How to Answer the Most Frequently Asked Interview Questions ABOUT YOU 1. Tell me about yourself. 2. How would you describe yourself? 3. What is your greatest strength? 4. How will your greatest strength help you perform? 5. What is your greatest weakness? 6. Tell me about something that's not on your resume. 7. How do you handle failure? 8. How do you handle success? 9. Do you consider yourself successful? Why? 10. How do you handle stress and pressure? 11. Describe a typical work week. 12. Are you lucky? 13. Are you nice? 14. Are you willing to fail? 15. Describe your work style. 16. Do you work well with other people? 17. Do you take work home with you? 18. How are you different from the competition? 19. How do you view yourself? Whom do you compare yourself to? 20. How does this job fit in with your career plan? 21. How many hours a week do you normally work? 22. How would you adjust to working for a new company? 23. How would you describe the pace at which you work? 24. How would your co-workers describe your personality? 25. Is there anything else we should know about you? 26. What motivates you? 27. Are you a self-motivator? 28. What do you find are the most difficult decisions to make? 29. What has been the greatest disappointment in your life? 30. What are you passionate about? 31. What are your hobbies? 32. What are your pet peeves? 33. What is your dream job? 34. What will you miss most about your last job? 35. What won’t you miss about your last job? 36. Would you rather be liked or respected? 37. Why should I take a risk on you? 38. If you could relive the last ten years of your life, what would you do differently? LEAVING YOUR JOB 1. Why are you leaving your job? 2. Why do you want to change jobs? 3. Why were you fired? 4. Why were you laid-off? 5. Why did you quit your job? 6. Why did you resign? 7. What have you been doing since your last job? 8. Why have you been out of work so long? SALARY 1. What were your starting and final levels of compensation? 2. What are your salary expectations? 3. What are your salary requirements? 4. Why would you take a job for less money? QUALIFICATIONS 1. What applicable experience do you have? 2. Are you overqualified for this job? 3. How did you impact the bottom line?
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INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR ABILITIES. Sell me this pen. Tell me about your educational background. What can you do better for us than the other candidates for the job? What part of the job will be the least challenging for you? Which parts of this job are the most challenging for you? What philosophy guides your work? What strength will help you the most to succeed? Why are you interested in taking a lower level job? Why are you interested in a non-management job?
JOB PERFORMANCE 1. What do people most often criticize about you? 2. What is the biggest criticism you received from your boss? 3. What is the worst thing that you have ever gotten away with? 4. What makes you angry? 5. What problems have you encountered at work? 6. What strategies would you use to motivate your team? 7. What would you be looking for in an applicant? 8. When was the last time you were angry? What happened? 9. Why weren't you promoted at your last job? 10. Tell me about something you would have done differently at work. 11. If the people who know you were asked why you should be hired, what would they say? 12. What type of work environment do you prefer? 13. How do you evaluate success? 14. Describe a difficult work situation or project and how you overcame it. 15. Describe a time when your workload was heavy and how you handled it. WORK HISTORY 1. QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR WORK HISTORY. 2. QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR RESUME. 3. What were your expectations for the job and to what extent were they met? 4. What were your responsibilities? 5. What major challenges and problems did you face? How did you handle them? 6. What have you learned from your mistakes? 7. What did you like or dislike about your previous job? 8. Which was most / least rewarding? 9. What was the biggest accomplishment/failure in this position? 10. Questions about job demotions. 11. How have you impacted worker safety? 12. Describe the gap in your employment history. 13. Why do you want to change jobs? MANAGEMENT & TEAMWORK 1. Who was your best boss and who was the worst? 2. Describe your ideal boss. 3. If you know your boss is 100% wrong about something how would you handle it? 4. What do you expect from a supervisor? 5. Have you ever had difficulty working with a manager? 6. How did you fit in with the company culture? 7. Describe how you managed a problem employee. 8. Do you prefer to work independently or on a team? 9. Give some examples of teamwork. 10. MORE TEAMWORK INTERVIEW QUESTIONS. 11. What were your expectations for the job and to what extent were they met? WHY YOU SHOULD BE HIRED 1. Why should we hire you? 2. Why shouldn't we hire you? 3. What can you contribute to this company? THE NEW JOB AND THE COMPANY 1. How is our company better than your current employer?
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What interests you about this job? What do you know about this company? Why do you want this job? Why do you want to work here? What challenges are you looking for in a position? What do you see yourself doing within the first 30 days on the job? What can we expect from you in the first 60 days on the job? Are you willing to travel? What is good customer service? What would be your ideal company culture? When could you start work? Is there anything I haven't told you about the job or company that you would like to know?
THE FUTURE 1. Tell me about the trends in your profession and industry. 2. What are you looking for in your next job? What is important to you? 3. What is your professional development plan? 4. Where do you see yourself five years from now? 5. How do you plan to achieve your goals? 6. What will you do if you don't get this position? 7. Where else are you interviewing? THE FINAL QUESTION 1. Do you have any questions for me?