Job Interview

Job Interview? Explore 35 Most Popular Job Interview Questions

Published by

Catherine Adenle

Job search in itself is stressful but after countless job applications, the day the good news arrives that you’ve been called for an interview, the first feeling is that of utmost delight. However, this is quickly followed by paralysing stress over the whole interview process and the questions you may be asked. Here, we have given you a helping hand by preparing the list of 35 most popular job interview questions for you to explore.

Although the prospect of a new job is exciting, for a job seeker, the process required to ace the interview and land the new job can be fraught with a great deal of anxiety.

Compared to other anxiety-inducing issues, attending a job interview is considered to be one of the most critical aspects of every expedition that brings a job seeker face-to-face with a future employer.

Job interviews don’t have to be as stressful as you consider them to be. As a job seeker, by preparing yourself for a job interview, you should be able to manage most of the events which take place during the interview.

The key things to do are – prepare, plan and practice for any job interview by knowing and practising the best answers to these 35 most popular job interview questions as shown below.

First, let’s explore the basic job interview preparation work:

Basic job interview preparation work

In preparation for an interview you should:

Read the company’s website. Be sure to look at their corporate site as well to read up on the business. The more you know about them, the better prepared you’ll be.
Get clued up on their products, services and processes.
Read the job description again and your CV. Have a clear idea of what the job calls for, think about how your skills relate to the job and how to demonstrate you’re the skills on the day using the CAR or STAR method.

See Know Your Skills: They Are Your Prime Selling Points

Give your cover letter another glance; it should refresh your memory about the experience and skills you can further elaborate on during the interview.
Read trade publication news for the industry. Know what is in trend and be aware of any technological advancement.
Visit the organization beforehand. Do a test run of how long is going to take you to get there on the day of the interview. The chances are you’ve never been to the location before, so plan it well in advance. Check your journey and leave with plenty of time to spare, better to be early than late.
Pick smart, appropriate clothes in readiness. A messy appearance is the easiest first mistake to make.
Prepare answers to these 35 most popular job interview questions for job seekers. It’s always a good idea to have some answers to frequently asked job interview questions ready.

See Danger Sign Job Interview Questions (Infographic) and Turn the Tables During a Job Interview: Ask Clever Questions

35 most popular job interview questions to prepare answers for:

1. Tell me about yourself.
2. Can you talk me through your resume/CV?
3. What do you know about our organization?
4. Why do you want to work for us?
5. What specific goals, including those related to this role, have you established in the past?
6. What can you do for us that someone else can’t?
7. What do you find most attractive about this position? What is the least attractive?
8. Why should we hire you?
9. What do you look for in a job?
10. Can you describe back to me the position for which you are being interviewed?
11. What do you think it takes to be successful in this role?
12. How long would it take you to make a meaningful contribution to our organisation if you are hired?
13. Which is more important to you, the job itself, the company or your salary?
14. How do you determine success? Give me an example of one of your successful accomplishments in the past.
15. What has been your most rewarding career accomplishment to date?
16. Are you more energized by working with data or by collaborating with others?
17. Why are you leaving your present job?
18. Describe the type of boss that has created the most beneficial working experience for you.
19. How would you describe yourself in terms of your ability to work as a member of an already established team?
20. What motivates you to put forward your greatest effort?
21. Given the investment we will make in hiring and training you, can you give us further reasons to hire you?
22. How would your current colleagues and manager describe you?
23. In your current position, what did you like the most? And the least?
24. What do you think of your manager?
25. What is your salary expectation?
26. Give me a specific example of a time when you used good judgment and logic in solving a problem
27. Would you say that you can easily work in high-pressure situations?
28. What quality or attribute do you feel will most contribute to your career success in this role?
29. What personal weakness has caused you the greatest difficulty in your previous job?
30. If you could change or improve anything about you, what would it be?
31. Have you ever had difficulty with a supervisor or instructor? How did you resolve the conflict?
32. Tell me about a major problem you recently handled. Were you successful in resolving it?
33. Where do you expect to be in five years?
34. Describe an instance when you had to think on your feet to extricate yourself from a difficult situation.
35. Have you got anything you’d like to ask us?

See How to Answer 23 of The Most Common Interview Questions

Now, let’s explore other questions that you may be asked if you apply for a managerial role:

Other questions for a managerial role

What is your management style?
Can you give me some examples to demonstrate that you are a good manager?
Do you feel that you have top managerial potential?
What do you look for when you hire people?
Have you ever had to fire people? If so, what were the reasons, and how did you handle the situation?
What do you think is the most difficult thing about being a manager?
What important trends do you see in our industry?
How would you evaluate your ability to deal with conflict?
By providing examples, can you convince me that you can adapt to a wide variety of people, situations and environments?
How do you deal with change?

Answering interview questions well can be a “make or break” your opportunity of a dream job. Knowing the questions that the interviewer is likely to ask is important but knowing why they are asking and how to answer will help you to ace your job interview.

Let’s hear from you if you have more questions to add to the list of 35 most popular job interview questions shown above. Just add your comment below.

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Catherine Adenle

Founder at Catherine's Career Corner

Founder, Catherine's Career Corner. The career site empowering and inspiring ambitious candidates of all ages and professions to thrive and work smarter on their careers. Gladly helping all career-minded people worldwide to explore their career, manage change and understand how new technologies are changing and enhancing the future of work.