1. What were your responsibilities in your last job?
They Want to Know: Employers need to gauge your qualifications for the job, and they are looking for evidence that you have experience performing the tasks they require. The job listing is your best resource for answering this question. Don’t waste time describing previous responsibilities that aren’t relevant to the position you’re interviewing. Focus instead on the job duties that match those listed in the employer’s job ad.
2. What are your salary expectations?
What They Want to Know: In initial phone screenings, where employers may be screening dozens of candidates, salary requirements are a key point in deciding who will be offered an in-person interview (or will be hired directly for a job, if it’s a freelance contract position). It’s a smart strategy to provide a ballpark salary range based on current data you’ll find through online salary calculators. Then, you are open to negotiation based on other factors like benefits packages or desirable work/life balances with the provision.
3. What major challenges and problems did you face in your most recent job? How did you handle them?
What They Want to Know: These questions are intended to evaluate your problem-solving capabilities and ascertain how you operate under pressure. Be ready to provide an illustrative example or two of how you have dealt with difficult work issues in the past.
4. Why are you leaving your job?
What They Want to Know: Recruiting and hiring is an expensive proposition for employers, and so they want to hire personnel who are not only skilled but are also likely to remain with their company for a while. They will also judge your attitude and tone of voice as you answer this question, so keep your response upbeat. Don’t be tempted to criticize your former employer or to complain about the job’s responsibilities.
5. Why do you want this job?
What They Want to Know: This question isn’t asking you about your desires and career goals so much as it is testing your understanding of the position you’re applying. You’ll score extra points if you talk not only about the job but also about the benefits of working for the employer.
6. What relevant attributes/experience do you have?
What They Want to Know: Employers want to know that you’ve taken the time to think about your suitability for the job. So, before your interview, write down the primary requirements listed on the job ad and then write a corresponding list of your relevant experience. Keep this list in front of you during the screening, along with a copy of your resume, so that you can refer to it if your mind starts to go blank.
7. What can you do for this company?
What They Want to Know: Employers hope that you’ll prove to be a good return on their investment in hiring, onboarding, and training you. This question is also calculated to assess your enthusiasm for their operations and your confidence in your ability to make a difference to their bottom line.
8. What challenges are you looking for in a position?
What They Want to Know: The best employees are those who proactively seek to improve their job performance and grow their skill sets. This question addresses what motivates your productivity.
9. Tell me about yourself.
They Want to Know: This open-ended question is frequently used to break the ice at the beginning of an interview. Prepare for it using the ‘present-past-future’ formula – describing where you are now, how you got here, and what goal you have for the future.
10. What is your greatest weakness?
What They Want to Know: Employers sometimes will throw this curveball at you simply to see how you respond. The safest approach is to explain how you’ve improved upon a skill that used to be weak.
11. What is your greatest strength?
What They Want to Know: Answering this question allows you the opportunity to showcase the fact that you possess the preferred skills the employer is seeking. Align your response to the primary requirements of the job.
12. What type of work environment do you prefer?
They Want to Know: This is another question that seeks to test whether you could be happy and productive in an employer’s company culture. Again, research the company’s website before your interview so you can give them the answer they’re looking for.