When you get invited to an interview, you have an amazing opportunity for impressing the hiring manager and ensuring you’re given an offer for that job you’ve applied for. Although there’s no guarantee about what questions you’ll be asked during the interview, there are a bunch of questions that tend to come up time after time in interviews. When it comes to interview preparation, having answers for these on hand is one of the best ways to ensure you’re not caught off guard.
We’ve rounded up the most common interview questions as well as some pointers on how you should go about answering them:
7 answers to help you with interview preparation
Question: Tell us more about yourself
Insider tip: This is an opportunity to showcase your strengths. Start the answer by giving the recruiter a quick overview of the job you’re currently doing. Next, rung through the jobs you’ve held up till now in your career. Don’t dish out too much detail though; the HR manager will ask you to elaborate on certain areas if they need more information.
Question: Highlight some of your strengths.
Insider tip: This is where you’ll have to explain what you’re good at doing and why you feel like you’re the right fit for the job. What are three attributes that you have which are most important for the job? Name them and then explain why they would be strengths in a work environment. You’re going to want to ensure you’re explaining how each of your strengths relates to the job you’re applying for.
Question: Can you elaborate on some of your weaknesses?
Insider tip: This is a tough one to answer, but if you explain your weaknesses and how you’ve managed to overcome them or learn from them, you’re providing the hiring manager with information they’re really craving. At the end of the day, your explanation should show the recruiter how your weaknesses and the process of overcoming them have helped strengthen your skills.
Question: Do you have any specific professional goals?
Insider tip: This question should be answered with regards to your short-term as well as your long-term vision, so go ahead and tell the interviewer about the job that you’d love to do in the future and how you plan on getting there.
Question: Why should we hire you?
Insider tip: “Because I’m awesome” is NOT the right answer. You’re going to want to elaborate on your skills. Talk about how your attributes match the job description. And mention how your experiences make you an ideal fit for the position in mind. Make sure that you’ve checked the job description before going for the interview. Use some of the ad’s phrases in your answer, if they are relevant.
Question: Why do you want to work here?
Insider tip: Again, giving an answer such as “because the pay is great!” isn’t going to do you any favors. The interviewer is looking for you to spell out how your skills, your experiences, and your attributes match the requirements they had for the job. You’re going to want to deliver a powerful answer here. It also needs to be delivered in a way that leaves the interviewer with a clear reason why you want to work for their organization.
Question: What kind of salary are you looking at?
Insider tip: This requires some research. To help you come up with a reasonable answer for this question, make sure you compare the values of other people that have the same skills and experience as you. If there was any mention of a salary in the job ad, mention it. Then state that you’re looking for roughly the same amount. A good way to answer this is also in this blog post by The Interviewer about whether or not to talk about your previous salary.