Regardless of your industry, a job interview follows a
pretty specific pattern.
Trust us.
Some of the same time worn interview questions are bound to come up.
We're going to skip over some of the obvious interview questions.
Like, why do you want this job?
Or why do you want to work at company X?
But most likely those questions are going to make the cut.
So make sure you prepare for them, but it's the trickier job interview
questions that we're going to cover today.
The ones that make you have a little bit more of a story and an understanding
of why they're asking the question so you can prepare your best answer.
Here are 10 of the most common job interview questions
and how to answer them.
Number one, tell me about yourself.
At first glance, this question can seem easy to answer and it can be,
but you need to have your compass pointed true north to pull it off.
The interviewer doesn't want to know that you love flea markets or that you named
your Cocker spaniel chick pea, because you lead a locally source plant-based life.
They want to know how your personality and experience relate to the job.
To prepare, start by thinking of three to five strong and relevant adjectives
that describe you and your values.
Tell the interviewer, what they are then give real examples of
how you embody the adjectives.
Certainly you can mention hobbies or interests in your explanation,
but keep them relatable to the job.
Number two, describe a conflict or challenge you overcame.
Your potential employer needs to know how you respond under pressure
and how you resolve conflicts.
Most everyone has a story where they reacted less than
ideally to a workplace issue.
You can mention one of these experiences.
If you feel it's appropriate.
It could ultimately make your case stronger, but you can also use an
example that didn't happen in the office.
The important part is how you describe the resolution.
Not that there was an issue.
Choose an incident in which you were frustrated, but overcame the
emotional turmoil or one where you had to make a sacrifice that didn't
jeopardize the quality of your output.
Your interviewer is asking this question to determine if you're candid
cool-headed and willing to compromise.
So highlight those qualities in your response.
Number three, what's your greatest personal achievement?
Choose one or two max.
You do not want to come off as boastful.
Even if you have accomplished a lot.
Your discretion and humility, and your answer reflects far more positively on
you than offering an endless laundry list.
The example you choose should be something that's not widely applicable.
Choose something that sets you apart, such as organizing a charity drive for local
animal shelters, where you raise 10,000.
By the way quantifying and achievement, like the $10,000
for a good cause is a good trick.
Just don't exaggerate.
It's about adding as much detail as you can, about the people you
collaborate with, the deadlines, the budgets, et cetera, without creating
some epic story that goes on and on.
Number four.
What's your biggest strength?
What's your biggest weakness?
Many of us tend to dislike this question, but we actually think it's one of the
more fun questions you can be asked.
It's an opportunity to showcase how well you really know yourself,
which is more critical to employers than many applicants realize.
If you know yourself well, you know, when you're at your most
productive, what sets you off?
What motivates you?
What you really need to function at your highest capacity, et cetera.
So let's get talking.
People often get stuck on how to spin a weakness into a positive
asset, because admittedly, you shouldn't be telling a potential
employer that you have bad habits.
Let's say you have a tendency to get distracted.
You could tell your interviewer that, but clarify the actions you've taken to remedy
it.
Mention that you've now implemented a schedule where you wake up early,
work out and set aside the hours from seven to nine to respond to emails.
Then don't check again until right before lunch.
Demonstrating your drive to better yourself is key.
Number five.
Why do you want to change your current career path?
You committed to one professional direction, but
you're not feeling it any more.
That's fine, but make sure you explain it in a less cavalier way than that.
After all the next employer wants to make sure your next step is the right
direction if you're taking it with them.
You'll need more than a, just quote it wasn't the right fit.
Because why wasn't it?
You can start by explaining the parts that you got right.
No one wants to hear you hated everything about your last job.
Then you'll want to explain what you didn't.
Maybe it was a lack of a career advancement.
Maybe you wanted more responsibility or more challenging projects.
Know your reasons, stick to them and don't apologize.
You wanted something better and that's why you're interviewing now.
Make it clear you're going after this role because it fills those voids.
