10 Most Common Interview Questions You Should Know About

January 7, 2016

3 minutes read

Its the beginning of the year and some companies are hiring, and you have probably applied. Although there is no set format that every job interview will follow, there are some questions that you can almost guarantee will crop up. The best thing that you can do to prepare is to think through the questions you’re likely to be asked and formulate answers ahead of time. Here are the 10 most common interview questions and how to craft a strong answer to each.

1. Tell Me About Yourself.

You should prepare about a one-minute answer that summarizes where you are in your career and what you’re especially good at, with an emphasis on your most recent job. Keep your personal life out of it; your interviewer isn’t asking to hear about your family, hobbies or where you grew up.

2. What Interests You About This Job?

Focus on the substance of the role and how it interests you. Don’t talk about benefits, salary, the short commute or anything else unrelated to the day-to-day work you’d be doing, or you’ll signal that you’re not particularly enthusiastic about the work itself.

3. Why Did You Leave Your Last Job?

Don’t discuss conflicts with your manager or co-workers, complain about your work or badmouth employers. Job seekers are commonly advised to say they’re seeking new challenges, but that only works if you’re specific about those new challenges and how this job will provide them in a way your last job didn’t.

4. Why Would You Excel At This Job?

This is your chance to make a case for why you’d shine in the job, and if you don’t know the answer to that, it’s unlikely your interviewer will figure it out either. Since this gets to the crux of the whole interview, you should have a strong answer prepared that points to your skills and track record of experience and ties those to the needs of the job.

5. Tell Us About This Company.

Interviewers don’t want you to simply regurgitate facts about the company; they’re probing to see if you have a general sense of what it’s all about. What makes the company different from its competition? What is it known for? Has it been in the news lately?

6. What Are Your Strong Points?

Good interviewers will ask about times you had to exercise the skills required for the job. These may be situations when you had to take initiative, deal with a difficult customer or solve a problem for a client. Prepare for these questions so you’re not struggling to think of real examples. Brainstorm the skills you’ll likely need in the job and what challenges you’ll likely face.

7. How Are You Going To Perform During Your Probation?

Interviewers are looking for answers that reveal how you set goals and solve problems, and whether you’re ambitious without being unrealistic. You should also acknowledge that you’ll need to take time to get to know the team, what’s working and what can be improved before you make any big decisions – but your answer should still get into specifics to a reasonable extent.

8. What Do You Wish To Achieve From Your New Role?

Interviewers want to understand your career goals and whether this job will fulfill them. After all, if you’re looking for a job with lots of public contact and a highly collaborative culture, and this job is mostly solo work, it might not be the right fit for you.

9. What Salary Range Are You Looking For?

Job seekers are almost always asked this question, but they often fail to prepare for it and are caught off guard when it comes up. If you wing your answer, you risk low-balling yourself and ending up with a salary offer below what you might have received otherwise. It’s crucial to research the market rate for the job.

10. The Question You Have For The Interviewer.

At the end of every job interview, you’ll likely be asked if you have any questions. At this stage, ask open-ended questions about office culture and those that clarify the role. Also ask about next steps in the hiring process and the employer’s timeline for getting back to you. Avoid questions about benefits and pay; hold those for once you have an offer.