In a job interview nobody knows exactly what questions an employer might ask a potential candidate. However, in saying that there are trends that appear in every list of ‘most common interview questions’. We have analysed some of these lists and created five different categories of questions. In order to help you get the maximum results in an upcoming job interview we have provided examples of questions and an idea of how you should approach these questions to showcase yourself and your skills in the best possible way.
Informational Questions:
- “Tell me a little bit about yourself.”
- “Why have you decided to leave your current job?”
- “Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?”
These questions are designed to open up an interview, giving the candidate an opportunity to provide a brief background of themselves. It also gives the employer an overview of your ambitions, providing them with insightful information regarding where this role fits in with your own life and your career plans.
This is not to say, however, that you should approach these questions with any less preparation than others. You should phrase your answers as a career pitch; like a story, and this vacancy is the next step that fits in perfectly between the past and the future. It might be beneficial to highlight a few specific achievements that you want the employer to know about, opening up the floor to be asked about those achievements at a later stage of the interview.
Remember, you’re trying to impress. Structure your answers in a way that presents this job as your ideal opportunity but maintain honesty too. You don’t want anything that you said in a moment of panic to come back and haunt you if you end up being offered the position.
Behavioural Questions:
- “Tell me about a challenge or a conflict you have faced at work, and how did you over come it?”
- “Tell me about a time that you did not succeed, how did you deal with the situation?”
- “Give me an example of a time you managed numerous responsibilities, how did this go?”
These questions are implemented in the interview process in order to see how you have dealt with difficult situations in a previous role. An interviewer will generally begin these questions with ‘give me an example..’ or ‘describe…’, The idea behind these sort of questions is to get a sense of what your personal strengths and weaknesses are, as well as how you structure your response to problems.
As these questions appear so frequently people have decided to use an actual method in preparing for the question to make sure that you ace it. It’s known as the STAR Method. It provides a structure for assisting the candidate to tell a meaningful story about previous work experience. The method is clear and concise, it prevents that candidate from going off track and reduces the opportunity to ramble.
S – Set the scene. What information do you require to share to make sure your example is unambiguous.
T – Task. What was your responsibility in this situation?
A – Action. What did you do to overcome the issue and achieve your goal?
R – Result. What was the direct result of your actions?
These questions could alternatively expand to more personal questions. Such as, personality types that you tend to clash with, as well as your own personal view of your strengths and weaknesses. These questions may arise in an interview in order to provide insight into how you might gel with the existing team, and whether the culture of the organisation is a suitable fit for you or not.
Company Related Questions:
- “Where did you hear about the position?”
- “What do you know about the company?”
- “In your opinion, what do you think we could do better or differently?”
In order to find the absolute best candidates, employers may ask interviewees to demonstrate their knowledge about the organisation that you are interviewing for. If you fail to impress at this point of the interview it is more than likely the end of the road for you. If you fail to display knowledge of the company that you are interviewing for, they will question whether you are genuinely interested in the position or not. It also shows that there is an element of carelessness there if a candidate can not be bothered to do a basic research check on the company they are interviewing with.
Hiring managers not only want to see if you are passionate about the company’s brand, but that you are capable to assess their current infrastructure critically and constructively conduct feedback using your one personal knowledge and experience. Typically a start up company will look for creativity in their employees, and would certainly be interested to see how you could contribute to company development from the outset.
Puzzle Questions:
- “How many tennis balls can you fit into a limousine?”
- “How many pennies could you fit in this room?”
- “Why are manholes round?”
We know that that you may think that these questions are a little bit bizarre to be appearing in a job interview, however they do serve a purpose. These questions in particular could be answered a million different ways. With these sort of questions there is no right or wrong answer, the employer is simply looking for an answer that is reached in a logical, and methodical order.
If you state your thought process out load, the interviewer can see how you have decided to approach the problem using existing mathematical abilities, as well as some common sense and general knowledge.
These puzzle like questions are designed to reveal important information about the personality of a candidate. Your approach to the questions along with the ability to think swiftly on your feet says a great deal about your character and can offer vital insights to the employer as to whether you would be up for the day-to-day challenges that are part of the role.
A logical candidate with a steady head may handle the tennis ball question by demonstrating awareness of the measurements needed to perform the calculation, such as the volume of a tennis ball and the dimensions of the limousine.
Whatever way that you decide to tackle this question, maintain composure, display your understanding of maths and problem-solving and use rational logic to show you could come up with a rough methodology to reach an acceptable solution to the puzzle.
Ask Questions:
Always have a few pre-prepared questions up your sleeve to ask the hiring manager when prompted to. This is without doubt the best way to round up your interview. Have a few questions prepared to ask will demonstrate your curiosity, prior research conducted and a genuine desire to find out more about the company and the position. This is a great opportunity to gauge whether this position in this company would be a suitable fit for you. Then, maximise this opportunity to answer any questions you still have by the end of your time with the interviewer.
- “What’s your favourite part about working here?”
- “How would you describe the company culture?”
- “What can you tell me about the company’s plans for growth in the future?”
So now you know some of the most common questions that could appear in your upcoming job interview. If the specific question is not listed above, it is guaranteed to fit into one of those five categories. Prepare to handle questions from each of those angles, be aware of what they want to see from each of your answers. Remember, if you fail to prepare then prepare to fail.