Be Prepared to Answer These 15 Interview Questions

Interviews can be tough, but not if you are prepared with what you need to say. Sometimes you can get a lot of anxiety based on what’s about to happen, and you start to overthink about all the negative possibilities of the interaction. You start to build it up in your head and feel like you’re getting lost in the process.

This is the perfect time to calm down, think about it from a third-person perspective and focus on preparing these 15 interview questions.  Let 2018 be the year of progress and career development, so that you can prosper in the areas that you want to –

“Tell Me About Yourself…”

Isn’t this the most daunting question in the history of interviews? When a recruiter asks you to describe yourself, its difficult to answer this question with correct sentence structuring. Sometimes they’re looking for how you perform under-pressure, other times they are just creating a conversation. It depends on how the question is phrased to you and how well you can tackle the answer.

This is the perfect time to practise first impressions!

“Why do you want to work for us?”

This is another feeler question. A gut-check, if you will. But this one’s fairly easy to answer. You know why you’re there, and you’ve read the job description. Now its time to take control and answer the question in the most precise manner possible.

“How did you hear about us?”

This is a simple enough question but if you do happen to know someone that works here, you should name-drop. This will help establish context and create a universal language around corporate culture, work ethic, etc.

“Tell me about your resume…”

This one’s an easy breeze, but because your resume stays standard across all applications, you need to find a way to customize it to them. You can start by how you started working where you are and why you want to leave. Following that you can talk about how your skills can fit into their organization.

“Why do you want to look for a new job?”

You don’t want to bash your existing job, but you want to appear calm under pressure. You can talk about new opportunities, travelling, management options, etc in the new job to make the new one more appealing than the old one. All the while you’re talking, you want to appear as composed as possible.

“Why should this company hire you?”

This is another tricky question, but one that deals with your abilities of empathy. How well can you empathize with the recruiter and how best can you add value to the organization. A selfish person would talk about themselves, but a truly empathetic person would focus on how they can add value to the organization. That’s important to note.

“Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”

Another interesting one, but something that’s been tried and tested for many generations of recruiters. This is an easy one, but if you get this wrong then you could lose the job. The correct answer to this question is all about your levels of ambition.

If they’re looking for a team-player, then you can focus on building the size of the company. If they are looking for a self-starter, you can focus on revenue goals and entrepreneurial management qualities.

“Tell us about a conflict you faced at work and how you handled it…”

If you genuinely haven’t faced a conflict a work (which could be a good thing), you can change the way that you answer the question. You can reframe it towards a learning-perspective and talk about how you learned from the experience that you had and not about the storytelling aspect of it all.

“What is your dream job?”

This is another gut-check about your personality trait. It’s a great way to also understand whether you’re going to be a part of the corporate culture there.

Unless you answer honestly and with a bit of personality, the answer could mislead them into thinking that you’re not creative enough. You could also focus on being revenue-minded and that could be another great approach.

“What do you expect from your co-workers/teams?”

You can show your true personality and be honest about your initial stress about getting to know everyone. You can quickly switch over to how you can understand their strengths and weaknesses and capitalizing on their abilities.

“What do you expect from your boss?”

You’d like a boss that was honest and focused on building the business further. You don’t want a boss that’s a people-pleaser, or someone who doesn’t want to focus on the organization’s overall goals. Ideally, your boss should be an aspirational figure and an industry vet.

“How do you deal with stressful situations?”

You can talk about previous examples of stressful situations and how those have crystallized your approach towards stress. Stress can be a good thing and not all conflict arises from a place of disparity. Sometimes conflict is necessary, and stress is just a good indicator to have that conflict in the first place.

“What would the first 30-days be like in this position?”

Your first 30-days should be goal oriented and be about getting to know everyone. You can talk about how you’ll set up meetings and get to know everyone in the company, and about how you’re going to look forward to being mentored.

“What are your salary expectations?”

Talk about the market, about how your industry is, and what perks are available. Be honest about your figure but give them a range to work with. Remember to price yourself slightly higher than you did previously.

“Do you have any questions?”

The answer should always be – YES! And you can ask them about soft-areas like culture, work hours, schedule, office team size, etc. Remember who you’re talking to and ask the appropriate questions from them.

Conclusion

Don’t be an anxious-ball rolled up into stress. Be open and free and talk about how you’re going to focus on the work that needs to be done. Be courteous and humble.