6 Questions About Groups and How to Answer Them
Group interviews are quickly becoming the most popular way for employers to hire people because they save time and money. If you’re used to having interviews with one person at a time, a group interview may sound scary. But you can do well if you take the right steps and get ready. In this article, we talk about the most important parts of a group interview, give tips on how to do well, and give some examples of questions and answers for a group interview. 6 Questions About Groups
What is an interview with a group?
When an employer invites you and several other job candidates to an interview at the same time, this is called a group interview. Employers use group interviews to see how well candidates can communicate with each other, how well they work as part of a team, and how well they handle stress.
A group interview is more likely to happen in places where things move quickly or where the focus is on the customer. For example, if a company wants to hire someone for a sales team, they might invite 10 candidates to a group interview. Or, a company that is trying to fill multiple positions with similar job descriptions may decide to use a group interview to speed up the process by reducing the number of applicants.
Example questions and answers for a group interview
The best way to deal with any stress that comes with a group interview is to be ready. Here are some sample answers to help you get ready for your group interview questions:
Tell me about a time when you went out of your way to help a customer.
- How would you convince a customer to buy something from us?
- How can your strengths help our business?
- Name one of your flaws that you’d like to get better at.
- What did you do to help your group write the plan for the project?
- How do you think your most important values fit into the culture of our company?
1. Tell me about a time when you went out of your way to help a customer.
This question forces you to think quickly and come up with a good answer. So, talking with your group about how to handle a crisis lets the employer know if you can make quick decisions in a calm way.
“A customer called to complain about a worker that our company had sent to their house. After hearing that the work hadn’t been finished, I called the contractor to find out what had happened. After we talked, we decided to set up another meeting with the client so that the contractor could finish the job.
“After the appointment time, I called the customer to see how things were going. When I found out that the contractor hadn’t even come, the customer was very upset. I talked to my boss and got permission to hire another contractor who would do the work for free. The customer thanked the new contractor and said that they were very happy with the work they did.
2.What would you say to a customer to get them to buy one of our products?
This question is usually asked during an interview for a sales job, but it gives you a chance to show how creatively you can solve problems. The employer wants to know if you can talk to clients in a way that makes them want to hire you.
Example: “I would talk to them about their interests and how they would use the product, with the goal of making a connection. Building a relationship like this makes it easier to sell things now and in the future.
“It’s not just about making a sale; it’s also about how you talk to the customer. For example, if a customer is using one of our products while listening to music in the store, I might ask them what kind of music they like. So, I can start a conversation and find out which of our models fits their needs the best. In my previous job, I took calls from customers and told them about the different cell phone models we sold. I had many similar experiences.
3. What are your strengths and how will they help our company?
Here, you can show off your best skills and talk about how you’ve used them in the workplace. Here, you want to get the potential employer’s attention and show how your experience on your resume fits together.
Example: “The way I think about teams can help your customer service unit. I’ve worked in customer-focused jobs for the past five years, so I know how important it is to respond quickly and flexibly to my team’s needs as well as those of the customer.
“Another great thing about me is that I’m reliable. In both of my previous jobs, I was praised for coming to work on time and getting work done within the agreed-upon deadlines.
4. Name one of your flaws that you’d like to get better at
This question gives you a chance to show how you have identified areas where you need to improve. Employers want to know how your growth will help their business grow as well.
Example: “Sometimes I’m too hard on my own work. But this kind of wanting to be perfect can cause delays. But working directly with customers for the past year has taught me a lot about how to control myself, especially in high-stress situations. Self-awareness isn’t always easy, but it has helped me become more focused on deadlines, which has made me more efficient in the long run.”
5. What did you do to help your group write the plan for the project?
Here is your chance to show the group how you work well with others. An example from a previous job is a good place to start, but don’t forget that how you interact with the other interviewees can help you if you speak with confidence. During an interview, employees pay attention to soft skills and how a person talks without using words.
“I volunteered to write down what we talked about and what my team said about how to move forward with a complete sales strategy. I like doing this because I’m a well-organized person who can quickly sum up information and think creatively about how we can all work together to reach our goals. My notes made sure that everyone’s ideas were included in the draft plan and that we didn’t waste time going over things we had already talked about.”
6. How do you think your most important values fit into the culture of our company?
Whether or not the job you’re interviewing for is a good fit for you depends on your core values. When answering this question, you should know the company’s core values as well as your own.
“My most important core values are caring for others and doing the right thing. I think it’s our duty to help out in our local communities and make a bigger difference in the world we live in. I like how much your company cares about helping local families find child care, and I’d like to be a part of that. I’m happy when I know that what I’m doing helps customers directly, and I think the work I would do here would give me the chance to do that and more.
“I also like how loyal the company is to its employees. I like working in a place where people talk to each other for both professional and personal reasons. So, I’d like to know more about your company’s annual staff retreat and the sports facilities you have on-site.”
How can I get ready to answer questions in a group setting?
Getting ready for a group interview can seem like a big job at first, but these tips will give you a plan you can use to get ready for your next group interview.
1. Learn about the company you’re interviewing with.
When you look into the company, you can learn important things about the field it works in, what its employees do, and how the company is run. If you know as much as you can about the company you’re interviewing with, you’ll be ready to answer their questions with the skills, values, and experience they want.
You can learn about a business by looking at its website. You could also get information about the company ahead of time so you can read it before the interview. Other companies may try to surprise you in the interview by asking you unexpected questions and making you do research before the interview. So, they can see how you handle tough situations and how quickly you can come up with solutions.
2. Know your good points and bad points
Compare your skills, strengths, and weaknesses to those listed in the job description. Also, try to think of some examples to show how these strengths work. For example, if you work well with others, you might talk about how your last sales team beat your department’s goals for 10 months in a row. You could also say that you were put in charge of taking minutes at team meetings as an example of how responsible and reliable you are. Putting together a list of how your strengths help you meet a company’s goals and KPIs will help you stand out from the rest of the competition.
3. Tell people what you want to do for a living.
Each person in the group being interviewed will have a different reason for wanting this job. Make sure to talk about how your career path fits with the position and the company’s goals. Plan to talk about why you want to grow personally and professionally and what kind of environment would help you grow the most. If it’s hard for you to talk about your career goals, try using SMART (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, and Time-based) goals.
4. Practice talking and communicating without words
It’s just as important to make a good impression in a group interview as it is in a one-on-one interview. To do this, you need to speak with confidence and show good body language. Try doing practice interviews with friends and family to help you feel more comfortable with your answers. By using the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method, you can figure out your answers and come up with a caden
