How Would You Describe Yourself
With this question, your interviewer wants to learn how your qualities and characteristics align with the skills they believe are required to succeed in the role. To answer this question, pick one to a few personal characteristics and elaborate on them with examples.
For example, if you are ambitious and driven you can say: I am an ambitious and driven individual. I thrive in a goal-oriented environment where I can constantly challenge myself personally and professionally. I am always looking for an opportunity to do better and grow. These characteristics have helped me achieve success in my career. For example, I was promoted three times in less than two years in my last position.
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What Are Your Goals For The Future
Hiring managers often ask about your future goals to determine whether or not youre looking to stay with the company long-term. Additionally, this question is used to gauge your ambition, expectations for your career and ability to plan ahead. The best way to handle this question is to examine your current career trajectory and how this role helps you reach your long-term goals.
Example answer:I would like to continue developing my marketing expertise over the next several years. One of the reasons Im interested in working for a fast-growing startup company is that Ill have the ability to wear many hats and collaborate with many different departments. I believe this experience will serve me well in achieving my ultimate goal of someday leading a marketing department.
Read more: Interview Question: What Are Your Future Goals?
Why Are You The Best Person For The Job
Are you the best candidate for the job? The hiring manager wants to know whether you have all the required qualifications. Be prepared to explain why you’re the applicant who should be hired.
Make your response a confident, concise, focused sales pitch that explains what you have to offer and why you should get the job. This is a good time to review the qualifications and the requirements in the job listing, so you can craft a response that aligns with what the interviewer is looking for.
Read More:Examples of the Best Answers
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Where Do You See Yourself In Five Years
Understanding how you imagine your life in the future can help employers understand whether the trajectory of the role and company fits in with your personal development goals. To answer this question you can:
Describe skills you want to develop and accomplishments youd like to achieve:
In five years, Id like to be an industry expert in my field, able to train and mentor students and entry-level designers alike. I would also like to gain specialized expertise in user experience to be a well-rounded contributor working with design and marketing teams on large-scale projects that make a difference both in the company and the global community.
Provide specific career goals including any dream roles or projects:
“Some of my future goals for the next few years include leading a design team in a formal capacity. Im also excited about the prospect of working with product and event teams on developing streamlined processesthis is a natural fit with my project management background. Id also like to further develop my skills in user experience to aid in creating more user-focused designs all around.
Read more: Interview Question: Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years?
Don’t Be Too Familiar
The interview is a professional meeting to talk business. This is not about making a new friend. Your level of familiarity should mimic the interviewer’s demeanor. It is important to bring energy and enthusiasm to the interview and to ask questions, but do not overstep your place as a candidate looking for a job.
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Prepare For The Interview
You don’t need to memorize an answer, but do take the time to consider how you’ll respond. The more you prepare, the more confident you’ll feel during a job interview.
When you’re not sure what to expect during an interview, also take time to review this refresher on how job interviews work, and these tips on how to prepare to ace your job interview.
What Is Your Greatest Strength
This is one of the questions that employers almost always ask to determine how well you are qualified for the position. When you are asked about your greatest strengths, it’s important to discuss the attributes that qualify you for that specific job, and that will set you apart from other candidates.
When you’re answering this question, remember to show rather than tell. For example, rather than stating that you are an excellent problem solver, instead tell a story that demonstrates this, ideally drawing on an anecdote from your professional experience.
Read More:Examples of the Best Answers
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Try Out The Companys Product Or Service
If the company youre interviewing for sells a product you can feasibly check outtry it before your interview . If hired, your goal will be to create value for the people who use that product, and being a user yourself is the first step. Plus, itll help show the hiring manager that youre truly interested in the role.
Leverage Knowledge Of The Company And Interviewer
Every job seeker has been told to thoroughly research the company and position theyre interviewing for, but its just as important to know how to use that information to your advantage. Myers recommended researching not only the job description and organization but the community in which its located.
Its very impressive when a candidate can talk about why he or she is a good fit for the position, as well as things that are going on in the companys community, she said.
