Interview Questions To Ask
Always be prepared to ask questions at the end of your interview. Being unprepared to ask questions shows a lack of interest and enthusiasm for the job and the company you are applying to. This is also your opportunity to interview the interviewers so to determine your own fit for the position.
Researching the company ahead of time can help you develop questions and avoid asking questions available on their website or company literature. Be sure to prepare at least 10 questions as some of them may be answered during the interview. Below are some sample questions to ask at the interview.
Position Specific:
Personal Experience:
Prepare A List Of Questions In Advance
Have two or three interesting and intelligent questions prepared before the interview, to show that you are interested in the job and eager to find out more about their culture, workplace, etc.
If all your prepared questions are answered during the interview itself and you are unable to think of any more, explain what you had planned to ask, and that you have already been given the answers.
Having questions prepared demonstrates that you were willing to research the company and role, plus it allows you to find out in advance how likely you are to fit the position and organisation.
For example, you might come across some negative employee reviews as part of your research, which spur you to ask some direct questions in the interview to find out their response to that criticism.
One advantage of preparing these questions beforehand is that it makes you less likely to be caught off-guard by a question in the interview itself.
And it allows you to ask questions that demonstrate aspects of your personality or skills that you feel werent drawn out previously.
Ask About The Company
Dont just assume you know the company. Read about its history. Check out its financials. Are there any press releases related to leadership changes, new products, litigation, or community service? Read those, too. The most you know, the more educated questions you can ask.
Here are a few sample questions to get you started. Remember that there will be both positives and negatives with any company. Your job is to determine if the positives outweigh the negatives.
- What will the onboarding and training process look like?
- What sort of development and/or learning opportunities does the company offer?
- Where does see itself five years from now?
- What are some of the departments long-term goals?
- Tell me about the biggest challenges facing the company/department.
- Whats your favorite part about working here?
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Why Have You Switched Jobs So Many Times
If youve switched jobs in a very short period of time , the interviewer is bound to ask about it.
After all, job-hopping is one of the biggest red flags for HR managers.
True, you might have had a reasonable cause. Maybe the second company you got hired in just wasnt a good culture fit for you.
Well, youll have to communicate that.
Companies tend to be skeptical because of the following reasons
- You might be a job hopper. Some people tend to switch jobs the moment they get a better salary offer.
- You might be unqualified for the job and you quit because you couldnt deliver.
- You get bored easily and your solution to that is quitting.
So, your job here is to convince the interviewer that you dont belong to any of those 3 categories.
You need to make them realize that you will not jump ship a few months after getting hired just because some recruiter PMd you on LinkedIn with a better offer.
The best way to answer this question is to explain the reason you switched jobs. It could be one of the following:
- The company culture wasnt a good fit. This happens to the best of us – sometimes, the company just isnt the right one.
- The job description was misleading and you ended up doing something you either didnt enjoy, or were not qualified for.
- You learned that you simply didnt enjoy the job, and are not willing to try out something different. While this isnt the best potential answer, its honest and chances are, the HR manager will understand.
Possible answers:
Do You Have Any Interests Outside Of Work
If the interviewer asks you this question, take it as a good sign!
It means that they liked your professional background, and now theyre just trying to get to know you and see if youre a good fit for the company culture.
Its pretty hard to go wrong here, unless youre going to answer something like:
I have literally no hobbies.
or…
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What Do You Consider To Be Your Biggest Professional Achievement
Here’s an interview question that definitely requires an answer relevant to the job. If you say your biggest achievement was improving throughput by 18 percent in six months but you’re interviewing for a leadership role in human resources, that answer is interesting but ultimately irrelevant.
Instead, talk about an underperforming employee you “rescued,” or how you overcame infighting between departments, or how so many of your direct reports have been promoted.
The goal is to share achievements that let the interviewer imagine you in the position — and see you succeeding.
What Is The Star Method In Interviewing
The STAR method is an interview technique that organizes answers to behavioral questions into a structured response format as follows:
Situation: Describes a specific situation that pertains to the question. Outline the particulars of the circumstance.
Task: Explain the objective.
Action: Illustrate the steps and actions taken in order to achieve the desired goal. Be as detailed as possible and focus on individual contributions.
Response: Relay the outcome of the action and evaluate results.
This interview structure ensures that the interviewer receives comprehensive answers that provide a more complete picture of applicants work styles. Though situations should ideally be from past jobs, entry-level applicants or candidates pursuing career changes may draw on from experiences from school, internships, volunteer work, or other industries.
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What Are Your Greatest Weaknesses
It can feel awkward to discuss your weaknesses in an environment where youre expected to focus on your accomplishments. However, when answered correctly, sharing your weaknesses shows that you are self-aware with an interest in continued growth and learningtraits that are extremely attractive to many employers. Consider using this formula for your response:
1. Select an actual weakness that is honest but professionally relevant:“Im naturally shy…
2. Add context:“…From high school and into my early professional interactions, it sometimes prevented me from speaking up…
3. Provide a specific example:“…After being a part of a workgroup that didnt meet our strategic goals two quarters in a row, I knew I owed it to my team and myself to confidently share my ideas…
4. Explain how you overcame or are working to overcome it:“…I joined an improv acting class. Its fun and has really helped me overcome my shyness. I learned practical skills around leading discussions and sharing diverse perspectives. Now, in group settings, I always start conversations with the quieter folks. I know exactly how they feel, and people can be amazing once they start talking.
