10 Most Common Job Interview Questions and Answers

Despite the recent economic woes, I have had the opportunity to interview with several companies, big and small, on the phone or in person and for internships or full time positions. With that said, I have a relatively good idea of what to expect at interviews and am generally not surprised to hear any kind of question from an interviewer. For example, at a sales job interview the interviewer handed me a pen and a clipboard and told me to sell them to him. I was taken aback but quickly rose to the challenge and sold him what he wanted to buy. What I did was I adapted to the scenario and knew what the role of a salesman was, to make the items appear valuable and to make the customer think that they absolutely need to buy this product. So you can look at this list or any other list and try to memorize all these questions but if you aren’t quick on your feet, then you may have some trouble.

The things you can do besides reviewing this list prior to an interview include:

• Mock interviews with friends
• Preparing yourself for the interview by brushing up your knowledge on the company and any general knowledge that you would need to be successful in the position.
• Put together a solid resume that demonstrates to the company your value to them. Include your skills, qualifications, experience and anything else that is pertinent to the position.

But the main thing to remember is that the only way to truly improve your interviewing skills is to interview. It’s like anything else, practice makes perfect. You may perform poorly the first couple of times but after a while you know what to expect and feel more comfortable interviewing.  So if you strike out a few times, no worries, you’ll get there eventually.

Here we go, the 10 most common interview questions and answers:

Tell me about yourself

This is generally where things may start after the initial introductions. Stay on point by referring to your education and pertinent work experience. But leave out your family, how much you love or hate your significant other and your kids. These are all things that no one wants to hear about in an interview. Simply put, keep it professional and leave your personal life out of it.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

I, like just about everyone else, completely despise this question. Why? Well, it’s rather counter-intuitive to downplay your skills in an interview where you are supposed to make yourself seem like you are awesome. Most people tell you to turn a negative into a positive or to say something along the lines of “I work too hard,” or “I’m too devoted to my work,” but employers have heard all these answers and are looking for something a bit more genuine. So go ahead, be honest. Pick out an area that you may not feel 100% confident in and proceed by telling the employer that you are indeed proficient (reinforcing competency) but that you would like to enhance your skills to become more competent because you are not quite at the level that you would like to be at. So at no point in your answer did you tell them that you have a weakness, you merely said that you would like to improve. That’s good isn’t it?

Give us an example of when you had to work in a team

What employers look for is a team player. They want to know that you’ll be able to work with others without any problems. Be prepared to give a good example from a school project or from one of your past positions. Tell them that you made a sacrifice for the greater good of the team and that you put the team’s interests ahead of your own.

What are your expectations from this position if you were hired?

You should never mention your salary expectations when asked this question. Tell them that you wish to grow with the company, learn new skills and become a valuable member of the company that will work hard and bring new and innovative ideas to the table.

What do you know about this company?

This is your opportunity to show the company that you know about them and took the initiative to do a little bit of research ahead of time. This is almost like a freebie because it takes so little effort on your part to spend five minutes on the company’s website to see their history, their goals and their accomplishments. If you don’t know anything about the company, this shows them that you aren’t truly interested in becoming an employee there and that you are too lazy to spend a few minutes doing some research.

Why do you want to work for this company?

Again, this is a reflection on your willingness to do some initial research on the company. For example, if you read somewhere that the company you are wanting to work for is ranked highly as one of the best companies to work for in the nation, then this is something you can mention in your answer. Be prepared to give at least two to three reasons why you want to be a member of the organization.

Are you applying elsewhere?

This question gets asked very often and isn’t really any of their business but oblige and tell them that you are keeping your options open but you would prefer to work at this organization more than the others because of the company’s vision, goals, treatment of employees, etc.

What can you offer us that other applicants can’t? Why should we hire you?

This is another one of those opportunities given to you to make yourself shine! Highlight your education, your skills and your experience. Tell them about the characteristics that you possess that are valuable, such as loyalty, commitment, devotion, hard-working, etc. Don’t be shy to say as much as you want when they ask you this question. There is no room for feeling arrogant here. The only thing you should shy away from is speaking ill of other applicants; let the employer decide who the best man is.

Where do you see yourself five years from now?

Tell the interviewer that you would like to be at this organization for the long term in the position that you would like to see yourself in. It goes without mention that you should never ever bring up anything besides the organization because as soon as you do you are seen as disloyal and willing to drop the position for your other goals and aspirations. Companies don’t want to spend their time, energy and money investing in you so that you drop off the face of the earth in a few years; you want to appear to them that you are a long term asset to the company.

Do you have any questions for us?

The answer to this question is invariably yes. Go into the interview with a few questions in mind. Ask about the position, where the company is headed and what kinds of opportunities exist for advancement.

And that’s it! Those are the most common interview questions I have encountered. If you would like to add any more feel free to share by commenting.

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