Questions asked during interview

It’s always good to be prepared before you go into an interview, and having a few answers ready in your head can help to relieve some anxiety and boost confidence. Take some time to review typical interview questions you will most likely be asked. You can review the sample answers to these typical interview questions if they’re relevant. Also take some time to research the company. That way you'll be ready with knowledgeable answers for the interview questions that specifically relate to the job or company you are interviewing with.

About You

Q: Tell me about yourself.

A: Offer the interviewer a short and positive synopsis of yourself. Aim to make yourself stand out and memorable to the interviewer with interesting statements that are relevant to you as an employee and the job you’re applying for.

Q: What is your greatest strength?

A: Discuss your strengths and attributes that are most relevant for the position. Link your strengths with the job requirements so it sounds like you’re qualified and perfect for the job.

Q: What is your greatest weakness?

A: Try to turn your weakness into a strength or advantage. For example, saying you’re a perfectionist or you care too much about detail that it can slow your work progress.

Q: Do you take work home with you?

A: Don’t be too quick to say yes, even though it may sound like a good thing. It may certainly make you sound like a hardworking individual, but it can also imply that you’re a slow worker or procrastinator. Just say that you’re perfectly capable of doing so should the need arise, because meeting deadlines is a top priority.

Q: How do you handle stress / pressure?

A: Employers obviously want employees that are capable of handling stress, so try to give a good way that you handle work-related stress. You can even turn it into an advantage by saying that you thrive on stress or that pressure motivates you to work harder and better.

Q: What motivates you?

A: There isn’t any specific way to answer this, but it helps to relate it to the job. You should link your motivations with the work that you’ll be doing in the position you’re applying for. For retail, you can say serving a customer well brings you joy; for a more general approach, just say that you’re motivated by a desire to do a good job or your best for any task or project.

Q: When was the last time you were angry? How did you handle it?

A: The interviewer wants to know how tolerant you are and how easily you lose control. You can relate a personal experience if you feel your anger was justified, but it would be best just to state that you’re not easily angered and that you always try to be in control of yourself. Say you handle your anger by calming yourself down and taking deep breaths before thinking the situation through.

Q: If you could relive the last 10 years of your life, what would you do differently?

A: This can be a tricky question. The best would be to either take a personal approach (e.g. my loved one passed away and I wish I could go back and spend more time with them) or say that you have no regrets and have learnt from all your past experiences.

Q: What does teamwork mean to you? What is important for good teamwork?

A: Employers tend to be looking for people who work well in a team and get along with other people, so come up with some reasons why teamwork is important to you and what you feel are required for good teamwork. Good communication is definitely up there. Give some examples of your own team experiences, like when you were on the soccer team in school or working with a team of people.

Q: What does success mean to you? How do you evaluate success?

A: People evaluate success in different ways. You can say success means achieving the highest standard and meeting the goals of my clients or employers. Success can be doing the best you can and enjoying your work and life. It is just a way for employers to gauge how passionate and ambitious you are.

Q: Describe a difficult work situation / project and how you overcame it.

A: These behavioural interview questions are just a way for interviewer to predict how you will act or react in the future. There are a countless number of situations you can describe, but most often they will involve conflict or extreme pressure in the workplace. Give concrete examples of difficult situations at work, like trying to correct your boss or resolving an argument with a colleague. Use examples that showcase your good skills and abilities, like how you defused a potentially disastrous situation or how you met a very tight deadline with your leadership skills.

Work History

Q: How was your time at this previous company and this previous position?

A: First you’ll have to be able to remember the details for your previous employment, so review your work history to allow yourself to speak about it clearly and accurately. Give the interviewer a brief description of your work there, and recall any positive experiences there. Never be negative about your past employers and workplaces. Tell them you learnt a lot from your time there.

Q: What were your responsibilities? What sort of work did you do there?

A: The best way to divulge your past work and responsibilities is to relate them to the job you are currently applying for. Mention all the skills and experience that you can transfer over to this position. The more related experience you have, the more qualified you are for the job. However, be honest about it, since the interviewer can find out through your references anyway. Also, don’t forget to be positive.

Q: What major challenges and problems did you face? How did you handle them?

A: Describe a difficult work situation or challenge and how you successfully solved or overcame it. It helps if you utilised your analytical or leadership skills in these examples, or any other helpful abilities that would be relevant or desirable for the job. Show the interviewer how you researched the issue and came up with or contributed to the solution.

Q: What did you like / dislike about your previous job?

A: Remember not to be negative. The like part should be fairly easy; let them know which aspects of the job you enjoyed the most, as long as it can be related to the job you are applying for (e.g. I liked the people I worked with; I enjoyed working with my hands). You can be honest about your dislikes, as long as they don’t reflect badly on your previous employer or company, such as saying you didn’t feel the work was challenging enough.

Q: What do you expect from a supervisor?

