
10!
Bam! Oozing with confidence. Not a single shadow of doubt on her face.
Then, my partner asked her.
“A perfect ten? So you don’t see any room for improvement?”
That caught me by surprise. Her, as well.
The confident façade deteriorated before me. She started stuttering a bit, but didn’t want to cave. She insisted that her organizational skills were top-notch, but the confidence she had before was gone.
That’s when I made it a rule to never give myself the highest number in such ratings. The risk is too high to come off as an arrogant jerk who is not interested in self-improvement.
I usually give myself an 8 or 9. When asked why I wouldn’t give myself the top grade, I can simply reply:
“I think that nobody is perfect and there is always something to improve.”
But be careful: If you play this card, you better be prepared to bring examples for improvement areas.
Because experienced interviewers know where to dig deeper.
When Were You Able to Show These Skills?
For some people, lying (or exaggerating) in an interview is child’s play.
Bullshit bingo artists know which buzzwords to drop to seem competent. They produce effective and pretty words, but won’t be able to back them up once hired.
Recruiters use a trick to unmask buzzword wizards: They steer the interview from the abstract into the concrete.
This is how it goes:
Interviewer: “Can you tell us a little about your conflict management skills? You mentioned substantial experience in your CV.”
Applicant: “Yes, in my past job, I was able to perfect my conflict management skills. Both subordinates and peers often praised me for my mediation skills.”
Interviewer: “That sounds wonderful! Can you please tell us about a specific situation when you used your excellent mediation skills?”
Applicant: “Oh, there were quite a few. But it has been a long time. I don’t remember them vividly enough, and I don’t want to lie.”
Smooth talker! But something is fishy already. By drawing the applicant into the sphere of concrete examples, his mask begins to crumble.
When the applicant refuses to provide a specific example, they will next outline a hypothetical scenario and ask how you would react.
With this technique, even trained narcissists struggle to keep up a fluent lie.
How Would You Set up a Project From Scratch?
I often used this question as a follow-up to another question: Can you create user documentation from scratch?
The reason is simple: most people know how to build upon existing solutions. Far fewer have learned to create something out of thin air.
And since everybody can easily claim to have attained this ability in their past jobs, I apply the same logic as before, from abstract to concrete.
I want examples.
For technical writers, I want to hear these essential things:
I want my future team members to start with research:
Who is the target group?
What needs does the target group have, and how can I meet them?
What processes apply?
Are there templates?
What are the allowed tools?
Are there any legal requirements I need to meet?
Have similar things already been done in the company? By whom?
The goal of this extensive research is to prevent reinventing the wheel. Too many people use pragmatism as an excuse for being a lazy researcher.
For all of those things, name an example. Of course, I know the theoretical optimum cannot always be achieved in the chaos of daily business.
In this case, tell me how you would have tackled the task if you had enough time. I want to know what you are capable of: Both under stress and under perfect circumstances.
Conclusion: Come Prepared
If you want to sum up what mattered the most to me in an applicant, it’s
integrity,
reliability,
willingness to learn, and
the ability to back up your talk.
Of course, other interviewers will have different techniques and questions. But there’s no denying every recruiter wants these 3 qualities.
To really polish your interview skills and cement your answers, do a dry run with your partner or a friend. It’s better to stumble with them than during the real thing.
Most candidates think they’re prepared. But the ones who land the job prove it. Show up honest, prepared, and ready to show your work, and you’re already ahead of most applicants.
And now…
Go get YOUR job!
📃 Subscribe to get real-world examples, sample answers, and insights from 8 years in the hiring seat.
💬 Special treat for my paid subscribers: Let me know in the comments which interview areas or questions you struggle with most. I am happy to share my recruiter’s perspective!