There is no way to know what questions you will be asked in an interview, the best thing you can do is be prepared for all of them. That’s where this guide comes in, we will guide you through 36 of the most common questions interviewers can ask you so that you will be prepared for anything.
Common Classic Questions
The most frequent common questions you will be asked are very basic, they are trying to gauge who you are and how you will fit into the role. Of course, all of these questions may be worded differently in the actual interview.
- Tell me about yourself.
It is very important that you are well prepared for this question as it can be very easy to fail. Don’t just read out your CV, instead you need to pitch yourself to the interviewer and give a to-the-point and compelling answer that outlines why you are fit for the job.
- How did you hear about this position?
This is your chance to give the interviewer a glimpse at your excitement for the role. If you heard about it through a friend or professional contact, tell them who it was and why you were eager to apply for the role. If you found it on a job board, tell the interviewer exactly what you saw that caught your attention and made you apply for the job.
- Why do you want to work at this company?
You need to be very specific about the way you answer this question. Don’t give an answer that can be applied to a number of different companies, look for a unique point to touch on that shows that you know what you are talking about and have done your research. This question can also be an opportunity for you to figure out if you really do want to work at that company and why. If you can’t, it may be a sign that the role is not right for you.
- Why do you want this job?
This question can also be an opportunity for you to find out if this role is right for you. If you can’t find a good reason why you want the job, you should be looking at something else that you are more passionate about. With this question, the interviewer wants to see the passion that you have for the role and why you would be a good fit for it. Start by identifying how your attributes fit the role, then tell them why you are passionate about the company.
- Why should we hire you?
This simple, forward question is a great chance for you to sell yourself and show off your skills to the interviewer. You should try to cover four thing with your answer: you are capable of doing the work; not only that, but you are able to exceed and deliver even greater results; you will be a great fit for the team; and that you are the best candidate for the role.
- What are your greatest strengths?
The answer to this question should not just be a list of adjectives, it should be one (or possibly a few) qualities that are accompanied by examples. Examples and stories will make the answer much more memorable to the employer and really demonstrate your quality instead of them just taking your word for it.
- What do you consider to be your weaknesses?
This question requires you to strike a balance. Don’t tell them that you’re useless but also don’t tell them you’re perfect either. Find something that you may struggle with, but you are working on improving. For example, may you’ve never been strong at public speaking, but you’ve recently volunteered to run meetings to help you get more comfortable when addressing a crowd.
- What is your greatest professional achievement?
Think about your values and best qualities and try to highlight them. For example, you might have been named the top salesperson at your company last year. You consider this your greatest accomplishment because you value hard work and making people happy. An answer like this will tell the interviewer that you are passionate about customer service and you aim to exceed the expectations of your customers and employer.
- Tell me about a challenge or conflict you’ve faced at work, and how you dealt with it.
Conflict is a part of life, and as such it will also be a part of your work life. Life is a whole series of conflicts and how you resolve them says a lot about who you are as a person, which is why interviewers love to ask you about it, it’s a behavioural question. You need to provide examples of how you behave, do you avoid conflict or face it? Do you think it through, or are you impulsive? Do you use constructive techniques to resolve the situation? Think about how you have resolved conflicts and explain how you handled it.
- Tell me about a time you demonstrated leadership skills.
One of the 5 themes in behavioural interviews is “leadership”. Often interviewers have many viable candidates for a job and a core differentiation in figuring out which candidate to select is understand your leadership capabilities. If you are too humble when talking about your leadership experience or potential, you risk selling yourself short. Choose a strong example and get specific about what you did. Make sure to include enough detail to be believable and memorable.
- What is a time you disagreed with a decision that was made a work?
When you get asked about a time when you disagreed with your boss, the interviewer is really asking about your communication skills. Disagreements happen. What you do when those disagreements take place says a lot about you. The hiring manager is looking to see that you have a good relationship with those in authority. How you interact with your previous boss also says a lot about you as a person. The interviewer uses questions like these to see if you’ll be a good fit in the company.
- Tell me about a time you made a mistake.
It might feel like this question is designed to bring out your worst moments or tendencies, but your interviewer is really looking to learn about your positive traits. Your answer can demonstrate your ability to take responsibility for your missteps and learn from them. Your interviewer may be asking this question to weed out candidates who hold themselves to low standards or refuse to acknowledge their personal flaws.
- Tell me about a time you failed.
This question can be the most important determinant of landing the job, but this depends on your story and the impression it leaves on the recruiter. From your answer, the interviewer can deduce if you are growth-oriented or flounder in the face of challenges. It’s challenging to detail one’s failures or setbacks to a potential employer. But, these questions are often necessary. The interviewer wants to know whether you can acknowledge your weaknesses and take responsibility for your failures. This can also reveal the kinds of risks you take and the habits you possess, and define your own perceptions of success and failure.
- Why are you leaving your current job?
There are many reasons you can and should explain why you’re looking for a new opportunity. As professionals grow in the workplace, there is a natural flow from one job to the next as people seek out new learning opportunities, career development, new environments and other factors. Here are a few examples or reasons why you may be looking for new opportunities: Looking for career growth; desire to change career paths; identified a better opportunity.
