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How to Answer "If You Were An Animal, What Animal Would You Be??" Interview Question

An interview technique was developed during the 80?s and 90?s which involved asking candidates very odd questions which they simply would not expect to hear. The intention was to put the prospective employee in a difficult or odd situation to test their ability to respond under pressure. The unexpected question would also give the interviewer better insight into the candidate’s real behaviour as their answer will be off-the-cuff rather than prepared. The animal question noted above does just this and became popular after chat show hosts used it when interviewing celebrities.

If you’re asked this question there are relatively obvious answers to steer clear of, for example snake which is likely to suggest you have a sneaky side, or fox which might indicate you are untrustworthy. There may of course be situations when these attributes, which are often considered negative, are positive for example if applying for a job as a private detective.

“I am camouflaged and unoticed until I have the information I require, and then I can slide away and report on what has been found!”

Fluffy or cuddly animals are unlikely to make a great impression as you’ll sound like a push-over, although again there may be roles such as nurturing jobs, where this is a benefit.

Preschool Teacher:

“A fluffy bunny, because I am approachable and able to calm a situation rapidly, but I am also consistent and reliable.”

If you have carry out some basic research into the role, you’ll be able to identify which attributes are likely to be required to be successful in the position, and be better placed to refer to an animal example. The most useful answers to the animal question intimate qualities such as strength, intelligence or leadership.

Strength:

“I would say lion – I develop a strong team and let each member get on with their job, but I am prepared to step in – to roar – when necessary to make sure we are all pulling together in the right direction.”

Intelligence:

“I am a dolphin – a smart animal that uses initiative to overcome problems and works well in a team.”

Leadership:

“I’m the queen bee. I have an important role to play putting the right people in the right place and oversee the consistent development of the hive.”

Perseverance:

“I would be a tortoise – I weigh up the options, chose the correct route and keep trudging along with the workload until I have completed the task.”

Jobs requiring repetitive work may use the following example.

“I’m the worker ant – give me a job to do and I will continue to do it again and again until the task is complete.”

Other examples of animals and their conotations are listed below;

• Tiger – Intelligent / street smart
• Monkey – Intelligent / nimble
• Fox – Clever, but with a hint of dishonesty
• Lion – Regal, commanding
• Elephant – Leader, unstoppable, great memory
• Ant – Hard worker
• Dolphin – Intelligent

Animals which you should probably avoid are:

– Snake – Sneaky and dishonest
– Whale – Bloated
– Sloth – Lazy

  
How to Answer "What are your hobbies?" Interview Question

If you’re preparing to answer this question in an interview then it can really help knowing some basics about the job role you’re applying for, the company, and if possible the interests of those in charge. The question is intended to better understand whether you have interests in other fields and therefore if you are a well-rounded person. Your interests don’t have to match the interviewer, but if you have already picked up on a shared interest in your pre-interview research or during the interview then it is worth mentioning it – it may be the reason you are remembered better than the other candidates.

Whatever you say, be honest. It’s not unreasonable to exaggerate how often you partake in the activity, but if you tell an outright lie just to impress someone it could look very negative if you are caught out during the interview or later.

Sports/Running:

“I try to run at the gym every day. It is usually about 10 miles,” is a good answer even if you only run 10 miles once every week. It’s a very bad answer if you spend less time at the gym than combing your hair in the morning, and you have not run since you were at school!

Golf:

“I enjoy a bit of golf which I try to fit in every week.” Golf is considered a preferred sport of high level professionals, so if you are a keen golfer then certainly bring it up, although don’t try to impress with your score. However if you don’t know your tee from your birdie then you shouldn’t mention it.

Reading:

“I like to read in my spare time, sometimes a book every week.” This is a brilliant example of something we can all do if we’re not sure that we have any hobbies and is an example of you doing something with your time which is not just watching television or ‘socialising’ a.k.a. drinking!

If you can be more dynamic with your answer than just a single hobby that you have, for example if you have a hobby which is physical such as a sport, then try to show how this or another hobby you have engages your brain. See the examples below:

Thinking and sports:

“I am a keen rugby player and enjoy writing short pieces about the games for our local newspaper.”

Do-it-yourself:

“I spend a lot of time improving our home, including tiling and basic carpentry. I really enjoy the planning, setting out and working through the project.”

