25 Common Job Interview Questions and Answers

Introduction
What are the most 25 common interview questions and answers?

Do you have a job interview coming up? Wouldn’t it be great if you knew exactly what questions a hiring manager would be asking you? The best way to get ready for an interview is to take the time to review the different types of interview questions you will most likely be asked.

Here is a list of more top 25 most common interview questions to help you crack a job interview.

What are the 25 most common interview questions and answers?

Here are a few of the most common interview questions and answers

Tell me about you rself
What are your weakness
Why should we hire you?
Where do you see yourself in five years?
What causes you to get motivated?
What are your great strengths?
Do you have any questions?
Why do you want to figure at this company?
How do you handle stress?
What Are You Passionate About?
Are You Willing to Relocate?
How did you get to know about this position?
Why do you want this job role?
What can you bring to this organization?
Tell me about your most outstanding professional achievement
Tell me about a conflict you’ve faced at the workplace and how you dealt with it
Tell me about a situation/scenario where you demonstrated leadership skills
Tell me about a time you disagreed with a decision at work/workplace
Tell me about your failure
Why are you leaving your current job?
Why do you have a gap in your career?
Tell me about something other than your resume
What are your salary expectations for this job role?
How do you think we can improve as a company?
Any questions for us?

1. Tell me about yourself

One of the basic interview questions, almost every interviewer starts with this question to grasp more about you, but mostly because they determine whether the candidate can introduce himself and needs to grasp that candidate personally.

Your answer should be about two or three minutes long and explain what causes you to unique from others for that job role. Also cover your education details, your areas of interest, your previous job, and work experience.

2. What are your biggest weaknesses?

As a candidate, you need to know that everybody has weaknesses and be an honest person, explain how you overcome your weakness. The interviewer just wants to understand about weakness and the way did you overcome that weakness. While answering this question, always take one in all your weaknesses and switch it into one among your strengths.

Consider this scenario, if a candidate has a fear to present himself before a crowd he can answer like this- “ Sir, I had facing problem presenting myself in front of the crowd during my initial college days. But after joining automation clubs, where we’ve got to manage juniors and address them to perform a specific task. So now I’m confident to present myself in front of a crowd”

3. Why should we hire you?

As probably there are plenty of scholars who are already applied for that job. So you have got to clarity what causes you to differ from others, how passionate that job role and skills fit their requirements.

Sample answer:

Well, as a start, I’ve got all the talent and work experience required for the job. I’ve worked as a Sales Manager for 3+ years. I’ve got worked on numerous client projects. On top of that, I’ve got experience working with tech companies, so I’ll be ready to develop all the product specifics much faster than the opposite candidates.

4. Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

Well, here it comes! One of the most common interview questions asked by interviewers. It would help if you were honest and practical here. The interviewer or the hiring manager here wants to know about the following:

your expectations from your career
your ambition or purpose
if you are on the right track or in sync considering the job role you are interviewing for

As much as it is ok to say you are unsure about how the future unfolds, you must ensure your goals post five years are in sync with the job role you have applied for. Do not speak about your dream to work at some big company like Google or any other company. Keep it simple and just about your career.

Types of Interview Questions

5. What motivates you?

The interviewer asks this question to check your level of self-awareness and wants to know about the sources of motivation that align with the role and company. The answer should be as specific as possible, always provide real-life examples and stick the answer to the job role

Consider asking yourself these inquiries to prepare your answer:

What did a good day at work seem like in your previous role and why?
How did you decide on your profession or field?

Example answer: “Making a real difference to save the lives of my patients and their families motivates me to keep working forward to save lives. I expect forward to seeing my patient’s reactions once we get a positive outcome that will change their lives forever. That’s why I became a nurse and why I’m pursuing a footing in pediatrics.”

6. What are your biggest strengths?

To answer this question, always share your most relevant technical and soft skills. While it should feel uncomfortable to speak highly of yourself, remember that this is often your opportunity to inform your interviewers what causes you to be a good candidate—and they need to listen to it.

To answer, follow the formula below:

Share one to some positive qualities and personal attributes: “I’ve always been a natural leader…”

Back them up with examples: “…I’ve exceeded my XYZs quarterly and are promoted twice within the past three years. I reminisce about those successes and know that I wouldn’t have reached them if I hadn’t built and led teams composed of highly skilled and diverse individuals. I’m happy with my ability to urge cross-functional groups on the identical page…”

Relate them to the role that you’re interviewing: “…I’ve also regularly reviewed my management skills through reviews and candidate sessions with my team, and that I know continuing to make my leadership skills are a few things I need from my next role.”

