Top 15 Most Commonly Asked Interview Questions & Answers

Commonly Asked Interview Question & Answers

When it comes to appearing for an interview, it’s best to go prepared. Today, we’ve highlighted some of the most commonly asked interview questions and answers to aid in your preparation process. 

1. Why do you wish to join this organization?

This is one of the top interview questions that interviewers ask. Candidates need to show informed they are about the company’s history and activities. They must prepare innovative answers to stand apart from the crowd. Please do your research to find out unique aspects of the company and explain how they appeal to you. Mention that you want to experience great opportunities by staying with the organization in the long run. This will tell the interviewer that you are a loyal candidate willing to work hard for better prospects within the organization.

2. Why do you want this position?

This question might seem harmless, but it focuses on finding out how passionate someone is about the job role. The answers also determine how much the job role means to the candidates and if the job is just a means to an end. Companies want to invest in professionals who are passionate about their jobs and wish to stay in the long run, thus cutting recruiting costs and increasing employee retention. Make sure not to blurt a scripted answer – be natural and honest about your intentions. Learn about the job role, responsibilities, and prerequisites before the interview.

3. How did you come across this job role?

Here is where you are expected to explain how you found out about the vacancy or requirement. One can talk about listings in job boards, being informed by someone currently hired inside the company, or directly applying from the company’s careers area. However, attaching an emotional aspect to your answer makes it more credible. You can tell them why you are an ideal candidate for the position. You can explain how you wished to join the company for a long time and were waiting for an opportunity.

4. Why should you be hired among the others? What can you do for the company?

Another crucial interview question, interviewers ask this question to evaluate your personality, skills, and confidence. Although it is a trick question, you must not stoop to comparing yourself with others. Instead of focusing on why you are better than others, try to sell your unique skills and what you can bring to the table. Explain how the company will benefit by having you and speak of how loyal or dedicated you are as an employee. You can highlight your dedication and commitment to whatever you undertake. You must research well enough to be informed about the challenges and problems that the company faces and talk about how you would overcome them. Talk about how you can work under pressure, as a team player, and also alone. Try understanding why the company needs you from information given by the listings or earlier interaction with HR associates to explain to interviewers how you can effectively fulfill these key requirements.

5. What can you tell us about yourself?

Generally, candidates fall into the trap this question presents and end up simply stating their complete personal and employment history. This is not all the company wants, and your education, experience, and skills can all be found in your resume. Here, candidates must provide a compact pitch that establishes all the relevant experience that makes them the right fit for this position. Speak about things that have impacted you in your past and how much you wish to progress in the future. Talk about important experiences relevant to the role and briefly inform the employers about your academic background. You can also speak about specialized courses or certifications that you have completed.

6. What are your weaknesses?

This question aims to understand the red flags in candidates and identify the fitting qualities of a candidate for a specific role. When speaking about weaknesses, it is wise not to discuss how you cannot maintain time or are disorganized. Remember that interviewers expect honest replies here. So, while you must not mention something that will drastically reduce the chances of you being employed, you can state a few minor weaknesses that can be improved. 

7. Describe your strengths or strong points.

When asked this question, candidates can choose to establish their strengths, skills, and what is special about them. This can be another opportunity to mention things that you can offer to the company if selected. Here, you can mention traits like hard-working, dedicated, organized, well-rounded. However, stick to your core strengths without making a long list of generic traits. Instead, it would help if you focused more on establishing traits that will benefit the company and the role in question.

8. What are some failures you have experienced or mistakes you have made?

Though this seems like one of those job interview questions that can expose past blunders or affect your credibility, this can be an equally empowering opportunity for you to prove what you have learned from your failures and mistakes. The key focus would be to concentrate on failures and errors that are not too endangering but should be relevant enough to explain how they have contributed to growing as an individual. You must show them that you understand what went wrong and how you corrected the issue. Employers want to recruit employees who can implement feedback to better themselves. What matters is how you respond to their failures and work towards overall improvement. 

9. What are your achievements?

Here, feel free to speak about the cases where they have experienced amazing results or performed excellently. You can also talk about certifications, prizes, academic records, and acquired skills that are hard to master. Speak about instances where you have directly contributed to the growth or helped organizations or your team members achieve major targets or goals. 

10. Do you have any advice for us, or is there anything you wish for us to know?

We recommend you to start with positive aspects not to insult the company. Once you are ready, you can then provide constructive feedback politely and explain the reasoning behind your suggestion. Make it an interactive session by asking how the interviewer would add to your suggestion or if the interviewers agree with you. You can mention things you have missed such as how important this role is to you and how deeply you can connect with the company.

11. Do you have any questions?

This is your chance to establish how interested you are in the organization or about the job role. This is an opportunity to learn more about the company and the position while getting it across to the company you are truly interested in. You can ask the interviewer about the work environment, how employees feel about working here, what benefits employees, etc. 

12. What challenges have you faced, or what did you not like about your previous job/jobs?

It would help if you never started your answer with negative sentiments towards your past or current employers. The trick is to handle this question as gracefully and diplomatically as you can. You can emphasize why the role you are applying for is more suitable for you and how you are looking for growth opportunities. Talk about how you’ve maxed out your position in your previous company and now aspire to expand to new avenues. You can say that you love to challenge yourself. However, keep your answer short and to the point. 

13. How would co-workers and past bosses describe you?

It would help if you did not speak of yourself too fondly, and you must maintain a degree of modesty when tackling job interview questions such as these. You can talk about what kind of an employee you are and how others perceive you at your workplace.

14. What kind of work environment and management do you prefer?

It would help if you researched more about the company’s management approach and the work environment to answer this question effectively. Your answer must align with the company’s operational approaches.

15. What are your hobbies?

This is a very common interview question focused upon knowing you better as a person. This can be answered with ease and in a simple manner. However, it is recommended that you mention a few hobbies and extracurricular activities to seem like an interesting co-worker and an active person.

Recurring Questions that must also be Prepared

Here are some more questions that get asked towards the end of the interview and can be answered according to individual circumstances. These questions do not need to be answered in a pre-defined pattern, and the answers will vary according to the interviewee.

• What motivates you?
• What are your salary expectations?
• Where do you see yourself in the next 2, 5, and 10 years?
• What are your career goals?
• When can you start?

Conclusion

Once you are done with the interview questions, it is recommended to thank the interviewers and follow up with some engaging interaction. The interview should also answer many questions about the job role, and if you still have doubts, you can always ask the interviewers.