No matter how many interviews you have, they may still be nerve-wracking. You dress to impress, print out your CV, and smile broadly. But just when you think everything is going smoothly, the interviewer surprises you with the most common interview questions.
Fortunately, you will not let it happen again and are making preparations now so you can ace the interview this month. Doing your research in advance is always the best course of action, which is why we're here to assist.
These 15 common interview questions will help you prepare for a big interview and go one step closer to landing your dream job.
1. Please Introduce Yourself
This is one of the most common interview questions, and how you respond will determine how you are perceived. If you stumble over the response and are unsure of what to say, it is obvious that you lack confidence in yourself. Your ego can become a little too huge if you start outlining all your greatest successes and talk for an extended period. Finding the right mix between confidence and modesty is important.
Create an elevator pitch that briefly describes who you are to better prepare for this question. Leave out your past and briefly describe your career path and how it led you to this interview and job application. You want to pique the interviewer's interest, so they are eager to learn more about you during the conversation.
2. What Draws You to [Insert Firm Name] as an Employer?
When an HR manager asks you this question, they are interested in learning more about the organisation as well as your motivation for wanting to work for them. Make sure you know the organisation and can speak candidly about your desire to work there before answering this question. It will reveal how well you understand what they do and how enthusiastic you are about their work.
3. How Did You Find Out About the Position?
Don't just reply that you learned about the position on a website when this is a question during an interview. This is your chance to elaborate on why you adore this business and what drives you to want to work there. Also, it would be an excellent time to bring up any personal connections you may have at the business!
4. Discuss Something from Your Résumé
Everyone has a resume-worthy accomplishment they can be proud of. Consider answering this question with the most intriguing thing on your resume, whether it's a talent or achievement you've stated or a specific area you worked. Additionally, you'll already be questioned about your most recent position if you only mention something pertinent. Instead, reflect on one of the earlier positions still on your CV, and discuss how working there shaped the person you are today.
5. What Makes you Interested in a Job? Or, Why are You Trying to Get Another Job?
This question might seem unimportant, but interviewers use it to sift out candidates who are either a) seeking any job, b) were dismissed from their previous jobs, or c) may have a high turnover rate, indicating that you won't be staying around for very long. Be particular and concentrate on the positives. Consider your motivation for seeking employment: did you recently graduate, and this will be your first real job? Are you changing your career? Are you quitting your present career to take this one?
If you already have a job, you should be prepared to respond to common interview questions, for example, "why do you want to leave your current position for this one?"
6. Why Should We Hire You?
Remember that the recruiter is interested in learning about the abilities you will contribute to the team when asked this question. Don't respond with a general statement like, "I'm nice and a hard worker." Be specific, briefly describe your professional background and accomplishments, and whenever possible, include numbers.
Mention your years of experience, for instance, or some of the successes you made at your previous employer. The better the interviewer can visualise you working there, the more explicit you may be about your skills and how valuable of an employee you are.
7. In Five Years, Where Do You See Yourself?
Even the most common interview questions may appear difficult when you haven't prepared for them beforehand. Always remember that you don't need to go into great detail about your personal life goals for the following five years while you're in an interview. Be practical and keep your eye on your job ambitions.
Make sure you know who would be working above you and what opportunities there are for professional advancement if you intend to work at this company for five years. This question is intended to gauge your ambition and realistic goal-setting and determine whether the position you are interviewing for supports your progress.
If this work doesn't exactly provide a lot of prospects for the future, you can just respond by saying that you don't know how your future will pan out but that you think this job will help you find the appropriate path for yourself.
8. Describe a Conflict You Experienced at Work and How You Resolved It
It's crucial to master this question since it reveals how you handle conflict with the interviewer. It also aids in testing your ability to think quickly on your feet, so by preparing beforehand with a specific example. You may avoid the awkward pause as you struggle to develop an example.
Once you have an example in mind, just describe what happened, how you handled the situation professionally, and attempt to end the tale on a positive note by mentioning how you and your coworker were able to agree.
9. What is Your Ideal Career?
The interviewer wants to see how realistic you are when setting goals, how ambitious you are, and whether or not the position and company will be a good place for you to grow. This question is similar to the "where do you see yourself in five years" inquiry.
Again, try to put your aspirations aside (don't suggest that your ideal job would be getting paid to snap Instagram images of cars) and concentrate on your professional objectives. Consider how this position will help you achieve your goals and prepare you for the future.
10. What Do You Anticipate from Coworkers?
This inquiry aims to determine your collaborative style and whether you'll fit in with the company's culture. Make sure you conduct research on the company to prepare for this response. You can learn a little about its corporate culture by going through a company's evaluations or checking its social media pages.
11. What Do You Anticipate from Your Manager?
Once more, the hiring manager wants to know what type of worker you would be and whether you would be a good addition to their team. Your potential manager may be interviewing you in various situations. If you can, use instances from your current boss to demonstrate how they positively affect your ability to work better as you respond to this question honestly as you can.
12. How do You Handle the Pressure?
The way you respond can assist hiring managers spot any potential red flags in your application. You want to demonstrate that you can manage stress responsibly Also, describe what you do to relieve stress, such as taking a 15-minute break to go for a stroll outside, checking things off a to-do list, etc.
13. How would You Spend Your First 30 Days in this Position?
How you respond to this question will reveal whether or not you are the ideal candidate for the job and will assist the employer in understanding what you will accomplish in your first three months in the position. Mention the information you'll need to get started and what will assist you adjust to your new role in the beginning. Then, concentrate on your greatest strengths and how you would immediately apply them to this role.
14. What are the Prerequisites for Your Salary?
Some interviewers will inquire about this while others won't. Being ready is always preferable, particularly if you want to guarantee that you will be paid fairly for the value you offer.
Although employers may inquire about your income expectations, it may be against the law in some jurisdictions for them to inquire about your last salary.
15. Do You Have Any More Queries?
If you have any typical interview questions for the interviewer, it will be the last thing you will be asked throughout the interview. Don't blow this opportunity to make an impression by claiming you don't or that the common interview questions have already been addressed. Even if you don't have any job interview questions, you can always ask one after the interview.
So that you have at least two job interview questions to ask at the end of the interview, keep a list of three to five questions in the back of your mind. Recruiters claim that after listening to you talk about yourself for the better part of the interview, they genuinely love getting to answer a few typical interview questions. When this section is finished, you may relax and leave the interview knowing you did a fantastic job!
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