Top 10 Telephone Interview Questions you need to know

7. Do you have any questions?

This may be one of the foremost important questions asked during the interview process because it allows you to explore any topics that haven’t been addressed and shows the interviewer you’re serious about the role. Remember that you simply are interviewing the corporate too. Take time to ask the interviewer questions about their own experiences with the corporate, gain tips about how you’ll be able to succeed if hired, and address any lingering questions you have got. Some examples include:

What makes one love most about working for this company?
According to you What is success?
Tell me what challenges people typically face during this position?”
How important is it that you just hire someone with XYZ qualities?
Do you have any hesitations about hiring me?

8. Why do you want to work with this company?

Beware of normal answers, If your answer makes you sound like every other candidate then you’re missing a chance to stand out from others. Do some research and point to something that makes the company unique that makes you to; talk about how you have been watching the company’s growth. Point out the opportunities of your future growth in that company and explain how you can contribute company’s growth; or share what’s gotten you excited from your interactions with employees so far. Whatever you say, make sure to be specific and unique. If you can’t find out why you would want to work at the organization you are interviewing with by the time you are well into the hiring process? It might be a bad impression telling you that this position is not the right fit.

9. How do you handle stress?

How you handle stressful situations is an indicator of your ability to resolve problems. Employers want to hire candidates who react to worry constructively, so your answer to the present question must demonstrate personal growth. One of the common interview questions asked especially amidst the pandemic as everyone is juggling multiple things.

Spend a while brooding about how you approach to fret and give an example that communicates your ability to persevere in stressful situations.

Example answer: “I’m ready to stay calm once I specialize in the larger picture and break down my projects into smaller tasks. I always start by asking myself, “What is that the final word goal I’m trying to achieve?” From there, I make a listing of immediate and long-term action items with achievable but ambitious deadlines. Whether or not the large project is due tomorrow, I ask myself, ‘What’s something I can tackle within the next 30 minutes?’ Before I do know it, I’ve made significant progress which impossible project doesn’t seem so impossible.”

10. What Are You Passionate About?

You’re not a robot programmed to try and do your work so power down. You’re an individual, and if someone asks you this question in an interview, it’s probably because they need to induce you to understand you better. The solution can align directly with the sort of work you’d be doing in their role—like if, for instance, you’re applying to be a graphic designer and spend all of your free time creating simulations and data visualizations on social media.

But don’t be afraid to speak about a couple of hobbies that are different from your day-to-day work. Additional points if you’ll be able to “take it one step forward and connect how your passion would cause you to be an excellent candidate for the role you’re applying for,” Like if you’re a software developer who likes to develop code, you would possibly discuss how the flexibleness to be both creative and precise informs your approach to code.

11. Are You Willing to Relocate?

While this might sound sort of a simple yes-or-no question, it’s often a little bit more complicated than that. The only scenario is one where you’re totally receptive to moving and would be willing to try to do so for this chance. But if the answer is no or a minimum of not straight away, you’ll reiterate your enthusiasm for the role, briefly explain why you can’t move at this point, and offer an alternative, like working remotely or out of an area office. Sometimes it’s not as clear-cut, and that’s OK. You’ll be able to remain put for XYZ reasons but would be willing to contemplate relocating for the proper opportunity.

12. How did you get to know about this position?

Another general interview question asked by many interviewers. Although it is a simple question, use this opportunity to pitch to stand out and show interest in the job role and company.

For example, you have found about the job role from your friend or professional contact, do mention their name and position and then share why you are interested in the job role and why you want to join the company. If you applied through a job portal or careers website, do mention that.

13. Why do you want this job role?

This is one of the most common interview questions asked in an interview. Interviewers here would generally like to hear about your passion for your work. Identify a few things that you like about the job role and highlight them, and then share why you love the company.

Example: I like this job role because I get a chance to work with many clients, which allows me to work on customer service and build networks to get more clients/leads.

14. What can you bring to this organization?

When interviewers ask this in an interview, they do not want to know just about your skills and achievements in your previous job roles. They want to know more about how you will face the challenges and adjust to the company’s new culture than your background. Do thorough research about the company and the job role before you attend the interview. Connect your skill and experiences to what the company is looking for while answering this question.

15. Tell me about your most outstanding professional achievement

A lot of people feel shy or hesitate while answering this question; please do not do that. It is what you have achieved through hard work and dedication. One of the best ways to answer this question is using the STAR method – Situation, Task, Action, Results. Set up the situation and explain what you had to do, and give the interviewer the context. Then talk about how you implemented it and about the results.