If you think you don’t have any hobbies then perhaps you just haven’t recognised what you do with your spare time can be considered a hobby, and maybe these examples have helped you to define them. If you really don’t have hobbies then don’t lie in the interview, but perhaps it wouldn’t do you any harm to start a hobby as they are very rewarding.

One further note, don’t say, “work is my hobby” as that is not likely to impress anyone and if the interviewer has asked this question they expect you to have something outside of work.

You can also use the examples on your CV.

Good luck.

  
How to Answer "What Are Your Goals?" Interview Question

If you’ve been presented with this question during an interview, you should make sure that your answer relates well to the positions for which you have applied. If the company makes and sells biscuits, and the role you are applying for is within the production line then you probably should avoid mentioning an unrelated goal of making your own clothing line. A goal relating to acheiving targets set, or being a great team-player might be appropriate.

Example Answers

Perhaps even striving for something else within the industry such as becoming a successful salesperson, “I would like to learn the business from the bottom-up, then perhaps in a few years move into sales to assist the company from that end. Learning the manufacturing process first will be really useful.”

You could mention goals which refer to non-career related tasks such as family or voluntary work, but only if you are confident you can relate this back to the position. For example if you mention that you want to start a family this might suggest that you will be taking time off from work to look after any children. “I want to be indispensible with a successful career so that I can raise a family.”

So it’s not just about what you say, it also how you say it. For example if you step in with, “I want to be doing your job in a couple of years” you could be either undermining the interviewer’s position by making out that it’s easy to step into their shoes, or making them feel uneasy by suggesting you’ll steal their job. A more positive way of stating this is, “I plan to work hard to become a productive and successful employee, then once you get a promotion I can be on that side of the table asking the questions to prospective candidates.”

The only way to truely be successful in an interview is to really understand what the role will entail, and what your own goals and expectations of yourself in that career would be. For this question it would be wise to prepare by making a list of your possible goals, then reviewing these against the job description to see how they can fit together. If you can include your intention of how the goal will be achieved that would be an even stronger answer.

Some examples of answers are listed below for you:

Competitive:

“I see myself as being the best salesperson in the company. I’ll get there by listening intently to the advice of experienced and successful employees and constantly striving to improve myself.”

Learn and grow within the company:

“This job seems to be so varied it would be an excellent opportunity to try my hand at a number of different aspects and then maybe focus on one element to become specialist in that area.”

To be a manager:

“Once I have had a few years of experience behind me I’d like to work towards supervisory or management roles.”

  
Tell me about yourself

You walk into the interview room, shake hands with your interviewer and sit down with your best interviewing smile on. Guess what their first question is? "Tell me about yourself."

Do you "wing it" and actually tell all manner of things about yourself? Will you spend the next 5 minutes rambling on about what an easy-going, loyal, dedicated, hard working employee you’ve been? If this is the case, you stand a good chance of having bored your interviewer to death thus creating a negative first impression.

Because it’s such a common interview question, it’s strange that more candidates don’t spend the time to prepare for exactly how to answer it. Perhaps because the question seems so disarming and informal, we drop our guard and shift into ramble mode. Resist all temptation to do so.

Your interviewer is not looking for a 10-minute dissertation here. Instead, offer a razor sharp sentence or two that sets the stage for further discussion and sets you apart from your competitors.

Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

Give them "your synopsis about you" answer, specifically your Unique Selling Proposition. Known as a personal branding or a value-added statement, the USP is a succinct, one-sentence description of who you are, your biggest strength and the major benefit that a company will derive from this strength. Here is an example of a Unique Selling Proposition: "I’m a seasoned Retail Manager strong in developing training programs and loss prevention techniques that have resulted in revenue savings of over £2.3Million for (employer’s name) during the past 11 years."

What a difference you’ve made with this statement. Your interviewer is now sitting forward in her chair giving you her full attention. At this point, you might add the following sentence: "I’d like to discuss how I might be able to do something like that for you." The ball is now back in her court and you have the beginnings of a real discussion and not an interrogation process.

Be Specific

The key is that you must lead with your strongest benefit to the employer. Be specific and don’t wander about with some laundry list of skills or talents. Be sure to put a monetary value on your work if at all possible and be ready with details when you’re called upon. Give an estimated value to the ££ you’ve either helped to make or save for your employer.

