Answer the Most Common Interview Questions

Job interviews are nerve-wracking, but preparing ahead of time can help you feel relaxed. Some interview questions are very common and will likely be asked regardless of the field your potential job is in. By going over common interview questions about your personality, professional development, and the job at hand, you can feel at ease for your big interview.

Steps

Answering Personality Questions

1. Explain your career path to describe yourself. Connect the dots on your resume so the interviewer can understand more about you professionally. Try to describe not only your career path but why you’ve made those decisions. Creating a story about yourself helps the interviewer understand where you’re headed with your career.
   • The question to expect: “Tell me a little about yourself.”
   • For example, you could say, “I started my career in magazines, but after attending graduate school for my MFA, I found that children’s book publishing is my true passion. That’s why I decided to go in another direction and intern at Random House. Now, I’m looking to take the next step in my career by focusing on my particular passion for YA novels at your literary agency.”
2. Describe your biggest weakness as a strength in disguise. Choose an area of weakness that could also be interpreted as a strength to show off another good side to the interviewer. An alternative is to share a true area of weakness, but outline the concrete steps you are taking to compensate for it.
   • The question to expect: “What are your greatest weaknesses?”
   • For example, to disguise a strength you might say, “I often get so engrossed in my work that I lose track of time. I tend to be so dedicated that I spend extra time on parts of my job I really enjoy.”
   • Alternatively, you could reveal a true weakness you’re overcoming, “I found that in my last job, my sales skills weren’t as strong as some of my coworkers. That’s why I undertook a special certificate program to sharpen my sales skills last summer. I’m now on track to sell the most in my group this fiscal quarter.”
3. Prove your greatest strength with examples. Avoid saying you’re simply a hard worker, which many people will fall back on. Instead, take some time to think about what truly makes you unique and special as an employee. Back that up with examples.
   • The question to expect: “What are your greatest strengths?”
   • For example, you might say, “I bring a special energy to every project I work on, and my customers agree. I’ve been voted ‘Most Spirited’ customer service employee in my store for 6 months running.”
4. Provide a story with a happy ending about a work challenge. Describe the challenging situation so the interviewer has context. Outline the challenging task and the action you took to resolve the issue. Lastly, go over the (positive!) end result. This situation-task-action-result approach to answering is sometimes called “STAR.”
   • The question to expect: “Tell me about a challenge or conflict you've faced at work, and how you dealt with it.”
   • You might say, “When I was working at Martin’s PR agency, a client decided they wanted to change their whole marketing strategy a week before the campaign was to launch. It was tough, but I overcame the short deadline by examining past strategies the client thought were successful and using them as a model for the new strategy. The client loved the new direction we went in, and it was their most successful marketing campaign that year.”
5. Describe hobbies that show personal growth. Only if asked, share personal hobbies that show you’re interested in trying new things and growing as a person. Avoid sharing hobbies that your interviewer may fear would interfere with your dedication to your job, such as gambling.
   • The question to expect: “What do you like to do outside of work?”
   • You might say, “I love learning other languages, so I’m taking Mandarin classes,” or “I enjoy running, so I’m challenging myself by training for the Boston Marathon.”
6. Demonstrate modesty and gratitude. These personality traits are ones that many companies seek to find in their employees, so sending these positive but powerful signals can help you get ahead of the game. Try to avoid bragging or acting like you're entitled, as this can turn off a prospective boss.
   • For instance, instead of saying “I’m the strongest salesperson in my team. My bosses love me, my clients say that I’m the only one that understands them and my colleagues envy me,” say “I understand who our clients are and what they need, so my success is based upon listening and showing them that I care. The training has been a vital part of my journey because I believe in the product or service that I offer and I can only sell a product or service that I believe can benefit our society.”
   • You can make it more personal by saying “I love selling and visiting clients because I get to do two of the things that I love the most. Meeting new people with amazing stories from who I can learn and also traveling and seeing amazing landscapes.”

