Commonly Asked Job Interview Questions

If you are well prepared in advance, the job interview and process doesn’t have to be stressful. With some research, practice, and confidence, the interview process can be just another exciting rite of passage.

To break the ice and to learn a little more about you personally, most job interviewers will start with some positive personal questions. The first question is generally - tell me about yourself. Don’t go on and on. Only give the relevant facts such as married or single, education, and former jobs. If you have children, this is certainly the time to mention them.

Next the interviewer will more than likely ask about your goals, where you see yourself in the next ten years, and describe your most important achievements. Be ready with the goals before the interview. Don’t make some goals up; be honest or you won’t be trusted. Don’t answer what you think the interviewer will want to hear. Give your goals and briefly explain why they are important to you. When asked where you see yourself in ten years, briefly explain how you see yourself in the company and how you will be contributing to the company’s success. Even if your most important achievements are in college, they are worthy of mention. If you have past business achievements, by all means talk about them, but not in a bragging way. No one likes someone who toots his own horn. Make sure that you give your co-workers at least partial credit for your achievements. You always want to look like a team player. That is very important in the business world.

Many interviewers like to ask about your strengths and weaknesses. These are important questions because the interviewer will learn quite a lot about you. Obviously, spend most of your time on your strengths. Without bragging, explain your strengths in a clear, concise manner. Don’t go on and on. Some examples of the strengths businesses are looking for is that you work well with others, that you always meet deadlines, that you are creative, and you understand the chain of command. Of course, there are many other strengths that you can mention. Make a list and choose the ones that you excel in so that you can explain them to your interviewer.

I wouldn’t spend a lot of time with my weaknesses. Certainly you don’t want to present yourself as a loser. Choose weaknesses that almost sound like strengths. For instance, you might say a weakness is that you often work too many hours when you have a project due and neglect other aspects of your life. Explain that you have to work hard to balance your life. If you aren’t married, you can explain that you try to achieve balance but the office always wins. Another weakness might be that you enjoy leading and sometimes come across as a little overbearing. Explain that you are working on this aspect and hope that if anyone seems to think you are pushy, they will tell you so that you can work on your social skills. If you have other specific weaknesses, explain them at your peril. Try to make the weaknesses seem almost like positives. I wouldn’t mention many weaknesses. The interviewer is simply trying to see if you will admit to problems. If you say that you have no weaknesses, the interviewer will know you are lying.

Interviewers have a variety of questions to ask you so that that they can choose the best candidate for a job. Your job is to convince them that you are the perfect choice and you can do this with the right attitude and working on your answers to obvious questions.

Copyright 2007 James D. Sterling - All Rights Reserved

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