Master these common but tricky job interview questions if you want to land your next job. In this article I share key interview questions with sample answers.
It can feel like it’s taking forever to land a job interview for a job you’re actually excited about.
____________________________________
Now, if you’re struggling to even get interviews at all, it may be your resume. Check that your resume is fine-tuned with my helpful interview-generating resume template. You’ll also see tips I share with my high-achieving corporate women clients, so the template is worth a click!
____________________________________
So, when you finally do get the interview, nailing it is an absolute must. One of the keys to a stellar interview is projecting confidence.
There are a lot of ways to project confidence – eye contact, posture, tone of voice.
But THE MAIN way to convince your interviewers – and yourself – that you are the right fit for the role is to prepare yourself to answer even the toughest interview questions without a blink of an eye.
Here’s the thing, though. Interviewing for say, a senior marketing job, doesn’t just mean preparing to answer interview questions that focus on your relevant marketing experience.
It also means that you need to prepare to answer those seemingly innocent, but often tricky questions that get tossed out by interviewers to get a more general sense of who you are as a person and a team member.
Here are 5 of those top interview questions that you likely will be asked in your next interview. I’m also sharing the ideal answers to store in your back pocket.
1. What are your weaknesses?
This is a classic interview question and perhaps the most dreaded one as it makes interviewees feel vulnerable. Of course, you will want to answer openly and honestly, but in such a way that minimizes your actual weaknesses while boosting your strengths.
The best way to do that is by telling them one of your professional (not personal) weaknesses. Then follow up with how you are already remediating it. An example of that would be:
“I am always looking for ways to strengthen my presentation skills. I have recently enrolled in an online communications class. I’m looking to join Toastmasters in the following months to do just that.”
Pro Tip: When preparing to answer this question, make sure you first look at the key requirements in the job description. If one of the top requirements is stellar presentation skills, then that’s not the ‘weakness’ that you should be sharing during the interview.
2. Why do you want to leave your current job? (Or: Why did you leave your previous job?)
First and foremost, never badmouth or talk down to your current or previous employer. It does not matter how much you hate the role or your co-workers (or how much they deserve the hate); showing negativity towards them to your potential future employer can leave a bad taste in their mouth.
Laid off: “I was working in a corporation that was unfortunately downsizing. I was part of the X% of people who were let go as a result.”
Leaving for a new role: “After spending X years at ABC company, I have decided that I wanted to branch out to other sources. My goal is to advance and add to my experiences.”
Pro Tip: If instead of being ‘laid off’ or ‘leaving for a new role’, they actually fired you, don’t bring it up unless your interviewer does. If it does come up, try not to be negative. Instead, focus on fit. Then bring the conversation around to why you expect this role to be a better experience.
Say something like:
“When I took the role, I was expecting X from the role/the team/the company. Unfortunately, my boss and I didn’t align on expectations, so we decided it was best for me to leave the role. What I learned from that experience is how important to ensure that we are aligned up front. That’s why I’m excited about this role. I can see from the job description and from speaking with you and the team that it will be a great fit.”
3. What is your greatest accomplishment?
This one is entirely personalized and will really illuminate what you can bring to the table if hired.
Brainstorm some of your notable accomplishments. If you have any stats to back it up (such as time saved, money earned, productivity increased, people managed) that is even better. Therefore, when you nail down your impactful accomplishment, deliver it in such a way as this:
“In my last role, I was in charge of the media content for all of the company’s social platforms. I did extensive market research and discovered a more effective way to reach the target audience. I collaborated with my boss to implement this new innovative method. As a result, we drove conversions up by 30% while decreasing marketing costs by 15%.”
4. How do you define success?
Your interviewer is likely asking this as a way to read what your future career objectives look like.
For this one, try to keep personal successes out of it (like starting a family, traveling, etc.). Stay hyper-focused on angling yourself to the role you are applying for. For reference, a good answer would be something like:
“Success to me is fulfilling my career passions and being a part of a high operating team that supports advancing growth for the organization and everyone in it. I believe getting there is all about setting concrete goals, being open to continuously improving, and learning from failures so I can ensure I always do better tomorrow.”
5. What are your salary expectations?
If an interviewer ever asks you what your desired salary is and is looking for a number, do your best not to give it to them. If you provide a direct number to answer this interview question chances are you will either sound too expensive for them to hire, or you will be undershooting yourself. Instead, answer like this:
“My salary range is flexible. I’ve never turned down an opportunity that I thought was a perfect fit because of salary. Of course, I would like to be compensated fairly. I am certainly open to discussing more specific numbers after learning more about this job and my specific responsibilities. However, I researched other positions like this role and found that they range from __K to __K. I am open to hearing whatever this company believes is fair for this role. But based on my experience, education, relevant skills, and position research, I am looking to land somewhere in the range of __K and __K.”
Pro Tip: Salaries are negotiable (often, even when they say they aren’t)! Consider any question asked about salary before the interview process is completed as premature. Because, you can’t really know what you are willing to take for the role until after you’ve fully vetted what is expected of you, how much of a ‘challenge’ the role will be for you to, the nuances of the environment, etc.
Once you have all that information – and after you’ve gotten an offer – negotiate salary (and benefits) that you think align with all you’ve learned about the role.
__________________________________________________
During those negotiations, you can be sure that your potential new employer is going to be checking out your LinkedIn profile to remind themselves of why you are worth what you’re going after. Make sure you profile tells the story! Click here to grab my Free LinkedIn profile checklist to make sure your profile is ready to help you land the salary you want!
__________________________________________________
