Mastering the Job Interview #9: What Would Your Last Boss Say About You?
If you work long enough, you’ll have piled up a list of bosses who can speak to your experience. While some employers may approach these bosses in the references stage of your interview, some will want to hear the interpretation from you.
What would your last boss say about you?
Let’s explore how you answer this question.
What this question really means
As long as you got your work done, this question is a fairly easy answer. The interviewer wants to know:
- Are you a good employee?
- Did you get along with your last boss?
Pretty simple, right? We think so too.
How to answer this question
You might be tempted to tell a story about the time where you and your boss went to the bar and watched the game together, but this is not necessary. Here are two better ways.
- The simple method: Mention you and your boss got along, and that they would consider you for another hire again if the opportunity arose.
- The STAR method: Remember this answer style? You can use it here in this interview answer too, highlighting a time you and your boss worked well together to overcome a key business challenge, after mentioning some adjectives your boss use to describe you.
If your relationship with your last boss was negative, this is still a time to focus on what went right.
If you’ve never had a boss and are an entry-level employee, consider answering this question from a professor/teacher perspective.
Here are some quick tips:
DO keep your answer positive.
DO keep your answer brief. No need to be long-winded at all. The STAR method works here.
DO NOT go on about what you’d like in your next boss. This is not the question for that.
Closing Thoughts
We’ll address getting along with your boss in a future post so this question is easier to answer, but for now, we’ll stop here. Nail this question and you’ll have the opportunity to really shine.
Good luck!
This was originally posted on Albert’s List. Read more posts like this at http://albertslist.org/archive/interviews/
