What Answers To Give In A Job Interview

What Is Your Dream Job

Employers typically ask this question because they want to ensure that your interests and passion align with their job. A good answer will describe a role that matches the one youre interviewing for. Consider using this formula for your response:

1. Mention the skills you want to use:I enjoy guiding other team members on projects and making sure everything goes smoothly…”

2. Describe a job in general:“…My dream job would be a leadership position where the other team members are active participants and communication happens daily…

3. Discuss your values:“…I love seeing a project through to the end and celebrating everyones hard work…

4. Tailor to the job for which you are interviewing:“…For instance, if youre applying for a leadership position, you might discuss how your dream job would include supervisory responsibilities.”

Read more: Interview Question: “What Is Your Dream Job?”

Do You Have Any Questions

This might be one of the most important questions asked during the interview process because it allows you to explore any topics that havent been addressed and shows the interviewer youre serious about the role. Remember that you are interviewing the company too. Take time to ask the interviewer questions about their own experiences with the company, gain tips on how you can succeed if hired and address any lingering questions you have. Some examples include:

• What do you love most about working for this company?
• What would success look like in this role?
• What are some of the challenges people typically face in this position?
• How important is it that you hire someone with XYZ qualities?

• Do you have any hesitations about hiring me?

Read more: Interview Question: Do You Have Any Questions?

What Are Your Biggest Strengths

I’m not sure why interviewers ask this question your resume and experience should make your strengths readily apparent.

Even so, if you’re asked, provide a sharp, on-point answer. Be clear and precise. If you’re a great problem solver, don’t just say that: Provide a few examples, pertinent to the opening, that prove you’re a great problem solver. If you’re an emotionally intelligent leader, don’t just say that: Provide a few examples that prove you know how to answer the unasked question.

In short, don’t just claim to have certain attributes — prove you have those attributes.

Read Also: What’s The Best Questions To Ask In An Interview

Interview Prep By Hiration

Hiration is a platform that has a one-stop solution for all your problems, from resume writing to interview preparation. We have it all!

Go through Hiration’s repository of job interview questions to make a lasting impression on the recruiter.

A few features of the interview prep platform:

• Relevant interview questions and answers on the basis of your job and role
• Most comprehensive list of QnA’s across the internet
• Sample questions and answers for 180+ profiles
• With over 2000 questions along with the answers

Whats Your Current Salary

Its now illegal for some or all employers to ask you about your salary history in several cities and states, including New York City Louisville, North Carolina California and Massachusetts. But no matter where you live, it can be stressful to hear this question. Dont panicthere are several possible strategies you can turn to. For example, you can deflect the question, Muse career coach Emily Liou says, with a response like: Before discussing any salary, Id really like to learn more about what this role entails. Ive done a lot of research on and I am certain if its the right fit, well be able to agree on a number thats fair and competitive to both parties. You can also reframe the question around your salary expectations or requirements or choose to share the number if you think it will work in your favor.

Also Check: How Can I Watch Meghan And Harry Oprah Interview

How Do You Evaluate Success

What They Want to Know: Your answer to this question will give the interviewer a sense of your work ethic, your career goals, and your life goals. Tailor your response to fit what you expect to achieve if you were to be hired by this employer.

When I wake up each morning enthusiastic about going to work, then lock the clinic at night knowing that weve made a difference in peoples lives, I figure the day has been a success.

More Answers: Job Interview Question: How Do You Define Success?

What Makes You Unique

They genuinely want to know the answer, Dea promises. Give them a reason to pick you over other similar candidates. The key is to keep your answer relevant to the role youre applying to. So the fact that you can run a six-minute mile or crush a trivia challenge might not help you get the job . Use this opportunity to tell them something that would give you an edge over your competition for this position. To figure out what that is, you can ask some former colleagues, think back to patterns youve seen in feedback you get, or try to distill why people tend to turn to you. Focus on one or two things and dont forget to back up whatever you say with evidence.

Read Also: How To Do A Zoom Interview

Conclude By Explaining Your Current Situation

Finally, the best way to finish your story is to bring them up to speed on your current situation.

Why you wanted to apply for their job, what youre looking to do next, etc.

For example you might end your answer by saying:

and thats why I wanted to interview with your firm. This position seems like a great opportunity to advance those skills I just talked about, and continue building my career and challenging myself.

