What Does Motivation Mean To You
This question is very broad and can also be easily misinterpreted. So when you are asked this question, you should be careful about your answers. Make sure you are honest enough with your answers and also remember to tie your answers to the job that you are applying for.
When you are answering this question, you should focus on:
- Talking about a real thing that motivates you
- Focus on tying whatever motivates you to the job that you are applying for
- Always give useful examples that would help make your point clearer
You should also avoid:
- Avoid stating that things that are responsible as things that motivates you
- Avoid lying
Sample Answers
Setting goals and achieving it is one thing that motivates me. I am a result oriented person, and knowing that I planned to do something and eventually achieved it at the right time and with a great result as well is one thing that will always push me to do more
Learning new things motivates me and gives me a reason to still hold on. Problem-solving is one of my top skills that is why I love challenges. Challenges push me to do more while I learn. I believe that learning never ends especially in a competitive world like ours, to beat the competition, one should submit himself/herself to learning always. The fact that I can learn something new, is one thing that will always motivate me to do a job. Looking at the description for this job, I know that this job will be a motivating one for me.
How Much Are You Earning Now
It is scarier to answer this question in an interview rather than when you are sending your application online. Sometimes interviewers ask this question because they want to be sure about the range that you should earn in the current position.
It is important to be careful about your response when you are asked this question. Telling the interviewer your current salary may put you in a disadvantaged position.
According to research, companies add not more than 10% of your current salary when they are considering what you should earn.
It is advisable for you to form your answers around the following:
- Turn the table around for the interviewer
- If you must give a figure, do your research and give a range
You should avoid:
- Telling them the outright amount
- Avoid lying
Sample Answer
I would love to share my current salary with you, but my previous employer considers it confidential and I am afraid I cannot breach that agreement. However, if you share the salary range for this position with me, I can confirm if my salary is within that range.
I am not allowed to share salary information with outsiders as part of my previous companys policy, however, I can give a salary range based on my research and the value for my skills and abilities.
Whats The Salary Budget For This Role
When to ask about compensation can be a tricky path to tread. While it might feel too brusque to ask upfront, it can sometimes save a lot of time for everyone involved.
As a job seeker, you dont want to going on several rounds of interviews only to find out at the end that the pay is below your expectations, Salemi says. Interviewers also dont want to pour time and energy to fall head over heels for you only to find out theyre not on the same page with salary at the end of the process.
If youve been given a range that fits your requirements, then its appropriate to wait to discuss exact pay until after youve received an offer, when youre hammering out the details to negotiate a salary. If you have no ballpark whatsoever, asking upfront for at least a range can be helpful so that no one wastes their time.
Also Check: Questions To Ask Cfo In Interview
Don’t Miss: What Should Females Wear To A Job Interview
Describe Yourself In 3 Words
This question usually come out as confusing to the job seeker. When interviewers ask this question, they want to have an idea about your personality, and they want to know if you are the best person for the position.
When you are answering this question, focus on:
- Traits that best describes you in relation to the job that you are applying for
- Why the interviewer should hire you
- Skills and abilities that set you apart
Avoid
- Describing yourself with unpleasant words
- Avoid lying
- Team player
Job Interview Tips: How To Make A Great Impression
Related video: Ultimate Job Interview Guide What to Expect Plus Top 6 Tips
You have your job interview scheduledcongratulations! Now its time to prepare, and weve got you covered. Below, we provide an overview of how to succeed in an interview along with a detailed discussion surrounding each point.
Read Also: Questions To Ask A Cfo
Questions To Ask When The Interview Is Being Set Up
Usually the first person you speak with is the recruiter or a member of the Human Resources staff. In some typically small organizations, the hiring manager will be the first person who interviews you.
The best question to ask is Who will be interviewing me, and how does your hiring process work?
Ask for the names and job titles of the people who are interviewing you so that you can do some research about them before the interview. Hopefully they will have LinkedIn Profiles you can review to see if you find any common ground among them or with you to help you understand more about the organization.
Research the interviewers to help you find ways to build rapport with the interviewers during the interview same school or degree, same professional organization, etc.
