Preparing Answers to Likely Questions In an Interview

Posted by in Career Advice


Although each job interview is different, there are several common questions that arise in the majority of interview situations, and it is essential for you to be well prepared to answer them. Most interviews will contain a few unexpected zingers, but there's no reason not to be prepared for the questions you can anticipate. Remember: • Highlight your knowledge, skills, and abilities. • Quantify your success whenever possible. • Make sure you are presenting yourself in the best possible way. Q: Tell me about yourself. A: This is about as wide open as it gets—and it's a gold mine. This is a chance to sell yourself. The best rule of thumb is to reveal a tiny personal tidbit along with some interesting professional stuff relating to the company you're interviewing with or the position you're interviewing for. Sometimes it'd be fun to just tell them what you really feel, especially since it's so easy to go off on a tangent or get too personal. But, unless you're applying for a job at Weight Watchers, there's no use mentioning that you'd like to lose 10 pounds. If you're not looking to work in a retail shop, don't mention your favorite clothing brands. Q: What is your greatest strength? A: The best way to approach this question is to imagine that you're really being asked something much more straightforward: Do you really have what it takes to effectively do this job? This is your golden opportunity to toot your horn and make the case for why you know that you're up for the task. If the most important requirement of the position is dealing with customer complaints, then you will want to discuss in detail your past experience with customer service, why you enjoy the challenge of turning an unhappy client into a happy one, and specific, quantifiable examples of how you successfully managed customer complaints in a past position. Have a list of character traits in mind that you feel comfortable attributing to yourself, along with supporting details to back them up. Q: What is your greatest weakness? A: Now they’re really digging for dirt. This is the interviewer’s safety net. Here’s the perfect opportunity for you tell them something they were not able to get out of you any other way. Too many honest applicants make the mistake of being brutally honest. We’re not suggesting that you lie, but for goodness sake be careful! For example, even if it’s true, you should never admit that you’re a horrible procrastinator or that you’re terribly disorganized. If you’re interviewing for a position that requires a team player, this is not the time to admit you’re somewhat of a loner. Some fail-safe possibilities that shouldn’t land you in trouble: • At times I can be impatient with those whose standards aren’t as high as mine. • At times I can be too sensitive and caring about other people’s opinions. • At times I can find it difficult to make time to relax. • Sometimes I am a bit aggressive in my desire to close a deal. • With each of these responses you’re basically saying that you do not approve of sloppiness, you have a heart, you are a workaholic, and you are a hard-nosed salesperson. Not exactly bad attributes in an employee! Q: How would you evaluate your last boss? A: There's only one right answer here: a positive one. No matter how tempting it may be to blab on and on about someone you just couldn't stand, do not do it. Never ever trash a former employer. It'll kill your chances for the job. By no means should you go overboard with compliments for a real jerk or a total incompetent. Find something neutral to say if you are not able to offer anything nice. Q: What would your last boss say about you? A: Focus on the best aspects of your relationship with your last employer. You might say that your last boss would praise your ability to follow directions, work as part of a team, and achieve measurable results while also taking initiative on specific projects. This is a great chance to show how you improved in your last position if you received regular performance reviews. Again, focus on the positive side of your relationship with your last employer—no bitterness even if the relationship was acrimonious. Q: What do you think you'll be doing in five years? A: Most of us can't plan next week, let alone years down the road. Use this as an opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to growing in a particular industry or company. Combining your professional growth with loyalty to the employer will serve you best: "I don't think it's really possible for any of us to truly know where we'll be five years from now, but I can tell you my hopes. For the immediate future I want to immerse myself in this business to learn from the ground up. Beyond that my goal is to contribute to the success of the company, which will hopefully enable me to grow within the company." Q: What makes you the ideal candidate for this position? A: "I've always wanted to work here" is a bad answer. "I really need a job" is the worst answer. An employer wants to hear what you'll bring to them, not how they will help you pay your bills. If appropriate, talk about how you'd solve a problem, lower costs, increase sales. You can apply your previous successes/knowledge/skills in this area. Q: What's the most appealing part of this position? A: Be able to provide one or two strong examples, although salary and location should not be among them. Q: What's the most unappealing part of the position? A: Focus on something minor and try to associate some type of positive comment with the unpleasant task. For example, a clerk at a law firm might hate transcribing long depositions, yet by doing so she would learn the ins and outs of effective questioning. Q: What do you think are the most important qualifications of a BLANK (position you're applying for...Sales Exec, Operations Manager, Executive Assistant)? A: Be able to provide two or three action- and results-oriented responses. Q: What is your management style? A: Open door is ideal, but don't lie if it's not true. Be sure to work in that you communicate well with the entire staff, solicit their opinions, keep them informed, get the job done, and that you interact well with upper management equally well. Q: How do you handle difficult situations at work? A: Never say you get along with everyone so there are never ever problems—and never say you avoid people who aren't cooperative. Big bells go off when candidates are overly defensive when answering this question. Instead, talk about your ability to negotiate and compromise while understanding that different people have different perspectives, and that new ideas often develop from controversy. Article Provided by WomenForHire.com