Question: What Is Your Greatest Weakness

I hate the greatest weakness question. Everyone knows its a trap, and everyone knows the candidate is going to say something trite .

Focus on them: Dont pick a weakness that will disqualify you for the job, but do give a real answer.

When you give a real answer, you are being genuine. You are admitting you have some growth opportunities and are not perfect. But you can include that you already have a plan to overcome this weakness through training or practice .

Some people even insert a little humor in their answerI wish I was better at tennis. You can, too, if you feel like the interviewer has a sense of humor. But, be sure to quickly follow with a serious answer. Showing you have a lighter side is usually a good thing.

Recommended Reading: What To Wear To An Interview Women

What Is Your Greatest Strength

What They Want to Know: When answering questions about your strengths, focus on the abilities you have that are key to success in the job for which you’re interviewing. Don’t be too humble. It’s important to make the hiring manager aware of your qualifications.

My greatest strength is my ability to learn new processes quickly. When placed in a new environment, I actively observe how other people do things so that I can easily pull my weight on the team. Im also open to testing new ways of doing things in order to optimize our efficiency.

More Answers: Interview Question: What is Your Greatest Strength?

Tell Me Something About Yourself

How hard can it be to talk about yourself? We do it on a daily basis without much thought to it.

However, recruitment managers are not looking for your whole life story, your third-grade achievements, or what you had for dinner last night. Instead, they are looking for a pitch.

This is usually the first question asked in an interview, so it acts as your introduction. Make sure your answer is relevant to the position you are applying for. What you should be aiming for here is to present yourself as the ideal candidate for the job.

A good rule of thumb is to structure your talking points as follows:

• Briefly introduce yourself: Whats your name? How long have you been working as ?
• What do you love about your job?
• What are your top 2-3 achievements that are relevant to the job youre applying for?

Now, lets go through some examples:

Possible Answers for “Tell me About Yourself”:

• Sample Answer 1:

Hey! So, my name is John Doe and Ive worked as a business analyst for 5+ years in Company X and Company Y.

I have some background in data analysis, having studied Information Systems at University.

Throughout my career, Ive done some pretty impressive stuff .

For example, at Company X, I led a project for migrating all operations data to a new data warehousing system to cut down on costs. The new solution was a much better fit for our business, which eventually led to savings of up to $200,000 annually.

• Sample Answer 2:

Recommended Reading: How To Close An Interview

Give An Example Of Your Lateral Thinking

Lateral thinking is the ability to use your imagination to look at a problem in a fresh way and come up with a new solution. Companies prize employees with lateral thinking skills because without them, they canât innovate and create new products. Think about times when youâve been faced with real-life problems and have somehow managed to overcome them. Chances are your solution involved an original, creative approach, and thatâs what employers want to find out about.

• How to identify great examples of your lateral thinking that you can use in graduate job interviews.

Question: Why Were You Laid Off

Be very careful with this question. It sounds like an invitation to complain about your previous employer. Interviews are a bad time to trash anyone even the previous employer who eliminated your job.

Let the interviewer decide on their own about how badly management performed. Just make a simple statement about the cause of the layoff , and then quickly follow with a question about the stability of their company and history with layoffs.

Read Also: How To Interview A Manager

Why Did You Change Your Career Path

If you recently changed your career path, the interviewer is sure to ask about it.

Dont worry – theres nothing wrong with this.

A lot of people go through a career change. Some even do it several times in their lifetime!

As long as youre good at what you do, no one cares if you were a pediatrician in one year, and a professional chef in another.

When asked this question, all you have to do is answer truthfully. Explain how your old job just wasnt for you, and how the job youre applying for is so much more interesting.

Possible answers:

• Sample Answer

I realized that being a doctor is not for me. While I did enjoy my 3 years in med school, the 6 year study period was too much.

I wanted to start making money and help out my family way before that, so I dropped out of university and started taking online courses in accounting.

At this point, Im pretty good at it, having done 2 internships so far in and .

• Sample Answer 2

Simply because I enjoy doing sales much more than accounting. After 5 years of working as an accountant for Firm X, I decided I wanted to try something new.

I asked my boss at the time to let me transition to the sales team, and I ended up liking it AND being pretty good at it.

