What was your most difficult work experience and how did you deal with it?
This is a great job interview question to talk about how you have overcome a challenge and ended up a winner! You can talk about how you stepped up to a difficult situation and got a good outcome, or how you overcame ... Views: 1499
What was your least favorite part of your last job?
Why does the hiring manager want to know about your least favorite part of your last job? Because they want to find out more about you, and they are hoping to uncover any potential weaknesses or problems before they hire you. What you say ... Views: 1442
What was the last book you read?
It doesn’t matter if the last book you read was an actual paper variety with a spine and real pages or the digital version on your Kindle. If you read on a regular basis, it usually means that you’re someone who’s intelligent, curious, and interested in ... Views: 1554
What type of work environment do you prefer?
The best answer to this job interview question of what work environment do you prefer is the same answer you’d give to “What’s your ideal job?” The correct answer is: “This one.”
Of course, you need to respond with the type of work environment ... Views: 1485
What salary are you looking for?
I hope that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are never to bring up money in the interview, at any time, until they make you an offer—until they say, “yes, you’re the one, let’s come to terms.” Curbing your enthusiasm until then will serve you in ... Views: 1509
What questions do you have for us?
By the end of the job interview, when they ask if you have any questions for them, you probably feel like you’re toast. You’re just done, and you want to go home. That’s the way most people feel, so the most common response to this question is, “I don’t ... Views: 1545
What motivates you?
What’s the one big elephant in the room that MUST be ignored with the motivation question? All together now: “Money.”
As much as the money question is a big part of why you work, employers want to think that you’re also doing this because you love it. And you should ... Views: 1404
What makes you unique?
What are hiring managers really asking in the job interview when they ask about what makes you unique? Well, they don’t want to know about what makes you special on a personal level. They want to know what makes you unique in relation to the job you’re interviewing ... Views: 1395
What kind of money would you be interested in making?
Hiring managers always want to know how much you’re going to cost them, so they will ask the salary question a hundred different ways: “How much did you make at your last job?” “What are your salary expectations?” Or this one, “How much ... Views: 1424
What is your least favorite managerial task?
With this job interview question, they are trying to get a feel for any potential weaknesses you’ll be bringing to the job, without asking directly about your weaknesses. Hiring managers are fully aware that you’ll be ready for the ‘weakness’ ... Views: 1520
What is your ideal job?
In a personality test, this question may not be so easy for you to answer. But in a job interview, it’s one of the easiest questions you’ll be asked.
Question: What’s your ideal job?
Answer: This one.
As far as they are concerned, your ideal job is the ... Views: 1648
What’s Your Greatest Weakness?
“What’s your greatest weakness?” is possibly the most annoying job interview question just because of its sheer ridiculousness…your choices seem to be either to give them an obviously fake weakness (like you’re a perfectionist or you work too hard…ugh!), or a ... Views: 1513
What is good customer service?
This job interview question will generally be asked in interviews for retail or customer service jobs, but there’s really a wide range of jobs that have contact with customers, or people who pay money for a good or service. Engineers, accountants, and ... Views: 1596
What have you learned from your mistakes?
This job interview question is an opportunity for you to show them that you’re a “growth” person…someone who learns from their mistakes and grows from it, developing into a stronger, smarter, better version of yourself.
If you keep it general, you ... Views: 1596
What have you been doing since you got laid off?
I know…this job interview question makes you want to roll your eyes. The painfully obvious answer is, “I’ve been trying to find a new job!” But you can’t say that.
Why would they ask you this question? It turns out, they have several ... Views: 1446
What excites you and scares you about this position?
This is a tough question. I think it sounds like another version of “what are your greatest advantages and disadvantages?” or another way to ask about your strengths and weaknesses. They’re looking to see if you’ll tell them about any ... Views: 1658
What do you wish you’d done better?
When you are asked this question in job interview, please be aware that they are referring to your career, not your life. You could say that you wish you’d hired someone to tile your floor instead of doing it yourself, or that you wish you’d planned your ... Views: 1350
What do you know about this company?
