What Do They Ask You At Job Interviews

Too Much Of A Good Thing

Questions to ask at the End of an Interview | Career Interview Tips

There can be a fine line between strengths and weaknesses in both directions of desirable or detrimental, depending on the job role. This is sometimes in the realm of work ethics gone overboard.

Perfectionism springs to mind as a classic blessing-and-curse example. For all the face-saving mistakes your employer can thank you for catching in time, missed deadlines or unfinished projects may be casualties of your obsession with thoroughness and correctness at any cost.

A related problem child of being detail-oriented is overthinking and rethinking projects past the point of manageability. And procrastination is not always a matter of a stalled start. It can also find you unable to stop when enough is enough.

Here are some other common weaknesses wearing a work ethic disguise:

Working too many hours or struggling with professional/personal life balance
Difficulty focusing on one task or shifting focus to another
Spreading yourself too thin by not setting realistic limits
Impatience and frustration when things dont progress smoothly or on schedule
Competitiveness that undermines your co-workers contributions

Here are some ideas for describing weaknesses related to work ethic.

Sample Answers To What Are Your Career Goals

Example #1: Getting an Entry-Level Position as a New GraduateI chose my area of study because I really want to work in this field, and my interest grew stronger as my course progressed. Since completing my college degree, I have been looking for an opportunity to convert the theoretical knowledge I have learned into practical skills and to develop professional experience that will grow my value to the company.

One of my short-term goals is to get up to speed and become a contributing member of the team quickly, and I would look to undertake further training or development to increase my productivity and value. Long-term, I want to increase my subject knowledge in the business, and in three to five years, when an opportunity is available in the company, I will apply for advancement to a higher position.

Example #2: Building Skills in a New Industry/Career TransitionMy goal for this career transition is to develop new skills and experiences that will help me to develop professionally. Im excited to learn more about the industry, expand my professional network, and contribute my knowledge and skills to support the success of the team. I look forward to collaborating with my colleagues and developing innovative solutions to achieve our goals.

Tell Me About Your Strengths

The best way to address a question about your strengths is to ensure it aligns with the job description.

A lot of people tend to downplay their strengths, but they shouldnt. This is a great opportunity to showcase what you can do.

You must be prepared, however, to back up your strength with a good example. For example, if you say your creativity is a strength, youll also want to be able to talk about a time when you used your creativity to solve a problem or address a challenge.

For example, I think a strength of mine is my adaptability. During my time as an office manager, I supported a small team where being able to think on your feet and be flexible was a real asset. When two members of our four-person team happened to fall sick at the same time and were out of the office for two and three weeks, I worked overtime to support our clients by performing the function of my colleagues while they could not.

Some general strengths that often work include:

Trustworthiness

You could also mention any hard or technical skills that is required in the job ad.

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How To Answer The Most Common Interview Questions

Are you ready to ace your upcoming job interview? One of the most important parts of interview preparation is being ready to respond effectively to the questions that employers typically ask.

Since these interview questions are so common, hiring managers will expect you to be able to answer them smoothly and without hesitation.

You don’t need to memorize your answers, but you should think about what you’re going to say so you’re not put on the spot.

Your responses will be stronger if you know what to expect during the interview and have a sense of what you want to focus on. Knowing that you are prepared will boost your confidence and help you minimize interview stress and feel more at ease.

Here are the top 10 interview questions employers are likely to ask, plus 100+ more common job interview questions, example responses, tips for giving the best answer, and advice on how to ace the interview.

Interview Question #: What Career Development Opportunities Would I Have With The Company

10 of the most common interview questions

Entry-level interviewers may not be as concerned as mid-level or senior interviewers with developmental and growth opportunities, depending on your career goals. How the company answers this question will tell you how much value is placed on employees. Asking this question will show recruiters and hiring managers you are interested in a long-term position where you can not only help the company grow, but work on your skills, as well.

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Why Interviewers Ask About Areas That Need Improvement

The goal of the interviewer when asking this question is to assess your level of self-awareness. Also, the answer you give indicates to them if you are able to identify areas that you need to improve by yourself. An honest answer also shows that you are straightforward to yourself as well as to them. The interviewer knows that everybody has their flaws and development points. If you can openly discuss these in the right way, this will make a better impression than saying you have no areas of improvement.

Employers are always looking for employees who possess drive and ambition who are trying to make the best of themselves in the workplace. If you show self-awareness, this indicates that you understand your room to grow as a professional, which increases the likelihood of you becoming a valuable team member. In general, taking initiative, showing ambition, self-awareness, and demonstrating the ability to solve problems are all characteristics in which interviewers are interested in.

Learn more about personal interview questions and how to answer them.

Questions To Ask So You Know What Happens Next

Now, ask the 5 essential MUST-ASK next step in the interview process questions so that you will understand how their process works, when you can expect to hear from them, what happens next, and who will be your contact. If you dont ask these questions, you will have no idea when you will hear from them next or where they are in their process which will be very stressful for you.

If you dont ask those questions, you also risk being in contact with the wrong person at the wrong time, looking either desperate or annoying.

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How Could I Impress You In The First Three Months

This is a good question to ask at the end of a job interview because it shows potential employers that you’re eager to make a positive contribution to the organisation.

Pay close attention to the recruiter’s response as it will tell you how they want you to perform and will highlight particular areas of the job you should be focusing on during the first few weeks of employment.

