Preparing for common interview questions

A great way to prepare for your job interview is to have answers in mind and to practice them. It’s easier to do this when you have an idea of what you might be asked. Here are the most common interview questions you are likely to be asked.

Here is a great list of all the common interview questions you could be asked.

Interview questions about you

• Can you tell us a little about yourself?
  
• What do you like to do in your spare time?
  
• Why are you looking to leave your current role?
  
• What caused you to leave your last job?
  
• What interests you about this job?
  
• What are you looking for in your next role?
  
• What did you like and dislike in your last role?
  
• What are your goals for the future?
  
• Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
  
• How would your boss and coworker’s describe you?
  
• What new skills are you looking to develop this year?
  
• What motivates you to deliver your greatest effort?
  
• What value will you bring to the position?
• What are three things most important to you in a job?
  
• How do you see this position assisting you in achieving your career goals?

Interview questions about how you work

• What is your greatest strength?
  
• What is your biggest weakness?
  
• Do you feel that you work better autonomously or within a team?
  
• How do you deal with challenges?
  
• What is your ideal work environment?
  
• What is your leadership/management style?
  
• What have you learned from previous mistakes?
  
• How do you deal with working under pressure?
  
• Are you a team player? How do you work best within a team?
  
• What might your first month look like working in this role?
  
• Are you a fast learner? How long will it take you to begin adding value?
  
• Have you ever had to learn a skill and then apply it immediately?
  

Interview questions about situations or experiences

• Tell us about a time you faced a challenging situation and how you overcame it?
  
• Tell us about a great achievement, how this came about and how you celebrated?
  
• What are the greatest achievements of your career to date?
  
• Tell me about an important decision you had to make. How did you go about deciding?
  
• What is the biggest difficulty you have faced in a work environment?
  
• Tell me about a time when you took a risk at your previous employer. How did you handle it?
  
• Have you ever had to work with a person you didn’t get along with? How did you handle the issue?
  
• Have you ever been in a situation where you disagreed with your manager? How did you resolve the disagreement?
  
• Tell me about a time or describe a situation when you made a mistake at work? How did you go about correcting it? What did you learn?
  
• Working in [specific department/industry] you may encounter this issue. How would you deal with this?
  
• Tell us about a time where you exercised great leadership/salesmanship/customer service etc.?
  
• Tell me about a project you worked on where you had majority involvement. What role did you play and what made it successful?
  
• Have you ever worked in a situation when there was no processes or procedures in place?
  
• Have you ever been in a tough situation when you needed to remain positive? How did you handle it?

Interview questions about the hiring business

• Why do you want to work for us?
  
• Do you know much about our company?
  
• Why would you be a good fit for us?
  
• What challenges and opportunities do you see in this company?
  
• Why should we hire you?
  
• Do you have any questions for me/us?

More interview tips and resources