A: You can be honest here and state what attributes you would like in an employer or supervisor. They have to communicate well, have good command of their staff, be flexible and unbiased, and be open to new ideas and innovations.

Q: What have you been doing since your last job?

A: This might pop out if you have an employment gap on your resume. Try to be honest, but whatever you did bring out the best in it. Let the interviewer know you were still being busy and active, regardless of whether you were out of work by choice. Some suggestions include taking care of a loved one, working on personal or freelance projects, or further pursuing your studies. It doesn’t matter what you did, as long as you’ve got an explanation.

Q: Why did you leave your job? Why are you leaving your job?

A: This is usually for when you left your previous position of your own accord. Don’t slander your previous colleagues or employers, even if they didn’t treat you well or didn’t pay you enough. Some good reasons for leaving a job are: I found myself bored or unhappy; there was no room for growth; my family was relocating and I had to move; I’m looking for a new challenge and more responsibilities.

Q: Why were you fired?

A: Although it may sound negative, there are legitimate reasons for being fired. Also, you can turn a seemingly unsavoury answer into an opportunity for you to grow and learn. Be honest, but don’t focus on the negative. You can say your position was eliminated due to company restructuring, or your competencies weren’t a good match for the previous job but are ideal for this one. If you don’t have a good reason for being let off, then try redirecting the focus by saying that getting fired was a blessing in disguise because you can now better explore your options and find a job that is better suited to your skills and qualifications, namely the one you’ve just applied for.

New Job & Company

Q: What interests you about this job?

A: Say what really interests you, and try to connect your skills and passions with the job qualifications. You should always aim to convey your enthusiasm for the position and your confidence that you can do the job well.

Q: Why do you want this job?
A: Usually the reasons can be narrowed down to: it is a great opportunity to make a difference; I am very well suited and well qualified for the position; I enjoy doing this sort of work and I’m good at it.

Q: What applicable attributes / experience do you have?

A: List all the relevant skills and experience you have for the position. Refer to your previous jobs and your responsibilities in them to bolster your claims and prove that you have the necessary qualifications.

Q: What can you do for this company?

A: To answer this well you’ll probably need to know the company’s mission and background. Tell the interviewer how your skills, experience and accomplishments can be an asset to the company. Compare your goals with the company’s mission statement, and express your strong interest in the position and the company.

Q: Why should we hire you?

A: This is done to gauge your opinion of why you are the best candidate for the position. The best thing to do is to give solid examples of how your skills and experience make you the best candidate by matching them with the job requirements and qualifications. Also express your deep interest in the position and company.

Q: What do you know about this company?

A: This question is to find out how much research you’ve conducted on the company, which correlates with how interested you are in the job. Do some research online, starting with the company’s website and moving on to news on the company or financial reviews. Then basically just memorise the essential information and regurgitate it in the interview. It might be good if you can offer your ideas or services for the company that you think will improve it, and the interviewer will see that you have initiative.

Q: Are you willing to travel?

A: Although if they broach the question there’s a strong chance that a lot of travel is involved, you can be honest about whether you want to move about or not. You should ask how much travel is involved in the job you’re applying for before you accept it, so you can make a good decision and plan around it.

Q: Is there anything I haven't told you about the job or company that you would like to know?

A: This question isn’t really a proper interview question, but is an invitation for you to start asking questions of your own, and is usually an indication that the interview is coming to a close. Feel free to ask any job-related questions that the interviewer hasn’t covered or disclosed, but refrain from asking about pay or vacations as the interviewer will usually tell you.

The Future

Q: What are your goals for the next five years / ten years?

A: Despite having numerous goals (or none at all) for the future, try to focus on the ones that are relevant to the position and involve the job and the company in some way. Connect your answer with the position that you are applying for by saying where you picture yourself in five / ten years in this company. You can state that you plan to learn and contribute to the company, and that you’d like to become one of the top performing employees or move up to a management position. Be a bit fanciful if you like, as long as you don’t scare or offend anybody by implying that you’ll usurp their position.

Q: How do you plan to achieve your goals?

A: Assuming this is a follow-up question to the one above, and that you answered with relation to the job and company, then you can suggest that you’ll attend classes and seminars to learn and improve. This lets the interviewer know that you’re teachable and that you plan to stay long-term with the company.

Q: What are your career goals?

A: Interviewers want to see how accustomed you are to planning ahead, and how reliable you are with making good decisions. If you’ve got a decent career goal or objective on your resume, then feel free to paraphrase it. You can describe your dream job here, especially if its similar to the offered position. Come up with an inspirational goal that will benefit the company, the community, and perhaps even the human race. Or at least try.

Q: What will you do if you don’t get this position?

A: Usually comes up for internal positions to see if you just care about advancement or about the company. Assure the interviewer that you are committed to the company and its welfare, and if you don’t get the position you will cooperate with whoever gets it and continue to do your best to serve the company. It won’t hurt to add that your experience with the department and company would make you the best candidate.