I Top 27 Common Job Interview Questions and Answers Samples Practice and get comfortable with these common job questions and answer Revie) Mee Om TNC AU Ve TC MLM BCom eon Keone Con MAMI maha Tied much better answers. We recommend spending some time getting comfortable with what we might be asked, what hiring managers are really looking for in our responses, and what it takes to show that we're the right man or woman for the job. 1. Can you tell me a little about yourself? To answer, walk them through our background, starting at how we began our career or our current line of work. Take them through key accomplishments, key career moves we’ve made, and end by sharing what we're looking to do next in our career and why we’re job hunting. Good answer sample: “T started my career in Marketing after graduating with a Business degree in 2011. I’ve spent my entire career at Google, receiving 3 promotions and 4 awards for outstanding performance. I’m looking to join a smaller company now, and take on more leadership and project management.” 2. How did you hear about the position? This is one of the simplest question and answer scenarios in any interview, but that doesn’t mean it can’t ruin our chances at the job if we answer incorrectly. Good answer sample: “T saw the job posted on a website, and the position seemed interesting so I wanted to learn more” “T found the position while looking for jobs online” “Your company was recommended to me by somebody I worked with in a previous job and had heard good things about your organization” “T heard about it from a friend” 12am Lag Neha Bhardwaj3. What do you know about our company? Cole Ler tame B CORMAN Lae Oo Retm Cero om ene aa Coty company before applying. If we do this, we'll be fine. If we don’t seem like we know anything about them, we’ll come across as desperate — somebody who will take any job they can find. And that’s going to make we unattractive to any good employers out there. Good answer sample: “From what I read, your company is one of the leaders in providing security software to other businesses. I read the list of clients on your website. Do you POC Ae TRC Re nen CRMC Cate eT Te TTS mentioned on the list, including ... and ... .” “You're one of the largest investment banks in the US. Your headquarters is in Raleigh, NC, and you have 25,000 employees worldwide based on what I read on your website.” 4. Why did you apply for this position? We need to sound like we want the RIGHT job and that we're being picky. Companies SEV LON MoI e ecu COS EME TOM Ue MIM aCe eee am Tobe TT eNTE REA NE ounce UT RCO SN nto POR Coe Centon Renee cents nea One eoR econ Taare carcunea Ts Ce fofele ebro mee: teet (on “T’ve heard great things about the work environment here from a few colleagues. And when I saw this job posting, it seemed to match my skills very closely. For example, I saw MUA Omen ont monet c ra nenn 0) Oeerceraetnin SUN Rae CCR eT EM On NaNO SCCM CRMC OnNg Per an od aie occeeac ATA a Re om Oe US ete Ue skill I hope to continue specializing in.” “Since beginning my career, I've wanted to work for a larger organization in this Freeman OMT RRR Mee Cee NT Tess too I’m very interested in your services, especially the mobile applications you're building rch Reon Ona err ng sR eC Morr utc One Rote PEELE5. Why should we hire you? SPARC RC eae Cen a He TORU Ed tcoe eomt one mth POA Er Reema Sm CR OU Rm Ce Mei ac ecm ETE Se A ane ONC Men Reece CRON rom Ct ee letenmccaei nts “T read on the job description that you’re looking for someone with experience in software programming. I’ve done that for 3 years and can immediately help you accomplish software programming”. 6. Why are you looking to leave your current company? If we chose to leave on our own terms, stay positive and focus on what we wanted to gain from the decision, rather than bad-mouthing or focusing on negatives we wanted to avoid. Good answer sample: SRST B Ce By cannon ato MTom Cher ae nce RSet longer being given the opportunity to do the work I was interested in. left to pursue an opportunity that I felt was more aligned with what I’ve chosen to focus ey UNC tc oa 7. What are your greatest professional strengths? Be OCR Set ha Ree mele) el eens emer Seutinictetoterntmentrt htc Choose | to 3 attributes we want to mention (depending on whether the question asks for Od Sea Roan NOP nme an tee We'll want to think strategically