In spite of the slue of Interview Question samples both on the Internet and in numerous career books, we also decided to list most common and, in our opinion, most relevant interview questions.

Questions You May Be Asked:

• Tell me about yourself

Almost all interviews usually start with this question. You need to prepare a concise answer in advance. But make sure it sounds natural, not as a rehearsed role. Concentrate only on work-related matters. Moreover, focus on most significant details of your career that will be relevant for the new job too. Think of something that, to your mind, makes you different and helps stand out in a crowd.

• Why do you want to leave your current job? (if still employed)

Ironically, everybody in the job market knows that people change jobs at will mostly for two reasons. First – money and second – bad managers. But still, this question keeps coming up in every single job interview. Regardless what they say about new challenges, career advancement etc., people usually leave bad managers, not bad jobs. Some exceptions only verify the rule. However, you would be judged as a whiner if you speak negatively about your previous work experience and managers.

The best way to say is that while you are quite happy with your current job, you are looking for career advancement and wanted to work particularly for this employer. If you are still employed it means that you can afford to be selective and take time to choose an occupation perfectly suitable for you. Focus on the difference between your current job and the potential one. For instance, your current job does not give you a chance to specialize in a certain area of your profession, whereas the new job will give you this opportunity and you have a lot of potential to do this.

Try to change the focus from the reason of leaving the current job to your desire to work particularly for this employer. It would be easier for you to persuade the interviewer on this, when you know about the organization a lot and see yourself as a perfect fit for this company organizational culture. Besides, as you can see it, the job would give you additional opportunity to realize your career aspirations that are aligned with company’s goals.

• Why did you leave your last job? (if unemployed)

Tell them the truth any way. If your contract expired, say so. Probably there was just a short (or long) term project that you were involved in. And as soon as it successfully ended, there was no need to stay there any longer.

Also, you might be laid off as part of company staff reduction and there was nothing you could do with that.

Much more difficult is your situation, if you were fired from your last job with just cause. But even then there is no purpose to hide the truth. Because they will do a reference check on you anyway and sooner or later the truth will be revealed. The lie in this situation will be unforgivable. Tremendous effort must be made by you to tackle this situation. Our advice would be to work this out with your previous employer – particularly the manager who fired you. On the one hand, your previous employer cannot deceive the real reason of your dismissal, if asked during the reference check. On the other hand, you may expect your former employer to be agreeable on this matter. Even being mad at you, they would hardly go too far in preventing you from getting your next employment. Besides, settling this question with you peacefully would save them possible lawsuits. The truth can be said in different ways. Your goal is to make your potential employer believe that even if there was a cause for your dismissal, you had all evidence to rectify your behaviour.

• What would your manager and co-workers say about you?

Any guess-work should be excluded. This is a question you need to be prepared for in advance too. Put down a couple of quotes what real people and in what situations ever said about you and your work.

• Where do you see yourself in 3-5 years?

Even if your goal is to be in a manager’s chair in a couple of years, saying that directly to the interviewing manager may be troublesome. Managers want to hire hard working people not rivals. Anyways, make it clear that you are a kind of person that always works on self-development. Managers want to know what you are doing now in order to be where you want to be in a couple of years.

Try to sell the idea that you want to be great in the field of your expertise rather than become a manager in the short run.

While you are constantly working on your professional development, new opportunities in the company will show you where you could contribute the best to the company’s goals.

• What do you know about the organization?

Just do you research! Do not confine yourself only to browsing on the company’s website. Use other possible resources. Bring up some interesting facts about the organization. Just show your vital interest in working here.

• Why do you want to work for our organization?

Instead of speaking about what the company can give to you, concentrate on the specific areas where you can contribute to the organization. Given that you share the same value, you consider the company as a better environment to realize your professional potential. To make the interviewing person believe you, you need to know the organization really well.

Along with other reasons you have, focus on an opportunity for a long-term career in this organization unless it is a contract position with specified terms. But even then, show your interest to stay with the organization longer than the contract lasts.

• Salary question

This topic is quite extensive and requires more detailed preparation. The employer usually has certain numbers in mind. So, try to find out those numbers first to be better prepared for further negotiation. Do not name any numbers first. Give a wide range and, if you think that you deserve a higher compensation than offered, try to prove why you think so. But keep in reasonable frames. If you want to get the job, remember that the employer has a certain budget for this position and it may be not in their financial means to offer you a higher compensation even if you truly deserve more. At the same time, having high expectations at first and then settling for a modest compensation will make the interviewer think that you will lack motivation.

• What is your work style? Do you prefer to work in a team or on your own?

Sometimes you may be considered a suitable candidate only if your work style fits the nature of the job and the organizational culture of your potential employer. You need at least to know the job and organization you apply to. You would hardly be a good fit, if you are a vivid team-player, whereas the job implies a great deal of solitude.

• To what category do you thing you belong: task-oriented or goal-oriented employees?

Again, know the job you apply for. Depending on the character of the job the answer may vary.

