What Are Your Greatest Strengths To A Company
The ability of a candidate to talk about their strengths and still maintain their humility is a strong indicator of a winning personality.
This also gives the interviewee a chance to explain and align their strengths with the position they are interviewing for demonstrating attributes that will contribute to the companys goals.
What Should You Not Tell A Hiring Manager
- Rule #1 of interviewing is So, Tell me what you do around here.
- My last company.
- Ill do whatever is necessary.
- I know that I dont have much experience.
- Its on my resume.
- Yes, thats right!
You have the skills, personality, and drive to make things happen in your new role. It is equally important to know what the hiring manager will consider a red flag as you prepare answers to interview questions that will let you do all of those things. You will make sure that your accomplishments are what your interviewer remembers.
Try to find a current or past employee that you can talk to before the big day, and do some online research. Keep your tone neutral and positive, focusing on what youve learned from each experience and what youre hoping to do in the future Even if a previous manager put the characters in Horrible Bosses to shame, your interviewer doesnt know that and could wonder if youre the difficult one to work with. Amy Hoover is the president of the job board TalentZoo.
Try to keep any string of accomplishments you mention within the same range of impressiveness as others, and either leave out the outliers or wait for a better opportunity to talk about them, when they wont be stacked against your highest achievements. Using clichés in an interview wont get you far, and resume buzzwords make hiring managers glaze over. Use stories about things youve actually done to describe your skills and abilities.
What Is The Strength Of The Team
It is important to understand if you are working solo or along with a team. If there is a team, then how many are there in the team?
Interview questions like this will help you understand how the job responsibility is distributed across the team and ultimately your role will be clear to you.
This will also tell you if you are the sole person shouldering the responsibilities of the company or if you will be part of an already existing group.
Don’t Miss: How To Practice For Coding Interviews
Why Do You Want To Leave Your Current Job
Let’s start with what you shouldn’t say .
Don’t talk about how your boss is difficult. Don’t talk about how you can’t get along with other employees. Don’t bad-mouth your company.
Instead, focus on the positives a move will bring. Talk about what you want to achieve. Talk about what you want to learn. Talk about ways you want to grow, about things you want to accomplish explain how a move will be great for you and for your new company.
Complaining about your current employer is a little like people who gossip: If you’re willing to speak badly of someone else, you’ll probably do the same to me.
Why Did You Decide To Apply For This Position
Through this question, the interviewers want to assess how passionate you are for the position. And no, the answer isnt:
Well, Im very passionate about not starving to death.
Well, I needed the money, and you guys tend to pay a lot.
What the interviewer is looking for here is to see how passionate you are about the job or the company. After all, job performance is directly linked to job satisfaction. The happier you are about your position at the company, the more productive youll be.
And heres the kicker – your passion will be very evident during the interview.
When youre talking to a person thats passionate about something, you can pretty much feel them glow as they talk. And if youre an HR manager whos interviewed hundreds of people, this is a very good sign to hire the candidate.
So, use this knowledge to your advantage.
When asked this question, your answer should include 2 things:
Sample Answer 1:
Im very passionate about sustainability and renewable energy. In fact, I minored in Environmental Science at .
Ive always wanted to put my engineering degree to a good cause – and the position as a Sustainability Coordinator at is just the right thing.
Ive been following your company for the past few years, and I love how youre changing the renewable energy landscape in America.
Possible answer 2:
Also Check: What Good Interview Questions To Ask
Top 10 Interview Questions And Best Answers
Review these most frequently asked interview questions and sample answers, and then prepare your responses based on your experience, skills, and interests. Remember that its less about providing the right answers and more about demonstrating that youre the best candidate for the job.
1. Tell Me About Yourself – Best Answers
This is one of the first questions you are likely to be asked. Be prepared to talk about yourself, and why you’re an ideal candidate for the position. The interviewer wants to know why you’re an excellent fit for the job.
Try to answer questions about yourself without giving too much, or too little, personal information. You can start by sharing some of your personal interests and experiences that don’t relate directly to work, such as a favorite hobby or a brief account of where you grew up, your education, and what motivates you.
