3 Ways To Avoid Too Many Questions In An Interview

By Sera Kazungu

Being called for an interview is the most exciting thing to happen to a job seeker. It makes you hopeful of finally securing a job and joining the “working class”.

The problem with interviews is anticipating the kind of questions that a potential employer will ask you. Did you know that you could avoid being asked too many questions in an interview?

According to Muthoni Ndegwa, a recruitment manager at corporate staffing services,there are no set number of questions that a candidate should answer.

“When going for an interview,you need to be well prepared. Usually, the interviewer is looking for something particular. Once you give an answer they are looking for, there is no need to continue with the questioning”, she says.

Here are three ways you can go around answering too many questions

1.Avoid giving one word answers
The most common answers are “yes” and “No”. You can use these answers, but only if you elaborate further. For example, if you were asked if you have experience for the job, you could say
“Yes. Working at my previous company gave me an opportunity to grow and build my skill for 4 years now”
You will have answered the question and not oversold yourself.

2. Avoid talking too much
Talking more than you should, can be as a result of either nervousness or irrelevancy. When you are nervous, you tend to use verbal ticks like “um”,”like”, “you know” etc. These make you look like you have something to hide or that you are lying. As a result, the interviewer will ask you more questions to try and uncover the truth.
Taking too long to answer direct questions implies that you simply don’t know how to get to the point. This will force the interviewer to ask you more questions in order to get the information that they need.

3. Be brief and to the point
An interviewer is usually looking for something particular when they ask you a question. Keep your answers short and to the point to show that you were well prepared for the interview. This will give you an edge. It will also help you score points with your potential employer.

The trick to a successful interview is always research, research and more research. Good luck on your next interview.