Tell me more about yourself
The interviewer is looking for something about you that is related to the job and your career
growth.
You don't have to tell everything, especially those things that are not related to your
job, for example, you like blue color.
That's not the interviewer want to know.
You may want to talk about your education, work experience and personal interests that
can show your strengths.
Here are some examples.
I studied at ABC University, where I gained my Business Management degree.
I studied at (blank), where I gained my (blank).
Ever since I graduated from ABC University, I’ve put my time into digital marketing.
Ever since I graduated from (blank), I’ve put my time into (blank).
I’ve been working as digital marketer at ABC Company for three years and my duties
included social media marketing.
I’ve been working as (blank) at (blank) for (blank) and my duties included (blank).
I have always been interested in language.
That’s why I chose English teacher as my career.
I have always been interested in (blank).
That’s why I chose (blank) as my career.
I have two years of experience in accounting.
I have (blank) years of experience in (blank).
Tell me more about yourself.
I studied at ABC University, where I gained my Business Management degree.
Ever since I graduated from ABC University, I’ve put my time into digital marketing.
I have always been interested in advertisement industry.
That’s why I chose digital marketer as my career.
I’ve been working as digital marketer at ABC Company for three years and my duties
included social media marketing.
What are your strengths?
Why do you think we should hire you?
Why do you think you are the best person for this job?
What can you offer us?
What makes you a good fit for this company?
The interviewer is looking for your positive qualities that is related to the job that
can help the company.
Don't just give a short answer without giving examples.
Instead, you should do your research on what kind of person suits the job.
Most importantly, always use examples to support your points.
Here's the pattern you can use.
You can first talk about your strength.
Followed by an example.
Here are some examples.
I am a proactive person.
I am a team player.
I am a problem solver.
I am a (blank).
Followed by an example.
I’m good at time management.
I’m good at (blank).
Followed by an example.
My strength lies in initiative.
My strength lies in (blank).
Followed by an example.
My strongest trait is attention to detail.
My strongest trait is (blank).
Followed by an example.
What are your strengths?
My strongest trait is time management.
I know how to prioritize tasks so that they can be done efficiently.
In fact in my previous job, my team needed to handle several projects at the same time.
I proposed to break the tasks into smaller pieces so
eventually we met the deadlines with good results.
So I believe this is my strength.
What are your weaknesses?
By asking this question, the interviewer wants to know how much you know about yourself and
how you try to fix your weaknesses.
You don't have to say something really negative about yourself.
That's not the purpose of this question.
There are two ways to answer this question.
One, turn weakness into strength.
Two, show how you overcome your weakness.
Here's the basic pattern.
First, state your weakness, followed by turning your weakness into strength.
Second, talk about your weakness and then show how you overcome this.
As always, you should use examples to support your points.
I feel my weakness is not being detail oriented enough, but
I feel my weakness is (blank), but
Followed by your strength or how you overcome this.
I feel that my English ability is not good enough.
I make an effort to...
I feel that my (blank) is not good enough.
I make an effort to...
Something you do to overcome this.
This might be bad, but I was not asking for
help and always trying to solve problems on my own.
This might be bad, but I (your weakness) and always trying to (your strength).
What are your weaknesses?
Well, I’m a little shy when first meeting people.
Of course, as a salesperson I’ve had to overcome this problem.
At work, I make an effort to be the first person to greet new customers to the store
despite my shyness.
Why did you leave your last job?
The interviewer wants to make sure that you left for good reason and you were a good employee.
Remember, don't say something bad about your previous employer.
Do respect your previous employer and share a positive reason for wanting to leave.
Something like the salary was too low clearly does not sound great.
Here are what you can say.
I’m looking for new challenges.
I feel I wasn’t able to show my talents.
I’m looking for a job where I can grow with the company.
Why did you leave your last job?
I’ve been working at ABC company for five years and learned a lot from working with
some smart guys there.
I worked my way up to manager and managed to beat the sales target by 10%.
However, I feel like I need some new challenges.
The position at your company is what I’m looking for because the company is younger,
has a high growth rate and it will allow me to take part in more innovative projects.
Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
What are your short term goals?
What are your long term goals?
The interviewer wants to know how committed you are going to be to the company
or how long you would stick to the company.
You don't have to talk about your personal life.
And you don't have to be too ambitious because the interviewer may see this as a threat to
the company.
Here are some examples.
My short term goal is to improve my marketing skills.
My short term goal is to (blank).
I can become more independent in what I do and more productive.
I can become (blank).
I’ve always loved to teach.
I like to grow newer employees and help co-workers with their career.
I’ve always loved (blank).
I like to (blank).
Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
Five years from now, I hope to see myself in a management position.
I’m gonna keep learning and gaining experience.
I know there are still a lot to learn, but I’m gonna be working hard.
I believe opportunities come to people who are well prepared.
Why are you interested in this job?
Tell me something about our company.
What do you know about our company?
By asking these questions, the interviewer wants to know if you are serious about the
job.
So, don't be unprepared.
Make sure you do your research before the interview, for example, visit the company's
website for more information or talk to someone who has been working in this company.
Here are some examples.
ABC company’s reputation is certainly a factor.
I would be proud to work for a company with such a long history of leadership in the history.
(blank) is certainly a factor.
I would be proud to work for a company with (blank).
A good friend of mine has been working in this company and told me that the company
culture is all about innovation.
(blank) has been working in this company and told me that the company culture is (blank).
ABC company is such a young and energetic company that I’d be glad to be a part of
the founding team and grow with the company.
(blank) is such a (blank) company that I’d be glad to be (blank).
Why are you interested in this job?
I have great respect for your company’s software products.
I would welcome the opportunities to work with the best in the business.
At the same time, I have friends in the industry who have told me about how your company creates
an environment for rewarding innovation.
I think my proactive style would fit in really well here.
How well do you handle (blank)?
How well do you handle change?
How well do you handle conflict?
How well do you work under pressure?
By asking these types of questions, the interviewer wants to know how you handle certain situation
and make sure you have such kind of ability.
Don't just give a short answer without giving examples.
Remember, always use examples to support your points.
That will be much more convincing.
You can use this pattern to answer these types of questions.
First, talk about the situation, say, happened in your previous job.
Then, discuss the action you took to deal with it.
Finally, talk about the result, of course, a positive one.
Here are some examples.
I believe dealing with change is a requirement in the workplace.
I deal with conflict with another person by using effective communication.
I use pressure as motivation.
How well do you handle change?
I believe dealing with change is a requirement in the workplace.
I’ve experienced many changes in my previous job.
For example, I had to learn new skills due to the direction change of the company.
I’m not afraid of change and always try my best to contribute to the change in a positive
way.
Change brings opportunities.
The company was able to undergo faster sales growth since the direction change.
How well do you handle conflict?
I deal with conflict with another person by using effective communication.
I was managing the creation of a poster for a big marketing campaign.
The designer that was assigned to the project unfortunately missed a deadline.
When I approached him about it, he blew up at me.
I acknowledged that the deadlines were tight and explained the importance of the marketing
campaign.
He told me that how overwhelmed he was about his other projects.
We came up with a solution and I assigned his other projects to another designer.
As a result, the designer was able to meet the deadlines.
The marketing campaign was very successful.
How well do you work under pressure?
To be honest, pressure is part of work and life.
I use it as motivation.
I enjoy taking on challenges and finding creative solutions.
One time I had two products that were due the same week.
Instead of stressing out, I came up with a plan and prioritized the tasks.
Eventually, the outcome was positive.