How To Ace Interview Questions And Answers

Why Have You Switched Jobs So Many Times

If youve switched jobs in a very short period of time , the interviewer is bound to ask about it.

After all, job-hopping is one of the biggest red flags for HR managers.

True, you might have had a reasonable cause. Maybe the second company you got hired in just wasnt a good culture fit for you.

Well, youll have to communicate that.

Companies tend to be skeptical because of the following reasons

• You might be a job hopper. Some people tend to switch jobs the moment they get a better salary offer.
• You might be unqualified for the job and you quit because you couldnt deliver.
• You get bored easily and your solution to that is quitting.

So, your job here is to convince the interviewer that you dont belong to any of those 3 categories.

You need to make them realize that you will not jump ship a few months after getting hired just because some recruiter PMd you on LinkedIn with a better offer.

The best way to answer this question is to explain the reason you switched jobs. It could be one of the following:

• The company culture wasnt a good fit. This happens to the best of us – sometimes, the company just isnt the right one.
• The job description was misleading and you ended up doing something you either didnt enjoy, or were not qualified for.
• You learned that you simply didnt enjoy the job, and are not willing to try out something different. While this isnt the best potential answer, its honest and chances are, the HR manager will understand.

Possible answers:

Free: Second Interview Question Pdf Cheat Sheet

Ok the next thing you should do is download our “Second Interview Question Cheat Sheet“.

In it you’ll get:

• 5 of the most common second interview questions you could face
• Professional-sounding example answers for each question that you can model your answers after

With this amazing cheat sheet you’ll be pretty much ready for anything you’ll face in your second interview!

How Do You Prepare For A Video Job Interview

The more time you spend preparing for a job interview, the better your chances of landing the job are.

The interviewing process can be difficult, especially with the current state of the job market. One hiring shift that has blown up over recent years is video interviewingwith no slow down in sight.

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Can You Tell Me About Yourself

Interviewers often start with this question to learn about your background. When you answer, try beginning by mentioning where you are now before briefly explaining how you advanced to your current position. By taking this tactic, you can establish your professional history and emphasize the most important aspects.

Example: Currently, I am a junior personal trainer, and I have 25 recurring clients. In my three years as a fitness instructor, I have earned certifications in yoga and pilates, allowing me to specialize in these rapidly growing areas. Because I maintain a full client roster, I have also taken online sales courses. As a fitness enthusiast, I am also highly self-motivated and driven to share my excitement for health and well-being with my clients.

Do You Prefer To Work On A Team Or Independently

Theres no right or wrong answer here, but you want to be diplomatic. Regardless of whether youre an extrovert or an introvert, its crucial your answer clearly shows that youre versatile. Share your preference, but also keep the role itself in mind. If youre an event planner, hopefully you like working with others.

For a great answer, include two positive examples: one in which you worked well with a group and another in which you worked well on a solo project.

I love working on a team. When I interned with XYZ Company, there were issues with a few fellow interns not getting along. I intervened, organized a social gathering for the group, and it really helped them put their differences aside. We finished the summer on a great note and came up with the best ideas by putting our heads together. At the same time, I enjoy working independently when necessary. In school, I prided myself on never missing an essay deadline. That was because Im able to put my head down and focus.

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Tell Me About A Work Conflict You Experienced And How It Was Resolved

One of the most dreaded and difficult interview questions on this list, detailing a conflict is challenging for two reasons. First, it requires on-the-spot storytelling. Second, it has potential to expose a weakness youâd rather not discuss. It may sound like common sense, but the best way to answer this question is to choose a conflict that had a happy ending, ideally one that you were responsible for.

An example: you and your boss disagreed on how to approach a new client. In the end, you came up with a revised strategy that was a compromise that used elements of both visions. In this story, you come out the good guy and highlight positive traits such as your ability to collaborate and be a team-player. Just remember, donât be disparaging or choose a conflict that makes your former workplace seem hostile. Tearing down others to build yourself up is never a good look.

