Summary
On its surface, interviews can be quite an anxious process for children. But if handled smartly, cracking an interview can become a piece of cake.
When it comes to interviews, two of the most underrated questions in an interview setup are Contributing and Abstract Questions. They may look quite easy to answer, but tackling them the right way is very important. Let’s first start by understanding what contributing questions and abstract questions are.
Contributing questions
Contributing questions are basically when the interviewer asks “What can you contribute to our company?” This type of question allows the interviewers to understand more about the children’s personal approach when it comes to working with others, the strength of their work ethic, and their personality.
How to answer these questions is very tricky, but here are a few things you can make your children try out:
- Use a concrete example – With the help of relevant examples, your child can explain how they are planning on using their skills. They can even go on and provide examples, how in the past they have done this or any successes they might have had.
- Discuss your skills rather than stating them – Rather than stating skills how they are stated in the resume, children can try to make a discussion as to how these skills were of use by them in the past.
Abstract questions
Abstract questions are the questions that are meant to derail candidates from their mindset of rehearsed questions. Their responses to such questions can reveal new insights into the candidate’s personality, instincts, and soft skills.
Abstract questions can look like the following:
“Describe yourself in one word.”
“How do you define success?”
“Why are you memorable?”
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How do you answer such questions in an Interview?
When it comes to answering abstract questions, there are no right or wrong answers. Just a few things that children should keep in mind, such as research. Make sure your child researches the company or the university values beforehand. When addressing questions like “what does success mean to you?” one way of making a good first impression is if the answer has a bit of customization that matches their values. So if your child is interviewing for an ivy league university, then including values on the lines of hard work, discipline and focus would help.
You may also like to read: Body Language Tips for Different Types of Interviews
Something even more important
What you will most of the time focus on while preparing your child for an interview is their academic knowledge, skills, and experiences, rather than their public speaking skills, confidence, and body language. While academic knowledge, no doubt, does play quite an important role, how your child will put that information across is more important and holds a greater weightage. This becomes even more necessary when it comes to questions that are away from the academic jargon and are more personal in nature.
Conclusion
Needless to say that one should prepare before an interview but how we prepare for it matters. It is important to work smartly and understand all the different scenarios and questions we might land up within an interview. And practice it out so that you can attend to the correct way of delivering your answer, using the right words as well as good body language.
They encourage your child to think beyond marks and talk about how they add value to a team. By sharing real examples instead of listing skills, children learn to express their strengths clearly and honestly. This builds self-awareness and helps them stand out naturally.
Abstract questions push children to think on their feet and speak from their own understanding. When they learn to answer thoughtfully, they become more confident in unexpected situations. This ability helps not just in interviews, but in school discussions and real-life conversations too.
Research teaches children to prepare with purpose. When they understand the values of a school or organisation, they learn to connect their own goals with bigger ideas. This habit strengthens clarity, focus and decision-making over time.
Strong academics matter, but how your child communicates that knowledge often matters more. Confidence, clear expression and positive body language make their answers meaningful and memorable. These skills support them in presentations, leadership roles and everyday interactions.
Preparing for contributing and abstract questions builds confidence, presence and thoughtful communication. Over time, this supports personality development and emotional maturity. Your child doesn’t just prepare for one interview they prepare for life’s many conversations.
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