- Why were you fired?
What does the hiring manager want to know? Beyond the circumstances of your dismissal, the interviewer is looking to see how you cope with adversity. Sure, first and foremost, they want to know that you weren’t fired for some egregious misbehaviour, e.g., stealing. But beyond that, they’ll want to know that the issue is no longer a problem and that you can take responsibility for your actions—and demonstrate personal and professional growth.
- Why was there a gap in your employment?
Gaps in employment happen, and good hiring managers will realise this. If you’ve made it into the interview, there’s obviously something they liked on your CV. So, when it comes to explaining gaps in employment it’s best to be honest and upfront. You probably won’t lose out on the job by explaining the situation. You will definitely lose out on the job by lying or seeming like you’re trying to cover something up.
- Can you explain why you changed career paths?
One of the reasons why interviewers ask this question is because they want to assess how motivated you are. Recruiters go through the rigorous process of hiring because they want to hire the best candidate. They wouldn’t want anyone who isn’t there for the long term. It is important for you to show your motivation and passion for the career change. If it involves a story that is close to your heart, go ahead and share it. If your new career choice is something you find happiness in, share it as well. Or a career change often brings us back to the things we had to give up in the past. Whatever your story is, share it and make sure there are emotions and passion behind it.
- What’s your current salary?
When it comes to discussing salary, many people feel uncomfortable. In an interview situation, this is often compounded; a salary question can easily bring out the nerves. Really the hiring manager is asking, “What is the minimum salary we need to offer you to convince you to change companies?” This is where your research comes in – you need to have a realistic idea of your market value, whilst giving yourself some room to negotiate.
- What do you like least about your job?
Although the question sounds like an invitation to trash your previous place of employment, that’s not actually why they are asking it. What the hiring manager really wants to know is what your work ethic is, what makes you tick and how you respond to unpleasant situations. It is an interesting interview question for hiring managers because it can reveal a lot about a candidate, both good and bad. If you just answer what you didn’t like and leave it at that, you’re missing a good opportunity to show yourself in a positive light. Use this question as a chance not just to tell what you don’t like, but also to highlight a good quality about yourself. Interviewers really appreciate it if you can show how you turned a negative into a positive.
- What are you looking for in a new position?
Make sure that your answer aligns with what the position you are trying to get it offering.
- What type of work environment do you prefer?
Similarly to the last question, make sure your answer aligns with the environment of the company you are applying to. Try to keep your answer specific to the business.
- What’s your management style?
Point to Your Past: Once you have established what characteristics are important in a good manager- you need to point to a story from your past. This should showcase how you incorporate these good management techniques into your own leadership style. Be careful that your story is not too long. Most interviewers only have a set time for each interview- and you do not want to take up too much time on one topic. At the same time- you want to make sure your story adequately conveys your management skills. Use your knowledge of the company to ensure you include traits and skills that are important to the business. Each company is going to have its own values and culture. You should try to highlight your adaptability and similar values through this and other stories you tell.
- How would your boss and coworkers describe you?
This is one of the most typical interview questions to be asked- and the person asking it is looking for more than a simple “good” or “nice.” Another way this question could be asked is- “How would your boss describe you?” The reason this question gets asked a lot is because an employer wants to know how well you fit into a group dynamic. He or she wants to know you will be capable of playing well with others- and can work alongside other individuals to solve problems. Talk About One Trait with a Story: It is one thing to simply say you are dependable- but how do you prove that to a total stranger? You do not want to merely give a list of adjectives your coworkers would say about you. Instead- focus on one attribute that accurately describes your work ethic. For that attribute- think about a time where you showcased that trait at the workplace. When telling a story- it is crucial that you do not just make something up.
- How do you deal with pressure or stressful situations?
You’ll need to be prepared to respond appropriately, because the interviewer doesn’t want to hear that you never get stressed. After all, everyone feels stress at one time or another at work. Instead, the employer wants to find out whether you understand how pressure affects you and how you manage it. As with all interview questions, it’s a good idea to have examples ready to share with the interview. To answer this question successfully, you’ll want to provide specific examples of how you’ve handled stress well in the past. You might also provide examples of times when pressure actually made you work more productively.
- What do you like to do outside of work?
This is a great opportunity for the employer to get some insight into who you are as a person. After all, you are interviewing for a position where you will be spending at least 40 hours a week together. It makes sense that the interviewer would want to know what kind of a person they would be working with. But they shouldn’t be things that could have a negative impact on your work. For example, if a hobby of yours is that you like to go out on weekdays and party it up at the club, you probably shouldn’t mention this since it could negatively impact your work the next morning. However, saying that you like to enjoy a beer after a long day of work or hang out with some friends is perfectly fine.
- Are you planning on having children?
Yep, that’s illegal. And so is any question related to your family, nationality, gender, race, religion, and more. But unfortunately, these questions get asked more often than you’d think, and before you get to the interview, it’s good to know how to respond if you’re faced with one. An appropriate answer to these types of questions would be “You know I’m not quite there yet. But I am very interested in the career paths at your company. Can you tell me more about that?” This assures the interviewer that you’re committed to your professional growth but doesn’t promise them anything in terms of your future—and lets you steer the conversation back to a job-related topic.