Dont be surprised if the first interview is a remote interview. The first interview in many organizations is often a phone interview, a Video interview, or a one-way video interview.
During this initial screening interview, employers ask questions to determine if you are a qualified candidate who should be invited to a face-to-face interview. You may not have an opportunity to ask many questions, but do have questions ready to demonstrate your interest in the organization and the job.
Regardless of who that first person is, ask these questions of both the HR/recruiting staff member and the hiring manager to learn important details about the job and to compare the facts presented.
Would You Like To Be Overpaid
Of course, everyone wants to earn more, but the question is how do you go about earning more? Sometimes hiring managers may ask this question to know if you would like to earn higher than what you earn and if that is the case, how do you go about it.
Hiring managers at this point are waiting for the kind of response that you give so that they can understand your work ethics.
As much as you need more money to pay bills, you should also be careful not to say yes almost immediately the interviewer ask you the question.
When you are answering this question, you should take note of the following:
- The interviewer is trying to have an idea of your value system
- Walk the interviewer through the entire thought process of your response
You should also avoid the following:
- Avoid giving an answer without thinking the question through
- Dont sound like you are only after the money you will get doing the job
Sample Answer
As much as I would love to earn more, I would love to earn more if I have actually been able to give more to the organization. If I get overpaid because the company recognizes my value and deems it fit to reward me, yes I would love to earn more, but if I get overpaid accidentally and not as a result of my performance, then I dont think I would love to be overpaid.
Recommended Reading: Questions To Ask Cfo During Interview
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?
Background And Work Experience Interview Questions
Here, we get into the more traditional interview questions, where youll get into the nitty-gritty about what makes this person qualified to perform the tasks at hand.
In a sense, these should be the easier questions as they should demonstrate clearly whether or not the job candidate has the necessary skill set you are looking for.
Be sure to ask enough questions that you get a well-rounded view of their skills, and provide opportunities for them to show you their aptitude. Most of these questions will require tailoring, depending on the position you are hiring for.
Also Check: Interview Attire Women
Provide A Real Weakness But With A Few Rules
When they ask whats your greatest weakness? I recommend you be straightforward and give an honest answer to the hiring manager. Theyll appreciate it if you do it right
That means you have to keep a few things in mind and avoid a couple of potential traps.
First, dont name a weakness related to how you work with others or how you get along with management.
Examples include: Trouble following instructions, trouble communicating, being prone to arguments and disagreements, etc. You better pick a different weakness to share, because no hiring manager wants to hear this type of thing.
In fact, to play it even safer I recommend you pick something skill-based, not personality-based. Thatll keep you in the clear.
When you pick something skill-based, you want it to be relevant to your work, but not a primary focus of the job youre applying for. If youre looking to become an accountant, dont say your weakness is working with numbers or being detail-oriented.
However, you could say your weakness is a certain type of tool or software, or an entire area of accounting that you havent worked particularly closely with recently. Maybe you studied one of these skills in school but havent had a chance to use it hands-on since then and youd require some time to brush up.
How Many Tennis Balls Can You Fit Into A Limousine
1,000? 10,000? 100,000? Seriously? Well, seriously, you might get asked brain-teaser questions like these, especially in quantitative jobs. But remember that the interviewer doesnt necessarily want an exact numberthey want to make sure that you understand whats being asked of you, and that you can set into motion a systematic and logical way to respond. So take a deep breath and start thinking through the math.
Don’t Miss: Best Interview Attire For A Woman
Tell Me About A Time You Messed Up
This one is pops up in many of the most popular interview playbooks and guides, it’s a great test of humility and self awareness. No one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes. The important thing is what happens next.
Does the candidate learn a valuable lesson and use it as a motivation for self improvement, or do they point the finger and blame colleagues.
The answer to this question should show whether a person is willing to take ownership of their work or will be quick to shirk responsibility when the going gets tough.
