A key tool that has worked countless times is to rehearse and prepare three positive things and one or two challenges as ‘go to’ answers or items to discuss as needed.

Prepare three positive attributes or strengths

(e.g. you’re resilient, you’re a people leader, you have attention to detail).

Prepare two challenges or opportunities for improvement

(e.g. you naturally work in the detail rather than focus on the strategic vision, and you were involved in a previous project that didn’t go to plan).

This prepares you to answer a range of questions:

• What are your strengths?

• Why should we hire you?

• Tell me about a time you failed?

• What will you bring to this company?

• What would you colleagues say about you?

• What makes you unique?

• What would you like to improve about yourself?

A few additional rules when answering interview questions:

• Always ensure the answer is relevant to the job at hand. Turn a broad question into a specific answer (e.g. what are your future goals and aspirations – provide specifics and how the job fits into this plan).

• If asked to identify any weaknesses, put a positive spin on it (e.g. “I find myself working in the detail too much, so I am now working on regularly looking at the big picture. This has worked well for me recently when… [give example]”. You don’t even need to list a weakness, just listing something that you’re working to improve is fine, BUT make sure this doesn’t relate a fundamental part of the job.

• If asked a behavioural based question (i.e. tell me about a time when…), be specific and give examples. If you can’t think of a specific example, try to provide an instance where you have seen it happen (or heard about it) and explain how you would handle it.

• Make sure you consider what success looks like in the role for you and be prepared to articulate this in the interview. This should include key things that you would aim to deliver and how you would engage with your peers.