InfoSec Jobs

Most Common Interview Questions And Answers

WHAT ARE THE MOST COMMON INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS? No two interviews are ever the same, but anyone who has been looking for a job knows that some questions seem to come up tine and time again. Here’s our guide to the top interview questions, the best responses, and more importantly, what not to say. CAN YOU TELL ME A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF? DO SAY The interviewer is looking for a quick summary of who you are and what you’ve been doing. Talk briefly about the experience you’ve had which is relevant to the job, mention your top achievements, and say why you think you’d be perfect for the role. DON'T SAY Don’t ramble on about your entire life history, mention your family, where you went on holiday or hobbies. Just stick to facts and experience relevant to the position. WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR WEAKNESSES ARE? DO SAY This is the question people are most afraid of. The key is to identifying something you know you’re not strong with, but are addressing. Saying you aren’t as up to speed with software or presentation skills as you might be, but are looking into training to brush up your knowledge is the sort of answer employers are looking for. DON'T SAY Don’t trot out the clichés about being a perfectionist or not having any faults at all. Don’t be too detailed in pulling yourself down either; no interviewer wants to hear that you’re poor at time-keeping, disorganised and struggle to work effectively in a team. TELL ME ABOUT A TRICKY SITUATION YOU DEALT WITH AT WORK WHICH INVOLVED CONFLICT DO SAY Employers are looking for a concrete example from your work life involving negotiating or personality clashes with colleagues. Lay out the basic situation, how you resolved it, and what the outcome was. If you don’t have a work example, you can draw on something from a volunteer role instead. DON'T SAY It’s never a good idea to tell a story which involves you as the protagonist causing the conflict. The interview will just get the impression that you’re a trouble maker. WHY DO YOU WANT TO LEAVE YOUR CURRENT POSITION? DO SAY The best response is something involving new challenges, or highlighting aspects of the new role which aren’t available with your current employer. Be specific, referring to items in the job description. DON'T SAY Even if you hate your boss and are bored to tears in your job, the interview’s not the time to mention it. WHAT SALARY WOULD YOU BE LOOKING FOR? DO SAY Most job adverts will include a salary band and this is a good starting point. If not, you can use comparison sites to see roughly what similar roles are paying. Justify what you’re asking for, and tell the interviewer about the experience and knowledge you have which justifies your figure. DON'T SAY Don’t umm and ahh, say you’re not sure, or whatever the interviewer thinks will be fine. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR US? DO SAY Ask something specific about the role, or the company. If you’re read something in the press about a new product or announcement, asking about that shows you’ve done your research. DON'T SAY Don’t say that you have no questions, or ask about holidays, or what time you finish on a Friday.

How To Prepare For A Behavioural Interview

GETTING READY FOR A BEHAVIOURAL INTERVIEW IN TECH Increasingly, employers are moving away from the traditional interview focusing on what you’ve done in previous roles and talking through your experience. Initial screening weeds out the people without the qualifications for the role. At interview, it’s more about assessing your personality, behaviour, and how you react in certain situations. DO SOME RESEARCH The initial job advert should give you some clues about the sorts of questions you can expect in your interview. Scan the posting for words like “efficient”, “self-starter”, “organised”, “attention to detail”. This should tell you a lot about the sorts of questions you will be asked. Take a look at the organisation’s website and see if there are profiles of people doing similar roles. If the company is a large multinational, you might also find unofficial posts from other people who have had interviews in the past. Make a list of all the qualities you think they are looking for on a piece of paper. LIST YOUR EXPERIENCE Go through each of the personality traits or competencies which you have listed. Think about what you could say if you are asked to “give an example of a time when…” for each. Remember that your examples don’t have to come from your present position. You can draw on experience from a past position, or any voluntary role you have had. Look for situations which you found challenging or difficult, but which ultimately had a positive outcome. Make a brief note of the relevant situations against each word in the list as a memory prompt. THE 'STAR' METHOD The useful STAR acronym is worth keeping in mind when deciding what to say at interview. S and T stands for situation or task, where you outline briefly what was going on. A stands for action; what did you do to move things forward? And finally R is the result of your actions. Following these steps should reduce the temptation to ramble, or get sidetracked during the interview with irrelevant detail. Each response should be no longer than two minutes. Time yourself speaking aloud if you’re worried that you might be speaking for too long. PREPARE FOR SURPRISES Although it’s usually easy to predict that an interviewer is going to ask you about a time when you showed leadership or dealt with conflict, other questions are harder to predict. Some employers like to throw a random question into the mix to see how you think on your feet. Some might ask you to tell them a joke, or ask what type of animal represents you best. With this sort of question the answer itself isn’t as important as keeping your cool, not getting flustered and being able to come up with a response. EVALUATION GOES BEYOND THE INTERVIEW Expect to be evaluated from the second you walk through the door of the organisation. Many interviewers will ask receptionists for their opinion of candidates, so if they try to strike up a conversation make relevant small talk. Similarly, if you’re offered a tour of the site, take up the offer and appear engaged and interested.

Job Search

CLOUD & SOFTWARE TECH

INFO SEC

SAP

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS

Information Security

The Information Security Recruitment Specialists

InfoSec Jobs in the UK, Germany and the US

InfoSec Jobs: Our Specialist Areas

Are you ready for your next career move?

Make an enquiry

Get in touch

Employer?

Latest Information Security Permanent Jobs

Cyber Security Analyst

Latest Information Security Contract Jobs

Interim SOC Manager

External Industrial Security Expert

Latest Blogs

Jade's Montash Story

Most Common Interview Questions And Answers

How To Prepare For A Behavioural Interview

Phone Interview Tips To Progress In Your IT Job Application