about what skills will position us as qualified for the job Ey good fit for the company. PY Cone Te nemo C Meet COR CRCOe ror ama tl rts Prt cond CSCC er eck Ut ncoNen tea eon mmc area Ea learn quickly would be good to highlight. We Neha BhardwajGood answer sample: “TI think some of my greatest strengths are my communication skills and willingness to take initiative. During my last internship, when I was helping to manage several social media accounts, I made sure that everyone on the team was on the same page and knew what our messaging Nort N ACK MONCH ert oma Nem TCR Loe Conoi te Molla MWe) dh Mont CoM cos mite team up to date and to seek feedback. This ended up being so helpful that the weekly social media update was incorporated into a full- time staff SraTesnn bom coyereyi TL) acs 8. Tell me about a challenge or conflict you've faced at work, and how you dealt with it. Focus on a specific work-related challenge and talk about how we overcame obstacles, used it as a learning experience, used the resources around us (including people/colleagues if applicable), and ended up with a positive result! That’s how to answer this interview question. Keep it work related, not personal. CG folele TSW uRT rnp) (ox “In my last job, we were facing a tough deadline and my boss was out for the day. Our client was expecting a project to be delivered by 5PM, but we were far behind schedule. I took the lead on the project, delegated tasks to the four other team members in a way that I thought would utilize everyone’s strengths best. And then I re-organized my own personal tasks so I could dedicate my entire day to contributing to this project as well. MW iTem ey no) cre KMS eerear-TaCO oR C CC) Aco nsO MOIR Loyu @oy eta ante (cMm NL LT ey Co) lead more projects after that, and used what I learned to be a better project Puen 9. How much money are you looking to earn? Unfortunately this question is left off of many lists of job interview questions and answers examples. But it’s extremely important and the wrong answer here can cost us thousands of dollars in the negotiation later on. Stand our ground and tell them we don’t have a number in mind yet, oar recalled Pao) BhardwajGood answer sample: eS e oh we Bee Ro nei ee Me RCM Seema Com hme Tom Once I’ve done that, I’m willing to consider an offer you feel is fair, but I do not have a specific number in mind yet, and my priority is to find a position that’s a great fit for me.” 10. Why do you want to work here? This is very similar to the question: “Why did you apply for this position?” Show them that we know what that their job involves (at least as much as we could learn from the job description and company website), and that we're excited to be interviewing for this position. Good answer sample: “T’ve been actively searching for jobs since graduating with my Nursing degree. I’m interested in intensive care and emergency medicine and I’ve seen your hospital mentioned as having one of the best ER’s in the region. I thought the job description matched up well with my background, and saw some of my personal strengths mentioned, like multitasking and being able to thrive in a fast paced environment, so I’d love to begin my career icon 11. What is your dream job? Career counselors like to think about good jobs as the intersection of our skills, interests, and values. That’s a good way for us to approach it as well. Talking about our skills will give us an opportunity to sell them a bit— after all, it's an interview. Our interests will show our investment, and our values can help illustrate our fit with the company. Good answer sample: "I’ve thought about this before, and I know I would want to keep honing my skills in ... as well as learn more about... ." "In terms of job content, I’m interested in work that involves ... and ... . I’ve been curious about things like this ever since ..., so I would definitely want that to be part of my dream job." "Based on my skills and interests, in my dream job, I would want to ... as related to ..., ideally in PEELEa company where I could ... and .... These are both really important to me, and I’m excited to Reman Cmecc ner haintrretacnt Tekcenn Tet ha 12. Why did you leave your last job? If we chose to leave on our own terms, stay positive and focus on what we wanted to gain from the decision, rather than bad-mouthing or focusing on negatives we wanted to avoid. Cee oats SOCIS OURO TOU SACR CCS NRCS RS Tea ee eer eT manager and I felt it was the right time to leave.” “I was hired for a certain role, but over time that changed and I was no longer being given the opportunity to do the work I was interested in.” Sus CRC Ree etme koe c ee eam Re Cet ct a OCR Cer MSc CTT e tte pa Same een Mee emo meen Rn cen nererece eg environment to continue growing.” 