Interview Questions You Should Be Prepared to Answer

Job interviews can always be nerve wrecking, BUT a little prep will take you a long way to settling your nerves. Remember, you don’t interview everyday so it is expected that you would be a little rusty when talking with a stranger about how great you are.

Luckily, you have LOTS of resources with a simple google search to prep you for lots of interview types of questions but below are a few of the most common ones. I recommend saying OUT LOUD your responses to the following questions until the roll off your tongue. Or, even better, give me a call and I will walk you through specific questions you are likely to be asked based on the role and job type.

1. Tell me about yourself?

Most interviews start with this question, and how you answer it will make your first impression. The best way to prepare for this question is to prepare an elevator pitch about who you are. Give about 2-3 sentences about you, your career path, and how you ended up in this interview, applying for this job.  You don’t need to be too detailed, there are plenty of more questions coming. You just want to leave enough curiosity that the interview becomes excited to learn more about you throughout the interview.

2. Why do you want to work for [company]? or What appeals to you about working for this company?

When a hiring manager asks this question, not only do that want to know why you want to work for them, but they also want to know what you know about the company.  This question tests how well you know what the company does and how passionate you are about the work they do–so make sure you know the company well and can speak truthfully about your desires to work there.

When asked this during an interview, don’t just say you saw the job on a website. Go into detail about why you love the company and what motivates you to want to work there. Moreover, if you have a personal connection at the company, this would be a good time to mention their name!

4. Tell me about [the most interesting or most relevant thing] on your resume.

If I created your resume, you will likely be asked about the stand out highlights I’ve purposefully called out or the first bullet of your professional experience section of your resume. :) If, I did not create your resume, you should predict what a recruiter or hiring manager will likely see as the most relevant thing to the job and be prepared to proudly talk about it the challenge that presented itself, .

5. How did you handle a difficult customer or experience? or If one of our clients or customers becomes angry, what steps might you take to provide them with the best possible service?

Every job circumstance is different, but ever job circumstance has the high likelihood of needing to deal with an angry customer, team member, or vendor. That is why this question will likely be asked and should be answered in a way that demonstrates understanding, patient, and the ability to relate to other.

6. Why are you looking for a job? Or, a different job?

This question is a way interviewers weed out the people who are either a) just looking for any job b) were fired from their last position or c) might not intend on sticking around for too long. Think about why you are looking for a job: did you just graduate? Are you passionate about switching career paths and pursuing new ventures? Focus on the positives and your passion or skill alignment to the new job.

If you are currently working somewhere, you should also be prepared to answer, “why do you want to leave your current job for this one?”

7. Why should we hire you?

When asked this question, keep in mind that the recruiter is looking to hear what skills you have that you’re going to bring to the team. Don’t give a vague answer, such as, “I’m friendly and a hard worker.” Instead, be specific, summarize your work history and specific achievements, and use numbers when possible. Say how many years of experience you have or name some of the accomplishments you made. The more specific you can be about what your skills are and how valuable of an employee you are, the better the interviewer will be able to picture you working there.

This can seem like a heavy question during an interview, but keep in mind that you’re in an interview setting–so you don’t need to go into all the details about what your personal life goals are for the next five years. Focus on your career goals and be realistic. 

8. Where do you see yourself in five years? or What can our company do to give you a career-building experience?

If you plan to work at this company for five years, make sure you understand what potential career growth there is. The hiring manager asks this questions to find out if you set realistic goals, if you are ambitious, and to confirm that the position you are interviewing for aligns with these goals and growth.

If this position isn’t exactly a job with a lot of future opportunity, you can simply answer this by noting that you are not certain what your future is going to look like, but that you believe this position is going to help you navigate yourself in the right direction.

9. What do you expect out of your team/co-workers/manager?

This question is meant to understand how you work on a team and whether you will be the right cultural fit for the company. To prepare for this answer, make sure you research the company ahead of time. You can always tell a little bit about a what a company’s culture is like by looking through their social media profiles or reading their reviews on Glassdoor. The hiring manager is looking to understand what kind of employee you would be and whether you will be a good fit to add to their team. In some interviews, your future manager might be interviewing you. Answer this question as honest as possible and pull examples from your current manager if you can show how they positively help you work better.

10. What questions do you have for me?

The last question you will always be asked during an interview is whether or not you have any questions for the interviewer. This is your chance to really stand out–so don’t blow it by saying you don’t. Even if you don’t have any questions–there’s always a question you can ask at the end of an interview.

Refer to my “Questions to Ask in an Interview” guide so that, you are prepared for this question. Recruiters say that actually enjoy getting to answer some questions at the end of an interview–they did just listen to you talk about themselves, so ask about them for a change. Once this part is over, you can rest easy and walk out of the interview knowing you aced it!