Most Commonly Asked Job Interview Questions and Answers

Most Commonly Asked Job Interview Questions and Answers

Learn more

Next page

1. "Tell me a little about yourself."

If you're the interviewer, there's a lot you should already know: The candidate's resume and cover letter should tell you plenty, and LinkedIn and Twitter and Facebook and Google can tell you more. The goal of an interview is to determine whether the candidate will be outstanding in the job, and that means evaluating the skills and 

Next page

1. "Tell me a little about yourself."

attitude required for that job. Does she need to be an empathetic leader? Ask about that. Does she need to take your company public? Ask about that.

Next page

2. "What are your biggest weaknesses?"

Every candidate knows how to answer this question: Just pick a theoretical weakness and magically transform that flaw into a strength in disguise. For example: "My biggest weakness is getting so absorbed in my work that I lose all track of time.  Every day I look up and realize everyone has gone home. I know I should be more aware 

Next page

2. "What are your biggest weaknesses?"

of the clock, but when I love what I'm doing I just can't think of anything else." So your "biggest weakness" is that you'll put in more hours than everyone else? Great. A seasoned interviewer has a BS detector that can easily pick up on such silliness.  A better approach for a candidate is to choose an actual weakness, but one

Next page

2. "What are your biggest weaknesses?"

you're working to improve. Share what you're doing to overcome that weakness. No one is perfect, but showing you're willing to honestly self-assess and then seek ways to improve comes pretty darned close.

Next page

3. "What are your biggest strengths?"

Although a job candidate's resume and experience should make their strengths readily apparent, interviewers ask this popular interview question because they want to know how their skills can drive a long-term growth in the company. If you're asked, provide a sharp, on-point answer. Be clear and precise. If you're a great problem solver, don't just say 

Next page

3. "What are your biggest strengths?"

that: Provide a few examples, pertinent to the opening, that prove you're a great problem solver. If you're an emotionally intelligent leader, don't just say that: Provide a few examples that prove you know how to answer the unasked question.

Next page

4. "Where do you see yourself in five years?"

Answers to this question go one of two basic ways. Candidates try to show their incredible ambition (because that's what they think you want) by providing an extremely optimistic answer: "I want your job!" Or they try to show their humility (because that's what they think you want) by providing a meek, self-deprecating answer: "There are so many talented people here.

Next page

4. "Where do you see yourself in five years?"

I just want to do a great job and see where my talents take me." In either case, you learn nothing, other than possibly how well candidates can sell themselves. For interviewers, here's a better question: "What business would you love to start?" That question applies to any organization, because every employee at every company 

Next page

4. "Where do you see yourself in five years?"

should have an entrepreneurial mind-set. The business a candidate would love to start tells you about her hopes and dreams, her interests and passions, the work she likes to do, the people she likes to work with -- so just sit back and listen.

Next page

5. "Out of all the candidates, why should we hire you?"

Since candidates cannot compare themselves with people they don't know, all they can do is describe their incredible passion and desire and commitment and, well, basically beg for the job.  (Way too many interviewers ask the question and then sit back, arms folded, as if to say, "Go ahead. I'm listening. Try to convince me.")

Next page

5. "Out of all the candidates, why should we hire you?"

And you learn nothing of substance. Here's a better interview question: "What do you feel I need to know that we haven't discussed?" Or even, "If you could get a do-over on one of my questions, how would you answer it now?"

Next page

6. "How did you learn about the opening?"

Job boards, general postings, online listings, job fairs -- most people find their first few jobs that way, so that's certainly not a red flag. But a candidate who continues to find each successive job from general postings probably hasn't figured out what he or she wants to do -- and where he or she would like to do it. He or she is just looking for a job; often, any job.

Next page

6. "How did you learn about the opening?"

So don't just explain how you heard about the opening. Show that you heard about the job through a colleague, a current employer, by following the company--show that you know about the job because you want to work there. Employers don't want to hire people who just want a job; they want to hire people who want a job with their company.

Next page

7. "Why do you want this job?"

Now go deeper. Don't just talk about why the company would be great to work for; talk about how the position is a perfect fit for what you hope to accomplish, both short-term and long-term. And if you don't know why the position is a perfect fit, look somewhere else. Life is too short. A skilled interviewee loves this interview question 

Next page

7. "Why do you want this job?"

because a well-crafted answer shows interviewers the value you will bring to the company.

Next page

8. "What do you consider your biggest professional achievement?"

