Questions like the one's listed below are used by interviewers to understand how you think and react in a given situation. They also help gauge your personality, intelligence, initiative, listening skills, discretion and behaviour in a pressurised environment.
1. Why did you leave you last job?
Never say because you hated the company and your boss was a nightmare. This may very well be the case but no-one wants to employ someone who is negative about their ex-boss or company. It would be assumed that you are the one with issues, and that you weren’t right for your employer and therefore not right for them either.
Talk about your ex-employer with as much enthusiasm as you can muster without sounding cheesy and fake.
Example One: “I enjoyed working at x company, I learnt a lot and I met some great people however it was fairly unstructured and didn’t offer me the progression, or training, or development I want, that’s why I have applied here.”
Example Two: “I stayed with the business for 3 years and I learnt a lot but I feel that in order to broaden my skills I need to have further experience in another area in order to move my career forward.”
2. What was your relationship like with your boss?
Do not imply your relationship was fractious, difficult and with poor communication. Again, if there was an issue then it is assumed that you were the issue not your boss. Remain professional at all times and refrain from slagging him or her off. It’s a very small world and you will never know who this person knows!
Hopefully even if the relationship was fractious, you learnt something from them, use words like respect and trust, and even if it was difficult, think about how YOU got the most from the relationship. Always be seen to take the higher ground and think about the positive things about your relationship and build an answer around these.
3. What is your weakness?
DON’T say I am a perfectionist!!
This question is a direct negative and requires a negative answer which can be turned into a positive.
Example: “One of my weaknesses was time management and prioritising my workload, so what I have done to rectify this is firstly set all the clocks in the house 15 minutes early to ensure my early arrival at work. I also now work using a diary management system, which I review at the end of each day to ensure that I am clear of my objectives for the next day and diarise accordingly. I build in time into my diary that allows for emergencies but more often than not because I have organised my time this rarely happens”.
4. When did you last make a mistake?
What the interviewer really wants to know is what did you last learnt, not that you are incompetent.
Example: When tackling difficult problems, 60% is planning, 20% is to do and review, and 20% is finally evaluating success or failure and identifying causes as to why you were successful or not. Think of an example that covers each of these processes and take the interview from Point A, to B, to C.
5. Why do you want to work for us...?
This is a REALLY CRITICAL QUESTION, so think about this before the interview. If you cannot answer this then it will be assumed that you haven’t given it any thought or that you are not committed. Try to tie your answer in with what you know about the business and what you know about the role.
Use any job specifications or comments of briefing from your consultant. The interviewer will also love to hear that you have researched the company brand as well as their products and services.
Ask people their thoughts - friends, other managers that you could confide. The feedback you get may well give you a slightly different perspective of the business.
Relate you answer to specific goals such as personal development, size of store or sales achievements.
Example: “I have achieved a lot as a travel sales consultant in a relatively small branch in my current company, but the next real challenge and development for me is to move to more structured and renowned industry name like yourself - I see this an incredible challenge where my sales achievements will be better recognised and where I can develop my travel career further, following a more structured internal career path with you over the long term”.
Above all, be genuine in what you say. Don’t just try to say the magic words you THINK the interviewer wants to hear - say what you mean and feel. If you are passionate about the business then it will show.
6. What is your greatest achievement to date?
Don’t talk about playing rugby for the first team at school if that was 10 years ago - unless you are a school leaver it should really be work related.
All employers want to know how much money you made and saved your last employer, so it’s worth thinking about what you did in your previous job that increased turnover, profit margins or service levels.
Look at KPI specific achievements:
Example One: I achieved £X amount of sales against my targets and brought extra revenue to the team and helped increase the branch’s success.
Example Two: I sourced new suppliers that were four times cheaper than our previous ones. I was then able to pass on discounts to our customer/client, whilst increased our profit margins.
Example Three: I have received a personal recommendation based on my customer service achievements.
Be prepared to define HOW you accomplished your achievement. It’s all well and good explaining how you helped reduce stock loss, but if you can not explain how you did this when later probed - its useless!
7. What do you do in your spare time?
Put yourself in the interviewers shoes - someone who plays football 3 times a week is someone who may not be able to work late when required, someone who competes in banger races is likely to end up in hospital, and equally someone does nothing out side of work could be considered dull.
All employers want balanced, healthy and interesting employees, but please be conscious that if you have hobby that interferes with work, you may find you are not looked upon as favourably
You should also inform the interviewer of any professional development qualifications you have or undergoing. This will show initiative and your dedication to long term career progression within the Travel Industry.
8. Who are our competitors? Or what you do think of the travel market at the moment?
Again, you really must be well prepared. Think about who their competitors are - nothing will insult a luxury end travel business more if you compare them to lesser brands.
If you’re applying for a role within retail travel, you should visit at least one of their stores and complete a SWOT analysis to understand business performance and identify any strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats.
S =
Strengths - store layout, good access, how welcoming the staff were.
W =
Weakness - No customer service, had you waiting for a long while before you were approached.
O =
Opportunities - where were they missing trade or issues etc.
T =
Threats - nearby competitors with similar offers/products available.
When you do a store visit, speak to the manager and explain that you are preparing for an interview. This will give you a greater insight into the business and news of your visit may reach the ears of the interviewer - so double brownie points there!
CAUTION – Be aware there might be some internal moves taking place and the store you visit may have a manager that, if successful, you could replace! It’s always worth checking first with your Consultant to check its not a private and confidential role you have applied for.
As part of your market research you should also visit competitor stores so that you can compare and contrast. Also read all you can in the travel trade press.
9. What didn’t you like about you last job?
Again this is a direct negative answer, although you will need to answer with a negative, you will need to put a positive spin on your answer.
Example: “I wasn’t happy with the level of communication I had with my Branch Manager, he was great but we never saw him, so I agreed that each Friday we would have full update on the phone and on a Monday I would send him a breakdown of what we discussed and agreed. We also agreed that he would have a 1-2-1 review/update once a month.
10. What 5 key attributes do you think makes a good Travel Consultant?
Answer this question concisely and in bullet points.
• Strong people skills
• Thrives within a fast paced, sales targeted environment
• Leading by example
• Ability to work under pressure
• Exceptional organisational skills
• Effective communicator
• Team Player
• Customer Service driven
11. So, tell me why you think you would make a good Travel Consultant for our business?
Whilst referring to what you have learnt in your company research, talk about how you would benefit and enhance the company.
Examples: Cultural fit, tailored personal style, areas of speciality, how you could add value to the business, people training and development, success in similar product areas, knowledge of their brand or business.
How to respond well to these types of questions:
Your answers should be intelligent and specific to the question - not general or vague. Using the ‘S.T.A.R.’ technique is a good approach at structuring your answer to ensure it includes enough detail to satisfy the interviewer.
S = Describe the
Situation you were in
T = Decribe the
Task you needed to accomplish
A = Describe the
Action you took
R = Describe the
Results you achieved