Example: If you are working as a content marketeer, your task was to write and rank blogs on the first page of SERP. Tell the interviewer about this and the process you followed while writing and optimizing for SEO and your results at last.

16. Tell me about a conflict you’ve faced at the workplace and how you dealt with it

This is a challenging question to answer for many candidates. As the first step, never say you have never had one. Be honest about the conflict you have had, and do not get into too many details like you would with a friend or a partner. Stay calm, keep it professional, and be honest (do not negatively criticize others involved in the conflict). Most interviewers ask this to check your honesty and how you would handle situations. Showcase that you learn from your mistakes and experiences.

17. Tell me about a situation/scenario where you demonstrated leadership skills

This is a tricky question. You do not need to be in a managerial/leadership position or act as a leader to showcase your leadership skills. This can be about an initiative taken, such as solving a problem, suggesting a new idea, and taking the lead in implementation or heading a project. You can again use the STAR method to highlight it effectively. Ensure you say the story clearly and leave no dots unconnected.

18. Tell me about a time you disagreed with a decision at work/workplace

We all have disagreements at work, and it is ok to speak about them openly and honestly; do not be negative about them. An ideal answer would be to say that you have learned disagreements are bound to happen in the professional world, and it is absolutely fine. Then, tell about a scenario where you had one and close it on a high note with your learnings from it. The interviewer here is trying to check your adaptability and collaborative skills.

19. Tell me about your failure

The best way to answer this question is to be honest about your failure or a failed project/experience. It might not be correct if the organization does not give you a chance to fail or has no room for mistakes. You fail only to learn more. Say about an unintentional failure(pretty sure all failures are unintentional), but that was a risky situation and end it on a note telling about your learnings. The key here is how you explain it rather than what mistake you had made. So do not worry about past blunders while explaining.

20. Why are you leaving your current job?

This is one of the common interview questions but is a toughie. You can be sure that almost everyone will ask this. You need to keep things positive here and not take in a negative direction no matter what; you get nothing out of it. Focus more on how eager you are to learn new things from new job roles and why it is the best fit for you.

Example: I have worked majorly in organic marketing for over two years and would like to get into paid marketing and learn more about the same. This job role would be the best fit for me as it helps me learn both organic and paid marketing.

And if you were let go due to covid or restructuring or any other reason, be honest and say you were unfortunate that it happened. Do not stress on it too much unless the interviewer specifically asks you about it.

21. Why do you have a gap in your career?

Career gaps can happen due to various reasons ranging from being fired to maternal/paternal leaves. Amidst the pandemic, many have taken breaks from work due to mental health as well. It is not easy to explain as not every interviewer would have been through what you have been through and vice-versa. So you must make the interviewer feel your story. If the career gap is due to you getting fired or leaving for a professional reason, you can answer similar to the previous question.

If you had to take a break due to pregnancy, mental health, or any other personal issues, be open about it and end it on a positive note. Talk about how these made you learn more but do not get into too much detail if it makes you feel uncomfortable.

22. Tell me about something other than your resume

This is a question asked by hiring managers or interviewers when they want to know you more than your professional career. It is a good sign if they ask this question as they might have had a positive impression from your Resume/CV. Please answer this question in a positive way and tell a story that showcases your personality traits and can add your hobbies to keep it on a lighter note.

23. What are your salary expectations for this job role?

This is one of the most common interview questions asked in an interview, so be prepared and have a clear idea before the interview. Do thorough research on the salaries of job roles that you have applied for. You can use sites like Playschool, Glassdoor to search about the same – basis experience, skills, location, etc.

Coming to quoting salary, keep the following things in mind:

First, request for their budgets or the salary range they have planned for the job role
Always quote a salary range and not a fixed number (like 6 – 8 LPA)
Take the negotiation at the end. Always try to discuss the salary negotiations at last, once you have known all about the job role.

24. How do you think we can improve as a company?

This is one of the most important interview questions, which might make or break many candidates. To answer this question, you need to first know about the organization/company in detail. What do they do? What are their services? Who is the founder? Latest News and a bit about the leadership team. Understanding the business externally will help you answer this question. Give the company good feedback and suggest improvements with some innovative ideas. Constructive feedback takes you a long way ahead of other candidates. Also, please explain why you told these things and ask some questions about the processes they follow to showcase your enthusiasm.

25. Any questions for us?

Another critical question where many candidates say, “Nothing much.” It would be best if you always asked questions. The best way is to ask about their services or the latest projects they have implemented(you will find it on websites or social media for many companies) and ask about them in detail. This will show your enthusiasm towards the job role and your interest in the organization.

How many of these common interview questions you were prepared for? Do let us know in the comments.

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