And if they press for more information about things like your age or parental status-you don’t have to answer.Knowledge is power.
Read more: 5 Tough Interview Questions and How to Answer ThemĪnswers to some of the above questions may reveal information like this, so keep that in mind when crafting your answer. Keep in mind that while you can share information like this if you want to, you are under no obligation to do so, and some interviewers, whether they intend to or not, may use this information to discriminate in the hiring process. That’s because this kind of information can be used to discriminate against job candidates. Questions about your marital or parental status, where you live, and your age are just a few examples. There are some questions that are illegal for interviewers to ask. If you’re telling a particularly exciting story that’s adventurous or funny, remember where you are and whom you’re speaking to. This one’s a given, but as a helpful reminder-don’t swear, don’t even risk it. However, this shouldn’t mean that you trash-talk your current employer. If you are interviewing for a new job while still at another, it’s to be understood that you want to leave. Negative feelings about your current job (or former job) If you spent last weekend at a rager, keep that one to yourself.
If you spent last weekend at the local swing dancing club, great. There’s no need to undercut or undermine yourself, and self-deprecating jokes might hurt your chances of being taken seriously by superiors (and coworkers). The worst possible answer you could give to a question that asks you to talk about yourself-because you do! There’s something unique about all of us. Read more: Ask a Recruiter: Can I Be Myself During an Interview? How not to answer the question I don’t know Now let’s discuss what you shouldn’t say when asked about yourself- because although you want to be open, there are boundaries to recognize. When talking about your interests, it’s important to be honest and only talk about the things that you genuinely enjoy instead of what you think sounds impressive. How does this job specifically help you do so?.
These might be in your professional career, academic career, in your community, or for a hobby or artistic venture.Do you have a unique degree for your field?.Have you had a non-traditional career path? Why did you trust them with connecting you to this job?.Do you ever get paid to produce your art?ĭo you have a connection that helped you find this job?.
Do you have a passion outside of work that you’re honing or pursuing?.Do you belong to any clubs or community organizations?.How do you spend nights and weekends? (Be careful with this one-more on that later.).Questions to ask yourself to dig up those interesting facts What are your interests outside of work? But we’ve got you covered with a quick guide to breezing through this question, while making yourself stand out as the most thoughtful, interesting candidate. An important job interview only packs on the pressure. It happens to the best of us: As soon as someone says, tell me an interesting fact about yourself, everything you know about who you are and what you do, flies right out the window.