You can even and showcase your personality to make the interview a little more interesting.
2. Why Are You the Best Person for the Job? –Best Answers
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.
3. Why Do You Want This Job? – Best Answers
Be specific about what makes you a good fit for this role, and mention aspects of the company and position that appeal to you most.
4. How Has Your Experience Prepared You for This Role? – Best Answers
What Do You Plan To Do If
Every business faces a major challenge: technological changes, competitors entering the market, shifting economic trends. There’s rarely one of Warren Buffett’s moats protecting a small business.
So while some candidates may see your company as a stepping-stone, they still hope for growth and advancement. If they do eventually leave, they want it to be on their terms, not because you were forced out of business.
Say I’m interviewing for a position at your ski shop. Another store is opening less than a mile away: How do you plan to deal with the competition? Or you run a poultry farm : What will you do to deal with rising feed costs?
Great candidates don’t just want to know what you think they want to know what you plan to do — and how they will fit into those plans.
Get Inc.âs top posts straight to your inbox. and youâll receive Todayâs Must Reads before each day is done.
Read Also: How To Prepare For Toptal Interview
Questions To Ask The Interviewer About Competitors
This can be the section to show the deepest level of insight. If you can go beyond just the company itself and look at the competition, it can be a huge advantage.
- Who are your biggest competitors ?
- How do you differentiate from the competition?
- What do you do better than the competition?
- What does the competition do better than you?
- What are the companys strategic objectives?
- Can you please talk more about the companys mission and vision?
Whats A Time You Disagreed With A Decision That Was Made At Work
The ideal anecdote here is one where you handled a disagreement professionally and learned something from the experience. Zhang recommends paying particular attention to how you start and end your response. To open, make a short statement to frame the rest of your answer, one that nods at the ultimate takeaway or the reason youre telling this story. For example: I learned early on in my professional career that its fine to disagree if you can back up your hunches with data. And to close strong, you can either give a one-sentence summary of your answer or talk briefly about how what you learned or gained from this experience would help you in the role youre interviewing for.
Recommended Reading: How To Master A Interview
Why Did You Decide To Leave Your Previous/current Job
When asking this question, the interviewer wants to learn:
- Did you have a good reason for leaving your last job? The HR manager doesnt want someone that just jumps ship the moment things go bad.
Incorrect Example:
Oh, well, the company started bleeding cash and was on its way to bankruptcy.
Correct Example:
I felt like it was time – I got to a point where everything I was doing felt monotonous. I learned as much as I could at this position while delivering amazing results. It was, however, time to switch to something new.
- Did you leave on good terms? Meaning, did you go through the offboarding process, instructing your coworkers on how to take up your responsibilities? Or did you just say Adios and stopped showing up at work?
Incorrect Example:
Things started to get really boring, and the boss man was kind of mean. I totally deserve better, so I just ghosted them and now Im looking for a new company. Hi!
Correct Example:
I didnt feel like the companys values coincide with mine. The management was too controlling and micromanaging. I prefer to have some control over my work, and being able to contribute by going above and beyond my requirements.
Of course, I went through the off-boarding properly. Meaning, gave a timely resignation notice, and transferred all the essential company knowledge to my replacement.
- Did you leave voluntarily, or were you fired?
Incorrect Example:
I got fired for missing work for a week without an excuse.
Correct Example:
How Do You Plan To Achieve Your Career Goals
Having goals shows interviewers you care, are ambitious, and can think ahead. Having a plan for how youll achieve your goals demonstrates your self-motivation as well as organizational and time management skills. Finally, the fact that youve accomplished past goals youve set for yourself is proof of your ability to follow through. All together, these are indications that you can not only set and achieve goals of your own, but also help your prospective boss, team, and company do the same. To craft your answer, make sure you focus on one or two goals in detail, explain why the goals are meaningful, communicate what milestones are coming up, highlight past successes, and connect back to this job.
