In “100+ Winning Answers to the Toughest Interview Questions,” Casey Hawley recommends the “S.S.S. Method for Fast and Fantastic Answers” which includes providing responses that are specific, short, and supportive. This article explores how you can answer interviewers in a manner that shows your supportive side and why they should really want you on their team.

You are selling yourself as a future colleague. Hawley describes it this way: “People hire people they wouldn’t mind going to lunch with, meeting, and working with as a team.” Keep in mind that you shouldn’t interview for a job where you don’t really want to work because that false pretense will come across in the interview. Although there are rehearsed phrases that Hawley recommends to include to show your support, this article provides strategies for coming up with unique answers instead of memorizing them from a book.

Show Your Personality

Your first strategy begins with reflecting on your personality. Make a list of the characteristics you have (and former bosses would attest to) that make you a desirable future colleague. In your interview, incorporate one or more of these characteristics into your responses. You don’t want to appear like you are tooting your own horn too loudly, but be confident in conveying why you are a desirable employee.

Accomplishments

The second strategy concerns reflecting on your history of work accomplishments. Make a list of your previous work accomplishments that are related to the position for which you are interviewing. You can practice talking about how your prior achievement could be useful at this new job. For example, if you headed a task force that solved an important problem at your previous employer, you might say: “I successfully led a team of colleagues in a task force that found a viable solution for resolving customer complaints. I could help you here by taking on leadership roles when needed.”

When you sell yourself in the interview, make sure that you are supportive. That means be personable, agreeable, flexible, concerned, and interested in what the interviewer says. Work around any interruptions or holdups in the interview time slot. Make the interviewer see why he/she wants to have you around full-time. Remember that you shouldn’t portray yourself in ways that are not true to your personality. That can get you fired during the first week if you land the job. Several reasons why you are a great future colleague should be apparent in the interview.

Want to Start the Job Interview Badly?
April 22, 2009
When it comes to interviewing, punctuality is a virtue. Show up late, and you might as well not show up at all. However, don't go overboard and take this to mean you can score extra points by showing ...