Number six, where do you see yourself in X years?
This question can be a bit tricky, even if you are a hundred percent positive
at the time of your interview, that this is the job that's right for you.
It doesn't mean you're ready to commit the next 10 years of
your professional life to it.
Don't pay lip service if you genuinely can't see it.
Instead, talk about the things you would want to do longterm.
Expanding your knowledge on market analytics, managing profit and loss,
setting visions and executing strategy.
Talk about your passion for the actual work you'd be doing.
As a product manager, I would be able to fulfill my dream of executing a
business strategy from concept to market.
These types of business plans are what I plan to be designing
for the rest of my career.
You could also talk about personal goals of yours, like owning a house,
starting a diverse investment portfolio, supporting a family, managing teams and
discuss how the job description would help you attain those personal goals.
Note: use discretion when discussing the new job as a potential means to an end.
No one wants to hire someone because they cite the job is an
ideal way to start their 401k.
Talk about personal goals or succeeding in something you're
passionate about within the industry.
Number seven, why are you interested in our industry?
Hopefully you've spent some time researching your desired
industry and dream companies.
That work will come in handy here.
If you have a story about what first sparked your
curiosity about your industry.
That's a great first thing to describe.
Now, if you can keep it brief, pick a moment in time, when you felt particularly
connected to the work that was going on in your field positively or negatively,
and explain those feelings, if possible, reference something that just broke in
the news having to do with your industry.
Number eight, how do you define success?
What a heavy question.
In reality, there's no wrong answer here.
Actually, most of these questions don't have wrong answers.
Be cognizant of the type of job you are applying for.
If you're aiming for a big corporation, your emphasis
should be on the bottom line.
If you're applying for a nonprofit, you should place more
importance on social impact.
If you're applying for a startup or maybe a fashion house, you should talk
about influence and media presence.
Make the answer personal to you, such as always improving performance, furthering
the company's mission, making a positive overall impact, maintaining the best
quality of your work, keeping your team's morale high successfully and
reliably completing projects, et cetera.
What gets you out of bed?
What motivates you?
Your answer to this question is much less important than
any of the others we've listed.
What's important is what's implied.
Employers don't care if you're into fly fishing or bacci ball.
They care about your personal values.
Well-roundedness and dedicated.
What propels you into action?
Although you can answer this question with a work-related passion, we
actually suggest picking a hobby or an extracurricular, so to speak.
Perhaps your passion is music and you love David Bowie and you went to every
Bowie concert in your region of the U.
S.
Why does it make you tick?
Also be prepared for follow up questions,
like what's your favorite Bowie song?
What do you find most moving about his type of art?
They'll probably ask them.
Number 10.
Do you have any questions for me?
This may seem like a throw away, but it's important.
It's not a rhetorical question and definitely not the time to let
your guard down and just strug, they want something specific.
To see if you've been paying attention and whether you can multitask.
There's a lot of new information thrown at you in an interview.
And the interviewer wants to see how well you've processed it all.
You should try to ask at least three questions at the end of your interview,
but don't just ask to ask if you can easily Google it, don't ask it.
Prepare some questions specific to the company in advance and memorize them.
If your head is spinning at the end of your interview,
you can refer back to them.
At the very least, they will know that you did some research.
It also doesn't hurt to ask questions about what you can expect from the role.
Remember an interview is about deducing if you are a good
fit for the listed position.
That means you should know whether you actually want the
job when all is said and done.
Frankly, even if you get the sense that you could land it sometimes you won't.
Asking what to expect is a great way forward.
Think of questions like what's the biggest challenge you think I'll
face coming into this position?
Why did the last person leave the role?
Who would I be working with on a daily basis and what might an average
day in that position look like?
Without forcing it, try to relate all answers to how you are a
good choice for the desired role.
With few exceptions, you should not be memorizing and
regurgitating canned answers.
A genuine answer based on genuine interest goes a lot further than
anything you can put on a note card.