13. What other companies are you interviewing with? Hiring managers are curious about what other companies we’re interviewing with for a few ee MUTA M Uma Cenc Rea ere oS Re UR eee Reo OTe mala coi eee Re MEU eRe LmeccUTe CCT feneeen aoa tts aera CRTs OMe Cor "I do have a couple of interviews coming up soon with ... for senior marketing positions. But I can tell you that, based on what I know, this position has exactly the kinds of challenges Sane ents OTN NS ar CMD Se Cece iitoagc aim melt mbites cH DEM Ca Rw O er aes Oe ect Te CCC n tM Marg eee One) Coen aun ete artes We Neha BhardwajT wanted to keep an open mind about how to best achieve that goal, but so far it seems that this OCR ice Nay en CaCe Coe Roemer tens Crntase cette ut nccnt Mn Tt Frith ney sea eC Cle Das AeA UAL SH "I’m still pretty early in my job search. I’ve applied to a number of opportunities that will allow me to use my skills in data visualization to help educate clients, but this position is most exciting rons In fact, I think this position is a particularly good fit for my skill set because I can leverage my significant experience working with complicated data sets." 14. What is your greatest weakness? We never want to say we struggle working with others, or we're bad at resolving disagreements, or taking direction from a manager, etc. Those things will get us race e MMO e au Ween esr o lend al Mm aSeninnead re taLZonee severely impact our ability to do this job. Good answer sample: “T’m not particularly strong in social media marketing. For the first few years of my career, I focused entirely on email marketing. That’s still what I specialize in, which is why I applied for your Email Marketing Manager job. But I’ve realized it’s also helpful to understand the principles of social media marketing because some of the strategies that work there also work well in email. So I’ve started spending a couple hours a week of my own time studying and learning this new area, and it’s helped me a lot.” 15. What type of work environment do you prefer? Ideally one that's similar to the environment of the company we're applying to. Be specific. Although most places have a section on their sites devoted to explaining culture, they tend to be filled with phrases like “dedicated to customer satisfaction” and “we encourage our employees to grow.” That tells us a whole lot of nothing. PEELE16. What's a time you disagreed with a decision that was made at work? Brainstorm a few more questions that could potentially come up based on the position we're applying for and our particular situation. For example, say we tell that story about standing up to the director of marketing when asked to talk about conflict with a previous supervisor. ACR Corer nt A MONRO MO RICO nee TM TOMES ETC el Ta SETAC HCL Lem Cm Ta PERT CORO NCTM ORRIN RI lee Rec Tne ARNE octane CCR ed neat We triumphantly showed the performance to the director, and she agreed to scrap the campaign, Good answer sample: “T learned early on in my professional career that it’s fine to disagree if you can back up your Pon “In short, it’s not that I’m an amazing multitasker; I just set and review my priorities frequently.” 17. Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Pick a work-related goal of where we'd like to be five years from now, and make sure it’s slightly challenging or ambitious-sounding. And make sure to share a goal that is related to the type of job we're interviewing for. We ETL KOR OL ICC M I CRUNK gee emu Cee eT BT MIM ol om ELCReL Taleo co urey Ore Good answer sample: “I’m glad you asked. In five years I see myself taking on more Prcryorey eset TU CexPmo LO eC Mm O AT woLUreanMere-bateh-ccore(cselmroymme ted itor aXe mTiCeohBTOLtET| contributions. I am not sure which path will make sense to pursue, but I know my goal right now is to build a strong foundation and gain valuable experience so that I'll have a successful future in this industry.” We Neha Bhardwaj18. Can you explain why you changed