This is a very typical job interview question. Hiring managers want to know if you’ve done your homework. Have you done any company research?
You would be surprised at how many job candidates can’t answer this question. Other candidates get a basic ... Views: 1401
What do you expect from a supervisor?
Be careful when answering this job interview question. There’s a line to walk. They’re looking to see (1) do you understand the general supervisor/employee relationship, (2) will your style match with your potential new boss, and (3) will you take this ... Views: 1388
What do you consider to be your most significant accomplishment?
This is a fantastic job interview question. It sets you up to shine a giant spotlight on yourself as the ideal candidate for this job.
Never, ever answer this question by talking about something you achieved or accomplished ... Views: 1445
What do people most often criticize about you?
Watch out for this question. This is another way to ask, “What’s your greatest weakness?” It is also a fishing expedition to see how well you take criticism. We all have to be open to criticism in order to grow and improve as professionals and ... Views: 1607
What did you like or dislike about your previous jobs?
Asking what you liked or disliked about your previous job sounds like a ‘get-to-know-you’ question, but don’t get too comfortable. This is another way to get at your strengths and weaknesses, and you can trip yourself up. Always ... Views: 1523
What did you earn at your last job?
For most candidates, “What was your salary?” is a very uncomfortable, Too Much Information-kind of a question. But all potential employers are going to ask at some point in the process, usually very early on, sometimes as early as the initial application. ... Views: 1632
What are your workplace values?
Asking about your workplace values is similar to asking “What is your work ethic?” Or, “What are your workplace ethics?” They want to know what kind of person you are. What matters to you?
It’s really an easy question to answer because your answer should ... Views: 1470
What are your salary expectations?
Oh, the dreaded salary question!
The good news is that it doesn’t have to be a big problem for you if you know how to handle it. The primary strategy I teach my job seekers is “Do your research so that you know what the going rate is for that job in your ... Views: 1587
What are your pet peeves?
Why would they ask about your pet peeves in a job interview?
They can actually find out quite a lot about you by what you choose to say when you answer this question: Do you get irritated easily? (How long is your list?) Will you be a good fit for their company ... Views: 1599
What are your least favorite things to do in your role as a XXXX?
This is a slightly different version of, “What did you dislike about your previous job?”
They are trying to find out more about you and how you think. If you are transferring roles in more of a lateral move, your answer ... Views: 1528
What are your hobbies?
Asking about your hobbies and interests seems like an odd interview question, but companies are asking more and more of those ‘personality’ type questions these days in an effort to make sure that you’re going to be a good cultural fit for the organization. And the ... Views: 1533
What are your advantages and disadvantages?
This job interview question is another way to get at what your greatest strengths and weaknesses as a candidate are. But in this particular one, they’d like a list of the pros and cons of hiring you. Don’t let it throw you. It is a beautiful ... Views: 1910
What are some of your greatest and/or proudest accomplishments?
This is a great job interview question, but a lot of people don’t do it or themselves justice when they answer it.
One of the worst mistakes people make is that they will say that their greatest or proudest accomplishment is ... Views: 1419
We are looking for someone with experience…or, You don’t have enough experience—why should we hire you?
If you’re a new graduate, or if you’re switching careers, you might get asked this question, especially early on in the process, like in a phone interview. It is a challenge, but don’t let ... Views: 1508
There’s no right or wrong answer, but if you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?
Let’s see….Lake Tahoe, lying on the beach holding a fruity drink with an umbrella in it, riding my horse through the mountains, at the bank counting the millions of dollars I just won in ... Views: 1741
Tell us about a time that you went against corporate directives. Why? How did it turn out?
I once did a survey of job seekers as part of my mock interview program, asking them to give me actual questions they’ve been asked in job interviews, and this was one of the responses. I almost ... Views: 1481
Tell us about a failed project.