Burton added that using LinkedIn to research the hiring manager and anyone else you might be speaking to before the interview can give you an understanding of each persons background and potentially some common ground to spark a discussion.
Additionally, following the company on Facebook and Twitter, as well as setting a Google alert to receive notices whenever the company appears in the news, will enable you to thoroughly research the company and its industry. By immersing yourself in this information, you can shape interview questions and talking points that speak specifically and intelligently to the business you are looking to enter.
Additional reporting by Nicole Fallon. Some source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.
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How Do You Handle Stress And Pressure
What do you do when things dont go smoothly at work? How do you deal with difficult situations? The employer wants to know how you handle workplace stress.
Do you work well in high-stress situations? Do you thrive on pressure, or would you prefer a more low-key job? What do you do when something goes wrong?
The best way to respond to this question is to share an example of how you have successfully handled stress in a previous position.
Avoid claiming that you never, or rarely, experience stress. Rather, formulate your answer in a way that acknowledges workplace stress and explains how youve overcome it, or even used it to your advantage.
Read More:Examples of the Best Answers
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 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.
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Could You Tell Me About Yourself And Describe Your Background In Brief
Interviewers like to hear stories about candidates. Make sure your story has a great beginning, a riveting middle, and an end that makes the interviewer root for you to win the job.
Talk about a relevant incident that made you keen on the profession you are pursuing and follow up by discussing your education. In the story, weave together how your academic training and your passion for the subject or industry the company specializes in, combined with your work experience, make you a great fit for the job. If youve managed a complex project or worked on an exciting, offbeat design, mention it.
Example: I come from a small town, where opportunities were limited. Since good schools were a rarity, I started using online learning to stay up to date with the best. Thats where I learned to code and then I went on to get my certification as a computer programmer. After I got my first job as a front-end coder, I continued to invest time in mastering both front- and back-end languages, tools, and frameworks.
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.
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.
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What Type Of Work Environment Do You Prefer
Be sure to do your homework on the organization and its culture before the interview. Your research will save you here. Your preferred environment should closely align to the companys workplace culture . For example, you may find on the companys website that they have a flat organizational structure or that they prioritize collaboration and autonomy. Those are key words you can mention in your answer to this question.
If the interviewer tells you something about the company that you didnt uncover in your research, like, Our culture appears buttoned-up from the outside, but in reality, its a really laid-back community with little competition among employees, try to describe an experience youve had that dovetails with that. Your goal is to share how your work ethic matches that of the organizations.
Example: That sounds great to me. I like fast-paced work environments because they make me feel like Im always learning and growing, but I really thrive when Im collaborating with team members and helping people reach a collective goal as opposed to competing. My last internship was at an organization with a similar culture, and I really enjoyed that balance.
How To Answer Tough Interview Questions
For those people who follow my YouTube channel, you will be aware that I teach a unique method for answering tough and common interview questions. Below, I have provided you with my 3-step approach for answering any type of interview question:
STEP 1 Divide your interview preparation into 3 interview question types
There are 3 different types of interview question: Motivational, Behavioral and Research.
Motivational interview questions include: Tell me about yourself?,Why do you want to work for our company?, and Where do you see yourself in five years time? These are the easiest of questions to prepare for, simply because you know they are coming!
The second type are the toughest and require an in-depth response that uses the STAR interview technique .
Finally, the Research-based type of interview question assesses your knowledge of their company .
STEP 2 Use the STAR technique
The STAR technique is a simple, yet brilliant way to answer the tough behavioural/situational type of interview questions. These questions are usually asked by the panel in the following manner:
Describe a time when you
Explain a situation you were in when you
Tell me about a time when you
The important thing to remember here is, you have to answer the questions with a specific situation you were in, and the most effective way to structure your answers is by formatting them using SITUATION, TASK, ACTION and RESULT.
STEP 3 Research-based interview question responses
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Do You Prefer Working In A Team Or Independently Why
An employer may ask this question to understand your interpersonal skills and preferences. Your answer may describe a balance of the two options, showing you can work independently and with a team.
