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What Are You Passionate About

10 Best Questions to Ask an Interviewer – Job Interview Prep

Much like the previous question about motivation, employers might ask what you are passionate about to better understand what drives you and what you care most deeply about. This can both help them understand whether you are a good fit for the role and if it fits into your larger goals. To answer, consider this structure:

1. Select something you’re genuinely passionate about and explain why youre passionate about it: As a software developer, Im passionate about creating truly beautiful, efficient digital products to make peoples experience with technology memorable…
2. Provide examples of how youve pursued this passion: “…One of the things I loved about my last job was witnessing the results of my teams code update and watching as our months of work yielded positive user feedback…
3. Relate it back to the job: “…Having the opportunity to lead projects from ideation through launch was one of the reasons I was so excited to apply for this role.

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Why Shouldn’t We Hire You

Romy Macasieb finds this question is a useful tool for excavating where a candidate still has room to grow. It goes much deeper than your standard What are your 3 areas of improvement? type questions, says the founding PM and current VP of Product at Walker & Company.

I like that it allows interviewees to play both sides of the table. They could highlight the skills theyre missing or why they might not be what were looking for by saying something like You shouldn’t hire me if you want someone that is quant-only, Macasieb says. But they can also turn the focus to why you might not be a fit for them. Ive heard responses like You shouldn’t hire me if you have an open office floor plan.

The Traits Of A Team Player In Sales

Patrick Lencioni, a bestselling author on sales leadership and team management, covered this exact problem in his book The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate The Three Essential Virtues.

In his book, he lays out three traits that companies need to test for in order to hire team players on a sales team. He even argues that these traits are more important than skills alone. They are:

  • Humility. Team players dont have big egos or concerns about status, they point out contributions of others and define success collectively and not individually.
  • Hunger. Team players are always looking for moremore to learn, more responsibility and they are always thinking about the next step.
  • Smarts. Team players have a great common sense of people, they ask good questions and deal effectively with others.

The key approach is to always look for all three traits of a team player. If theres even one missing, that sales rep might throw off the entire team balance, productivity and even trust.

For example, if a sales rep is missing the humility trait, he or she will know how to get what they want, but they wont mind if its at someone elses expense. On the other hand, if they are missing the hunger to excel, they will easily slack at workand potentially drag other reps down.

Read Also: What Are The Most Common Interview Questions And Answers

How Would Your Colleagues Describe You

Asking this will give you a better idea of how they view themselves in the eyes of others and should reveal clues on their ability to work within a team environment.

Are they known as the quiet one, the goofball, the communicator, the workaholic, or something else?

Make sure to develop and refer to your ideal candidate personas to see if the answer aligns with the favorable personality traits you are looking for.

Interview Questions About Your Background And Expectations

8 Best Phone Interview Questions to Ask the Interviewer  Resumeway

What They Want to Know: These questions are designed to clue the interviewer in regarding your career path trajectory. How have you trained and prepared yourself for this job? Are you likely to be an employee who will stick around for a while? Often, these questions are very open-ended. That’s a gift for candidates, since you can focus on painting an advantageous look at your experience and background.

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If You Suddenly Had 3 Deadlines To Finish In One Day But Could Only Finish 2 Of Them What Would You Do

This question is designed to dig up how a job candidate would prioritize their tasks. Do they know how to prioritize? Can they section off their workday to accomplish these deadlines? Can they create mini goals to reach them?

Strategic: If I was running with a team, I would be able to prioritize tasks and delegate certain team members to tasks that were top priority. In my previous position, I actually had a similar scenario where we were about to launch a new product, but at the last minute, our packaging was found to be faulty. So right before the deadline, we spent hours fixing and refixing the package until it was rightand then we applied this to all our products. All in all, we barely made the deadlinebut not without loads of effort and a ton of coffee!

Unrealistic: I would work overtime to achieve all my deadlines, even if they were impossible to achieve!

