Yes, you will certainly be asked boat questions during a job interview. That’s part of the exercise: these are often open-ended questions that, behind their apparent uselessness, have a real purpose. To see more clearly, let’s decipher the boat questions… the most boat-friendly! Learn these tricks to answer the boat question in the interview.
Introduce yourself
What we actually want to know: if you know how to behave yourself! And if you are aware of the strengths of your profile in relation to the job offer. And if you have the spirit of synthesis.
What you should not do: recite your CV for long minutes, embellishing it with irrelevant anecdotes between each line. Or, on the contrary, do not talk about it at all (reminder: your recruiter may not have it in mind anymore) and tell your life story.
You must not forget to say that you know how to adapt and like new challenges if you are in a moment of professional reorientation. In any case: summarize your career step by step, anticipating the points that the recruiter could raise when reading your CV: what were your motivations, why did you choose this or that?
Something similar could be asked of you: what are the main stages of your career?
What is your greatest quality?
What we actually want to know: if you have understood what the position requires in terms of quality(s), and, secondarily, if you have them.
You must not mention above all: qualities that have absolutely nothing to do with the desired position. Like being “open to the world” for a position that does not require travel, or being “a very good communicator, made for teamwork”, if the position is based on working alone.
What you must not forget to say: that, if this is the case, you (really) have the relevant qualities for the position. The best is to prove it, with a concrete example where you have expressed this quality.
What we could ask you in the same way: what is your biggest flaw?
Why should we hire you?
What we actually want to know: what differentiates you from other candidates & how you would be a relevant solution. What you must not say that you are a real worker and that you really want to join the company. Or that you have nothing else to do right now. What you must not forget to say that you are the right person for the job. Above all: try to explain why, in your opinion.
Example: Don’t forget to start by saying that you are coming out of a 3-month training course in boiler making if you are applying for a job as a boilermaker (it may sound silly, but you never know, your recruiter may have not taken the time to proofread your CV before the interview, or he has seen a lot of candidates before you).Something similar you might be asked: what can you bring to our company?
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
What we want to know: If in the longer term, your projects stick to those of the company.
What you must not say: That your only dream is to have a more important position in the company, if it is for hiring for a short mission which you know will not lead to a job to undetermined duration. Or the opposite.
What you must not forget to say: If this is the case that you would like to develop your skills in the trade concerned or the sector of activity of the company. Or talk about personal projects that are close to your heart, the main thing being not to be in contradiction with other elements of your profile, nor with the reality of the situation.
Similar questions you might be asked: What are your biggest dreams (personal and professional)?
Tell me about a time you faced a crisis that you overcame…
What we actually want to know: How you behave at work and in a specific situation. If you have enough perspective to talk about it.
What you must not say, “Really, I don’t know, I don’t know the crisis.
What you must not forget to do: On an example that you will have prepared beforehand. Break down your story well, on the so-called “STAR” model: the general situation or the problem encountered, the task, that is i.e. what reaction this problem has provoked, the action you have taken, the results it has led to.
Something you might be asked along the same lines: How do you react when you don’t agree with your boss? (It is in this case for you to answer by taking an example).
So as not to sink in the face of boat questions
- Read and re-read the advert to which you are applying.
- Research the company.
- Practice the interview., alone (by recording yourself) or accompanied (by looking at your interlocutor).
- When the day comes, anticipate the logistics as well as possible, so as not to add stress to stress.
- Do you also prepare your questions (boats?) to ask your interlocutor ?