Be Prepared

When you walk into an interview, remember to always expect the "tell me about yourself" question. Prepare ahead of time by developing your own personal branding statement that clearly tells who you are, your major strength and the clear benefit that your employer received. The advantages of this approach are that you’ll quickly gain their attention and interest them in knowing more. You’ll separate yourself from your competitors. You’ll also have a higher chance of being positively remembered and hired.

  
If you are going for an interview as a Bar Manager then you will have had some previous Bar and Management experience or a least as an Assistant manager or Supervisor role looking for the next step up.

You will need to be a confident person to be a Bar Manager and be organised, prepared to work long unsociable hours and deal with some difficult situations and people at times.

Related: Bar Manager Cover Letter

If you have got your interview date through then you must prepare well. Have you been to the Bar in the past, what do you know about it? Do a visit before your interview and assess who works there now, who you could be working with, who is currently running the bar, what do the serve, drinks or food as well, what is the service like. Whilst you are doing your visit analyse how you would change things if that was the bar you were managing, what ideas do you have for that bar and how could you implement them?

Once you are fully prepared on where the interview is and what they are all about you then need to prepare yourself in terms of questions and how your previous experiences match up to the role they have advertised.

Some questions during your interview could be along the lines of:
When have you been in a situation of management or supervisory?Why do you enjoy working in a Bar?How would you deal with staff that do not turn up for a shift on a Saturday night?How would your previous Manager describe you?Have you had any experience of dealing with food being served in bar?There are numerous questions that you could be asked but above all an interviewer will be looking to see what type of personality you have and your confidence levels as you will need to be confident and outgoing to be a successful Bar Manager.

Best Wishes.

  
If you are preparing for an interview as a Compliance Officer then you will already know what job requirements that particular company are looking for. You will normally be degree educated with some previous business experience.

In the role of Compliance Officer you will be expected to advise companies on how to follow set procedures and industry standards. You will need to be an excellent communicator in order to go to different companies and discuss what standards and processes a company should be following and give them advice on how to go about this.

Related: Interview Questions

Before attending your interview ensure that you have done your research, not just on the company itself and the role but also found out basic details as to where the interview is being held, you do not want to be caught out on the day, do a dummy run.

When preparing for the interview, go through the job description or advert with your CV and mark out your experiences versus what the company are specifically looking for so that any questions that you are asked you will have thought about job specific.
For a Compliance Officer role, the interviewer(s) will be looking for someone who can communicate well in writing and orally as you will need to write up reports and meet clients and provide advice and guidance for them in sometimes not very understood circumstances.

You could be asked questions such as:
Talk me through a time that you have visited a client, how did you make the appointment and what was the visit about and how did it go?How do you monitor progress and set actions plans in place?How do you keep up to date with company standards and processes?What do you do before visiting any new client?An interviewer will be looking to assess how well you will behave in front of clients and how authoritive you will come across as well as being able to build relationships and work together.

If you do your research thoroughly into the company and the job role then the rest comes down to you and your personality for this role. 

Good Luck.

  
As a Sales Ledger you may have had some previous accounting experience but you will normally also have a strong administration background. In the role of Sales Ledger for a company you will deal with all the invoices coming into and out of the business and ensuring that these invoices are paid on time.  You will need to be very organised and an excellent communicator, you will be required to liaise with clients on a regular basis and build a relationship with these clients.

Related: Purchase Ledger Job Description

If you have got an interview for a Sales Ledger role then first and foremost you need to be certain you know where the interview is going to be held, can you park if you are driving etc, all the simple questions that you do not want to be dealing with on the day of the interview allowing you to get stressed and flustered.

Once you are confident about the location etc then you need to research the company as much as you can, find out as much company history as you possibly can, do you know anyone who works there  or anyone who has had any dealings with them?

Your interviewer will pay attention to your previous work history and how this can transfer into the role that they are looking for so you need to be sure that you have gone through your CV and their job description and outline any areas of weakness before it is highlighted in the interview. Think how you can address these issues before hand in case a question comes up that you would struggle with.