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  • Kristina Foley
    Kristina Foley
    This was very helpful but how do you answer "Why did you leave your last job?" I would leave mine because I'm bored, don't trust boss, don't feel that higherups have my back. S0 how would I answer that correctly?
  • Andrei Marinca
    Andrei Marinca
    Like the other readers, I really appreciate this useful information. Very straight forward and in the same words when you are looking for/ another/a job/position. Thank you.
  • Jose Perez
    Jose Perez
    I found this article very useful and informative for a job seeker, anyway I would like to know how to answer the following question: How would you describe your drill sargent in the army, other than a mandatory patience generator? This is very important to see how the individual will follow orders.  
  • Austin Kpoto
    Austin Kpoto
    I appreciate the wisdom and concepts of such professional contribution by your management team members. These questions and answers will help to advanced our knowledge in such theoretical interviews skills.
  • Paul Egbe
    Paul Egbe
    This were well thought ideas and advice. It will be good not to presume anything in a job interview
  • Ricard Moby
    Ricard Moby
    Excellent advice - the same or very similar to pointers I have been giving my clients for years. I like Greg Gardner's suggestion on the weaknesses question. Your answers for the most part have been overused and therefore become nearly meaningless for many employers. The idea of turning a weakness into a strength is valid, so long as it does not sound trite.  On Greg's answer one might preface with "Of course no one is perfect. The key lies in recognizing where we need to focus. For example..."
  • greg gardner
    greg gardner
    I forgot to add one minor detail. Employers are using "Behavioral Interviewing" in the current job market. You should always be prepared to answer this form of questioning. A "behavorial" or "strees" question is asking you to give some detail revelant to previous position, or current opportunity. They also want to see how you handle the question. A behavorial question consists of "describe a situation, "tell me a time", or "give me an example of".....Important to know about these forms of questions. If you prepare your responses according to a "behavorial" question, you should do fine.
  • greg gardner
    greg gardner
    On the "greatest weakness question", I would answer it differently. First I would focus--if possible--on some aspect of the position. If it is, as an example, an office job, I would say, "I was not familiar with Excel several months/weeks ago. I realized this is an important program for many organizations. SO I enroled in a training program to learn about Excel. Now I feel confident using it in this position". If the interviewer has a sense of humor and interview is going well, you could say, "my greatest weakness is discovering what my greatest strength is". But be selective who you say that to.Show the weakness, but also show how you corrected it.
  • Bertha McGowan
    Bertha McGowan
    Thank you. This article is very informative for all jobseekers.
  • Joshua Williams
    Joshua Williams
    I really feel that this website had excellent advice for people who are still working and those who are unemployed. Thank you for taking the time out to inform people of the importance of standing out in interviews. I really appreciate it.
  • Jackie
    Jackie
    Thank you for this article.  I have an interview this week and this article will help me so much.  Thanks again!!!
  • Cindy Zabbo
    Cindy Zabbo
    This was extremely helpful information!!Thank you so very much for sharing this information and providing the helpful tips to answering these sometimes difficult interview questions!This will definitely be a big help for any future interviews.
  • Gladys
    Gladys
    Thank you i really needed to read this article it really helped me answer some of the questions that i did have problems with at previous interviews....This is a great article and i believe the next interview i go to I will land that job......
  • chioma
    chioma
    thanks a bunch.
  • Janet Heffernan
    Janet Heffernan
    Thanks for the very informative information, it has given me a lot of useful information.  Hopefully it will help me not to come in second next time in my interviews.
  • Emerita
    Emerita
    I am thankful to have run into this, I will be needing them for my future interviews.
  • DANE
    DANE
    Thanks, This has been very informative.
  • Jennifer
    Jennifer
    Thanks.  This was very helpful, especially the "Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses."
  • Ravi Kadian
    Ravi Kadian
    I need lots of articles like this one.  They make you confident on interview times. The advice was very helpful.  Thank You.
  • andri
    andri
    I always have problem answering some, of those question. These tips are a great help to be ready for my next interview.Thanks for you help.
  • Stacy Weekes
    Stacy Weekes
    This is great! I have not interviewed in many years, wish I had looked into this before my last interview....I came in second!  One interesting question that was asked by my interviewer was: What is your time worth?  The answer they are looking for in not monetary value of your time, but that your time is very valuable and priceless.  Very interesting question!
  • Dana
    Dana
    This was very informative and has really helped.  It has made me have a lot more confident for my upcoming interviews.
  • Indranil Ghose
    Indranil Ghose
    I think it really helpful for the jobseekers.
  • Julie
    Julie
    This was great; giving good answer examples was especially helpful.  Thank you!  In regards to #10's curiosity about what to answer about making your own supervisor (oh, how I wish that were true!), just ask yourself what kind of person you'd like to be supervising you, and how you'd like them to relate to you.  For me personally, someone who isn't going to micromange me, who will listen and be open to suggestions, who is able to get their point across in a healthy, positive way and someone who is willing to be firm but caring when dealing with problems.  Nobody wants a wimp for a supervisor, nor do they want a dictator!  
  • claire
    claire
    I need lots of articles like this one.  They make you confident on interview times.

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