- How do you prioritise your work?
The interviewer may ask you this question to gain insight into how you manage your time and organise your workload. You can use your answer to highlight how you communicate with teammates about urgent tasks, balance your work and personal time and how you approach handling changes in your assignments. Provide examples of how you plan out your daily schedule and set deadlines for urgent and important tasks. Your answer should: describe how you schedule your day; explain how you shift between priorities; discuss how you set your deadlines; tell how you maintain work-life balance; connect your answer to the job requirements.
- What are you passionate about?
Employers ask this question to gain a better understanding of your personality than what they reviewed in your CV and cover letter. Your personal interests can express your values, beliefs and general outlook. An effective answer could show what motivates or inspires you, what your strengths are, if you are capable of commitment and how you relieve stress. When you explain your passion, you may be more likely to focus on what you enjoy, which can help remove the pressure of the interview. It can help the hiring manager learn more about your personality and whether you would be a good fit in the company culture. Your passion may also use hard or soft skills that could be useful for the job, allowing you to make a personal connection to the position.
- What motivates you?
This is a broad and open ended question, which can make it hard to know how to answer. It can also be a challenge to figure out the best way to respond. After all, most people are motivated by many factors, including pay, prestige, making a difference, seeing results, and interacting with interesting people. In asking this question, interviewers hope to figure out what makes you tick. The hiring manager wants to know what drives you to succeed. They also want to determine whether your motivators will be a fit for the job’s duties and the company’s culture. Consider the company culture. If the company emphasises the camaraderie of its staff, for example, you might mention how achieving goals as a group motivates you. If you don’t know much about the company culture, do some research before your interview to learn as much as you can.
- What are your pet hates?
One way to answer this question is to focus on a pet peeve that is unrelated to the job (for example, your pet peeve might be people who do not use their blinkers when they drive). This kind of answer will keep you from saying something negative that is related to the job. You can also describe a pet peeve that is related to the workplace, and that would be a negative for the job. For example, if the job involves a lot of teamwork, you might say your pet peeve is when a person cannot effectively work with a group. However, be sure to explain then how you would deal with that situation. You might also turn this question around, and emphasise your work standards. For example, you might say that you dislike when people do not challenge themselves to go beyond the bare minimum, so you are always pushing yourself to achieve the best results on any project.
- How do you like to be managed?
In order to craft your answer to this question before the interview, you will have to do a little research. Before you can answer this question in an interview, you will need to be able to answer it to yourself. What do you look for in a manager? What do you look for in a team or work environment? Do you like more management or do you like more independence? How would you like that relationship to change over time? To start answering these questions, think back to a time where you really liked your work environment. Come up with a list of experiences where you did like how you worked with your managers and why you liked it.
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
Employers want to recruit people who are motivated, self-aware, engaged in their job and who share similar goals and values. Recruitment is expensive and time-consuming, and potential employers want to be sure that you intend to stay. The best answers to ‘Where do you see yourself in five years?’ fall within that narrow range of ‘generally specific’. To respond well, you need to structure your answer in two parts: Outline your long-term goals and demonstrate why the job you are applying for will help you achieve those goals.
- What’s your dream job?
What hiring managers really want to find out is what you’re passionate about and what you enjoy. That’s why they ask you to describe your ideal job. They want to learn about your long-term career goals and what motivates you. And they want to figure out whether you’ll be happy in this job, or whether you’re bail after six months! That’s the main reason they’re asking you to tell them about your dream job or dream career. So, they don’t expect or need to hear that their job is your dream position. However, they’d ideally like to hear that there are some similarities. For example, if you say your dream job would involve never stepping in an office again, and you’ve applied for an office job, it’s going to cause some concerns and probably cost you the job offer!
- What other companies are you interviewing with?
The key here is to tell them the types of companies you’re interviewing with, without telling them specific company names or going into more detail. That will help you get past this interview question quickly and move on! Then, your secondary goal is to show confidence and act like you’re having some success so far! It’s okay if you haven’t had very many interviews. You can still say, “I’m just starting my job search, but I’m beginning to schedule phone interviews, and I’m feeling confident about how things are going.”
- What makes you unique?
Consider mentioning a personality trait you feel would be a good fit for the business. After reading the job description, make a list of attributes that could make you an exceptional candidate. Additionally, including a personality trait in your answer allows you to display how you’re a good fit for a role in which you have little prior experience. For instance, if you’re applying for a position as a team leader, it’s critical that you demonstrate strong communication skills and an ability to connect with a diverse group of people. If you tell the interviewer, “I am a very good communicator and find it’s easy for me to relate to other people”, you’re able to match your personality to components of a successful leader.
- What should I know that’s not on your CV?
In your interview, you can confidently discuss items from your comprehensive list of applicable experiences, skills and other professional elements. To prepare for this prompt, you can refer to your list and study one or a few important traits or experiences. Use the following tips to craft a compelling response: be confident; keep it brief; discuss what is beneficial about the item; explain why you left it off of your CV.