How Would Your Coworkers/boss Describe You

This question presents a great opportunity to sell strengths that might sound like bragging coming directly from you. For instance, declaring that youâre a hard-worker can sound like interview-filler when you say it, but itâs perfectly acceptable coming from a coworker. Best strategy? Think back to actual compliments youâve received from coworkers and clients.

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Why Did You Leave Your Last Job

There are a lot of good answers to this interview question. There isnt just one right answer. Here are some guidelines:

If you chose to leave on your own terms, stay positive and focus on what you wanted to gain from the decision, rather than bad-mouthing or focusing on negatives you wanted to avoid.

And if you were fired or laid off, be upfront and clear. Youre not going to make employers want to hire you by being vague or trying to hide something.

If you got fired, show what youve learned from the experience, and what youve done to make sure this doesnt happen again. Thats how to spin it into a positive.

• Be clear and direct and address the question head-on
• If you were fired, own up to it and share what youve done to make sure this never happens again
• If you chose to resign, focus on the positive things you hoped to gain by moving to the next opportunity, rather than badmouthing or talking about the negatives in your last role

Dont:

• Dont badmouth or complain
• Never say you resigned because of a disagreement or argument with a coworker
• Dont make it sound like money is your main priority
• Dont try to hide facts or avoid the question this will just lead to more questions and suspicion from the interviewer

Example answer:

You can also get more ideas for how to answer this on our list of 20 answers for why did you leave your last job.

How Do You Prioritize Your Work

Your interviewers want to know that you can manage your time, exercise judgement, communicate, and shift gears when needed. Start by talking about whatever system youve found works for you to plan your day or week, whether its a to-do list app you swear by or a color-coded spreadsheet. This is one where youll definitely want to lean on a real-life example. So go on to describe how youve reacted to a last-minute request or another unexpected shift in priorities in the past, incorporating how you evaluated and decided what to do and how you communicated with your manager and/or teammates about it.

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How Would Your Boss Or Coworkers Describe You

This question is pretty much the same as what are your greatest strengths, the only difference is that it should be from the point of view from your boss or coworkers.

Here, you want to focus on your traits and achievements that youve previously been praised for .

There are at least 2 ways to answer this question:

1) Describe a specific situation where you excelled at work

Sample Answer

Theyd say Im super hard working. During my weekend-off, not one, but three of my coworkers got sick, and I had to spot for them.

The weekend was peak season in Nantucket, so the restaurant was getting seriously overwhelmed. All of a sudden, we went from being very prepared for the season, to complete panic.

Had to jump between serving, bussing, and line-cooking, but overall, managed to survive through the weekend successfully.

2) Quote a performance review

If youve previously worked in an office job, youre probably all too familiar with these.

Did your boss give you a glowing performance review? Make sure to mention it here!

Sample answer:

Well, in my last performance review in September, my boss described me as someone who takes initiative.

My position as a PR manager involves constantly keeping track of our clients brand reputation, and if something goes wrong, dealing with it as fast as possible.

In a lot of cases, you need to be very proactive – if you wait for your entire team to have a meeting on how to deal with the issue, it might already be too late.

Get Ready To Ace Your Interview

Job interviews will always be nerve-wracking, and itd be nice if you had a crystal ball that would conveniently tell you everything that employer was going to ask.

Unfortunately, we cant throw a crystal ball your way. But, these eight tough interview questions and answers should make a difference. Being prepared with polished answers to the common and challenging interview questions weve shared here certainly helps to tame those butterflies in your stomach. Youve got this!

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Star Interview Questions And Answers

Your answer following the STAR method will depend on the specific behavioral interview question being asked.

So, to help you prepare, were going to give you 9 more common behavioral interview questions !

The questions were going to cover include:

Now, lets dig right in!

Question: Why Should We Hire You

This is clearly a differentiation question. What you want to tell them is: theyd be crazy not to they hire you.

Focus on them: You need to only share how you meet almost all the criteria they seek, and also have two to three additional abilities that they might not even know they needyet. They need to know you are a candidate who can not only meet their needs now, but will also be valuable for where they want to go in the future.

