Interviews have been done since time immemorial. They have evolved over the years even as the world is evolving. Lately, we are seeing a surge in employers interviewing prospective employers via virtual means. You now have to be ready to be interviewed online via platforms like Skype and Zoom. The great thing is that how you should answer certain interview questions remains largely the same. In this article, I am looking at 18 interview questions so that you understand them. The thrust is for you to not just know what to say but to grasp the concepts.
Why This Company?
You are supposed to demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of the company. Your response will show whether or not you did your homework prior. Prepare for this question by having 3 core distinct talking points about the company that appeals to you.
Tell Me About Yourself
Do not make the mistake much make of regurgitating your CV. How well can you briefly and aptly summarize where you have been, where you are and are headed? This is what this question seeks to assess. Remember to cover all the major talking points, precisely and concisely.
Why Should We Hire You?
There are two broad things to cover here – your skills and capacity. You basically have to sell your skillset, the experience you possess, and your drive. You have to do all this clearly and in a compact yet compelling manner.
How Did You Hear About This Role?
This question can literally make you unique given how you respond to it. You can mention things you know about it through your network. It could be that you were conducting some research and it popped up. Probably it was on a job listing platform but why did it stand out to you. Be honest though! Use this question to exhibit that you are not just like any other candidate.
What Are Your Strengths?
These are not just strengths but rather should be strengths relevant to the position you are applying for. If you can highlight about two core strengths that would be great. You are exhibiting why you are the best fit for the job. Explain these strengths in an engaging manner (e.g. use storytelling rather than sounding bookish).
What Are Your Weaknesses?
Do not mention weaknesses that are actually disguised as strengths. For example, my weakness is that I am a workaholic. Many fall for this temptation but that is not the right approach. You must highlight actual weaknesses and also include how you are or intend to work on them.
Tell Me About A Time You Failed
The idea behind this question is that the employer wants to see how you handle failure. They want to see if you admit that you have failed before. They want to then see how you dealt with that failure. They then want to see whether or not you can learn and be better from a failure. You can demonstrate that using two distinct personal accounts from your life.
Why Are You Leaving Your Job?
This is not an opportunity for your former employer. Rather you have to drive the narrative that you feel the new employer fits with your goals. For example, you can highlight your career goals and how your prospective employer is the perfect fit for them.
What Would Your Prior Boss Say About You?
This is an opportunity to cover strengths about your person. It is important, to be honest though. You can highlight stuff like your consistency, tenacity, and work ethic, amongst others.
Where Do You See Yourself In 10 Years?
The employer wants to see what your aspirations are and whether or not they align with them. Essentially an employer would want a scenario where your aspirations create a symbiotic relationship between you and them.
How Do You Handle Stress?
We all get stressed at times; do not sound macho by saying you never get stressed. Recount scenarios where you have been stressed but still emerged triumphant. Ideally, you want to demonstrate your stress relief techniques using examples from your own life. If you can highlight two distinct techniques, that would suffice.
What Is Your Leadership Style?
Leadership is mostly inevitable and comes in many shapes and forms. It would be great to answer this question using real-life examples from your life. These would be times when you played the leading role and how you handled it. The crux will be to demonstrate how you approach leadership.
What Are You Motivated By?
This is quite open-ended but does not mention subjective things. An example of a subjective thing is money. Objectives things to talk about here would be family, community, and the like. As in, the pursuit to make life better for them motivates you.
What Would You Do In The First 100 Days On The Job?
This is to show how prepared and knowledgeable you are. You have to demonstrate that you are a strategic planner who is full of objective initiative. You also have to demonstrate how ready you are to learn and acquire new knowledge. This will show how open and humble you are to learning new things.
How Do You Manage Conflict At Work?
You again have to use examples from your personal life. You should highlight times you encountered conflict, how you dealt with it, and the insights you draw from the experiences. Recounting two separate incidents when this happened would do.
What Other Hobbies Or Interests Do You Have?
The employer wants to have a sneak into your life outside work. Show your uniqueness, be authentic and honest. Your hobbies and interests can later open unexpected doors for you.
Is There Anything Else We Should Know About You?
You probably might not have anything to say but do not say you have nothing to say. You can briefly do an overview of why you are delighted to have been given this opportunity. You can even include important things you could have accidentally left out from previous questions.
What Questions Do You Have For Me?
You can literally ask anything but do not be careless. You can ask questions about the company’s current projects or ventures that they are excited about. This question can also be an opportunity to show how good you are at striking a good impromptu conversation.
These 18 questions should sufficiently prepare you for any job interview. You will even find that most interviews might not even entail this many questions. All the best in your job hunting pursuits!
