How to Answer the 31 Most Common Interview Questions.docx

How to Answer the 31 Most Common Interview Questions.docx

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HowtoAnswerthe31MostCommonInterviewQuestions

HowtoAnswerthe31MostCommonInterviewQuestions

By TheDailyMuseEditor

Wouldn'titbegreatifyouknewexactlywhatahiringmanagerwouldbeaskingyouinyournextinterview?

Whileweunfortunatelycan'treadminds,we'llgiveyouthenextbestthing:

alistofthe31mostcommonlyaskedinterviewquestionsandanswers.

Whilewedon'trecommendhavingacannedresponseforeveryinterviewquestion（infact,pleasedon't）,wedorecommendspendingsometimegettingcomfortablewithwhatyoumightbeasked,whathiringmanagersarereallylookingforinyourresponses,andwhatittakestoshowthatyou'retherightmanorwomanforthejob.

Considerthisyourinterviewstudyguide.

1.Canyoutellmealittleaboutyourself?

Thisquestionseemssimple,somanypeoplefailtoprepareforit,butit'scrucial.Here'sthedeal:

Don'tgiveyourcompleteemployment（orpersonal）history.Insteadgiveapitch—onethat’sconciseandcompellingandthatshowsexactlywhyyou’retherightfitforthejob.Startoffwiththe2-3specificaccomplishmentsorexperiencesthatyoumostwanttheinterviewertoknowabout,thenwrapuptalkingabouthowthatpriorexperiencehaspositionedyouforthisspecificrole.

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2.Howdidyouhearabouttheposition?

Anotherseeminglyinnocuousinterviewquestion,thisisactuallyaperfectopportunitytostandoutandshowyourpassionforandconnectiontothecompany.Forexample,ifyoufoundoutaboutthegigthroughafriendorprofessionalcontact,namedropthatperson,thensharewhyyouweresoexcitedaboutit.Ifyoudiscoveredthecompanythroughaneventorarticle,sharethat.Evenifyoufoundthelistingthrougharandomjobboard,sharewhat,specifically,caughtyoureyeabouttherole.

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3.Whatdoyouknowaboutthecompany?

Anycandidatecanreadandregurgitatethecompany’s“About”page.So,wheninterviewersaskthis,theyaren'tnecessarilytryingtogaugewhetheryouunderstandthemission—theywanttoknowwhetheryoucareaboutit.Startwithonelinethatshowsyouunderstandthecompany'sgoals,usingacouplekeywordsandphrasesfromthewebsite,butthengoontomakeitpersonal.Say,“I’mpersonallydrawntothismissionbecause…”or“Ireallybelieveinthisapproachbecause…”andshareapersonalexampleortwo.

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4.Whydoyouwantthisjob?

Again,companieswanttohirepeoplewhoarepassionateaboutthejob,soyoushouldhaveagreatansweraboutwhyyouwanttheposition.（Andifyoudon't?

Youprobablyshouldapplyelsewhere.）First,identifyacoupleofkeyfactorsthatmaketheroleagreatfitforyou（e.g.,“IlovecustomersupportbecauseIlovetheconstanthumaninteractionandthesatisfactionthatcomesfromhelpingsomeonesolveaproblem"）,thensharewhyyoulovethecompany（e.g.,“I’vealwaysbeenpassionateabouteducation,andIthinkyouguysaredoinggreatthings,soIwanttobeapartofit”）.

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5.Whyshouldwehireyou?

Thisinterviewquestionseemsforward（nottomentionintimidating!

）,butifyou'reaskedit,you'reinluck:

There'snobettersetupforyoutosellyourselfandyourskillstothehiringmanager.Yourjobhereistocraftananswerthatcoversthreethings:

thatyoucannotonlydothework,youcandelivergreatresults;thatyou'llreallyfitinwiththeteamandculture;andthatyou'dbeabetterhirethananyoftheothercandidates.

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6.Whatareyourgreatestprofessionalstrengths?

Whenansweringthisquestion,interviewcoachPamelaSkillingsrecommendsbeingaccurate（shareyourtruestrengths,notthoseyouthinktheinterviewerwantstohear）;relevant（chooseyourstrengthsthataremosttargetedtothisparticularposition）;andspecific（forexample,insteadof“peopleskills,”choose“persuasivecommunication”or“relationshipbuilding”）.Then,followupwithanexampleofhowyou'vedemonstratedthesetraitsinaprofessionalsetting.

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7.Whatdoyouconsidertobeyourweaknesses?

Whatyourinterviewerisreallytryingtodowiththisquestion—beyondidentifyinganymajorredflags—istogaugeyourself-awarenessandhonesty.So,“Ican'tmeetadeadlinetosavemylife”isnotanoption—butneitheris“Nothing!

I'mperfect!

”Strikeabalancebythinkingofsomethingthatyoustrugglewithbutthatyou’reworkingtoimprove.Forexample,maybeyou’veneverbeenstrongatpublicspeaking,butyou'verecentlyvolunteeredtorunmeetingstohelpyoubemorecomfortablewhenaddressingacrowd.

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8.Whatisyourgreatestprofessionalachievement?

Nothingsays“hireme”betterthanatrackrecordofachievingamazingresultsinpastjobs,sodon'tbeshywhenansweringthisinterviewquestion!

