Common Questions During a Job Interview
Have you ever been on a job interview and had your interviewer ask you a personal question or even ask you a question about something you thought you did really well at? What was that person looking for or looking for out of you? Even the best candidates can get confused when this happens. Here are some of the most common questions that I have had to answer.
How to answer “Tell me a something about yourself.”
Interviewers like to know more about you than what you want to learn about them. If you haven’t already noticed, job interviewers are quite interested in what you know about themselves. In other words, “Tell me a thing about yourself.” They don’t want to know about your fantasy job, what you did for a living in the past or anything like that. They want to know your personal interests, what you like doing, what you want to do in the future.
How to answer “Why do you want to work for our company?”
Companies can lose as much as half of their potential employees when asking this question. If you’re asked this question, you can probably imagine the interviewee’s next few sentences. They tell you their experience, ask how you’d adapt to the company’s culture, and explain why they are qualified for the job. Then you may be asked to give a great sales pitch. Ask questions that show you have a bit of background information on the company and its products, as well as information about their business philosophy. Ask questions that can help you demonstrate your true desire to work there and not just your willingness to work for them.
How to answer “Can you tell me how you dealt with a personal mistake?”
There are few things as scary as a potentially awkward or disruptive question like this. So, before you answer the dreaded question, think of five questions you would rather be asked. For example, one more personal-related question you would rather be asked would be “What’s your greatest weakness?”. Because a question like this will show you that the interviewer is looking for someone to build something of value in the future.
Job interviews can be dreadful but with the right mindset, everyone can do it.