career paths? Have a target audience, and speak directly to it. It's super important for any job seeker. We're not going to be able to just list out our job history and expect a financial services hiring PETER ICUs CR a ENC ROCs Instead, we will need to angle all of our messaging in a way that makes it obvious what we're Ran eC NOTE UC RU Nae eC Cen eae not A good rule of thumb is that, if we're worried how a certain position or experience is going to be Pee ase ee ROR eM oe eC LeC RL ea ete ty Cone CURA EKR URC em Sie TCR CCR Ln RRO ater Reece enc Tae For instance, say the moves we've made along the way make we look, at least on paper, like a bit Sewoeaes Teeter as tet cote Roma Ta Ci eoe eens ae Think through how we’re going to present our choices and career path to a potential employer, present them briefly and confidently, and then refocus the discussion on our commitment to this role and what we can walk through that company’s doors and deliver. erent rede d “Following a family relocation to Dallas...” (makes the job switch obvious) or “After a significant Coreen etme Cn cee tm Roti RO 19. Tell Me About a Time You Failed This is a common interview question that employers ask to see if we're able to learn from mistakes and bounce back when things don’t go our way. Ideally, talk about how we used SU ELw oO MCMC ME MOTTO RO MMOL CONC OCMET RCR Cm Rice RTM MST crm etna (e.g. how we turned a past failure into a future success). Good answer sample: “Tn my most recent position, I had recently been promoted to Supervisor, and was managing Cena e Teac ea ort aCt Ce mC CNcRUECe tert acts and I confronted him in front of everybody. It made the situation worse and caused a lot of distraction for every employee on the floor. We Neha Bhardwajfailed to lead properly in this situation, and spoke to my manager the next day te what I could have done differently. We both agreed that I should have handled this with the employee, by asking them to step inside my office with me. If I had done this instead of reacting the way I did, the situation would have turned out much better. From that point onward, I am always conscious of whether a discussion with a team member should occur in public or behind closed doors, and it made me a better leader.” 20. How would our boss and co-workers describe you? SUE eee ee OR eR oc eRe ork ekel ale me men aie eh Ce eres ere U Nomen aed “Actually, in my most recent performance review in May, my direct supervisor described me as Reon Ca hel eine Caen coma Ne CNM ION ENG ice onto NCO ENO SEM Re OUST CR nen MUR eR Oncor ae RU ont to fix it. Rather than punting the problem back to the team, I always try to do what I can first. I know she appreciates that about me.” “One thing I’ve noticed is that I’m always the one people turn to for recommendations on how to handle a new event or program—the latest fundraiser that I just told you about would be one POAC M CORNED ay ee U NNT MUM RT annonce econ aOR because I work through what a new program might look like very methodically. If you were to ask my colleagues, I’m confident they’d describe me as logical, organized, and ate tat Col a CMAN NR CNS Col SCN RMS MU cSt NCIC neha cee COR eee Sent ERm Oe ERROR Onn en ee NCR mE coe since I never leave my office until it’s been dark out for a couple of hours. My boss in particular would say I’m very knowledgeable about audience development it’s why I ORE a eC ROR MOIR Eee PEELE21. How do you deal with pressure or stressful situations? Waa eC ROR aerate canner Conca cin Saranac tly greatest to-do list, stopping to take 10 deep breaths), and then share an example of a stressful Rr tormenta tcc Rates PUTS eo NCCE Man cok CSTR TE CRUETa Comet Onan Tn Comet Eo Peston Roa sonore But even if our story isn’t exactly what the interview question asked for, if it’s framed well and we go the extra mile to tell the interviewer what he or she should take away from it, we'll rete Me AUnaeen ta Retetoai yccCnm So, don’t stress too much about having the perfect stories lined up or the exact relevant experience. Instead, focus on the messages we're trying to communicate to the hiring manager, Ete M ore aU umn RMR RICO e MTEL CR ERIS 22. If you were an animal, which one would you want to be? Reon n men Seen MAM NR TCS emis R BTR Ne cor Ny because hiring managers want to see how we can think on our feet. There's no wrong answer here, but we'll