Are you worried about job tie breaker questions on your application forms? You know the sort that say:
- Tell us what interests you about this job?
- What makes you feel you are the ideal applicant?
- Where do you see your career going?
- What do you consider to be your greatest personal achievement?
… and so on. Do these questions fill you with dread? Well, not only should you not hate them, you should actually learn to love them! No, really!
The key to answering is to first understand what the company is trying to achieve by asking them. They don’t really care about the specific answer, they just want to see you’ve taken the trouble to actually think about their question. In doing so, they’re establishing that you aren’t just churning applications out.
So, how should you answer a ‘tie-breaker’?
Well, firstly, let’s split these questions down into two categories – ones where they are asking just about you and ones where they are asking about you and their company.
If the question is solely about you, the company is wanting you to say something interesting about yourself. Don’t make the mistake of attempting flattery e.g. ‘my greatest achievement will be to work for you’. That will certainly catch the boss’ eye and also possess a 99.9% probability of condemning your application to the ‘no-hopers’ heap.
No, the right way is to relate some aspect of your life where you made a real concerted effort to do something e.g. in your hobbies, education, health e.g. ‘Backpacking across Australia’, ‘recovering from a bad illness’ or ‘making the school soccer team’. It needs to be anything that didn’t come easily and that you can talk about earnestly.
The interviewer will lap it up.
Now the other sort of tie-breaker question – the ‘what is special about our company?’ type. Well, what is special? Find out something newsworthy about them i.e. their latest big client, an area of their research, a new product being launched, a geographical expansion, a career opportunity, their training program etc. In other words anything you can adapt to suit your own interests and then swot up on before the interview. Always make it plausible.
For example, you’re applying to HMV for a job. Their website reads:
“… on starting, you will receive an innovative induction programme including online learning, you’ll get to see our show stopping induction DVD as well as receiving an invite to an induction workshop called ‘get closer’ …”
Right, so ‘What interests me about this job?’
Answer: “I am particularly impressed by the sound of the ‘Get Closer’ programme and like the idea of advancement in my own skill sector. I see that to both my own and HMV’s mutual benefit.”
At the interview, be prepared to talk about their Get Closer programme and have a few questions prepared.
Hopefully you can now see that the tie-breaker is an excellent way of pipping your fellow applicants to the post for the plum jobs. Good luck.
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Glad you liked the article, Joan. It’s something that I used to fear but learned to use to my advantage. At the risk of being arrogant, once I’d got the idea of dealing with them in my noodle, I used to go to interviews EXPECTING to get the job.
Good luck and happy job-hunting.