• If you see that one of your colleagues makes a mistake, what will you do?

Be positive. Instead of immediate escalating the issue to the manager’s level, you would probably wish to talk to your colleague first. Perhaps he or she made this mistake without even knowing that he or she was doing something wrong.

• Have you ever had any problems with your supervisors or colleagues?

Even if none would like to have any problems with their subordinates, the interviewer is willing to hear rather how you successfully manage problems. That’s why the best way would be to think of your conflict resolution abilities before the interview and support your statements with real-life examples.

Managers are looking for problem solvers, someone who can take initiative and get the job done. Try to convince them that you are that type of person.

• What are your weaknesses?

Do not even attempt to take an obvious strength and present it as a weakness. An answer like: “I work too hard and sometimes I do not even notice how quickly time flies” is not going to work. The purpose of this question is duel: first, it examines your honesty and second it checks your ability to tackle the weaknesses (everybody has some). The attention is paid not particularly to your weakness but to your approach to improving it.

• What are your strengths?

Think of those strengths that are relevant to the job you apply to, characterizing your professionalism and personality.

• What are your biggest professional accomplishments?

Mention only the projects where you played a main role. Even if you worked in a team, focus on what was done particularly by you.

• How do you thrive under pressure?

Do not forget to mention that besides your ability to tackle stressful situations successfully you always try to plan your work ahead to prevent such situations.

• How long have you been looking now?

Do not confess that luck has not been on your side recently and that this is your first interview. Perhaps, you’ve been out of work for a few months now, but it has given you the breathing space to decide what you want to do next. Specify what exactly you have been doing for your professional development during this time.

• Describe the most difficult situation you’ve ever had at work?

Think of a situation that any interviewer would agree is difficult. Do not forget that you’ll be also judged by what you consider “difficult”.

• How do you get along with different people?

They want to know how you deal not only with people with different characters but also with people at different levels at the organization. Are you a team player and would you have any reservations to address higher level managers, if the need be.

Also, we have to warn you that the skill levels of interviewers may be different. Be prepared to meet not very professional interviewers also, who sometimes can “shock” their candidates with unusual questions. Sometimes they do this deliberately just to check your reaction and want to see your ability to handle an unexpected situation. Be prepared for this and in order to avoid making fool of yourself, always ask for specifics before trying to answer such questions. Say something like this: “Would you please elaborate on what particularly you mean by this?”

Questions You May Ask:

Try to avoid self-serving questions regarding your salary, lunch time, number of sick days etc. unless your interviewers bring up these questions. If you work with a recruiter it is better to address all these questions to them. Concentrate on work-related matters.

The questions that you have to your interviewer should be asked in a natural way and in appropriate time, so they would not sound like “I knew I had to ask you something and here what I came up with”. Actively participate in the conversation, demonstrate that you understand what the interviewer is talking about.

• First and foremost, find out why the position is vacant now. Is it a new role, or if not, what happened to the predecessor and how many people have held this position in the last couple of years?

Related link: Mutual Interviewing Process

• Whom does the role report to?

Usually, this information is a part of a job description and known before the interview. If not, it is important to find it out.

• What is a turnover rate at the company and/or in the department?

A high turnover rate does not always say about a bad situation at the organization. Some consulting companies or call centres have a relatively high turnover just because of the nature of their business.

• How would you describe your organizational culture?

If what you hear sounds like a place you really want to work, do not hesitate to say so. If not, do not show your disinterest right away; take some time to think it over again after the interview. Only when you completely have made up your mind, let them know your decision.

• What challenges does a successful candidate need to be prepared for?

Have ready some examples from your past experience how you tackled difficulty at work.

• What would be the first assignment for a successful candidate?

By asking this question you will show that you are ready to jump into the job right away. Moreover, exactly at this point the interviewer starts thinking of you as an employee and picture you doing a certain project. It would help a great deal if you start actively participating in the discussion of your potential project, demonstrating awareness of the subject and willingness to do the job.

• What additional skills would help me to move ahead within the organization?

The interviewer will see your interest not only in getting the job but in a long-term career within the organization.

• Ask specific questions about the organization (organizational structure, divisions, clientele, partners, main competitors etc.)

Demonstrate your understanding of the problems that they might have and share your ideas how you can help to solve them.

• Ask specific question about the job.

Ensure the interviewer that you are familiar with the job in detail and know how you can handle difficulties that may come about.

• If you are interviewing with your future boss you may question them about their management style.

That will give you an idea what type of person your future manager is and whether you will be comfortable to work with him or her.

• What is the procedure of performance evaluation and how often it takes place?

Along with the information on the performance evaluation procedure itself you’ll also learn when you could expect your next salary review.

If, during the interview you feel that it is not the type of organization or manager you’d like to work for, do not show that you lost your enthusiasm. First, you’d better take time and think the situation over and over again before making any decision, and second, it is never late to say “no” if the need be. Your goal at an interview is to secure a job offer only then you will have a choice to make.

Additional information on how to tackle Salary negotiation you may find in the article Salary question.