Answering Incisive Questions about Past Experiences

Today, it is common for interviewers to ask more in-depth and specific questions about your past experiences.

Their goal is to go beyond superficial answers to minimize the risk of getting the hiring wrong.

They want to understand how you actually worked in specific situations.

Types of questions (Knowledge, skill, ability, aptitude, attitude).

These incisive questions seek to measure different dimensions of your profile:

Knowledge: What you know and put into practice.

Ability: Your facility to do things.

Aptitude: The set of conditions that make you suitable for a function.

Attitude: How you choose to behave in situations (positively or negatively).

The interviewer will try to probe these aspects through detailed questions about your experiences.

Prepare specific details (numbers, names, contexts).

To answer these questions convincingly, the preparation of details is crucial.

It is not enough to remember the general situation; you must have at hand:

Relevant figures: Budgets handled, number of people on the team, percentages of improvement, etc..

Names: Of projects, of tools used, and even of key suppliers or collaborators if relevant.

Detailed context: Approximate dates, duration of projects, etc. Not being able to remember these details can make you look insecure or unprepared.

Review your CV and refresh your memory on the details of your most important experiences.

Questions about successes ("Tell me about your greatest accomplishment")

When asked about your successes, take the opportunity to highlight your best professional moments.

Use the STAR technique to structure your answer, emphasizing your actions and positive results.

Express the satisfaction and pride you felt for that achievement.

Failure questions ("Tell me about a project that didn't go well").

These questions assess your resilience, self-criticism, and ability to learn.

How to answer: Choose a real but not catastrophic failure. Keep a positive attitude when narrating it, without making a sad or defeated face.

Use the STAR technique, focusing on what you did to try to remedy the situation and, above all, what you learned from the experience.

Show that you know how to draw lessons from setbacks.

Questions about your specific contribution ("What exactly did you do?").

Candidates often speak in the plural ("we did", "we accomplished").

The interviewer needs to know what your individual role was.

Be prepared to detail your specific actions within the team or project.

Use "I" to describe your direct contributions and avoid answers that sound negative or detract from the team.

Examples: Difficult decision, change management, failed attempt.

Be prepared for questions that explore specific situations such as:

• "What was the