Whats Something Positive Your Boss Would Say About You
This is one of those behavioral interview questions which can be tricky to understand exactly what they’re looking for.
Just saying that your boss approves of your work isn’t enough. The interviewer is looking to see what kind of relationships youve built with the management team, and get an impression about how you may fit in with their team.
How to Answer:
This is a great time to brag about yourself with someone else’s words. Start with My boss has told me that… so that it’s clear you understand the question.
Stay humble and refrain from sounding arrogant.
Example Answers:
My boss has mentioned that my attention to detail and thoroughness cant be matched.
She said the last campaign we ran together produced amazing results because of my effort and ability to thoroughly run it from start to finish…
My boss mentioned that she’s gotten a lot of compliments about my customer service from customers.
What Is Your Greatest Professional Accomplishment
This is the perfect opportunity for you to showcase your suitability for the role. That said, its important to talk about an achievement that is relevant to the job youre interviewing for.
Think about a professional accomplishment that can prove that you are the ideal candidate. What did you do in your last job that is worth mentioning? Has your boss ever given you recognition for anything? Have you increased sales or sold a product in a unique way? How did you do it? These are the things employers are most interested in.
When youre talking about your achievements, dont forget to also refer to facts and figures that will serve as evidence.
What Are Your Future Goals
This interview question, like the previous one, is intended to see if you’ll be a good long-term fit with the company.
The interviewer is looking for commitment and motivation.
How to Answer:
Focus on your career goals that align with the company. Demonstrate your understanding of the company’s mission, and how you can find your place there.
If there is a clear promotion path available that you’re interested in, feel free to mention it.
Example Answers:
Eventually I’d like to make my way into a project management position. I’m already familiar with many of the aspects of the work, so I’d like to improve my knowledge in the areas I’m less familiar with so that I can oversee an entire project.
I enjoy working with people and helping to resolve conflicts, so I can see myself moving up in HR eventually.
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How Do You Work Under Pressure
Many jobs involve moments when, for varied reasons, there are unexpected situations that require swift action. The ability to stay calm, think logically and act correctly in such a scenario is a major asset.
This is another good instance of when to use the STAR method to talk about a specific time you were faced with a challenge, might have succumbed to stress but managed to calmly find a solution.
Example answer:Throughout my career, Ive discovered how to embrace working under pressure. I find that routine can make us complacent, so I try to look for challenges that push me to grow.
One time, I was supposed to deliver a project to a client in five days. A colleague who was working with another client had the same deadline, but he had to take a leave of absence due to personal reasons. I was forced to take up both projects at the same time. While I felt an initial sense of panic, I tried to reframe it as an opportunity to see what I might be capable of. Instead of letting the stress get to me, I came up with a very detailed time management plan and found new ways to boost my efficiency that enabled me to deliver both projects on time.
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Why Should We Hire You Common Interview Questions
For this question, you need to answer in a way that shows a benefit for both yourself and your potential employer. You need to make it clear that youre the best person for the job, and you can only do this if you provide examples. Think about what is required for the position youre trying to fill, then tailor your answer to that. Here are a few examples of key qualities that might convince the interviewer that youre the best person for the job:
You are able to work in a fast-changing environment that requires enthusiasm You can make a positive impact on profit and can deliver under all kinds of conditions You are loyal and hard-working, and can inspire those around you to be at the top of their game in the workplace.
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Can You Explain Why You Changed Career Paths
Dont be thrown off by this questionjust take a deep breath and explain to the hiring manager why youve made the career decisions you have. More importantly, give a few examples of how your past experience is transferable to the new role. This doesnt have to be a direct connection in fact, its often more impressive when a candidate can show how seemingly irrelevant experience is very relevant to the role.
Where Do You See Yourself In Five Years Common Interview Questions
This is a common question which appears very tricky to answer. You want to demonstrate some ambition and be positive. Try and keep in mind what the interviewer is looking for. If the company youre applying for likes a constant turnover in staff, then it might not be appropriate to say that youd like to still be there in 5 or 10 years. In contrast, an employer that seeks longevity when it comes to staff would likely want to see you say that youd still be with them. Dont be arrogant, and curb your ambition slightly.
Example: I consider myself to be an ambitious person, and hope that I would show my value to your company and have progressed appropriately. However, I want to make sure that I learn the role properly so that I can serve the company as well as possible.
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Why You Want The Job
When asked, … Why do you want to work here?
You can base your answer on the higher goals of the targeted organization and its notable achievements and laurels.
Sample Answer: I aspire to build my career on the kind of solid foundation that your organization has laid and contribute towards the higher goals of the company.
What Would Be Your Ideal Work Environment
This question reveals honesty and whether the candidate would be a good fit for your company. If the candidate describes a work environment that is completely different from your office environment, ask them how they plan to adjust to a different type of work environment.
Red flags: The candidate provides a generic answer or describes a type of work environment that is completely different from your own.
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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.
How Do You Handle Criticism
This question is designed to assess your ability to handle constructive critical feedback. To answer job interview questions like this one, you should provide an example of a time when you received criticism and how you handled it.
Your potential employer wants to know that you will be able to handle criticism in your new job. Constructive criticism is important at work because it helps employees improve performance. Understand, constructive criticism is about pointing out employees’ wrong behaviors and showing them how to correct them.
For example, you might say: “I am always open to constructive feedback because I know it can help me improve my performance and my career progression. One time, my manager told me that I needed to be more assertive with my team. I took his feedback to heart and started speaking up more during team meetings. As a result, my team became more engaged and we were able to achieve our goals.”
