I’ve written about the types of interview questions that are likely to show up during interviews and how to prepare for each of them. In this post, I’m going to share ways to answer the most frequently asked interview questions so you provide compelling information about your skills and alignment. I’m also going to share strategies for turning a banal answer into a high-quality answer because, to be honest, many of the frequently asked questions are very basic and don’t give you a lot to work with.
A note about how I’ve sourced these questions: people will sometimes reach out and share interview questions with me but I also spent 8+ years conducting first-round interviews with entry-level to senior management candidates on a panel. We were hiring for government roles, which means that we used the same questions with each applicant for that particular job. So I have a lot of experience hearing how people respond to the same question and sorting out why one answer was better than another.
And I’ve seen how a strong candidate can provide very strong answers to weak questions and really set themselves apart. (I have a great example of this that I’d share except what happens during the hiring process is…confidential…)
As you’re preparing for an interview and thinking about what questions you might be asked, the old advice was to read the job description. That’s still the case but now I’d add “read the job description alongside our new friend AI.” AI has definitely changed the game in terms of developing questions from job descriptions – your interviewers are doing it and so should you! (It’s a skill that AI is particularly good at.)
While most of the questions you’ll be asked will be influenced by the job description, there are also traditional questions that have been asked since the dawn of time. Some of them, in my opinion, should be shelved because they elicit boring or canned responses; everyone knows they might be asked and many craft perfect answers to dodge them. Even though they’re ubiquitous, I routinely hear people bomb these exact questions during the interview.
Because these questions are likely to come up in interviews, I’m going to share strategies for answering them as well as suggestions for taking them up a notch to make your answer a high-impact answer, even if the question you’re asked is not a high-impact question.
I also want to think about how you can spin your experience so that you can nimbly respond to many different types of questions with a range of prepared anecdotes. This way you don’t have to be thrown if you get an unexpected question; instead, you can think about how it’s similar to what you prepared and go from there. And it means you can get your talking points across in an interview. Hopefully, you’ll not only feel more confident in your next interview but these strategies will help you stand out during the interview process.
TOC: Frequently Asked Interview Questions
- “So, tell me about yourself.”
- “Why are you applying to this job?” or “Why are you applying to our organization specifically?”
- “Why should we hire you?”
- “Why are you leaving your current job?”
- What is your greatest weakness?
- What is your greatest strength [sometimes related to the role]?
- “Tell me about a mistake you’ve made.”
- What are some work tasks you’ve done that you’re not excited to do again?
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