Example:”I don’t have a preference since I believe both are necessary for different reasons. I can definitely work independently when completing an individual task and with a team when working on a large-scale project. For example, I may have to work alone when creating a basic periodic financial report, but collaborate with a team when developing a company-wide digital finance computer application.”
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Where Do You See Yourself Or Hope To Be In The Next 5 To 10 Years
This is a common question employers ask because they want to get an idea about your interests and long-term aspirations. The perfect answer to this question is honest and describes your professional goals.
Example:”In the next five to 10 years, I hope to still be with this company. However, at that point in my career, I’d like to see myself in a senior or leadership role.”
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Example 12 Seasoned Warehouse Manager
During my career, Ive had the opportunity to work my way up. I initially began as an order packer with a major online retailer. As time progressed, I gathered new skills, including in critical areas like inventory management and operational safety.
In short order, I began transitioning into supervisory roles. At first, I supervised a small team, though I was soon overseeing an entire department. After two years at that level, I began managing full warehouse floors, directing the work of more than 100 employees. Additionally, I played a key role in advancing our operations, including spearheading an IoT initiative to improve efficiency.
Today, Im looking to move my career forward by taking on a new challenge. The expanded duties that come with this role genuinely caught my eye, and Im hoping to secure this position or one like it as quickly as possible.
What Is Your Process For Handling A Difficult Customer
Employers frequently ask this question because it helps them assess your customer service and communication skills. It’s important to communicate with customers using empathy and professionalism, and a perfect answer reflects those values.
Example:”I always remain calm when dealing with a difficult customer. I maintain my professionalism and ask questions to better understand how I can help them.”
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What Are Your Leadership Experiences
Even if youre not directly interviewing for a management role, you may face some leadership interview questions.
Employers like a candidate who can take initiative and lead projects and tasks even if its not their main role to lead. Plus, that shows youve got room to grow and can be promoted in the future.
So before any interview, think about one or two recent leadership experiences, ideally from work situations. Did you lead any meetings or projects? Did you train or mentor anyone? Did you spearhead a new initiative at work?
If you have no examples from work, then look to university experience, sports, or other clubs/activities where you led a project, task, meeting, or event.
Note that you may also be asked, what is your leadership style? but this is typically reserved for positions where youll be leading as a core part of your role.
What Does Success Or Happiness Mean To You And Why
The meaning of happiness and success is likely to differ from person to person. When an employer asks this question, they’re not seeking a right or wrong answer. The perfect answer to this question illustrates your genuine beliefs and thoughts.
Example:”Success to me is being able to live comfortably with very few worries. Happiness is feeling like the work that I do is meaningful and helps others.”
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Are You Applying For Other Jobs
Interviewers want to know if youre genuinely interested in this position or if its just one of your many options. Simply, they want to know if youre their top choice. Honesty is the best policy. If youre applying for other jobs, say so. You dont have to necessarily say where youre applying unless you have another offer. But they might want to know where in the hiring process you are with other companies. You can also mention that youre actively looking for offers if your interviewer asks.
Example: Ive applied to a couple of other firms, but this role is really the one Im most excited about right now because
Understand Behavioural Competency And Situational Interview Questions
When preparing for a job interview, you should next make sure you understand how to answer job interview questions. To get to the motivations and working style of a potential employee, interviewers often turn to behavioural, competency, and situational interview questions to understand your behaviours and establish your core skills and competencies relevant to the role, such as teamwork, creativity and innovation, decision making ability, business awareness or conflict resolution.Behavioural and competency based interview questions usually begin with, Tell me about a time when or Give me an example of an occasion when Both behavioural and competency based interviewing are based on the idea that past behaviour can predict future action.
Sample competency based interview questions and behavioural based interview questions include
- Describe a situation in which you didnt meet your stated goal. How did you handle it?
- Describe a situation in which you took the initiative to change a process or system and make it better. How did you identify the problem? How did you go about instituting change?
- Describe a time when you were required to use your analytical skills to make an informed decision.
- Tell me about a time when you used your creativity to solve a problem.
Sample situational interview questions include:
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