Job hunting can be an intimidating process for many individuals, especially when it comes to the interview. Settling into the seat you may already be feeling a growing sense of nervousness as imposter syndrome starts to creep in. Do you even have the experience to work for this company? Should you even be here?

And then the actual questions begin. While some of the questions seem easy enough others may seem to come out of left field.

“What is your greatest weakness?”

“What separates you from other candidates?”

“Tell us about a past mistake? How did you handle it?”

Andrew Lokenauth, a writer for the Financial News Letter, offers some excellent insight into tackling these kinds of questions. In his work he has discussed a number of seemingly quirky interview questions candidates often encounter and offer the right  approach to tackle them.

We have applied Lokenauth’s expertise to a hypothetical interview. Deon Meyers, a retired army NCO and a facilitator of MTR (Military Transition Roundtable), provided answers to the questions we explore. Our hope is that it will add greater context to the curveballs interviewers like to pitch.

Question 1: What do you consider your greatest weakness?

At first you might be uncertain on how to approach this question. Why on earth would you want to appear weak to the recruiter? However, the intent behind this question is to demonstrate your growth as an individual.

Think back to your time in basic training or officer school. You entered as a raw candidate. Over the course of this onboarding process you were refined into a functioning member of the armed services. As your military career developed you continued to grow as an individual, picking up new skills and refining your craft.

Deon:

I am not sure about my greatest weakness, but I can talk about a weakness in the past and how I overcame it. I have very high standards, and unfortunately not everyone shares those standards. Which can sometimes lead to frustration. However, what I found was that with a little bit of effective communication, I can smooth that over and it never ever really becomes a problem.

What are some areas you have greatly improved in?

Question 2: What sets you apart from other candidates?

This is another curveball question. Rather than focus on trying to analyze the countless other applicants you’ve never met, the trick is to instead focus on your own strengths.

When you applied to the position there were likely a number of qualities and skills the company was looking for. Lokenauth suggests picking five of these top skills and elaborating on how you can apply them to the job. Not only will this allow you to put a personal spin to this tricky question, it will also demonstrate that you put the time to read through their ad.

Deon:

My level of knowledge, my commercial awareness, and my commitment to continuous improvement. My knowledge and my expertise are relevant to this industry and this role, and they have been built up over several years. My commercial awareness means I know that I must consistently perform to a high standard in the position, I must also look for ways to help your company grow. Profits are far more important than turnover. My commitment to lifelong learning means I will always grow and improve in the position as your company develops. 

(bonus)I believe loyalty is quite rare in the workplace, but I am a loyal person. If you hire me, I will always be a positive role model for your company and I plan to build a long-term career right here with your organization and be a consistently high achiever.

What are ways you can apply your past experiences to your desired job?

Question 3: Tell me a time you couldn’t meet a goal/deadline & how you handled it

This question is less about punctuality and more about your ability to adapt. Even in the military you likely encountered scenarios where things didn’t go exactly as planned. The same will hold true in the civilian workforce.

How did you respond when things went awry? What did you do to address the situation? More importantly, what did you learn so as to prevent issues like this from happening again? By demonstrating you can adapt to setbacks you will paint a favorable impression in the interview.

Deon:

Our Corporate office requested a full inventory count at random. We were given just two days to complete this count when usually these inventory counts were given three full days to complete. I was a team lead at the time so, I rescheduled us to work longer split shifts to ensure we met the timeline without overworking anyone. I turned the task into a competition where the first person to complete their inventory section was given two free movie tickets. My plan worked well! We finished inventory count in just 39 hours and the team remained motivated.

How are you able to adapt in the face of the unexpected?

Question 4: Tell me a time when you made a mistake? How did you handle it?

Similar to Question 3, this is an opportunity to demonstrate your adaptability. However, while the last question might focus on outside factors interfering with the task at hand, this one looks inward.

Let’s face it. We have all made mistakes of some kind of another in the course of our lives. While it might seem tempting to minimize your imperfections, instead see this as an opportunity to demonstrate creative problem solving. You’ll likely make some mistakes on the new job. What the recruiter wants to know is are you able to learn from the experience so you don’t repeat the same ones over and over.

Deon:

In my previous role, my manager asked for a volunteer to complete a valuable time sensitive task and I agreed to be that person. Now, the task involved collecting 12 months’ worth of company sales figures, which my manager needed for an important presentation they were going to give to senior management. Now when I started work on the task, I soon realized I had underestimated how long it was going to take to complete it now because of my mistake. I had to stay behind late after work each evening and commit extra hours to get the job finished on time. Moving forward, I made sure I never make the same mistake again. I carefully consider each task I am responsible for and take the time to determine the exact amount of time and resources it would take me to finish that task.


How have you learned from your mistakes and grown as a person?

Question 5: What is your greatest strength?

At last we get a question that is asking about our best side. While this question might seem easier compared to the ones that came before, there is a trick involved to make a favorable impression.

First, choose to focus on strengths that are directly related to the role on hand. For example, if you are applying for an IT position choose to focus on your technical skills.

Avoid attributes that are nebulous. Anyone can boast about being a hard worker or a team player. However if you can demonstrate explicit knowledge requested for the role, you will easily stand out.

Deon:

My willingness to embrace change. I will always support you in your long-term objectives.

I have a solid work ethic. I don’t want to just finish a project I want to finish ahead of time. Last year I even earned a bonus for completing my last three reports a week ahead of time.

What makes you an ideal candidate for the job you want?

We want to give a special thanks to Deon Meyers for his assistance in this article..