Answering Professional Development Questions

1. Show ambition in describing your future career. Provide a slightly optimistic answer that showcases your dreams for your career if you’re asked about your future. Describe the type of role you would find rewarding, if there isn’t a particular job you have your heart set on.
   • The question to expect: “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”
   • If you’re an editor, you might say, “I’d love to be in a senior editorial role where I can mentor younger editors and publish meaningful work.”
2. Focus on the positives a job move will bring you. Avoid badmouthing your current job or boss as you interview for a new role. Instead, discuss the career growth you’re hoping for as you seek new opportunities. If you can describe how your job move will be benefit the next company that lands you, that’s even better.
   • The question to expect: “Why do you want to leave your current job?”
   • You might say, “I’m looking for a job where I can manage a large client base. My current company is wonderful, but due to its small size, that’s not a dream I can realize there. I think my ambitions about building a big client roster will be a huge asset to my next company.”
3. Highlight how the company’s environment will work well for you. Describe how the company’s environment and your ideal working environment align. This will make you seem like a natural fit.
   • The question to expect: “What kind of work environment do you like best?”
   • You might say, “I love to work in a group, which fits perfectly with your open cubicle environment and collaborative culture.”
4. Share achievements that let the interviewer imagine you in the position. Provide an achievement directly relevant to the job you’re interviewing for, if asked about a past success. A relevant answer allows the interviewer to imagine you having similar success in your new job.
   • The question to expect: “What do you consider to be your greatest professional achievement?”
   • If you’re interviewing for a sales job, you might say, “I’m most proud of the new relationships I’ve been able to develop for my current employer. I’ve brought in 200 new clients in the last year, doubling our new business compared to the previous year.”
5. Deflect questions about past salary. Dodge direct questions about your current salary during an early interview, as they may be used against you later in salary negotiations. Let the interviewer know the salary range you’re looking for, which is the information they’re really trying to find out anyway.
   • The question to expect: “What was your salary in your last job?”
   • You might say, “I’m focusing on jobs in the $50,000 USD range. Is this role in that range?”
6. Identify things about the job that will lead to your dream job. Describe the desirable skills you would learn in the job at hand that would help you in your dream role. Creating a story makes this job seem like a natural part of achieving your future goals.
   • The question to expect: “Describe your dream job.”
   • You might say, “I’d love to be the owner of a leading grocery store chain. That’s why learning the basics of good customer service in a role like this one is so important to me.”

Answering Questions about the Role

1. Show your interest in the company to describe how you found the job. Create a connection beyond finding the job on a job board if possible. Be honest above all else, though. Places you might find out about the job include following their company on social media or hearing about it from a current employee.
   • The question to expect: “How did you hear about the position?”
   • You might say, “I found out about the job when you posted the opening on Facebook. I follow you guys with interest and love hearing about your new products.”
2. Highlight any undiscussed areas of strength. Use an open-ended question about why you should be hired to touch on strong areas you haven’t gotten to emphasize in the interview. Provide examples to back up your claims whenever possible.
   • The question to expect: “Out of all the other candidates, why should we hire you?"
   • You might say, “You should hire me because no one will be more dedicated to pleasing your customers. I’ve been voted #1 in customer satisfaction in my department for the last 2 years.”
3. Describe how the position is a perfect fit for your goals. Try to explain how the skills you would learn in this role would help you achieve your dreams. Point to near term and longer term benefits of having this particular job rather than just working for the company.
   • The question to expect: "Why do you want this job?"
   • You might say, “One day, I’m looking to start my own leather shoe line, and to do that, I want to work with the very best designers in this role. No one designs boots like you, and I want to sharpen my leather skills so my shoes can make customers as happy as yours do.”
4. Show how you can have an immediate positive impact. Imagine your first few months in this job and what you would like to accomplish. Share a few concrete goals you think you could accomplish to improve business for your prospective employer.
   • The question to expect: “What would your first 30, 60, or 90 days look like in this role?”
   • You might say, “I think a great starter project would be diving into your email marketing campaigns and setting up a tracking system. That way, I can determine which emails are really reaching your target customers.”
5. Ask smart, researched questions about the role at hand. Think up some questions for your interviewer that you believe they won’t cover during the interview. Write them down, so they’re ready to go at the interview’s close. You will almost certainly face this question, and having no questions makes it seem as though you’re not invested in the job.
   • The question to expect: “What questions do you have for me?"
   • Potential questions include, “What really drives results in this job?” “What are the company’s top priorities this year, and how will my role contribute?” “What do you like best about working here?” and “What do you expect someone in this role to accomplish in the first 90 days?”

Tips

• Demonstrate to your interviewer that you are not just telling them what you think they would like to hear, but that you actually have the relevant experience and the necessary skills to back up your statement.

References

See also

• Take Time Off for an Interview
• Prepare for an Internship Phone Interview
• How Do You Build Relationships Interview Question
• Rock Your Media Job Interview
• Explain a Termination in a Job Interview
• Take Control in Your Interview
• Answer What Is Your Biggest Failure
• Prepare for an Informational Interview
• Succeed in Your Final Interview
• Keep a Job Interview on Track

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• Succeed in Your Final Interview