There are many common interview questions that most employers ask. If you prepare for these questions, you can readily communicate that you have the skills, experience, and personality for the open position.
Preparing for common interview questions will help you come across as confident and qualified in your interview. It can also show employers that you took the time to research and prepare for the interview, which indicates that you might bring the same work ethic to the job. Finally, preparation can help keep you from unintentionally saying something negative about yourself or a former employer.
Employers use interviews to determine whether you have the knowledge, skills, and work style to be successful in the role. While some employers may ask unusual questions. You may worry about being asked a weird, fun or unusual interview question such as, ‘What superpower would you most like to have?’ or ‘What famous person alive today would you most like to meet and why?’ While most interviewers stick to more conventional questions as listed here, others may ask one of these types to see how you perform under pressure. Answering in a confident and relaxed manner will show them you can handle the unusual question and will be a good fit for the job.
Here are Top 10 interview questions
Start out by preparing for 10 of the most common interview questions. To help you prepare your own response, we’ve included the goal of the question, how to respond, and a sample answer.
1. Tell me about yourself.
Goal: The interviewer wants you to introduce yourself, so share a brief summary of your career trajectory and relevant experience.
How to respond: Describe the key experiences in your career that qualify you for the position. Avoid disclosing age or going too far back in your history, and keep it focused on your professional life.
Example: “I began working in sales positions about 8 years ago, and I’ve steadily increased responsibility in terms of account and territory size. In my account executive role, I realized how much I enjoy and excel at building relationships with clients to identify their needs and deliver customized solutions. I’m working in more of a sales training role now, and I’m interested in moving back into a role focused more on account development and customer success.”
2. Why are you interested in our company?
Goal: Employers want to see that you’ve done the research on the company and that it’s a place where you could build your career.
How to respond: Before your interview, browse the company’s website and social media pages as well as any news articles or company reviews. Share what interests you about the company’s products, services, culture, or values (you may also need to look at the specific division or team if interviewing at a large company).
This is a good time to mention other things you admire such as their company culture, community involvement or charity commitments.
Example: “I’m interested in working for your energy automation team because of its reputation for cutting-edge innovation. For example, I saw that the company recently installed digital substations in 3 test cities, and I would like to contribute my technical expertise to initiatives like these. I can see myself building a career within a company that similarly values innovation, automation, and sustainability.”
3. Why are you interested in this position?
Goal: Employers want to hire someone who will be happy with and stay in the position, so they want to gauge your interest level in that specific job opening.
How to prepare: Review the job description and identify several responsibilities or factors that attract you to the role.
Example: “I believe I can pull from my prior successes in marketing to introduce new initiatives that will help expand and engage the product’s customer base. I also want to grow in this role by increasing my knowledge of consumer products and taking more ownership of marketing strategy. In sum, I believe it will leverage my skills while providing enough growth and challenge to be the next step in my career.”
4. What are your strengths?
Goal: Learning your strengths can help an employer envision the value you would bring to their team.
How to respond: Read through the job description to see what skills the company wants to see in a candidate. Match 2-3 of those skills with specific examples of how you’ve demonstrated that skill successfully in the past.
Example: “One of my top strengths is that I’m really good at working autonomously. For example, my most recent supervisor appreciated that I independently resolved the majority of system bugs but appropriately escalated concerns impacting my teammates’ projects. I also believe that my organizational skills and attention to detail when writing and troubleshooting code will help me be successful in this role.”
5. What are your weaknesses?
Goal: Interviewers ask this question to gauge your self-awareness and ability to improve.
How to respond: Share one trait that doesn’t affect your ability to do the core responsibilities of your job but that could use improvement. Describe your awareness of the trait and how you manage it or intend to improve upon it.
Example: “One of my weaknesses is taking on too much work. I’m a team player and like to help others out, but I’ve realized that it’s better for me to say ‘no’ to some requests so that I don’t overextend myself. I’ve started assigning due dates for my to-do list so I know if I can take on my work, and if I can, to set a realistic timeframe with other parties.”
6. Why did you leave your last job?
Goal: Employers want to make sure that you have the traits to succeed and stay in the role.
How to respond: Be honest, but keep it concise and positive.
Example: “I left my last job to take care of a family health matter. Now that’s behind me, I’m eager to return to work in a role where I can help customers because that brings me a lot of satisfaction.”
7. How do you prioritize your work?
Goal: This question helps hiring managers evaluate your organizational skills and work ethic.
How to respond: Give an overview of the techniques, tools, or strategies you use to organize and prioritize your work. If possible, give an example to illustrate your approach in action.
Example: “I keep a daily and weekly planner to track all of my tasks, and this helps me prioritize my work as well. Each morning, I look through my planner and make sure it aligns with any new or urgent priorities. For example, if I know my boss has a presentation on Wednesday, then I will have a reminder for Tuesday morning to touch base and make sure everything is ready.”
8. Describe how you deal with conflict in the workplace.
Goal: This question helps the interviewer evaluate your conflict resolution skills and how you would operate in their team environment.
How to respond: Share a time that you successfully handled conflict in the workplace. Use the SAR method to succinctly describe the situation, the action you took, and the result of your actions. Be careful not to speak too negatively about a coworker, supervisor, or company.
Example: “When I was a shift manager, one of the line cooks frequently showed up late or would no-call/no-show. The first time that I brought this up with him, he was defensive and walked out. In our second meeting, I just built rapport with him and got to know him as a person. His attendance already started improving, and by the time we had our third meeting, I was able to have an open conversation with him where I shared my appreciation for his work. I explained how he could advance at the restaurant if his attendance improved, and he ultimately became one of my assistant managers.”
9. What’s your preferred work environment/leadership style?
Goal: Employers want to make sure you will thrive in their work environment.
How to respond: Be honest, concise, and positive – there is no right or wrong answer. You don’t want to end up in the wrong work environment where you won’t be successful!
Example: “I do really well in collaborative team environments where it’s encouraged to share ideas and work together on solutions that make our services better. Ideally, I would have a supportive team leader who fosters that type of work environment and encourages my own growth.”
10. Why should we hire you over other qualified candidates?
Goal: At the interview stage, all candidates are qualified, so this question can help employers determine who might be the strongest fit for the position.
How to respond: Consider the unique experiences you have that may stand out to an employer. This could be specific industry knowledge, experience working in a similar environment, or training in a certain skill area. Also, consider the skills that make you stand out as an employee.
Example: “Compared to colleagues I’ve worked with over the years, I believe I bring an above-average work ethic. I’m willing to stay longer and get the job done when needed. I’ve also worked in the law firm environment previously, so I understand ho
w to manage caseloads and court schedules.”