YES Or NO Will Do

If you're at a job interview and the interviewer asks whether you know how to perform Activity X, you should always answer either Yes or No.

You should not say:

• "I can try" - anyone can, so this answer doesn't quite stand out, does it?
  
  
• "Maybe...you do offer training, right?" - so your employer needs to budget (in advance) more money and resources in addition to your salary? She's probably planned to already, but why give her something she probably doesn't like to be reminded of?
  
  
• "As long as someone's there to guide me, it should be okay" - and if there isn't? and if the whole organisation is being squeezed for time (which is usually the case)? isn't the answer a way of saying you MAY be a pain for the company?
  
  
• "I'll need to look deeper into the issue first." - again, doesn't everybody?

An interview accomplishes only two basic things: 1) simple fact-finding and 2) subtle confidence-feeling.

The interviewer wants to know about you than what you've put into Facebook and that brochure you call a CV. They also want to get good vibes about your ability to do the job and from where they're sitting, straight-forwardness is best.

Which is why you should always Yes, unless you're really haven't a CLUE about the task. And that's why saying "No I can't, but I'm a fast learner" is a little more helpful than the half-way answers above (and of course your boss will know that if training is provided you can do the job - if he felt otherwise you wouldn't have been invited for the chat).

Exude confidence and unambiguity, even - especially - about what you don't know. Jesus wasn't leaving out job-seekers in Matthew 5:37.