While some job interviewers take a fairly unusual approach to interview questions, most job interviews involve an exchange of common interview questions and answers. (Including some of the most often-asked behavioral interview questions.) Here are some of the most common interview questions, along with the best way to answer them:

1. "Tell me a little about yourself."

If you're the interviewer, there's a lot you should already know: The candidate's resume and cover letter should tell you plenty, and LinkedIn and Twitter and Facebook and Google can tell you more.

The goal of an interview is to determine whether the candidate will be outstanding in the job, and that means evaluating the skills and attitude required for that job. Does she need to be an empathetic leader? Ask about that. Does she need to take your company public? Ask about that.

If you're the candidate, talk about why you took certain jobs. Explain why you left. Explain why you chose a certain school. Share why you decided to go to grad school. Discuss why you took a year off to backpack through Europe, and what you got out of the experience.

When you answer this question, connect the dots on your resume so the interviewer understands not just what you've done, but also why.

2. "What are your biggest weaknesses?"

Every candidate knows how to answer this question: Just pick a theoretical weakness and magically transform that flaw into a strength in disguise!


So your "biggest weakness" is that you'll put in more hours than everyone else? Great...

A better approach is to choose an actual weakness, but one you're working to improve. Share what you're doing to overcome that weakness. No one is perfect, but showing you're willing to honestly self-assess and then seek ways to improve comes pretty darned close.

3. "What are your biggest strengths?"

I'm not sure why interviewers ask this question; your resume and experience should make your strengths readily apparent.


In short, don't just claim to have certain attributes -- prove you have those attributes.

4. "Where do you see yourself in five years?"






5. "Out of all the other candidates, why should we hire you?"

Since a candidate cannot compare himself with people he doesn't know, all he can do is describe his incredible passion and desire and commitment and ... well, basically beg for the job. (Way too many interviewers ask the question and then sit back, arms folded, as if to say, "Go ahead. I'm listening. Try to convince me.")

And you learn nothing of substance.

Here's a better question: "What do you feel I need to know that we haven't discussed?" Or even "If you could get a do-over on one of my questions, how would you answer it now?"


Plus, think of it this way: Your goal as an interviewer is to learn as much as you possibly can about every candidate, so don't you want to give them the chance to ensure you do?

Just make sure to turn this part of the interview into a conversation, not a soliloquy. Don't just passively listen and then say, "Thanks. We'll be in touch." Ask follow-up questions. Ask for examples.

And of course if you're asked this question ... use it as a chance to highlight things you haven't been able to touch on.

6. "How did you learn about the opening?"






7. "Why do you want this job?"

Now go deeper. Don't just talk about why the company would be great to work for; talk about how the position is a perfect fit for what you hope to accomplish, both short-term and long-term.

And if you don't know why the position is a perfect fit ... look somewhere else. Life is too short.

8. "What do you consider to be your biggest professional achievement?"

Here's an interview question that definitely requires an answer relevant to the job. If you say your biggest achievement was improving throughput by 18 percent in six months but you're interviewing for a leadership role in human resources ... that answer is interesting but ultimately irrelevant.

Instead, talk about an underperforming employee you "rescued," or how you overcame infighting between departments, or how so many of your direct reports have been promoted....

The goal is to share achievements that let the interviewer imagine you in the position -- and see you succeeding.

9. "Tell me about the last time a co-worker or customer got angry with you. What happened?"

Conflict is inevitable when a company works hard to get things done. Mistakes happen. Sure, strengths come to the fore, but weaknesses also rear their heads. And that's OK. No one is perfect.

But a person who tends to push the blame -- and the responsibility for rectifying the situation -- onto someone else is a candidate to avoid. Hiring managers would much rather choose candidates who focus not on blame but on addressing and fixing the problem.

Every business needs employees who willingly admit when they are wrong, step up to take ownership for fixing the problem, and, most important, learn from the experience.

10. "Describe your dream job."



And don't be afraid to admit that you might someday move on, whether to join another company or -- better -- to start your own business. Employers no longer expect "forever" employees.

11. "Why do you want to leave your current job?"

Let's start with what you shouldn't say (or, if you're the interviewer, what are definite red flags).

Don't talk about how your boss is difficult. Don't talk about how you can't get along with other employees. Don't bad-mouth your company.

Instead, focus on the positives a move will bring. Talk about what you want to achieve. Talk about what you want to learn. Talk about ways you want to grow, about things you want to accomplish; explain how a move will be great for you and for your new company.

Complaining about your current employer is a little like people who gossip: If you're willing to speak badly of someone else, you'll probably do the same to me.

12. "What kind of work environment do you like best?"

Maybe you love working alone ... but if the job you're interviewing for is in a call center, that answer will do you no good.


Find ways to highlight how the company's environment will work well for you -- and if you can't find ways, don't take the job, because you'll be miserable.