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Do You Have Any Questions For Us
You probably already know that an interview isnt just a chance for a hiring manager to grill youits an opportunity to sniff out whether a job is the right fit from your perspective. What do you want to know about the position? The company? The department? The team? Youll cover a lot of this in the actual interview, so have a few less-common questions ready to go. We especially like questions targeted to the interviewer or the companys growth If youre interviewing for a remote role, there are some specific questions you might want to ask related to that.
What Salary Do You Expect
Be realistic and answer this question in a respectful manner, as if you want to negotiate a good contract it is wise to be pragmatic. Do your research and propose a realistic salary based on what you earned previously and what you think is adequate for the job position. In the case that the job offers less than you had expected, you can always balance it out by asking for days where you can work from home, the number of holiday days and other benefits.
Instead of mentioning one specific number, you might want to mention a range e.g.:
I am interviewing for roles in the low 60s to high 60s salary range and I am flexible based on the nature of the responsibilities for the position.
I am ideally looking for 75k-80k but the most important thing is the job itself and the company culture.Whereas if you mention just one specific number, thats the maximum youll ever get and you might get offered less than that.
Read more tips on how to negotiate your salary.
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Why Should We Hire You
Ah, the ultimate humble-brag question.
Now, the real question is, how do you sell yourself without trying to look arrogant, desperate, or needy?
A good rule of thumb here is to stay away from the extremes. Think youre a good fit for the job? Say that you have the right experience.
Whatever you do, dont oversell yourself:
Im the best salesman youve ever met!
Instead, make a general statement and talk about your experiences and achievements.
Here are 3 general points you can mention:
Possible answers:
- Sample Answer 1:
Well, as a start, I have all the skills and work experience required for the job. Ive worked as a Sales Manager for 5+ years, and over the past 2, Ive closed several deals totalling in 6-figures.
Oh, and on top of that, I have experience working with tech companies, so Ill be able to pick up all the product specifics much faster than the other candidates.
- Sample Answer 2:
I have just the right skill-set to excel as an executive assistant. While I havent previously worked as a personal assistant, I pretty much fit the bill for the role.
Im very meticulous and organized, and Im more than capable of helping the CEO get the most our of their free time.
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Why Do Employers Ask Behavioral Based Interview Questions
We touched on this earlier, but behavioral based interview questions and answers for interviews are extremely common since many believe theyre the best way to gauge your skills and abilities. Sometimes, the interview will be entirely behavioral questions for interview, while other times other interviewing techniques may also be a part of the process.
Harvard Business Review notes that about 80% of turnover is because of poor hiring decisions. This might be because someone hires the person they enjoyed talking to the most or because the right questions werent asked to ensure a potential employee would be a good fit in the workplace.
Using interview behavioral questions and answers gets more information about how you do different things through descriptions of past experiences. Instead of using simple common interview questions that require no more than a yes or no or a few words, behavioral interviews focus on experiences. You can also take a look at questions to ask in an interview for additional help.
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Questions About Your Supervisors And Co
What They Want to Know: Did you get along with your manager? Have you worked with difficult colleagues? How you interact with supervisors and co-workers will provide the interviewer with insight into your interpersonal and communication skills.
I think I get along well with both my manager and my colleagues, because I approach everyone with respect. When issues arise, I try to ask for clarification and find points of agreement we can use to resolve differences of opinion.
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Can You Tell Us A Bit About Yourself
This question is a common interview opener, as it gives recruiters a chance to break the ice with interviewees. Although it might seem like a straightforward question to ask, its important that you prepare an answer for it that will summarise the most important facts about you.
Pick a couple of crucial moments from your professional life, like your degree, your most relevant work experience or any other major accomplishments. Your answer should be brief but compelling, and it should cover different areas in your professional career .
Make sure to tie the company into your answer and explain what brought you here too.
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Decide What Comes Next
Once you’ve gone through the process of identifying all of your core soft and hard skills, the real question is, what will you do with this knowledge?
What you decide to do with this knowledge is completely up to you. The easiest thing to do is to stay content with what you’re doing at your day job, even if your work is meaningless.
I challenge you to start looking for a more meaningful job where you can focus on building your core skills, engaging your strengths, and continue discovering what you’re truly passionate about in life.
Personally, I’ve found that starting a side business can often be one of the most rewarding experiences you’ll ever have. Mine has been an instrument by which I’ve gotten to have a connection, however small, with hundreds of thousands of people over the past couple of years. Now that’s motivating.
The next step toward finding a way to launch into a meaningful self-employed career, is to combine your soft and hard skills, to come up with profitable business ideas that’ll engage your strengths and areas of interest.
If you’re passionate about cooking, naturally step into a role of mentoring others, and have a knack for writing & speaking, I’d be willing to bet that you’d stand a strong chance of success in creating a food blog, or offering one-on-one cooking classes in your area.
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What Do You Know About The Company
The interviewers objective here is clear: they want to know if you have done your homework on the company. So, before marching into your interview, be sure that you get all your facts right about your potential employer.
If asked this question, you might be tempted to recite the information youve memorised from their website, but its important to add your own personal touch too. While you should talk about the companys objectives, you should also explain how that drew you to the company and how they relate to your own professional goals. This will show that youre already invested in their mission, and it will make your answer more personable.
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Learn How To Perfectly Answer The Five Most Common Questions Asked In Interviews
Times have shifted and that has impacted the way companies now hold interviews. However, whether an interview is via phone, Skype, pre-recorded video, or in person, the questions have generally remained the same. Here are the top five most commonly asked interview questions and the best ways to answer them.
Job interviews can be intimidating, but if you come prepared to answer these questions, you may actually find it quite enjoyable. First impressions are everything so remember to be on time, dress appropriately, speak clearly and properly, and most importantly, dont forget to do your research.