immediately gain bonus points if our answer helps we share our strengths or SoCo CV UN Moy meet MMNTU MONT VT u rT pereV OE Tce mmSSTeCCM OL TTeLUTcdHCOeNECT enon Tis ICA Lows OC ACE oT 1 EUS em TM CAM Oo) oe NiCe TTT ECO U Nae LoL Sou TUAT USNS AVAE Ce Mee) Coker OREM RCC Mee me en NRCO MICE COM Seer Tet oe to use some SFW humor. (If it doesn’t, now’s probably not a good time to start working on it.) Once we've shown that we're game and excited to tackle new problems, we've won half the battle. Come up with a stalling tactic to buy ourself some thinking time, such as saying, “Now, that is a great question. I think I would have to say... ” 23. What do you think we could do better or differently? ANCOR ELemGEee R RCRA de M COO CU Coe MEU CCLET SS RCO COU CCRC CT FUT yxelelioal oa Cosco mre Ccoaa om Cheol NAM Conme LaLa) ane a Roe eRe ea Omnce oN eau nn Ura etn Oment Ron terrccg Pelt MUN TERT at SO We Neha BhardwajDoing this will also help us determine whether we can be passionate about the company and product as well as convey that passion to our interviewer. Now that we’re familiar with the product, be ready with ideas for how we’d HTUCR CoB ee ew TROL Le MAY PEL Nm Tae OLH ORL M BtMon corltel to build? How would we engage users (or re-engage existing ones)? How could the company increase conversions? How could customer service be improved? When we're interviewing with a start-up, our goal is to ensure that the job is a great fit for us, and to convey that to our interviewer as well. When we do, we'll be in a better position to negotiate our offer and get started once we accept it—full of ideas on ways to hit the ground aera Tarn nyea 24. Are you planning on having children? Any questions related to our family status are technically illegal, but employers often ask them to get a read on our future commitment to the job and company. Tailor our answer to speak to that concern, gracefully avoid the illegal part of the question, and turn the conversation back to our job-related strengths. This answer sample assures the interviewer that we're committed to our professional growth, but doesn’t promise them anything in terms of our future—and lets us steer the conversation back to a job- related topic. Good answer sample: “You know, I’m not quite there yet. But I am very interested in the career paths at your company. Can you tell me more about that?” 25. What do you like to do outside of work? If someone asks about our hobbies outside of work, it’s totally OK to open up and share what really makes we tick. (Do keep it semi-professional, though: Saying we like to have a few beers at the local hot spot on Saturday night is fine. Telling them that Monday is usually a rough day for us because we’re always hungover is not.) It goes without saying that we should find out everything we can about our potential place of employment ahead of time. PEELEFacebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the company’s website and blog all provide us with Cn a nS eke acon te nen norte Cnr cmtag ROR a Ranta Ce ee UNs Srnec (hata lu hast ace or the CEO. Why? our interview answers and conversation topics should vary based on the person we're speaking with, and by knowing who we'll be talking to, we can spend time thinking through how we might connect with each of these people. PAPAS uate ola DamuceLe ue Tiys OA TR CES COCR EON e ee CaCO TCT OE UC ECO ect em Peon A ERE U RR ee UO oe ete UR mt ene Set tS ROO tEn Ce mene They do not know if we're any good or if they even want to hire us. Ree ee a OSCAR ne eRe Ona atari CeCe AN eee etm eet RAT ee RUC e CR COat ty Stand our ground and tell them we don’t have a number in mind yet, or aren’t sure. (eri Ue eta cy “Right now I’m focused on finding a job that’s the right fit for my career. Once I’ve done that, I’m willing to consider an offer you feel is fair, but I do not have a specific number in mind yet, and my priority is to find a position that’s a great fit for me.” PEELE27. Do you have any questions for us? DORE eee ac Tama RO TOME U Nem T eS Manele RCO Leln ee A ETM COM ene OMT AR COMM Tm CORON mt et eee If we don’t ask good questions to each person we speak with, we're very unlikely to get hired. Le Toler omer tiny) “Yes, I have a couple of questions actually. The first thing I wanted to ask: is this a newly- NCR MR Can Ce MACRO ane Ce MC RCO UTR nT stort) on to do after this position?”