5 common interview questions and how to answer them
Margaret O’Neill is a Careers Consultant and accredited coach with over 20 years of experience in top business schools, working with international students of all ages, backgrounds, and experiences.
Every interview you take will be looking at the following criteria:
Can you do the job – do you have the skills, experience and competence to deliver?
Will you do the job – do you know what this job entails, and are you motivated and keen to do it?
Will you fit – will you be a great addition to our team, personally and professionally?
80% of your interview will cover these questions, in one guise or another and you should be prepared for them all.
Let’s take a moment to talk about “fit”. For those from underrepresented backgrounds, getting that feedback that you might not be the right fit for the team or organisation can often feel like code for “you don’t look like us / you’re not like us”. Remember that the interview is also a time to explore whether an employer is a good fit for you, or whether you would be losing yourself by trying to fit with them. You can read more on the Lowdown about how to ask about Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in a job interview.
Back to the interview questions, no matter how well-prepared you are, some questions can be challenging to answer.
Here are some tips on how to manage 5 common interview questions:
Tell me about yourself/walk me through your CV.
This usually comes at the start of an interview and is becoming more common than “why do you want the job”. It is your opportunity to set the direction of the conversation. Don’t waste it by rambling through a 5 minute deconstruction of your life story. This question is an invitation to talk to the interviewer briefly and relevantly through your key experiences – so pick those stories that are interesting and speak directly to this role and employer. If you can keep it to under two minutes and plant a couple of teasers to allow them to follow up with you, so much the better. A strong start sets the tone for the whole interview, so write it down, revise it, practise, rehearse, say it out loud and practise again.
2. Specific skills and competencies.
You have done your research and have prepared good examples for the skills and experience the job says they are looking for. However, they throw you a curve ball and ask a competency question that you don’t have an example for. The best way to respond to this is not to shoehorn in an answer you have prepared (it looks as if you haven’t understood) but to acknowledge and ask if you can share a comparable example: “I have been fortunate enough not to have had to deal with a difficult client in my professional life. However, I do have an example of how I had to manage a challenging teammate in my student project…”
A good guide to follow with competency-based questions is CAR - Context, Action, Result. Set the scene and explain the situation, outline what action you took, and the outcome of that action.
3. What are your weaknesses?/What is your biggest failure?
With both of these questions, the interviewer is trying to see if you are self-aware, reflective, and open to learning and adapting your behaviour; some may believe that if you’ve never failed you’ve never pushed yourself. If you’re genuinely struggling to articulate a weakness, think of your strengths – a strength overplayed is a weakness, and this is a useful technique to manage this question. The humble brags, like “I’m a perfectionist” are over-used – but what if it’s true? This might be a different way to tackle it: “At my last appraisal I was told that my reports are always thorough, but that I sometimes delve too much into the detail and take longer than I need to deliver. Since then I have always made sure to check priorities at the outset, so I know how much detail is required and have a deadline. I know my natural inclination will always be to cover every angle, but I now make sure I deliver what is required on time, and then only if it’s helpful and I have time, do I dig into the additional areas.” Be aware that some weaknesses will be red flags at an interview (and frankly, on the job) – poor time management, showing intemperate behaviour, and inability to work in a team. If this is you, it’s unwise to share it unless you have clearly put processes in place to moderate that behaviour so that it’s under control and you are not a risk.
4. What salary do you expect/what was your last salary?
This is not a fair question to ask, but it may come up. During the early interview stages it is best to push back on this and say “I think I’d be in a better position to answer that once I’ve learned more about the company and the responsibilities of the role through these interviews”. If they push you for an answer, make sure you’ve done your research and have a range to state based on similar roles – “Based on my research I would expect someone of my skills and experience in a similar role to earn between x and y, and would hope for a salary in line with that range” – with x being slightly higher than the minimum you’d be prepared to accept. If they ask what your last or current salary is, and you don’t wish to share it, you can say it is confidential to the company and you would be uncomfortable sharing it. That should demonstrate to them that you would be equally conscientious about their confidential information.
To read more about asking discussing salary when applying for a job, read about how to negotiate salary for a new job.
5. Do you have any questions for us?
It’s been a long, long interview, and you are relieved it’s over –then there’s the final “any questions for us?” Don’t waste this opportunity – it demonstrates your commitment and interest, and a high-energy start and finish to your interview means you’ll be memorable at the wash-up at the end of the day. Hopefully, you’ve had fun and can ask a question that has genuinely come up during your conversation. If all your questions have been answered, you could try asking the interviewer what they most enjoy about working for the company; what surprised them most when they joined; what kind of people really thrive in the organisation. If you feel you haven’t had the chance to show yourself at your best, you could ask if there is anything else they would want to know about you to help them make a decision – they would usually pass this back to you so it gives you an extra opportunity to add something relevant that you hadn’t yet had the chance to say. And finally tell them how much you enjoyed meeting them and ask about next steps. Do not ask about salary, working hours, holidays or other benefits yet – the time for that is when you’re negotiating the offer.
At core, interviewers want to find the right people for the job and are willing you to do well. Be prepared, then relax and be yourself – talk to them as one human to another, having a conversation. Interviewers are looking for competence and warmth – so show them the real you, the one that will turn up every day, excited to be there, to learn and grow.
Good luck!