This is a more specific version of “Tell us about a time when you failed.” This is a big behavioral interview question. Why do hiring managers want so badly to ask about your failures? It’s because we’ve all failed at one time or another and how we deal with ... Views: 1618
Tell me your life story (more of your personal history).
Hiring managers want to find out as much as they can about you in the interview. It’s a little bit of a risk management thing. The more they know, the less likely they’ll make a mistake by extending you a job offer. But even if they ... Views: 1497
Tell me about yourself.
Some people think this is an icebreaker question because it’s one of the first questions they ask you in the interview (and because in normal circumstances, it is an icebreaker question). So they answer it like they would in a social situation and say something along ... Views: 1616
Tell me about a time when you had to give someone difficult feedback. How did you handle it?
If you’re interviewing for a management-level job, you will almost certainly be asked this question at some point. Nobody likes to give negative feedback, but if you supervise anyone, it’s a ... Views: 1676
Tell me about a time when you failed.
The key to answering the failure question is that you can’t say you’ve never failed. I know you probably really want to, because you don’t want to be seen in a bad light. But you can’t. And it’s OK.
Everybody fails. If you’ve never failed, it ... Views: 1492
Tell me about a time when you faced a difficult situation with a co-worker.
“Works well with others” is a major skill we’re judged on from kindergarten right on into the workplace. (If only we didn’t get so many ‘opportunities’ to hone that particular skill!) That’s why you get job ... Views: 1535
Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your boss about a way that something should be done. How did you handle that?
You can’t get away with saying, “That’s never happened. I’ve never disagreed with my boss.” Everybody, at some point, has disagreed with a decision the boss made about ... Views: 1671
Situational Response Question: An airplane landed in the parking lot. What would you do?
Most situational interview questions are like behavioral interview questions. They have some direct relation to the job…like, “You are introducing a new policy to the group and facing opposition. How ... Views: 1916
Is there anything I haven’t told you about the company that you’d like to know?
Toward the end of the interview, hiring managers will ask some version of, “Do you have any questions for me?” Your answer is ALWAYS going to be “yes.”
You always want to have a list of questions to ask in ... Views: 1501
If you were a tree, what kind of a tree would you be?
This is definitely a wacky question. Sometimes it’s “what animal would you be?” or even “What fruit would you be?” You might think it’s ridiculous, but you still have to play along, or you’ll upset the interviewer.
They’re asking ... Views: 1739
If you had to choose one, would you consider yourself a big-picture person or a detail-oriented person?
This is a ‘work style’ type of question. But it’s a complicated one. Employers really want both. If you’re a big-picture person, they’d like for you to also be able to handle the ... Views: 3824
If you could relive the last 10 years of your life, what would you do differently?
Hmmm….what would I do differently?
I wouldn’t speed when I was going to get a ticket…
I wouldn’t have invested money in those stocks…
I wouldn’t have bought those shoes…
Maybe those kinds of things ... Views: 1583
If you could be any animal which one would you be and why?
Some hiring managers really like these weird interview questions. Some think it’s going to reveal more about your character, and others just want to know what you really act like when you’re under stress or just thrown a curve ball. ... Views: 1608
If we hire you, what will we know about you a year down the road?
Some candidates might wander off the path they should be on with this question (as many do with “Tell me about yourself”) and start talking about how they’ll know you like football, that you make a mean cheese dip, or that you ... Views: 1689
I noticed that you are applying for a position that is not as senior as your past positions. Why would you consider a job that is, in effect, a demotion for you?
This is a question you might get asked early on in the process, like in a phone interview. If you have a lot of experience, it’s ... Views: 1478
How would you go about establishing your credibility quickly with the team?
The best way to go about establishing credibility with anybody in any situation is to ask really great questions and try to understand the situation before trying to do any kind of magic trick.
(Incidentally, this ... Views: 2833
How would you feel about working for someone who knows less than you?
It’s not ideal to work for someone who does, in fact, know less than you. In fact, it’s kind of aggravating. But typically, they don’t know less than you in all areas. There is usually a reason they are where they are. ... Views: 1502