Defeatist: Well, if I cant complete the deadlines, then I would just do the 2 and tell my boss that I couldnt make the 3rd one.

Tell Me About A Time You Failed To Reach Your Goal

I like to ask questions that uncover people with high potential, which is very important for our line of work.

What this question does is show whether the candidate is working from a victim mentality or whether they will do whatever needs to be done to keep going, even when things seem incredibly challenging.

Some examples of poor answers:

  • It wasnt my fault
  • I had to quit because family/life/job got in the way.
  • I couldnt do it because of XYZ

All of these answers to me say that given enough obstacles, the person will quit before even attempting to find a new path.

Good answers are:

  • Although I hit the wall, I still kept trying to find a solution.
  • Everyone told me it couldnt be done, but I kept on going.
  • I dont give up easily, and I am certain I will find a solution one day.

What Im really looking for when I ask this question is to see if the person is visibly uncomfortable, but they never resort to blaming other elements for the failure. This is a great indicator of high potential. These individuals also frequently never admit defeat but rather see the failure as a temporary obstacle that will be resolved at some point in the future.

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What Is Most Important To You In Your Next Company

Interviewers ask this because:

They want to be sure you are a great match. As much as you want to show you are a good fit for them, they want to be sure they are a good fit for you.

They might also be trying to get a sense of your thought process as you search for a new role. Did you apply because you were just throwing spaghetti at the wall, or did you see something about their company that specifically drew you in?

How to answer:

Again, be honest. Come up with two to four things that are truly important to you in a working environment. They dont necessarily need to be things you already know about the company to which youre applying.

Maybe they reference workplace culture, tools that are available, management styles, access to resources, etc.

Example Answer:

Its important to me that Im part of an organization that aligns around a shared mission, and that it shows in my interactions with colleagues in other departments. Im also looking forward to being part of a team where everybody holds high standards for themselves and those they work with.

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What Did You Like Least About Your Last Position

Top 5 Questions to Ask in an Interview

This question can tell employers about types of work you enjoy, your experience level with certain workplace scenarios and whether or not you would be a good culture add. Avoid saying anything negative about your former employer, managers or colleagues.

Dont mention any aspects of your last role that youre aware would be part of this role. Make your answer about your career growth and enthusiasm for joining their organization.

Example answer: While I enjoyed my time learning and growing in my last job, there was a lack of opportunity in the way I wanted to progress in my career. I deeply enjoy being challenged and getting better at what I do, which I understand is a top priority for managers at your organization. Thats why Im excited to continue having conversations about this opportunity.

Read more: Interview Question: “What Did You Like Least About Your Last Job?”

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What Accomplishment Are You Most Proud Of

Another thing that can tell you a lot about a person? What they consider to be their proudest accomplishment. Asking candidates what theyâre the most proud of will give you insights into their strengths and what they value â even if what theyâre proudest of is a personal accomplishment, not a professional one. For example, if a candidate tells you that their proudest accomplishment is completing a marathon, you know that theyâre not afraid of hard work and are able to stay dedicated and committed to long-term goals.

Use Specific Examples From Your Previous Experience

Making a managers or supervisors life smoother is an essential quality of a successful administrative assistant. Use your past experiences to give examples of how you made your previous managers life easier. When you give specific examples of what you did, you are reassuring the recruiter that you have the required experience.

Read Also: How To Interview Well Over The Phone

Tell Me About Your Ideal Next Role What Characteristics Does It Have From A Responsibility Team And Company Culture Perspective What Characteristics Does It Not Have

As the head of Squares seller and developer business units, Alyssa Henry has her hands full, so the ability to quickly uncover alignment or misalignment in the hiring process is critical. Rather than asking directly about a candidates interest in a particular role, shes found it helpful to abstract out to their ideal next role, a scenario that captures what theyre really after.

