I cannot seem to get past the job interview part of getting a job. Please help.

Thanks Careem

What sort of trouble are you having? Or do you not know what the problem is?

I can't seem to have trouble answering the questions. When ever I am asked a question my answer just is'nt clear and I sometimes forget what the interviewer asked me.

I see...

This is a big problem, obviously. I have a couple of possible ideas.

Do you have a friend or two you could practice job interviews with?

Find a bunch of sample job interview questions, and go through a "mock" interview. Get used to answering the normal ones... and then ask your friend to make up a couple of new questions every time you practice, so you get used to answering questions you haven't already thought about.

Ask your friend to give you suggestions on how you could answer questions better next time you practice if you or he/she think that you did badly on one or more questions.

Practice makes perfect, they say, and I disagree, but it DOES make better.

I tend to ramble in unclear ways sometimes. Painful as it is, writing an outline with the points you want to make really helps. I know that's torture writing it out but again with Clam's suggestion; get somebody you can talk it through with. If you are comfortable with them, you probably can explain your points really simply when asked to summarize. Then jot them down in outline format & read from that in more detail next time. If not, just go back & forth with them sorting out the best way to organize & present the relevant points.

Ha ha... post it here...

: - )

Careem,


I am not sure if you are going through an employment agency or not, but a lot of times they help and give tips on the interview process. If you are, ask them for suggestions. There is also tons of information on the web.

Careem,
can you give more detail? Are you going to interviews or too nervous to even get to that part?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ok I re-read your post slowwlly, I'll try again~~~~~~~~~~~
"seem to have trouble answering the questions. When ever I am asked a question my answer just isn’t clear and I sometimes forget what the interviewer asked me"

Careem,
Couple of things I would try--
Take a pause before answering; repeat the question before answering (not word by word just a shortened version to make sure you 'get' the question right).

In my mind I always figure the questions and answers aren't as significant as the interviewer trying to get a 'feel' for your personality.

Makes it a little less important to me so I don't freak as much...And the more you do it --interviews--the easier it does get.

I try to put myself in the interviewers spot, he just wants to get the best fit for the job, it's not allll about me ;) it's not personal. And I don't want to just 'fool' someone and get the first job out there either; I want to get put in a spot that won't be too much for me either. So I just try and slow my mouth from answering before I ramble and keep my best attributes in mind when I 'sell' myself.

Hope that's not too scattered, long day,
Best of luck to yo

In my current job I often hire people, and there are a couple of things that can be done in the interview process to help you get on the right foot answering questions.

1) I usually provide the questions on a written sheet for the interviewees to follow along with. Some folks are visual learners,and I'm one of them! To level the playing field, the interviewer may not want to only give you the questions written if they dont normally, so you might ask in advance for the questions to be provided in writing duirng the interview.

2) I provide pencil and paper for interviewees to jot down responses to the questions and gather their thoughts before responding. Most of the jobs I hire for are analytical anyway, so people would normally have an opportunity to do this. You might use this opportunity to write down the question AND make a few notes to collect thoughts.

3) You could ask the interviewer to repeat the question and then paraphrase it back to them to make sure you've "got it" before you go ahead to answer the question.

4) practicing is an excellent idea, and I do encourage folks who come back for a debriefing after the interview to do so.

5) get a debriefing!!! this would help you get an inside look at what the interviewer was looking for in terms of answers and how yuou might demonstrate a better fit next time around

6) prep! check the quals listed for the job and think of practical examples from your life, work or play which would demonstrate to the interviewer your level of skill in that qualification. Try to think of 2 examples, and learn them inside out. To cover bases because some interviewers like to ask "whatifs", think of scenarios that would require that skill level to resolve it and then give your own whatif answer.

Hope any of these help or give you some additional ideas