Read more: Interview Question: What Are Your Greatest Weaknesses?
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.
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What Was Your Biggest Accomplishment In This Position
What They Want to Know: What are you proudest of? Was there a time something didn’t work out, but you were able to learn from it? Let the hiring manager know what you achieved, again sharing examples from your most recent job.
Im most proud of having convinced our CEO to implement an internal training and promotion program that allowed our personnel to steadily advance within our organization.
More Answers: Interview Questions: What Were Your Biggest Successes and Failures?
How To Prepare For An Interview
Use these questions and example answers to prepare for your interview by making them your own and tailoring them to fit your experience, the job and the company youre interviewing for. Its important to get comfortable with what you could be asked and understand what a good response might be.
Much like preparing for a test in school, the best way to succeed in your interview is to study and practice. Research the company and the job, and practice your talking points until you feel confident about your answers. The more you prepare, the more likely you are to leave a lasting impression and outperform fellow candidates. Come equipped with examples of work from previous jobs, as well as ideas for the new job. Try and make the interview as conversational as possible by showing genuine interest in the job, company and your interviewer.
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B Teamwork Interview Questions
- Describe a group project you worked on. What was your role and what did you achieve?
- Has your team ever failed to reach a goal? If so, what went wrong and what did you learn from that experience?
- Tell me about a time you had to work with a colleague you didnt get along with.
- Imagine you have submitted a piece of work that you thought was finished, but a colleague returns it to you with multiple corrections and comments that would take you hours to address. What would you do?
- Your manager hates your latest work. What do you do?
- Describe a time you were assigned new tasks How did you adapt?
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.
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Do You Have Any Questions For Me
What They Want to Know: The last question at a job interview is usually one about what you want to know about the job and the company. Be ready with a list of questions to ask. You may seem disinterested if there isn’t anything you want to learn more about.
Do you have a formal schedule and mechanism for performance reviews? How soon after hiring would I receive my first review?
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.
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What Do You Enjoy About Your Job
Everybody loves to talk about themselves and this question enables you to build up a sense of camaraderie with your interviewer. This question requires a personal response, so you could learn a lot from their answer.
You’ll get an insider’s view of the company culture and working environment and you may even get to discover how your interviewer got their start in the business and how they progressed.
Preparing For An Interview
When offered an interview, your next step is to research. It’s imperative that you understand what the company does, how they do it and what their goals are. You may find that their goals either align or differ with yours, which impacts your ultimate decision on whether to accept an offer. You may be asked questions about the company to test your knowledge of the business, so presenting yourself as someone knowledgeable on both the company and its industry is vital. The other way to prepare for an interview is to determine what questions to ask the interviewer.
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Whats Your Personal Passion Project
I love to use this question as an opener because it gives a glimpse into a candidates personality:
- Are they travel lovers and open to new experiences?
- Are they daredevils who love to parachute and skydive?
- Are they more of the introverted type who loves reading or watching Netflix?
Smart: Oh, great question! Im an avid reader and am reading an old classicOdyssey,
Unique: This might sound crazy, but I love to collect rocks! When I travel the world, I find the most unique, precious rocks and keep them in a little box at home. This is my way of keeping travel souvenirs!
Boring: My personal passion project? I like to watch TV at home a lot.
Passionless: I dont really have a passion
How Will My Success Be Measured In This Role 15 What Is The Performance Review Process Like Here How Often Would I Be Formally Reviewed
Already demonstrating a willingness to be measured and assessed confirms you value your bosss and departments input and are wanting to succeed and progress in this role. Alternatively asking about your performance metrics confirms you are a negotiator and adaptable to challenges and tasks that may occur along the way.
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What Salary Are You Seeking
When you’re asked, “What salary are you seeking?” it is to your advantage if the employer tells you the range first. Prepare by knowing the going rate in your area, and your bottom line or walk-away point. One possible answer would be: “I am sure when the time comes, we can agree on a reasonable amount. In what range do you typically pay someone with my background?”
+ Interview Questions And Answers
The time has come!
After creating a killer resume and cover letter and passing the first round, it is time to face the final challenge:
Your job interview.
And that scares even to the best of us.
Being judged and evaluated by people who have your future in their hands is more anxiety-inducing than meeting the in-laws.
Youve heard the interviewers and hiring managers say there are no right or wrong answers to calm you down before an interview.
But heres the thing:
They are almost always looking for a specific way of answering.
Which brings us to this guide. Were going to cover the most common interview questions and answers, turning you into a bona fide interview expert by the time youre done reading.
So, lets get started!
To make this guide as practical as possible, we covered just about every interview question out there.
Dont let that put you off, though. You dont have to read the whole thing end-to-end. To get the most out of the guide, wed recommend:
Most Common Interview Questions:
Behavioral Questions in an Interview:
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