It is no secret the world is headed into a recession which means higher interest rates, more layoffs leading to higher unemployment, meaning, it will be more difficult to find a job as interviewing for jobs will get more competitive than ever.
Apple, the biggest company in the word is slowing down hiring, joining other giants like Amazon, Netflix, and Google.
This article will get you prepared for the questions interviewers ask in interviews during a recession.
Related: before you get to an interview you must have an eye-catching CV that makes you standout and get you that dream job interview.
Questions to prepare for when interviewing during a recession.
- Could you please tell me about yourself?
- What made you apply for this specific role?
- Do you have any questions?
Those are the standard interview questions everyone is asked at every interview, the aim behind them is for the interviewer to see how well you know yourself, the position you are applying for, as well as the company itself, they are not directly related to what you are going to do.
You will get asked those questions whether you are applying for an entry sales position or the head of the IT department.
Let’s prepare for them one by one shall we:
1. Interviewing in a recession. Q #1: Could you please tell me about yourself?
You may think this interview question is very basic, but it isn’t. The interviewer will ask you this question to see how well you know yourself, your strength and weaknesses, and hopefully, a summary of your CV.
You should not speak of where you live and how you’d commute to work, not your age or the number of children you have. Keep it professional. Speak of your work past work experience, your education, and any other certificates and courses you have.
2. Interviewing in a recession. Q #2: What made you apply for this specific role?
Another standard interview question that you have to be very professional when answering. Yes, back in the day when employers were eager to recruit you could get away with providing general answers, but not during a recession, you have to be very specific and provide to-the-point answers.
Here’s a list of what you should do to answer this question:
- Read the job description very well with all the tasks to be carried out before the interview.
- Link those tasks to your previous experience which shows the interviewer that you did your homework.
- Don’t be afraid to tell the interviewer about tasks you are not familiar with, although this a problem, introduce solutions too. You can say: although am not familiar with task x, I have done my research and found a course on udemy or edx to familiarize myself with the task, the course is x number of hours over x number of weeks. This shows integrity and also shows that you are willing to go the extra mile.
If the situation allows for a joke, maybe you can say I applied because you are hiring and because I want the job.
Yes, it is not very professional but the whole point is to stand out and nothing is better than sharing a laugh, I personally did it, although I did not get that position I left a very strong impact that a few months later the same company needed to recruit and I was the first to get called and landed the job later.
Related: Knowing people in the right places never harms, this is what we call networking in the business world, learn how to network correctly.
3. Interviewing in a recession. Q #3: Do you have any questions?
The last standard interviewing in a recession question. This is most likely your last chance to shine and stand out.
This question subconsciously shows the interviewer how invested you are in this opportunity on the long term, do not ask questions like the working hours. Also, do not ask questions that you can find the answers for online, like how to get to the office, you’ve got google maps for that.
Instead ask questions like:
- Who will I be reporting to?
- If we are to move forward, Is there any chance I can meet my immediate supervisor before taking it to the next step?
- How long has this position been vacant for?
- When will I hear from you?
- Ask about the kind of career growth you are to embark on, this shows that you are a serious candidate and in it for the long run.
- And of course, the salary (if not mentioned in the job posting)
Related: The GoDaddy team has created the best CV template for you to download and add your information directly there. Best of Luck!!
Standout with a personal website.
As we said earlier, your aim is to grab their attention and stand out from the crowd.
This is where a personal website to link to your social profiles, a little bio about yourself, a downloadable version of your CV comes in handy.
You can use the GoDaddy website builder to create a unique website for your person online.
You can view an interactive template view here to get a better sense of what you could get.
You do not like this template? We have plenty more for you to view here.
Related: Still want some inspiration? You can view Faisal Sheraiff’s website from GoDaddy here and you can read his success story here.
Summary:
Recession is here, interviewing has gotten harder and more competitive, you should take every chance you possibly can to standout to the interviewers to show them what you are made of.
Get ready for the basic questions every interviewer asks to help build your career, don’t let the recession stops you from progressing.
Photo by Fikri Rasyid on Unsplash
