While preparing for your interview, you may be thinking of the possible interview questions the employer could ask you. And if you haven’t gone for an interview for a long while, you might be surprised to see that things have very much changed. Questions and their formats are changing, and so are the methods of answering them and the answers expected of you changing. So what are the top interview questions and answers? Find out in this blog today!
Wouldn’t it be helpful for you to have some clues on the questions your hiring manager will be asking you in your next interview? Here, we will be giving you a list of questions and answers to use as your study guide as you prepare for your job interview.
While it is not advisable that you just cram them, you might as well study them and get yourself acquainted with them.
Learn more about common job interview questions and how to answer them!
Top 10 common interview questions
Below we discuss a couple of common job interview questions.
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Tell me about yourself
For almost every interview, your interviewers are most likely to start with the introduction. They will want you to talk about yourself and what you have been doing with your life. It wouldn’t be bad to chip in some personal details such as your family, where you live, and your work experience. You should, however, remember to keep that part short.
You should start answering the question by giving them a brief summary of your current activities and engagements. Talk about your accomplishments and experiences. Then wrap it up by providing relevant details from your past that could qualify you for the job position.
It would be better if you would adopt the ‘present-past-future’ formula to answer this. That is to say, instead of ending your answer with your experience and accomplishments, you go further to talk about your vision and aspirations for the organization and your career.
Learn more about how to answer the interview question ‘Tell me about yourself.’
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How would you describe yourself?
This question is a bit similar to “tell me about yourself,” but they are not exactly the same. “Tell me about yourself” is more about you are introducing yourself, keeping your career life in focus, but “how would you describe yourself?” means you should talk about your qualities, skills, and characteristics that make you a good fit for the job.
Tell them about your accomplishments and achievements. You might as well include the quantifiable results to further prove to them how qualified you are for the job.
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Why should we hire you?
You answer this question by summarizing your experiences. If you think you are the best candidate for the job, this is the point where you state specifically why you should be hired and not the other candidates.
In as much as we advise that you desist from giving a conceited response here, we would also advise you don’t give a modest or vague response either. The point here is that you talk with confidence. It is time to sell your pitch. Make it focus and concise outlining your qualifications and skills that are relevant to the job.
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What is your greatest strength?
This is almost like asking, “What makes you unique?” interviewers often ask this question to gain insight into your unique personality. When eventually, this question comes up; you should take the time to elaborate more on your qualities and attributes that makes you stand out and qualifies you for the position you are applying for.
You should prepare for this question even before the interview by drawing up different matches between the job requirements as listed in the job posting and your qualifications. It is here you also talk about your personal characteristics, i.e., your soft skills.
Learn more about how to answer the interview question ‘What is your greatest strength.’
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What are your weaknesses?
Just like “what is your greatest strength,” this is also a common interview question. It is also one that can instill fear on the job candidate. While it sounds dishonest to say you do not have any weakness, you could still answer this question by minimizing your weakness and still emphasizing your strengths. You answer this question in a way that shows you are aware of those weaknesses, but you are willing to get better and to improve.
You should start by talking about the weaknesses and then the necessary steps or measures you have taken to eliminate them and be a better person at your job. In this way, you start in a negative note and end on a positive note.
Learn more about how to answer the interview question ‘What is your greatest weakness.’
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Why do you want this job?
The answer to this question can be split into two parts:
- Why you want to work in the company and
- Why you want that particular job and what interests you about its role
Your interviewer would expect you to state what you know about the job and the company, its mission, and goals, its products and services, and its culture. This is more reason why you should run your research on the company before the interview.
You should also state what you know about the job, what is expected of you to do, and what interests you about the job.
Learn more about how to answer the interview question, ‘Why do you want this job?’.
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What motivates you?
Interviewers often ask this question to know what your driving force is. What will make you want to sit in the reception area all day, taking in numerous calls, responding to emails, receiving people into the company, and responding to complaints?
Here, don’t make the mistake of pointing out money or your salary as the case may be as the driving force. You should ensure that your sources of motivation are in line with the job’s role.
Learn more about interview questions about motivation and how to answer them!
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Why did you leave your former job?
If you are moving because of the bad experiences you had at your former job, you may be tempted to take out the anger by castigating your former company, colleagues, or boss. You shouldn’t do that.
No employer wants someone that will talk bad about their company if they get to leave in the future. Use a positive language and be direct. Give them the impression that you are not running from an unpleasant experience ,but rather, you are motivated to go for new and better opportunities.
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What goals have you mapped out for your future?
Do not talk about how ready you are to move on from the job once you get a better opportunity. Rather keep your focus on the job you are interviewing for and how it perfectly fits into your long-term goals.
Learn more about interview questions about career goals and how to answer them!
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What are your salary expectations?
This usually comes at the ending part of the interview. It seems simple, but one could make the mistake of going overboard or below the salary structure. If you overprice yourself, you might miss the job, but then, if you underprice yourself, you could be short-changed.
You should research the salary structure of the job position before the interview.
Job Interview Topics – 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!
- Accomplishments
- Adaptability
- Admission
- Behavioral
- Career Change
- Career Goals
- Communication
- Competency
- Conflict Resolution
- Creative Thinking
- Cultural Fit
- Customer Service
- Direct
- Experience
- Government
- Graduate
- Growth Potential
- Honesty & Integrity
- Illegal
- Inappropriate
- Job Satisfaction
- Leadership
- Management
- Entry-Level & No experience
- Performance-Based
- Personal
- Prioritization & Time Management
- Problem-solving
- Salary
- Situational & Scenario-based
- Stress Management
- Teamwork
- Telephone Interview
- Tough
- Uncomfortable
- Work Ethic