Here's an interview question that definitely requires an answer relevant to the job.  If you say your biggest achievement was improving throughput by 18 percent in six months but you're interviewing for a leadership role in human resources, that answer is interesting but ultimately irrelevant. Instead, talk about an underperforming employee 

Next page

8. "What do you consider your biggest professional achievement?"

you "rescued," or how you overcame infighting between departments, or how so many of your direct reports have been promoted.  The goal is to share achievements that let the interviewer imagine you in the position -- and see you succeeding.

Next page

9. "Tell me about the last time a co-worker or customer got angry with you. What happened?"

Conflict is inevitable when a company works hard to get things done. Mistakes happen. Sure, strengths come to the fore, but weaknesses also rear their heads. And that's OK. No one is perfect. But a person who tends to push the blame -- and the responsibility for rectifying the situation -- onto someone else is a candidate to avoid. Hiring 

Next page

9. "Tell me about the last time a co-worker or customer got angry with you. What happened?"

managers would much rather choose candidates who focus not on blame but on addressing and fixing the problem. Every business needs employees who willingly admit when they are wrong, step up to take ownership for fixing the problem, and, most important, learn from the experience.

Next page

10. "Describe your dream job."

Three words describe how you should answer this question: relevance, relevance, relevance. But that doesn't mean you have to make up an answer. You can learn something from every job.  You can develop skills in every job. Work backward: Identify things about the job you're interviewing for that will help you if you do land your dream 

Next page

10. "Describe your dream job."

job someday, and then describe how those things apply to what you hope to someday do. And don't be afraid to admit that you might someday move on, whether to join another company or -- better -- to start your own business. Employers no longer expect "forever" employees.

Next page

11. "Why do you want to leave your current job?"

Let's start with what you shouldn't say (or, if you're the interviewer, what are definite red flags). Don't talk about how your boss is difficult. Don't talk about how you can't get along with other employees. Don't bad-mouth your company. Instead, focus on the positives a move will bring. Talk about what you want to achieve. Talk about what 

Next page

11. "Why do you want to leave your current job?"

you want to learn. Talk about ways you want to grow, about things you want to accomplish; explain how a move will be great for you and for your new company.

Next page

12. "What kind of work environment do you like best?"

Maybe you love working alone, but if the job you're interviewing for is in a call center, that answer will do you no good. So take a step back and think about the job you're applying for and the company's culture (because every company has one, whether intentional or unintentional). If a flexible schedule is important to you, but the company doesn't offer 

Next page

12. "What kind of work environment do you like best?"

one, focus on something else. If you like constant direction and support and the company expects employees to self-manage, focus on something else.

Next page

13. "Tell me about the toughest decision you had to make in the past six months."

The goal of this question is to evaluate the candidate's reasoning ability, problem-solving skills, judgment, and possibly even willingness to take intelligent risks. Having no answer is a definite warning sign. Everyone makes tough decisions, regardless of their position. My daughter worked part-time as a server at a local restaurant and made 

Next page

13. "Tell me about the toughest decision you had to make in the past six months."

difficult decisions all the time -- like the best way to deal with a regular customer whose behavior constituted borderline harassment. A good answer proves you can make a difficult analytical or reasoning-based decision -- for example, wading through reams of data to determine the best solution to a problem. A great answer proves you can 

Next page

13. "Tell me about the toughest decision you had to make in the past six months."

make a difficult interpersonal decision, or better yet a difficult data-driven decision that includes interpersonal considerations and ramifications.

Next page

14. "What is your leadership style?"

This is a tough question to answer without dipping into platitudes. Try sharing leadership examples instead.  Say, "The best way for me to answer that is to give you a few examples of leadership challenges I've faced," and then share situations where you dealt with a problem, motivated a team, worked through a crisis. Explain what you did and that

Next page

14. "What is your leadership style?"

will give the interviewer a great sense of how you lead. And, of course, it lets you highlight a few of your successes.

Next page

15. "Tell me about a time you disagreed with a decision. What did you do?"

No one agrees with every decision. Disagreements are fine; it's what you do when you disagree that matters. (We all know people who love to have the "meeting after the meeting," where they've supported a decision in the meeting but they then go out and undermine it.) Show that you were professional. Show that you raised your concerns in a 

Next page

15. "Tell me about a time you disagreed with a decision. What did you do?"

productive way. If you have an example that proves you can effect change, great -- and if you don't, show that you can support a decision even though you think it's wrong (as long as it's not unethical, immoral, etc.).

More

Read

10 New Job Fields for Women in 2022

10 Steps to a Resume That Will Get You Hired

10 Important Career Tips for Women

See More

See More

See More