This two-part question helps determine if theres a match in expectations for the role. Particularly when you hear the answers to what theyre not looking for, sometimes you realize that the candidate is actually a better match for a different role, she says. But my favorite part is that it gives you the selling points you need to hit on when it comes time to close the candidate. You already know what they value, which makes it easier to tailor your pitch.

What Made You Want To Apply For This Position

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This is one of the best interview questions to ask because it delves into specifics about the job role. It shows how carefully the candidate read the job description, and also gives them the chance to share why they feel theyd be a good addition to your team. A well-crafted answer will touch on skills the applicant has as well as skills they want to develop or improve.

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Questions To Ask About The Company

In addition to questions about the specific job, you can also leverage the research youve done to ask questions that showcase your interest in the company and the industry. For example, asking about the challenges the company has faced can provide you with insight into their pain points. If applicable, you can follow up on their response by sharing any experience youd bring to the table that can help with these pain points . Here are some examples:

  • What do you like best about working here?

  • Who do you see as your biggest competitor and why?

  • What challenges has this company faced in the last few years? What challenges do you anticipate in the coming years?

  • What changes or innovations in the industry are you most excited about?

  • I noticed on your social media channels that youve opened several new offices lately. That kind of growth is exciting to me. It made me wonder, what lines of the business are part of that expansion?

  • What is your companys biggest problem?

  • How frequently do employees make themselves available outside of business hours?

  • How are employees recognized for a job well done?

  • Do you have a mentor system in place?

  • Read more: 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before a Job Interview

    What Are Your Career Goals

    This question allows the interviewer to understand your ambitions, goals and also how long you intend to stay with the company. Make sure you answer with a well-drafted, realistic career plan and clearly state your short-term and long-term goals. Talk about them one by one.

    You can state that your immediate plans are to upskill yourself with the latest technologies in your practice by the end of the year. As for the long term goals, mention that you want to be an established professional in a senior position in your field in the coming years.

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    What Is The Most Important Thing To You In A Job/company/work Environment

    Asking a candidate what the single most important thing is to them in a job, company, and/or work environment is a must-ask question â because if your job, company, or work environment doesnât fit the bill, you immediately know itâs not the right fit. For example, an employee saying the most important thing to them is a fully remote environment â but you require your employees to work in-person at the office.

    Can You Describe Yourself In Three To Five Words

    My Top 5 Questions To Ask in a Job Interview

    Try to relate this answer back to the job description. Contrary to what you might think, providing a word that recognizes a flaw will show the interviewer that you recognize the areas you need to work on.

    Example:”If I could describe myself in three to five words, I would say that I am loyal, passionate, funny and cautious.”

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    Summary: 32 Strategic Interview Questions To Ask Candidates

    Well, I hope that was useful if you liked this article or if you have any great questions of your own you would like to share, please leave a comment below.

    Lastly, a huge thank you to all of the esteemed contributors to this article.

    Now that you have hired the right person, take a look at our 13 Proven Ways To Get Your Employees To Like & Respect You.

    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

    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!

    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.

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    Build Off Of Your Conversation

    You also want to pick up on whats happened in the interview so far. Ask questions that build off of what you and the interviewer have discussed. You might want to follow up on a project they mentioned youd be working on, or a responsibility that you didnt see in the job description. The key is to make this portion of the interview feel like a continuation of the conversation.

    Sample Questions To Ask During A Full

    Top Questions Asked In An Interview, And Questions To Ask Them! # ...

    A useful list of questions that will help you determine if a full-time role is right for you.

    We know that a job interview is an opportunity for an employer to learn more about you. But its also your opportunity to learn more about the role, team, company culture, and moreso you can make an informed decision about the job.

    So, after youve brushed up on common interview questions, and practiced your answers, be sure to prepare some thoughtful questions to bring. Your interviewer will ask if you have any questions, and theyll expect a few from enthusiastic candidates.

    Plan to prepare 3-5 questions ahead of time, as some may be answered during your interview. You may also think of new ones during your conversation. Below are some examples to get you started.

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