Imagine a scenario where the most important thing to you, is to get that one job, you have been working day and night for, sacrificing almost everything that you love, the most crucial one being your sleep, just because this job means everything to you. Now, putting all of this into consideration, you need to think about why you want this job so much, and to do that, you need to let the recruiters know that you have got what it takes. This is exactly what this article is going to talk about further, and help you give the best possible answer to the question ‘How to describe yourself as a hard worker in a job interview?’
Essential Motive:
When you appear for a job interview, the initial questions that the job recruiters/ interviewers would put before you would mostly be personal, because they are trying to grasp whether they see a potential job holder in you. To achieve that, they could interrogate your tastes, the things you don’t like, why would and should they choose you over the other candidates standing in line, who might be just as talented, maybe even more than you are; all sorts of questions that, if answered intelligently would lead you to get the job.
- Now, one of the questions that are very common in such interviews is the one we initially began with i.e, ‘How would you describe yourself as a hardworking and self-motivated individual?’. They ask you this because they wish to learn whether the reasons that you are going to put forth are relevant, viable, and convincing enough to impress them.
- Hiring managers look for candidates who strive for what they want, who are persistent in their approaches, and who are capable enough to constantly convince themselves that they can always work on bettering themselves.
- As a candidate, if you are able to prove to the interviewers that you are everything and more, you are highly likely going home as an employee in that company.
How to describe yourself?
The question is how exactly would you convince your hiring managers that you are an incredibly self-motivated and hardworking individual? Well, it is not as complex as it might seem, to say the least. Here are some tips on how you could cover almost all aspects of the same.
- Be Honest: When you talk about yourself in an interview, under any circumstances just don’t lie about almost anything. You might feel as though it would be a great idea to lie about your achievements or something that you fancy or literally anything below the sky, but you need to understand that, this is something that is going to last momentarily.
Even if you end up getting the job because of this, you are going to be living a lie, you cannot afford to do that just because you wish to impress the hiring managers. So, at any point in the interview, or well, the entirety of the recruitment process; Be honest. It would go a long way.
- Vocabulary: The next thing that you must keep in mind while describing yourself is to choose the correct words at the correct places and at the current moment.
- Recruiters often go through a whole lot of candidates to finally arrive at the one whom they feel might be the best fit for the role. In order for you to be able to impress them and prove to them what you have got, words could, for sure, steer their attention towards what you hold.
- Choose vocabulary that describes you best and DO NOT be scared to use strong and bold words. You need to trust these words just as much as you trust yourself to use them, and be authentic about each and everything you say because if you choose to do otherwise, it sure might be a huge put-off.
- Accountability: Another important idea that you must keep in mind, is to be accountable and if you already are that, display it before the recruiters. You must allow them and convince them that the actions that you take and the steps that you put forward are all something that you would prospectively be accountable for, without anyone asking you to do so.
- Also, there is a fine line between being Responsible and being Accountable. Responsibility is when you know you have done something that has consequences, however being accountable is taking responsibility for your actions and working on them, to become a better version of yourself.
- Excellence: In order to finally sell your ideas ( of course in all honesty, that is ) you need to convince your hiring manager that you, besides being all that you said you were, are also someone who is excellence-driven, because being self-motivated and hardworking is not enough if your driving force is to not achieve a goal with outstanding motives.
- Excellence is not something that comes to someone overnight, it is something that is achieved through focus, determination, and persistence. In order to display all of this, it would be a great idea to portray your achievements and accolades before the interviewers, because they wish to see practicality and authenticity in everything that you are telling them.
Examples of how you can answer the given question:
Eg1: “ I would say I’m an individual who is pretty capable of achieving something I wish to have when I put my mind and heart into it. I strive for excellence no matter what, because results don’t just come to you out of thin air, you make them possible, and I strongly believe that there is no such thing that cannot be accomplished.”
Eg2: “ When we talk about motivation and persistence, I’m all in for it. Hard work and smart work are both on my list of thighs to achieve whilst working on a task, no matter how small. I’ve always been the kind of person who is determined throughout, even while I’m not having the best of days. For instance….(add your achievements here, without sounding too full of yourself)”
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. How long does a formal interview last?
A1. Speaking in terms of approximations, formal personal interviews could last from about 20 minutes to around an hour or more. This depends on the kind of interview it is, the stage of the interview, and the job and cannot be predicted as such. Speaking of which, there is also no particular amount of time that you need to spend to prepare for these interviews. Another important thing that you need to keep in mind is the fact that no amount of preparation is sufficient, so devoting an adequate amount of time to research is the only thing that you could do for the same.
Q2. Can I appear for an interview without researching the company?
A2. Do not under any circumstances appear for any kind of interview without researching the institute or company or organization. Think of it as an idea of disrespect not just towards them, but towards yourself as well. It is simply not advised, nor is it recommended to do so. As a rational candidate, when you are appearing for an exam or an interview, why exactly would you not research the company? Does it sound viable in any way? It might not because it isn’t. Make sure you spend a good amount of time researching the company even before applying because you never know you could get into serious trouble later on, so, thoroughly looking into it is the only smart decision you could make.
Q3.Is it smart to initiate closing scene interview questions?
A3. Questions about your potential paycheck or salary could be a pretty uncomfortable thing for both parties to handle in all honesty. It is something that has to be touched but is mostly left for the end so that the candidate and the employer could have a comfortable atmosphere throughout the process.
- When we talk about this topic, it is advisable to NOT initiate this conversation as a candidate and wait for the recruiter or hiring agents themselves to break the ice, which they would do, but you have to be patient about it because they leave this for the end.
- There can be situations where they might not initiate the conversation at all, hoping you would not either. This is where you step in and shuffle things for them and steer the conversation towards what you want them to pay attention to, but you don’t have to make the situation hard. You can simply ask them if you could discuss your salary with them and what their expectations are.
- After they have completed their views is when you should typically talk about what you as an employee would expect of them prospectively. Do not set grounds that are unreal and out of place, but also do not set objectives that are very low standards either.
