Answering questions
Think about the best way to answer interview questions, then try an activity
At the interview I made a point of the fact that I wasn't afraid of hard work and was used to working until the job was done. The interviewers commented that this point was self evident since I had obtained my degree through the OU.
OU student
When answering interview questions
- Be enthusiastic, but don’t overdo it
- Be concise, don’t ramble
- Be positive in your answers, don’t dwell on the negative. If you have to deal with negative aspects, concentrate on what you learned from the experience.
- Be truthful
- Explain a situation or example of your work by using the structure CARA
- Context (20%) - what the objective or situation was
- Action (50%) - your part in it, the problems you had to solve, or the actions that you took
- Result (20%) - what the outcome was
- After (10%) - what you learned from the experience
- Always ask for clarification if it’s not clear what is being asked
- When you feel you’ve answered the question, stop speaking. If you are not sure if you’ve said enough ask them if they’d like you to say more.
- Don’t be afraid of silence. If you need time to think about a question you could say ‘I just need a few moments to consider the answer to this question’.
Try the interview preparation activity for some example questions and how they could be answered.