Tips For Answering Interview Question "How Did You Prepare For This Interview?"

An Overview:

Out of all the seemingly weird questions that may be darted at you at the time of interview, the question about your interview preparation is sure to top the charts. This question is sure to get you off your feet. This is one question that is bound to leave you overwhelmed. But, as they say, “Every question has its answer” so does this question.
This article will guide you how to tackle the situation maturely and not get overwhelmed at all.

Understanding The Psyche Of An Interviewer Who Asks This Question

There are two sides to the seemingly innocuous question:
1)  An interviewer wishes to check if you sincere enough to prepare well in advance for the interview or not. Further, he also wishes to ascertain to what extent you have prepared for the interview. He wants to get an idea about your seriousness toward the job search, this particular job and your career as a whole.
2)  An interviewer would also try to gauge if you are spontaneous while making decisions and act impromptu or not.

Example

Depending upon the job profile and its specific requirements, an interviewer would either like or dislike your being prepared for the interview. Let’s understand the concept with the help of an example:

Interviewer:

Have you prepared for this interview? How did you made your Interview preparations?

Interviewee 1:

“Well, I made quite an effort to do that. I browsed through the website of the organization, I learned about the various products it offers and I understood the specific roles and responsibilities of the separate teams. Moreover, I did a ‘competitor-analysis’ to ascertain the market share, business model and revenue comparison of your competitors. Lastly, I tried to reason out how I would be able to bring my expertise to the table while bridging the need gap to new markets and retaining our market position.”

Interviewee 2:

“I browsed through the online product catalog and I familiarized myself with the specific features of each one of them. I am all set to differentiate our products with that of competitor’s and sell across.”

Conclusion:

Though, the first interviewee seems to be well prepared and well read but both interviewees have an equal chance to get selected. Why? If the interviewer is looking for a Business Strategist or a Marketing Sales Manager, then perhaps, the first interviewee would be best suited. However, if he is looking for a Sales Executive in the FMCG sector, then he would look for someone who is more spontaneous and ‘street-smart’. Thus, in this case, interviewee 2 would be selected.