6 questions you’re likely to hear at your next job interview

The interview process for a new work position can be a stressful experience. It’s nerve-wracking deciding what you should wear, let alone thinking about what questions your interviewer will ask.

However, most interviews contain similar enquiries. If you study these questions and think about how you’ll answer them, your confidence will shine through in your replies.

Here are six of the most common questions you can expect to hear at your next interview.

1. Can you tell me what you know about this company?

Most managers are interested in knowing if you’ve done your homework on the company and can give some background knowledge if asked.

Answering this question with factual information shows the interviewer that you’re serious about the company and the position. Taking extra time to research the company illustrates your work ethic and attention to detail, both of which will make you an ideal candidate.

2. What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?

When you’re prepping for your interview, ask yourself what your strengths and weaknesses are. 

For strengths, pick something that you’re good at and have a few examples ready to impress the interviewer. Make sure your strength choice encompasses a skill you’ll be using as part of the job you’re applying for. For instance, if you’re trying to get a job as a sales representative, show that you know how the sales process works.

Listing strengths may be easy for you, but no one wants to admit that they’re bad at anything. However, it’s in your best interest to think about something you don’t excel at and find a way to remedy that weakness.

For example, assume your weakness is focusing too much on a project’s details. Your way of fixing this issue may be to create checkpoints, which will be the only times you allow yourself to evaluate the project’s quality. This process will ensure that you don’t concentrate on specific details for too long, resulting in wasted time.

It’s helpful to show your future employer that you’re not just aware of your weaknesses, but actively working to resolve them.

3. Why are you leaving your present job?

You’re probably leaving your job because you don’t like it for one reason or another. However, don’t tell the interviewer that!

There has to be a more significant reason that you applied for this particular job. Focus on the positives of this new position rather than the negatives of your current job.

4. How did you hear about this position?

Interviewers want to know not only where you found the listing for the job, but they also want to know why you chose to apply for this particular job. It doesn’t matter if you found the position from a career fair, word-of-mouth or job board; instead, you should tell the interviewer what drove you to apply.

Did you search for a specific type of work? Did you look specifically for an opening within this company? Most employers aspire to hire people who want to work for their company. Express that you want to be part of the company regardless of how you found out about the position.

5. Describe a time you surpassed your work goals.

Managers want to know whether you can set goals and meet those goals, going above and beyond if the task requires. Think about a job you were given and explain what the task’s expectations were. Describe how you did more than what was asked of you and why you decided to think outside of the box for this particular project. 

6. Do you have any questions for me?

Never walk out of an interview without asking some questions. Prepare ideas to ask about before your interview so your mind doesn’t go blank.

However, you may think of other questions during the interview process itself. Don’t hold back on asking those, either.

 Try to focus on questions that show you’re interested in the position. You’ll want to know such things as if there’s a probationary period, what’s expected in the first few weeks and how the training works.

Being prepared for an interview is half of the battle. If you think about how you’ll address possible questions before your interview, you’ll feel relaxed and confident during the process.

Featured image courtesy of Unsplash