Interviews, interviewing and job hunting

Isn’t job hunting the most favorite thing in the world to do? The entire process of finding your first job or looking for a new job is a very daunting task, and can at the best of times be a nervous and nail biting experience for the most seasoned professional. There are a million things to do and you never really have enough time to complete all the items on your check list. You constantly think about it, is my resume good enough, is my portfolio up to date, what can I do to make it stand out, will I find a good job, will I fit in, will I be able to make friends easily… the list is endless.

Then there is the mammoth task of preparing for your interview. A quick search on any of the popular search engines out there will bring back a more advice than you know what to do with. They give you tips on how to answer tricky questions and what employers are looking for and how to prepare yourself to match this standardized profile.

Don’t you think employers are wise to these stereo typical cookie cutter replies to questions. As an employer would you rather have an honest answer from a candidate being him/ser self or a pre-practiced parroted reply tailored to what you want to hear?

I’ve always found that in my experience if the company does not like my candid replies which is much the time formulated on the spot (I’m not saying you don’t prepare before an interview), I am better off them not liking me.

One of the catch questions that most sites prepare you to answer is the question, “In your opinion what is your strongest characteristic” The standard replies are hardworking, quick learner, level headed etc… If the company interviews 100 people you can pretty much bet that 90% of the answers they get to that question will fall in that bucket of answers. So is it worth being different and giving an honest out of the box answer? I always do and its worked out for me so far.

I’d like to get other people’s opinion on this, especially any recruiters and HR managers out there.