In accordance with our personal definition of “awesome website,” our website is entirely and entirely awesome in every way. Of course, personal definitions seem useless, but interview queries about them are a great way for the hiring manager to see how you feel about yourself.

How to Answer:

You do not need to say that you’re not successful. That sounds as though you don’t think highly of yourself. You also do not need to say “yes, I am” because that is a boring answer. The best way to approach the query is to give a philosophical answer, pondering the meaning of success and possibly claiming that you are both.

Bad Answer:

“No, I am not victorious. I need to be rich someday and retire in Mexico.”

Mediocre Answer:

“No, I don’t think I’m successful yet. I have aims I still want to reach, and things I still need to learn. Until I reach those goals, I can’t consider myself successful.”

You can see why this answer has its flaws. You are yet complaining about yourself, even if you put it intelligently. It is not terrible, but it is not good.

Good Answer:

“I define success as the capability to meet the aims you set out for yourself, so in several ways I am both. I have been meeting the targets I set for myself, but I also set new goals that I’ve not yet achieved. As long as I have goals I can never be entirely successful, but neither am I unsuccessful since I’ve achieved many of my previous aims.”

Perhaps the word “aims” is in there too much but you get the idea. This is a more philosophical response, and it should more than satisfy the answer while seeming neither rude nor down on yourself.

Interview Tips:

• Provide a philosophical answer.
• Do not say “no.”
• Just say “yes” if you can back it up with something meaningful.