Most Common Job Questions and How to Answer them Effectively
Sitting for interview rounds can be terrifying for most of us. Confronting various convoluted questions and being examined with the same question put forward in different ways is a matter of much concern to be overseen.
There is a bunch of classic questions preferred by the interviewers. In this article, some common questions asked in interviews and the techniques to answer them to stand out from the other job aspirants are listed.
- Tell us something about yourself.
This is one of the most frequently asked questions during an interview. Despite the lucidity of this question, answering it, is confusing for the interviewees. Before starting to ramble about the things mentioned in your CV or résumé, you need to understand or at least presume that the reader aka the interviewer in this case has gone through your entire résumé and is contemplating to know about you apart from your educational qualifications and successful projects. Be courteous yet sound confident and pitch yourself following the work profile that the organization is offering.
2. What are your weaknesses?
This is a tricky question where the employer expects you to talk about what problems you are facing and what you are doing to fight them. So, initiate with how you figured out your weaknesses, e.g. what things you find a little tougher to do. You should be honest while answering this because the employer doesn’t want another “I’m a perfectionist”. Too big for one’s boots statements make them cross-question you and they would make sure to prove you wrong. Hence, talk realistic and then also tell him/her about how you are handling your weaknesses to make it your strength. The employer looks forward to your truthfulness and unprejudiced behavior.
3. Where do you see yourself in five years?
The next important and the frequently asked question is where do you want to be in the next five years. This question isn’t just meant to see how driven and goal-oriented you are but also your confidence in yourself. The people with a commendable yet realistic belief in themselves always have an edge over under-confident people. So, always radiate conviction towards your goals and make sure they revolve around the position offered by the organization for which you are sitting in the interview.
4. Why do you want to join us?
Just another question with a bunch of abstract answers but to the best of your knowledge, you should avoid any vague answers. The employer wants to see your dedication to the organization. Avoid statements like “There is no other company as you” or any other generalized response. To answer this question in the most likeable form, talk about how the company has its work culture very different from others. Speak about your insights of learning more and more under their assistance. The habit you should adopt is reading about something before trying to speak or write about it. Before you set for the interview, skim through the website or brochure of the organization you are applying for. Read it thoroughly and then frame your answer according to the read content.
5. What are your greatest strengths?
Whilst many of the interviewers tend to ask about your weaknesses, they alongside would also consider asking about your strengths. And by strengths, they don’t expect you to brag everything about your past experiences and tangential works that you did, but they look for the quality, not quantity. Be confident, yet soft. Talk about a few things in which you feel you have excelled. Don’t use general words like diligent, hardworking, and so on. You need to produce valid proofs of the things you are speaking about. Your gestures while talking says the most about you.
6. Why should we hire you?
This is another frequently asked question in an interview, after the interviewers have asked about your previous job, your strengths and weaknesses, they want to know how their company would benefit from you, how will you prove yourself as an asset to the company. You should support your words with utter enthusiasm for getting to work with them. Describe how hiring you will help to divide the workload among the workers and help them achieve more. Say a few positive traits about yourself. They already know about your strengths and weaknesses, tell them more about how exactly those strengths will be beneficial for their company. Your communication skills and personality shall help you fit in any team. One of the most important thing that usually people forget during the interviews is being honest. The interviewers have the experience and they know who they are hiring. They see plenty of people every day and understand their personality traits.
7. Why are you leaving your current job?
If you consider the the importance of each value that an employer anticipates to look in you, this is probably the highest level. Asking about your previous job experiences tells a lot about your attitude and how you fit in work culture. Based on your expressions towards the previous company, the employer can easily comprehend if you are a keeper or you just work at a place and then ditch it for higher pay. Don’t talk about your previous organization in a negative light, howsoever unsatisfactory your experience had been. Focus on the positive areas of the past tenure and tell the interviewer that you learned a lot in that company but you wish to expand your knowledge of your domain. For that being the reason, you wish to hop in at a new place and open up new learning opportunities for you as well.
The basic motif with which an employer proceeds interviewing you is expecting a sense of belonging, motivation, team attitude and confidence in you. Acknowledge every question confidently and diligently. Apart from these generic questions, focus on your domain knowledge. The employer has all the right to enquire about anything he/she wishes to. Maintain a good posture and an eye-contact with the interviewer so that he/she can see the confidence emitting out of you, and you are good to go.