AgreatwaytodosoisbyusingtheS-T-A-Rmethod:

Setupthesituationandthetaskthatyouwererequiredtocompletetoprovidetheinterviewerwithbackgroundcontext（e.g.,“Inmylastjobasajunioranalyst,itwasmyroletomanagetheinvoicingprocess”）,butspendthebulkofyourtimedescribingwhatyouactuallydid（theaction）andwhatyouachieved（theresult）.Forexample,“Inonemonth,Istreamlinedtheprocess,whichsavedmygroup10man-hourseachmonthandreducederrorsoninvoicesby25%.”

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9.Tellmeaboutachallengeorconflictyou'vefacedatwork,andhowyoudealtwithit.

Inaskingthisinterviewquestion,“yourinterviewerwantstogetasenseofhowyouwillrespondtoconflict.Anyonecanseemniceandpleasantinajobinterview,butwhatwillhappenifyou’rehiredandGladysinCompliancestartsgettinginyourface?

”saysSkillings.Again,you'llwanttousetheS-T-A-Rmethod,beingsuretofocusonhowyouhandledthesituationprofessionallyandproductively,andideallyclosingwithahappyending,likehowyoucametoaresolutionorcompromise.

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10.Wheredoyouseeyourselfinfiveyears?

Ifaskedthisquestion,behonestandspecificaboutyourfuturegoals,butconsiderthis:

Ahiringmanagerwantstoknowa）ifyou'vesetrealisticexpectationsforyourcareer,b）ifyouhaveambition（a.k.a.,thisinterviewisn'tthefirsttimeyou'reconsideringthequestion）,andc）ifthepositionalignswithyourgoalsandgrowth.Yourbestbetistothinkrealisticallyaboutwherethispositioncouldtakeyouandansweralongthoselines.Andifthepositionisn’tnecessarilyaone-waytickettoyouraspirations?

It’sOKtosaythatyou’renotquitesurewhatthefutureholds,butthatyouseethisexperienceplayinganimportantroleinhelpingyoumakethatdecision.

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11.What'syourdreamjob?

Alongsimilarlines,theinterviewerwantstouncoverwhetherthispositionisreallyinlinewithyourultimatecareergoals.While“anNBAstar”mightgetyouafewlaughs,abetterbetistotalkaboutyourgoalsandambitions—andwhythisjobwillgetyouclosertothem.

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12.Whatothercompaniesareyouinterviewingwith?

Companiesaskthisforanumberofreasons,fromwantingtoseewhatthecompetitionisforyoutosniffingoutwhetheryou'reseriousabouttheindustry.“Oftenthebestapproachistomentionthatyouareexploringanumberofothersimilaroptionsinthecompany'sindustry,”saysjobsearchexpertAlisonDoyle.“Itcanbehelpfultomentionthatacommoncharacteristicofallthejobsyouareapplyingtoistheopportunitytoapplysomecriticalabilitiesandskillsthatyoupossess.Forexample,youmightsay'IamapplyingforseveralpositionswithITconsultingfirmswhereIcananalyzeclientneedsandtranslatethemtodevelopmentteamsinordertofindsolutionstotechnologyproblems.'”

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13.Whyareyouleavingyourcurrentjob?

Thisisatoughie,butoneyoucanbesureyou'llbeasked.Definitelykeepthingspositive—youhavenothingtogainbybeingnegativeaboutyourpastemployers.Instead,framethingsinawaythatshowsthatyou'reeagertotakeonnewopportunitiesandthattheroleyou’reinterviewingforisabetterfitforyouthanyourcurrentorlastposition.Forexample,“I’dreallylovetobepartofproductdevelopmentfrombeginningtoend,andIknowI’dhavethatopportunityhere.”Andifyouwereletgo?

Keepitsimple:

“Unfortunately,Iwasletgo,”isatotallyOKanswer.

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14.Whywereyoufired?

OK,ifyougettheadmittedlymuchtougherfollow-upquestionasto why youwereletgo（andthetruthisn'texactlypretty）,yourbestbetistobehonest（thejob-seekingworldissmall,afterall）.Butitdoesn'thavetobeadeal-breaker.Sharehowyou’vegrownandhowyouapproachyourjobandlifenowasaresult.Ifyoucanpositionthelearningexperienceasanadvantageforthisnextjob,evenbetter.

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15.Whatareyoulookingforinanewposition?

Hint:

Ideallythesamethingsthatthispositionhastooffer.Bespecific.

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16.Whattypeofworkenvironmentdoyouprefer?

Hint:

Ideallyonethat'ssimilartotheenvironmentofthecompanyyou'reapplyingto.Bespecific.

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17.What'syourmanagementstyle?

Thebestmanagersarestrongbutflexible,andthat'sexactlywhatyouwanttoshowoffinyouranswer.（Thinksomethinglike,“Whileeverysituationandeveryteammemberrequiresabitofadifferentstrategy,Itendtoapproachmyemployeerelationshipsasacoach...”）Then,shareacoupleofyourbestmanagerialmoments,likewhenyougrewyourteamfromfiveto15orcoachedanunderperformingemployeetobecomethecompany'stopsalesperson.

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18.What'satimeyouexercisedleadership?

Dependingonwhat'smoreimportantforthetherole,you'llwanttochooseanexamplethatshowcasesyourprojectmanagementskills（spearheadingaprojectfromendt