How To Answer Interview Questions

While its handy to have an idea of what you would like to answer for common interview questions, no answer should be memorized or feel over-rehearsed. You want to be genuine and answer all interview questions naturally.

Check out our tips on answering interview questions for some basic interview advice:

• Dont rush your answer. You dont need to start answering the second the interviewer has finished asking the question, especially if you find the question a bit challenging. Think about the question for several seconds and stay calm while you gather your thoughts
• Use examples to demonstrate your points one of the biggest mistakes job seekers make is that they dont back up their answers with examples. Its not enough to say youre well-organised for example what can you mention to prove it?
• Dont ramble onbabble and take 5 minutes to answer 1 question aim for 2 minutes on average per answer to a competency based question. Of course many questions dont require more than a minute answer.
• If youre a jokey or humorous character, thats great and can even ease the tense interview environment. Still, I wouldnt actually make jokes in an interview, they may fall flat. Its ok to show that you have a sense of humour, but you also need to make sure you do take the questions seriously!

Read Also: Where Can I Watch Prince Harry Interview

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.

Other Common Interview Questions To Consider:

• How does your job fit in to your department and company?
• What do you enjoy about this industry?
• Give an example of when you have worked under pressure.
• What kinds of people do you like working with?
• Give me an example of when your work was criticised.
• Give me an example of when you have felt anger at work. How did you cope and did you still perform a good job?
• What kind of people do you find it difficult to work with?
• Give me an example of when you have had to face a conflict of interest at work.
• Tell me about the last time you disagreed with your boss.
• Give me an example of when you haven’t got on with others.
• Do you prefer to work alone or in a group? Why?
• This organisation is very different to your current employer – how do you think you are going to fit in?
• What are you looking for in a company?
• How do you measure your own performance?
• What kind of pressures have you encountered at work?
• Are you a self-starter? Give me examples to demonstrate this?
• What changes in the workplace have caused you difficulty and why?
• Give me an example of when you have been out of your depth.
• What have you failed to achieve to date?
• What can you bring to this organisation?

Check out the rest of our interview advice in the Michael Page Career Centre.

Read Also: How Do You Prepare For A Job Interview

How To Answer What Are Your Strengths And Weaknesses

Strengths and weaknesses are different for almost every job. What could be a strength for one job applicant may be considered a weakness for another candidate. In general, there are some strengths and weaknesses you shouldand shouldn’tmention during a job interview.

• Examples of Strengths for Interviews: These include analytical, communication, and leadership skills, as well as the ability to collaborate and work as a team.
• Examples of Weaknesses for Interviews: These include hard and soft skills, plus tips on how to spin your weaknesses so that they dont knock you out of contention for the role.

Why Do You Want To Work Here

Interviewers often ask this question to determine whether or not you took the time to research the company and think critically about whether youre a good fit. The best way to prepare for this question is to do your homework and learn about the products, services, mission, history and culture of this workplace. In your answer, mention the aspects of the company that appeals to you and aligns with your values and career goals.

Example answer:The companys mission to help college grads pay off their student loan debt resonates with me. Ive been in student loan debt myself and would love the opportunity to work with a company thats making a difference. Finding a company with a positive work environment and values that align with my own has remained a priority throughout my job search and this company ranks at the top of the list.

Read more: Interview Question: Why Do You Want to Work Here?

Also Check: How To Start An Interview As The Interviewer Example

Tell Me How You Think Other People Would Describe You

I hate this question. It’s a total throwaway. But I did ask it once, and got an answer I really liked.

“I think people would say that what you see is what you get,” the candidate said. “If I say I will do something, I do it. If I say I will help, I help. I’m not sure that everyone likes me, but they all know they can count on what I say and how hard I work.”

Can’t beat that.

What Has Been Your Greatest Achievement

Ideally, your answer should evidence skills relevant to the job – such as teamwork, initiative, communication, determination and organisation. For inspiration, think about a time when you’ve received an award, organised an event, learned something new or overcome a major fear. Always prepare several examples.

Avoid the achievement of graduating from university – this won’t distinguish you, unless you’ve had to deal with major difficulties such as illness or personal problems.

A similar question that you may be asked is ‘What are you most proud of in your working life?’

Don’t Miss: How To Prepare For A Special Education Teacher Interview