Personal Job Interview Questions and Answers

During an interview, you can almost always expect some personal job interview questions. In this blog, some popular personal questions are discussed, and some example answers are given.

14 most commonly asked personal job interview questions

1. Tell me a bit about yourself

This question is the most popular question to pop up in a personal interview, it quickly puts the ball in your court, and you now have the power to guide the interview in a way that suits you, depending on how you answer of course. When it comes to answering this, we would recommend following this simple template:

• A quick overview of your education qualifications
• Your previous work experience
• A small bit of your (family) background

2. Can you describe yourself using 3/5 words?

We would recommend sticking close to the job description, for example: if you are applying for a Sales job, descriptive keywords to use would be a proactive, great phone skills, etc.

You will want to have both good and bad descriptors; this can show the interviewer that you know what you fall on and are willing to work on, once they are not BIG problems.

Something along the lines of you is picky or hard on yourself to achieve targets or solutions etc.

3. What motivates you?

Answers here can be tricky; we believe that something along the lines of ‘competition,’ ‘striving to be the best,’ that working as part of a team and trying to reach targets as a team is all good.

4. What are your Strengths/ Weaknesses?

Strengths:

Here you need to think about your most relevant strengths that you can apply to this particular multilingual job. These questions help the interviewer find out if you are right for the job, so give them a personal strength that makes them think ‘this is the candidate for me.’

A good guideline is to mention 3 strengths.

Weaknesses:

Interviewers have heard the ‘I’m a perfectionist’ many times so something fresh and original could do the trick. A route you could take would be to pick a weakness that won’t affect you if you were to get the job.

1 weakness is not enough always give 2.

5. Why did you leave your last job?

Here you will need to be careful as there are many possible answers you could use, just remember to NEVER talk negatively about any prior or current employer to a potential employer.

No one wants to think that in a few years, you could be saying the same about them. A possible reason could be to say you were looking for better opportunities, for you to grow professionally, or you were looking for the chance to work abroad.

6. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Here the interviewer is trying to find out just how ambitious you are.

Ambition is never a bad thing; it shows you are a highly motivated self-starter. It’s always good to say that you hope to see yourself with more responsibilities in a company that values your skills and your input.

7. What kind of Salary are you expecting?

This question can be asked in several ways, but they all mean the same thing. Money is a complicated subject, we would suggest trying to turn it around and back to the interviewer to see what they believe this multilingual job will pay if that doesn’t work and they are looking for an answer from you, we would recommend you keep your answer:

Realistic: You won’t be going home with millions each month.

A bit vague in the beginning, as the interviewer may jump at the lower sum you mention.

8. Do you prefer to work alone or within a team?

Again a tricky question; picking one could look bad, that you are unable to work with others or that you lack direction.

So why not say that you like a bit of both?

9. What do you like & dislike about your current position?

Tread carefully here; you don’t want to come off negative; the interview should be all about positivity.

Here you can say what the company you were working with has done for you and what you may have disliked could be along the lines of they could only help you so far up the professional ladder, but you will always think fondly of them.

10. Describe your ideal company, location, and job.

Ans: For me, an ideal company is one where I show up every day and feel myself contributing, knowing that I am playing a role in the company’s success. My ideal company depends on me so that I am motivated to work hard and complete my tasks. Also, my ideal company offers products and solutions that I believe in and has a long-term plan for success.

11. What are your short-term career goals?

Ans: Coming to my career goal, my short-term goal is to get a job in a good and reputed company

12. What are your long-term career goals?

Ans: My long-term goal is to achieve a good position, name, and fame in a reputed organization.

13. What is your greatest strength?

Ans: Coming towards my strengths, I have strong logical thinking, always love to do smart work, have good leadership skills, and have good time management skills. I am very self-motivated.

14. Who has inspired you in your life, and why?

Ans: Of all the people who have inspired me, I have to say that Jonas Salk ranks at the top of the list. Not only was he a brilliant scientist, but more importantly, he used his genius and dedication to develop a product (in the form of a life-saving vaccine) that saved thousands of lives and prevented untold suffering instead of seeking personal profit like so many others would have.

Common Job Interview Questions & Answers

Below you can find a list of common job interview topics. Each link will direct you to an article regarding the specific topics that discuss commonly asked interview questions. Furthermore, each article discusses why the interviewer asks these questions and how you answer them!

1. Accomplishments
2. Adaptability
3. Admission
4. Behavioral
5. Career Change
6. Career Goals
7. Communication
8. Competency
9. Conflict Resolution
10. Creative Thinking
11. Cultural Fit
12. Customer Service
13. Direct
14. Experience
15. Government
16. Graduate
17. Growth Potential
18. Honesty & Integrity
19. Illegal
20. Inappropriate
21. Job Satisfaction
22. Leadership
23. Management
24. Entry-Level & No experience
25. Performance-Based
26. Personal
27. Prioritization & Time Management
28. Problem-solving
29. Salary
30. Situational & Scenario-based
31. Stress Management
32. Teamwork
33. Telephone Interview
34. Tough
35. Uncomfortable
36. Work Ethic