by Helen Cheung
“What was the last book you read?”
“Tell me about the worst team you were on.”
“How did you choose your major?”
Underlying these innocent and common job interview questions is a bigger question that either makes or breaks the deal of a job offer: “What is it going to be like to be stuck with you for a 4 hour layover in an airport?” Your job might not require travel or social skills, but managers would prefer to hire interesting people who get along with others. Also, they want coworkers who fit the culture of the organization.
If you search for “Airport Test” online, you will find tons of great advice for job interviews you can use to help you pass the test. You can also do practice interviews with a Career Services counselor to get feedback on the impression you make on others. However, this isn’t a test you should cram for. You can’t simply memorize some answers and come across as likeable and interesting. You can work on storytelling skills but you have to have stories to tell in the first place.
How do you prepare for the Airport Test then? For starters, practice your team skills in your daily life. Whether coordinating a meal schedule with your roommates or going on a camping trip with friends, you have to deal with people and overcome challenges. Second, you can read widely and live fully. It is much easier to talk to someone who cares about something than someone who doesn’t so get comfortable discussing your interests. Third, learn to be interested in people and learn to make life easier for them. The Airport Test is not just about you; it is about the interviewer, your potential coworker. So, the more you practice caring for others in your daily life, the more you naturally put your interviewer at ease so that they won’t wish for an “eject” button.
From our Facebook Page:
“I wish these questions would be asked in job interviews. They are interesting.”
All of those are real questions asked in a business consulting interview. There are more sample questions online: http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/college/intvquestions.html
If you give an interesting answer to a boring question, you probably pass the Airport Test.