Some questions that you may be asked could be as follows:
How often do you chase outstanding invoices? How long do you leave it before calling a client?How do you keep an accurate log of invoices?What accounting packages have you experience in? Have you any other experience of an Accounts department and if so what?What made you go into Accounts?There are various other questions you could be asked but if you go through the  advert and job description thoroughly with your CV then you should be able to answer the questions well.

Good Luck.

  
As a Field Sales Executive you will have had some previous Sales experience, maybe in a similar industry or product line or maybe even a role on the road and a different industry. Whatever your experience you will need to be good at selling.  Your communication skills will need to be second to none and you will need to be very motivated and confident.

Before attending your interview you need to know what area you will be expected to work, how far is it, how achievable are the results? You need to analyse what the company is all about, can you find out what other sales people they have or what the company team size is etc?

Related: Sales Assistant Cover Letter

As a sales person in the field you will need to be prepared to travel some miles each day and depending on the size of your area you may have to stay away one or two nights a week. With previous experience you will know that a sales environment is not always easy and that you need to be prepared for rejection and be self motivated to keep bouncing back up.

When you have assessed where your interview is going to be held and basic details such as parking etc then you need to analyse your skills and against the job requirements and prepare practice answers as to how your experience matches up to what they are looking for.

During your interview, you could be asked questions such as:
What products have you most enjoyed selling and why?How do you feel about working to targets and how have you worked to targets in the past?Can you sell (XXX) to me? They will be looking for an example of your selling technique so research their products/services.How do you keep motivated?As a sales role there are many job specific questions that you are likely to be asked but you need to go to the interview fully prepared and if you have done your research that will help a great deal.

Best of Luck.

  
As a Careers Adviser you will be expected to provide advice and support to job seekers. You will need to have some prior knowledge of the job market interviewing and recruitment and be able to discuss job details with clients and help them improve their CV’s etc.

Before attending an interview you will need to be certain of your previous experiences matched with the job requirements. Have you done something similar that you can draw upon during your interview, how do you communicate with people of all levels? You may be faced with making some difficult situation for people depending on the company or body that you work for so you need to be able to think on your feet and follow company procedures.

As a Careers adviser, your interviewer will be looking to see if you can provide support and help to people looking for careers advise. Depending on the company or body that you are hoping to be employed by will depend on what type of people you will advising and what their situations are.

During your interview, you could be asked questions such as:
When in the past have you helped someone to get a new job?What advice would you give to someone who could not do the job that they want to apply for?Do you know how to do a CV and help someone lay it out?What are your strong subjects to advise on?What do you feel makes a good interview?Related: Interview Questions and Answers

You will need excellent communication skills as you will spend the majority of your time talking and discussing opportunities with people. You will need a great deal of patience and empathy towards people and genuinely feel like you could help them. You will need excellent time management skills and be organised as you will be seeing numerous people each day and each meeting will be different depending on the person and situation.

Good luck.

  
As an Income officer you will be responsible for ensuring that monies, primarily rents owed are paid on time and any arrears under control. You will be required to visit tenants at their homes and collect rents on a weekly or monthly basis and deal with any concerns or issues that arise out of your visit.

You will be travelling about a lot and spending time making calls to ensure that the tenants are going to be in when you call and chasing people up as required.
Before attending an interview you will need to get your application form, your CV and job description together with any other information you have been given and go through it with a fine tooth comb. You need to make sure that any questions you are asked during your interview if you can do something that you can say yes and if there is something that you are slightly weaker on that you can highlight this first and turn it into a positive before being asked any questions during an interview.

Once you are comfortable that you can do the role and that you know exactly where the interview is going to be held and how you are going to get there then you need to focus on what questions you could ask them close to the end when it comes to asking questions.

Income Officer Interview Questions

Some of the questions you may be asked are as follows:
What do you understand about local government and how the housing market is?Tell me about a time when you have had a meeting with someone who was verbally abusive to you and how you handled this?Have you had any training of how to handle yourself?If you turn up at someone’s house and they have a dog which seems quite nasty, what would you do?Where would you keep the rental monies that you collect during your visiting times?You need to think that not everyone will be pleased to see someone coming to collect their rent and therefore you need to be prepared at all times. Your interviewer will be looking to see if you have the confidence and right manner and attitude to do this role.

Good luck.