• Are they likely to need another skill set as they grow as a company?
• Or maybe you have skills that you noticed are in another job description they are looking to fill?

You can help out with those deliverables until they find someone .

Have you been down a path already that they are currently starting? Having lessons learned to offer them is a very strong plus for a job candidate.

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How To Handle Illegal Or Inappropriate Interview Questions

There are many topics that should be off-limits during a job interview. Questions about age, ancestry, citizenship, credit rating, criminal record, disabilities, family status, gender, military discharge, or religion should not be asked directly by an interviewer.

While the intent of these questions may be to determine if you are a good fit for the job, it is important to know that only information relevant to your ability to do the job can and should be asked.

What Are Your Salary Expectations

The number one rule of answering this question is: Figure out your salary requirements ahead of time. Do your research on what similar roles pay by using sites like PayScale and reaching out to your network. Be sure to take your experience, education, skills, and personal needs into account, too! From there, Muse career coach Jennifer Fink suggests choosing from one of three strategies:

• Give a salary range: But keep the bottom of your stated range toward the mid-to-high point of what youre actually hoping for, Fink says.
• Flip the question: Try something like That’s a great questionit would be helpful if you could share what the range is for this role, Fink says.
• Delay answering: Tell your interviewer that youd like to learn more about the role or the rest of the compensation package before discussing pay.

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What Is Your Biggest Weakness

Ah, this is always a tricky one!

After all, you dont want to mention your flaws during an interview, so its guaranteed to be a tough question.

The trick to answering this one is realizing that the interviewers dont expect you to be perfect. Everyone has flaws, weaknesses, and things to improve on.

When asking this question, the HR manager is actually seeking to learn:

• Whether you have the right skills for the job. If youre applying for the position of a server in a busy restaurant, and you say your biggest weakness is performing under pressure, then youre definitely not getting a callback.
• If youre self-aware and really know what your sticking points are.

And NO: fake humble-brag weaknesses dont count as weaknesses. You cant just say that your biggest weakness is that you work too hard, or that youre a perfectionist.

The key here is to mention a weakness thats real, but not something that would get in the way of you doing your job. You wouldnt want to say youre bad at math if youre applying for an accountant position, would you

Its also good practice to mention how you are working towards overcoming this weakness and realizing how it affects you negatively. If you can, just balance it with a positive side effect: treat it like two sides of the same coin.

Possible answers:

• Sample answer 1:

My biggest weakness has always been my communication skills. Ive been pretty shy and anxious as a kid. Over the years, however, Ive been really working on the issue.

What Do You Consider To Be Your Weaknesses

What your interviewer is really trying to do with this questionbeyond identifying any major red flagsis to gauge your self-awareness and honesty. So, I cant meet a deadline to save my life is not an optionbut neither is Nothing! Im perfect! Strike a balance by thinking of something that you struggle with but that youre working to improve. For example, maybe youve never been strong at public speaking, but youve recently volunteered to run meetings to help you get more comfortable when addressing a crowd.

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How To Ace The Square Interview

Here are some more tips on acing your Square interview:

What Do You Know About This Company/organization

A quick search in the About page of the company/organization you are applying for should be enough, right? Well, yes and no.

Think of this as an open-ended question. Theres no real wrong answer here, other than:

Incorrect Example

I dont know anything about this organization. In fact, how did I end up here? Can you guys call me a cab real quick?

However, the more you actually know about the company, the better your chances of getting hired.

Imagine 2 equally competent candidates:

Which one would you pick? Exactly, the second one!

So, with this job interview question, you want to convince the recruiter that youre the candidate #2.

Now, how do you do that? Well, a rule of thumb here is to do some Googling before the interview and learn the following about the company:

• What does their product or service do?
• What impact does the product / service have?
• Whats the company culture like?
• What are the latest news about the company? How are they performing?
• …And pretty much whatever other type of info you can dig up.

Possible answers:

• Sample Answer 1:

I hadnt heard about you until recently, actually. I found out about through your job ad on RandomJobBoard.

• Sample Answer 2:

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