Can You Tell Me About Your Responsibility In Your Last Position
When you are answering this question during an interview, you have to be careful about your response. Many times when interviewers ask this question, they want to know what you have done earlier in your previous position so that they can see if you are the person for the job. The interviewer also wants to know where you are heading in your career.
When you are answering this question, you should focus on the following points:
- The interviewer wants to know about your previous experience, so you should emphasize the skills that you used in your previous job to show that you are the best fit for the position
- Let the interviewer understand that your main functions in the job relate to the job that you are applying for
- While talking about your experience, dont forget to mention how your experience will help you to perform your job better.
You should also avoid the following:
- Avoid talking about the task than talking about your responsibilities
- Avoid playing down on your achievement
Sample Answers
As a customer service representative, my job was to assist customers with product information, help customers resolve any complain they may have about the product, engage customers that come physically, direct complains to the appropriate channel and make sure that I represent the brand image and that I keep up with the company standard while ensuring that customers are satisfied always.
Also Check: What To Wear For An Interview Women
If I Gave You 50000 To Start Your Own Business What Would You Do
“Hold on a second, I thought we were trying to hire them not invest in them!” Relax, this question is a great way to illustrate business acumen and creativity.
£50,000 is not to be sniffed at, but when it comes to starting a business it’s hardly a king’s ransom. As a result, candidates should think carefully about how they would spend it and what early hires or decisions would give them the best ROI.
The best answers will get specific. They might touch on logistics, hiring, product decisions and services. You’ll also be surprised at how creative candidates can get when you challenge them like this.
Tell Me About A Time You Led Or Worked In A Team
This interview question is a situational question. This kind of question tends to see how you would show your competency in a particular situation. Your response to the question will help the interviewer understand how you would react in a particular situation.
The STAR method is a great approach to attempting this question.
When you are answering these questions, you should focus on the following:
- Give an example of where you demonstrated working in a team
- Make the interviewer understand how you have worked in a team
You should avoid the following:
- Avoid sounding like a lazy person
- Avoid sounding unprofessional
Sample Answers
In my previous job as a sales executive, we were divided into teams to see how we can improve sales on the new product. My team members and I developed a plan to have each member handle a specific area so that we specialize and deliver at the right time.
At the end of the day, we were able to increase sales with up 10% from what we used to have in the previous year.
Also Check: System Design Interview Prep
Work Habits And Working Style Questions To Ask Job Candidates:
- How would you describe your work style?
- What techniques and tools do you use to keep yourself organized?
- If you had to choose one, would you consider yourself a big-picture person or a detail-oriented person?
- What are your strengths as an employee?
- What are your weaknesses as an employee?
- When were you most satisfied in your job?
- What can you do for us that other candidates cant?
- What were the responsibilities of your last position?
- Give me an example of a time that you felt you went above and beyond the call of duty at work.
- What was the last project you led, and what was its outcome?
- Can you describe a time when your work was criticized?
- How do you handle working with people who annoy you?
- Have you ever been on a team where someone was not pulling their own weight? How did you handle it?
- Tell me about a time when you had to give someone difficult feedback. How did you handle it?
- If I were your supervisor and asked you to do something that you disagreed with, what would you do?
- Describe how you would handle a situation if you were required to finish multiple tasks by the end of the day, and there was no possible way that you could finish them.
- What did you dislike about your least favorite former supervisor and/or coworker?
- How would your previous co-workers describe you?
- Can you give me an example of a time you worked through a conflict with a coworker?
Top 10 Questions You Want To Ask In A Job Interview
8-minute watch
Do you have any questions for me? When an interviewer stops quizzing you and offers you a chance to probe them, candidates often freeze. Don’t make this mistake. In this video, I’ll explain why you should always ask questions, how to ask them, and I’ll give you a list of the top 10 questions to ask hiring managers during an interview.
The goal is to learn more about the job, the team, their expectations, and give you a chance to emphasize why you’re the best person for the role. I’ll also include a couple of pro tips that’ll help set you apart from other candidates. Be sure to stick around for my favorite question, the closer question, which could inspire your interviewer to say, We should make an offer.
Let’s dive in!
Read Also: Mailscoop Io
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.