The goal of this question is to evaluate the candidate's reasoning ability, problem-solving skills, judgment, and possibly even willingness to take intelligent risks.

Having no answer is a definite warning sign. Everyone makes tough decisions, regardless of their position. My daughter worked part-time as a server at a local restaurant and made difficult decisions all the time -- like the best way to deal with a regular customer whose behavior constituted borderline harassment.

A good answer proves you can make a difficult analytical or reasoning-based decision -- for example, wading through reams of data to determine the best solution to a problem.

A great answer proves you can make a difficult interpersonal decision, or better yet a difficult data-driven decision that includes interpersonal considerations and ramifications.


14. "What is your leadership style?"

This is a tough question to answer without dipping into platitudes. Try sharing leadership examples instead. Say, "The best way for me to answer that is to give you a few examples of leadership challenges I've faced," and then share situations where you dealt with a problem, motivated a team, worked through a crisis. Explain what you did and that will give the interviewer a great sense of how you lead.


15. "Tell me about a time you disagreed with a decision. What did you do?"

No one agrees with every decision. Disagreements are fine; it's what you do when you disagree that matters. (We all know people who love to have the "meeting after the meeting," where they've supported a decision in the meeting but they then go out and undermine it.)

Show that you were professional. Show that you raised your concerns in a productive way. If you have an example that proves you can effect change, great -- and if you don't, show that you can support a decision even though you think it's wrong (as long as it's not unethical, immoral, etc.).

Every company wants employees willing to be honest and forthright, to share concerns and issues ... but to also get behind a decision and support it as if they agreed, even if they didn't.

16. "Tell me how you think other people would describe you."



Can't beat that.

17. "What can we expect from you in your first three months?"


But if you're asked, use this general framework:



18. "What do you like to do outside of work?"

Many companies feel cultural fit is extremely important, and they use outside interests as a way to determine how you will fit into a team.


19. "What was your salary in your last job?"

This is a tough one. You want to be open and honest, but frankly, some companies ask the question as the opening move in salary negotiations.

Try an approach recommended by Liz Ryan. When asked, say, "I'm focusing on jobs in the $50K range. Is this position in that range?" (Frankly, you should already know -- but this is a good way to deflect.)

Maybe the interviewer will answer; maybe she won't. If she presses you for an answer, you'll have to decide whether you want to share or demur. Ultimately your answer won't matter too much, because you'll either accept the salary offered or you won't, depending on what you think is fair.

20. "A snail is at the bottom of a 30-foot well. Each day he climbs up three feet, but at night he slips back two feet. How many days will it take him to climb out of the well?"

Questions like these have become a lot more popular (thanks, Google) in recent years. The interviewer isn't necessarily looking for the right answer but instead a little insight into your reasoning abilities.

All you can do is talk through your logic as you try to solve the problem. Don't be afraid to laugh at yourself if you get it wrong -- sometimes the interviewer is merely trying to assess how you deal with failure.

21. "What questions do you have for me?"


Here goes:

22. "What do you expect me to accomplish in the first 90 days?"

If you weren't asked this question, ask it yourself. Why? Great candidates want to hit the ground running. They don't want to spend weeks or months "getting to know the organization." They don't want to spend huge chunks of time in orientation, in training, or in the futile pursuit of getting their feet wet.

They want to make a difference -- and they want to make that difference right now.

23. "If you were to rank them, what are the three traits your top performers have in common?"


Great candidates want to know, because (1) they want to know if they will fit in, and (2) if they do fit in, they want to know how they can be a top performer.

24. "What really drives results in this job?"

Employees are investments, and you expect every employee to generate a positive return on his or her salary. (Otherwise why do you have them on the payroll?)

In every job some activities make a bigger difference than others. You need your HR team to fill job openings, but what you really want is for them to find the right candidates, because that results in higher retention rates, lower training costs, and better overall productivity.

You need your service techs to perform effective repairs, but what you really want is for those techs to identify ways to solve problems and provide other benefits -- in short, to build customer relationships and even generate additional sales.

Great candidates want to know what truly makes a difference and drives results, because they know helping the company succeed means they will succeed as well.

25. "What are the company's highest-priority goals this year, and how would my role contribute?"

Is the job the candidate will fill important? Does that job matter?

Great candidates want a job with meaning, with a larger purpose -- and they want to work with people who approach their jobs the same way.

Otherwise a job is just a job.

26. "What percentage of employees was brought in by current employees?"

Employees who love their jobs naturally recommend their company to their friends and peers. The same is true for people in leadership positions -- people naturally try to bring on board talented people they previously worked with. They've built relationships, developed trust, and shown a level of competence that made someone go out of their way to follow them to a new organization.

And all of that speaks incredibly well to the quality of the workplace and the culture.

27. "What do you plan to do if...?"





Published on: Jun 20, 2016