Also Check: How To Master Interview Questions
Can You Tell Me About A Time When You Overcame A Challenge
You know that most job seekers absolutely dread these behavioral interview questions. But, that doesnt change the fact that theyre an effective way for you to gain a better understanding of how that persons experience translates from paper to the real-world.
This specific question is a popular one, and for good reason. Starting a new job isnt a walk in the park. And, even after that new employee is established, hes bound to deal with some roadblocks every now and thenwhether its a conflict within his team or a project he doesnt quite know how to get started on.
Getting a grasp on how that person copes withand, more importantly, tacklesdifficult circumstances will help you zero in on the very best fit for that open role.
On What Parameters Will I Be Assessed
Every company has a unique way of measuring the candidates performance. Understand what they are seeking from you so that you can focus more on those areas.
Remember: You do not need to ask these interview questions in the same order. You must always probe depending on the context.
You need to get a clear picture of how you will be assessed in your job because the same role can have multiple parameters.
For eg: Some companies are keener on meeting deadlines and some others are very specific about the quality of output.
You will not be on the same page with your hiring managers if you do not gather accurate information on this topic through interview questions like this.
Recommended Reading: How To Turn Down An Applicant After Interview
Utilize The Job Description
As you focus on your strengths, keep in mind the job requirements for the position and see where there’s overlap. This is a crucial step, Abdilla says. A good starting point? Hiring managers frequently frontload job descriptions with the most important responsibilities. A job descriptions skills section can also be a great reference point.
Do You Have Any Serious Medical Conditions
When asking this question, the interviewer wants to learn if you have any medical conditions that could impair your ability to do the job correctly.
In most cases, youre not obliged to give an answer. If you do have a health condition, and it doesnt have anything to do with your career, you can simply choose not to answer, or to say No.
However, you might want to disclose anything that could potentially have an impact on how you perform.
For example, if the job requires you to lift heavy boxes, for example, and youre not able to do so because of a condition, you should let the HR manager know.
Possible answers:
I dont have any serious medical conditions
Im unable to lift heavy objects because of issues with my back, but it wont have any impact on how I perform at an office job
Read Also: How To Write A Follow Up Interview Email
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:
Question #: Is There Anything About My Background Or Resume That Makes You Question Whether I Am A Good Fit For This Role
This question displays that youre highly invested in the job and committed to understanding your prospects as a candidate. Plus, it will also allow you an opportunity to respond to any potential concerns. Lastly, this question is best to ask at the end of the interview to gauge where you might stand within the job process.
Recommended Reading: How To Interview An Attorney
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.
‘who Would I Be Reporting To’
It’s important to ask about the pecking order of a company in case you have several bosses, Oliver wrote.
If you’re going to be working for several people, you need to know “the lay of the internal land,” she says, or if you’re going to be over several people, then you probably want to get to know them before accepting the position.
Don’t Miss: Where Can I Watch Meghan Markle Oprah Interview
What’s Your Definition Of Hard Work
Some companies move at very different paces, projects that might be allocated a week at a large corporate might be expected in a few days time at a fast growing startup.
This question is a great way of telling you whether a candidate can keep pace with your team and fit in with your company’s definition of hard work.
Look out for the “hard worker in disguise”. A candidate who’s currently operating at half capacity at a slow moving company and is keen to, , ramp up.
What’s The Biggest Decision You’ve Made Over The Past Year Why Was It Such A Big Deal
This shouldn’t be seen as a way of delving into a candidate’s personal life, you don’t want to find out why they’ve just broken up with their partner!
Instead, interview questions like this are designed to show you how the candidate approaches the decision making process. Do they make choices impulsively or do they conduct painstaking research. Did they make a plan, or did they talk it through with friends?
The answers to this question will if they’re style of decision-making and their thought process fits the way you do things at your company.
Determining if a candidate has the relevant skills and experience is only half the battle. You need to make sure that they’re a good cultural fit for your company if you want to make good hiring decisions. Here are a few questions that can help you find this out:
Read Also: How To Have A Great Phone Interview