When Youre Balancing Multiple Projects How Do You Keep Yourself Organized

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Employers want to understand how you use your time and energy to stay productive and efficient. Theyre also looking to understand if you have your own system for staying on track with the work beyond the companys schedules and workflow plans. Be sure to emphasize that you adhere to deadlines and take them seriously.

Discuss a specific instance when you stayed on track. Talk about the importance and urgency of the projects you were working on and how you allocated your time accordingly. Explain how you remain organized and focused on the job in front of you.

Example: Im used to juggling projects at my current job where Im often moving between coding one software program to another. I use the timeboxing technique to make sure theyre all on track, allocating time on my calendar for certain tasks. Ive found it really helps me prioritize what needs to get done first, and it holds me accountable for the more repetitive day-to-day tasks Im responsible for.

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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.

Whats The Most Interesting Project Youve Worked On In A Past Position

Ask this interview question to determine if the applicant would likely enjoy the work available at your company. Do the types of tasks they find fulfilling align with the job description for your position? Making sure employees find their work professionally satisfying is one of the most important factors in retention.

What Did You Like Most About Your Last Position

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Knowing what you enjoyed about your last position can offer employers insight to your motivations, personality and whether you will enjoy the position available. To answer this question, focus on positives, speak to work rather than people, explain how it prepared you for this new position and reasons why moving to this role is the right choice.

Example answer:It was a great entry-level position at a start-up agency. Not only was I learning more about marketing, but management was also very transparent, teaching us a great deal about owning a business. It was a very collaborative atmosphere, and the team and I worked together on almost every project. Everyone’s weak point was countered by another’s strong point. I learned more working there than I ever did in college, and I’m excited to apply these skills to a new position.

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If You Were An Animal Which One Would You Want To Be

Seemingly random personality-test type questions like these come up in interviews because hiring managers want to see how you can think on your feet. Theres no wrong answer here, but youll immediately gain bonus points if your answer helps you share your strengths or personality or connect with the hiring manager. Pro tip: Come up with a stalling tactic to buy yourself some thinking time, such as saying, Now, that is a great question. I think I would have to say

What Are Your Strengths

Dont look at this common interview question as a trick, but rather a gift. This question provides an excellent opportunity for you to demonstrate your personality, expertise, and preparation for the interview.

Choose two or three strengths that reflect you and are directly related to the job. Then, support at least one of them with evidence, such as awards, metrics, or specific anecdotes. Stay away from clichés and focus on substantive answers. The interviewer is looking for quality, not quantity. Heres a good response:

I believe one of my greatest strengths is time management. For example, last semester I managed to earn a 3.8 GPA while working 20 hours a week at a local coffee shop, serving as president of my fraternity, and acting as a teaching assistant for a freshman writing course. Im also very organized and detail-oriented.

What Is Your Biggest Strength

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This question is often a stumbling block for many new graduates, simply because they havent yet had the chance to develop confidence in their professional skills. This often leads to answers that are too modest or vague, meaning that graduate employers will have a hard time believing you have the skills and confidence to take on the graduate job on offer.

Your answer should address a strength that is relevant to the position, but this can be anything that makes you stand out, whether you gained this quality at work, while travelling or at university. Think of the role in question and provide an example of a strength that is relevant to the position, be that multitasking, organization skills or innovative thinking.

Its important to tread the line between humble and overconfident too humble and your strengths wont be evident, too confident and you risk sounding arrogant. To avoid either, focus on the facts of your strengths, including specific examples of when youve had to use them and how youve developed them.

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Why Havent You Gotten Your Masters Degree/phd

As a start, keep in mind that the interviewer isnt judging you for your decision.

After all, if they were looking for someone with a better degree, they wouldnt have invited you to an interview. The degree is not the dealbreaker here, but your answer to the question might be.

When asking this question, the interviewer is trying to see your reasoning for pursuing a career instead of getting another degree.

Heck, theres a chance that if you give them the right answer, theyre even going to like you more than someone with 3 Phds!

So, simply explain why you didnt think that another degree was the right thing for you at the time.

Dont say you were lazy or didnt feel like it, or that its a waste of money .

Instead, give compelling arguments, such as

You wanted to see whether your field was the right one for you.
You didnt have the financial resources at the time.
You wanted to get some practical work experience before committing to another degree.

Possible answers:

Sample Answer 1:

At this stage of my life, I decided to pursue my career instead of further education. On the one hand, I want to make sure that Marketing is what I want to do with my life.

On the other hand, I believe that in my field, practical work experience is a lot more valuable than academic.

So far, my decision has paid off pretty well – Ive already gotten a lot of experience doing online marketing for 3+ companies and delivering awesome results to boot.

Sample Answer 2:

Tell Me About A Challenge Or Conflict Youve Faced At Work And How You Dealt With It

Youre probably not eager to talk about conflicts youve had at work during a job interview. But if youre asked directly, dont pretend youve never had one. Be honest about a difficult situation youve faced . Most people who ask are only looking for evidence that youre willing to face these kinds of issues head-on and make a sincere attempt at coming to a resolution, former recruiter Richard Moy says. Stay calm and professional as you tell the story , spend more time talking about the resolution than the conflict, and mention what youd do differently next time to show youre open to learning from tough experiences.

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What Did You Like Least About Your Last Position

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.