HOW TO ANSWER 13 JOB INTERVIEW QUESTIONS, with 30+ EXAMPLES

Quick Summary

Interviewers want to know:

• If your past experiences fulfill the requirements to execute the role

• If your objectives and profile align with the company’s goals and culture

• If you can communicate clearly and effectively and present yourself professionally

• If it makes sense to be having the interview

Quick Summary

Criteria for picking your examples:

• Recent, no longer than two-years-old

• You played the central role

• Positive and quantifiable results

Quick Summary

Steps to create your answer:

• Step 1: Describe the main activities of your past employer

• Step 2: Describe your scope of work and primary responsibilities

• Step 3: Mention one successful accomplishment

• Step 4: List the primary skills you developed and topics you were involved in your past role

Characteristics of a good answer:

• Providing a brief and precise background on the company’s business model

• Showing evidence of your excellent work through examples of your achievements

• Describing your responsibilities on a high level, connected to the company’s goals

• Providing a list of the skills acquired in the role

Characteristics of a bad answer:

• Not providing enough details about the company’s business model

• Focusing on describing your daily tasks instead of highlighting the value you deliver to the company

• Lacking evidence of recent achievements

Quick Summary

Steps to create your answer:

• Step 1: Describe your 3 or 5-year career goals

• Step 2: Explain why achieving that goal is important to you

• Step 3: Tell the reasons why it’s not possible to accomplish your goals in your current company and role

• Step 4: Explain why the role that you’re applying for will help you achieve your goals

• Step 5: Explain how the company that you’re applying for is fundamental in your journey to achieve your goals

• Step 6: Show excitement about the new role and company

Characteristics of a good answer:

• Aligning your experience, plans, and interests with the role’s responsibilities and the company’s culture

• Showing that you have clear career goals and knows how to reach them

• Demonstrating knowledge, interest, and excitement about the role and the company

• Showing self-awareness about your abilities and potential

Characteristics of a bad answer:

• Having unclear career goals

• Making negative comments about your current role, company, and manager

• Showing little knowledge about the company and no particular interest in the role

Final Tips:

• Align your examples with the skills required in the job description

• Demonstrate knowledge and excitement about the role and the company

• Don’t make negative comments about your past employers

• Don’t rush to answer this question. Aim for three to four minutes

Quick Summary

Interviewers want to know:

• Whether you’re a good fit for the role

• If you have the necessary qualities, skills, and experience to excel at the job

• If you are the best person for the role in comparison to other candidates

• Whether you’ll be an excellent addition to the team

• How well do you know yourself

Quick Summary

Picking your strength:

• If you have experience in the role → HARD SKILL

• If you don’t have experience in the role → SOFT SKILL

Criteria for picking your strength:

• Connected to the skills required in the job description

• Sets you apart from other candidates

• Can be backed with examples

Quick Summary

Steps to create your answer:

• Step 1: State your strength

• Step 2: Describe a Situation where you applied your strength

• Step 3: Describe your Task in the Situation

• Step 4: Detail the Actions you took to address or revert the Situation

• Step 5: Showcase the positive Results of the Actions you took

Characteristics of a good answer:

• Having a clear statement about your strength

• Showing evidence of good work through examples

• Showing confidence

Characteristics of a bad answer:

• Not making your strengths clear enough

• Focusing too much on tasks and processes

• Lacking evidence of good work

• Not demonstrating awareness of the value you can bring to the company

Final tips:

• Align your examples with skills required in the job description

• Prepare 3-4 examples of strengths

• Focus on one strength at a time

• Focus on your contribution to the higher purpose of the company

• Find a good balance between confidence and humbleness

• Answer time: 1-2 minutes per strength

Quick Summary

Interviewers want to know:

• Your level of self-awareness and growth mindset

• If you have taken initiative to work on your weaknesses

• Indicators of personal motivation and self-improvement

• What you can’t do or have difficulty with on the job

Quick Summary

Criteria for picking your weakness:

• Not too relevant for the role

• Not too unrelated to the role

• Not a cliche

• You’ve taken actions to overcome

Quick Summary

Steps to create your answer:

• Step 1: Describe the Situation where you faced your weakness

• Step 2: Describe your Task towards overcoming your weakness

• Step 3: Detail the Actions you took for self-improvement

• Step 4: Showcase the positive Results of your Actions

PRO TIP: Present the symptoms of your weakness, instead of simply naming it. For example:

• Weakness: “Public speaking”

• Symptom: “I find it challenging to present my ideas in front of a crowd”

Characteristics of a good answer:

• Being honest about your weakness

• Demonstrating proactiveness to improve

• Keeping a positive tone

• Showing the right amount of vulnerability

Characteristics of a bad answer:

• Picking a weakness that is crucial to the job

• Being too honest about your weakness

• Not showing commitment to self-improvement

• Answering with a negative tone

Final tips:

• Don’t avoid answering the question

• Be honest

• Present the symptoms of the weakness, rather than naming it

• Prepare 3-4 examples of weakness

• Focus on one weakness at a time

• Answer time: 1-2 minutes per weakness

Quick Summary

Interviewers want to know:

• If you acknowledge and are accountable for your mistakes

• If you can learn from your mistakes and improve in the future

• Your perception of success, failure, and taking risks

Quick Summary

Examples of definitions of failure or mistake:

• Not meeting the expectations

• Not meeting deadlines

• Using more resources than initially planned

• Missing an opportunity or a contract

• Not communicating with the right level of detail or frequency

• Withholding bad news

Criteria for picking a failure or mistake:

• Not too small or irrelevant

• Not colossal

• Not related to character flaws

• Not older than 2-years old

• You were accountable fo

Quick Summary

Steps to create your answer:

• Step 1: Clarify what failure means to you

• Step 2: Explain the Situation where the fail happened

• Step 3: Describe your Task in the Situation

• Step 4: Explain why the steps you took to revert the Situation were a mistake

• Step 5: Describe how your mistake negatively impacted stakeholders

• Step 6: Explain what you’ve learned from your mistakes

• Step 7: Describe a subsequent situation where your learnings prevented the same mistake

Characteristics of a good answer:

• Having a clear definition of a mistake

• Being honest and describing a real mistake

• Picking a mistake that has just the right size

• Keeping a positive tone

• Demonstrating accountability

• Displaying concrete examples of professional growth

Characteristics of a bad answer:

• Picking a mistake that happened too long ago

• Blaming others for your failure and not taking responsibility

• Trying to act like you have no failures

• Picking a mistake that was too tragic

• Picking a mistake that was too small and irrelevant

Final tips:

• Don’t avoid answering the question

• Show that you can learn from your mistakes and improve

• Answer time: 2 minutes

Quick Summary

Examples of Leadership:

• Supporting, encouraging, motivating, and inspiring stakeholders

• Sharing a vision and providing direction

• Communicating clearly and consistently

• Displaying empathy that drives trust

• Delegating wisely and effectively

• Providing sufficient resources, tools, and information for decision making

• Offering constructive feedback and guidance that inspire others to achieve their goals

• Displaying integrity and work ethic

• Mediating and shaping conflicts effectively

• Creating positive energy through passion and commitment

Criteria for picking your leadership example:

• Linked to the requirements in the job description

• Not older than 1-year

• You played the central role

• Positive and measurable outcome

Quick Summary

Steps to create your answer:

• Step 1: Clarify what leadership means to you

• Step 2: Explain the Situation

• Step 3: Describe your Task in the Situation

• Step 4: Explain the Actions you took

• Step 5: Describe the Results of your Actions

Characteristics of a good answer:

• Having a clear definition of leadership

• Providing an example that illustrates your leadership definition

• Picking an example where you played the central role

• Showing concrete and quantifiable results

Characteristics of a bad answer:

• Providing an example that is too old

• Providing an example where you didn’t play the main role

• Providing an example that is unrelated to the job requirements

• Providing abstract and generic results

Final tips:

• Don’t avoid answering the question

• Find the right balance between confidence and humbleness

• Prepare 3-4 stories that demonstrate your leadership skills

• Answer time: 2-3 minutes

Quick Summary

Four spectrums that define a teammate:

• Social Style: Do you work better individually or as part of a group?

• Work Style: Are you more of a “doer”? Or more of a “thinker”?

• Thinking style: Your thinking style is more “divergent” or “convergent”?

• Decision style: When making decisions, do you value more intuition or facts?

Interviewers want to know:

• The team environment that you thrive in

• Whether you’ll be a good fit for the role, the team, and the company culture

Quick Summary

5 dynamics of top-performing teams by Google:

• Psychological safety: team members feel confident about asking questions, admitting mistakes, or offering new ideas.

• Dependability: members reliably complete quality work on time

• Structure and Clarity: individuals understand what’s expected of them. They know what their team is aiming for and how they will get there

• Meaning: team members have a sense of purpose, that varies from person to person. It might include financial security, ability to support their family, commitment to the team’s success, or individual self-expression.

• Impact: members of effective teams fundamentally believe that the work they do makes a difference.

Teammate roles:

1. Thinking-oriented roles

• Finding a way through complex problems and offering new ideas to the team for consideration

• Analyzing the viability of the team’s ideas from every possible angle to discover any potential pitfalls

• Researching and studying a subject in-depth and providing specific knowledge that the team may be lacking

1. Action-oriented roles

• Making plans to ensure that work is completed on time and in an orderly fashion

• Ensuring that no mistakes slip through and spoil the result

• Pushing others to ensure that goals are met and projects delivered on time

• Ensuring that the team keeps moving and does not lose focus or momentum

1. People-oriented roles

• Networking and establishing new relationships and contacts which can provide new opportunities and give the team valuable insights

• Promoting internal communication to ensure everything runs smoothly

• Identifying and making the most of individual talents

• Promoting consensus and helping steer the team towards its objectives

• Facilitating meetings and discussions, ensuring that everyone has their say

• Delegating work appropriately

Criteria for picking your example:

• Linked to the job requirements

• You played the central role

• Less than 1-year old

Quick Summary

Steps to create your answer:

• Step 1: Clarify what teamwork means to you

• Step 2: Explain the Situation

• Step 3: Describe your Task in the Situation

• Step 4: Explain the Actions you took

• Step 5: Describe the Results of your Actions

Characteristics of a good answer:

• Presenting a clear definition of teamwork

• Having an example that illustrates your teamwork definition

• Sharing concrete and quantifiable results

• Sharing an example where you played the central role

Characteristics of a bad answer:

• Picking an example where you weren’t a good team player

• Sharing an example where you didn’t play the central role

• Sharing nonspecific results

Final tips:

• Show accountability for the team’s challenges

• Find the right balance between highlighting your accomplishments as a team and as individual

• Prepare 3-4 stories that demonstrate your team working skills

• Answer time: 2-3 minutes

Quick Summary

Criteria for picking your example:

• Related to the stress involved in the position

• Positive outcome

• You played the central role

Examples of handling stressful situations:

• De-escalate the situation to gain perspective

• Eliminate distractions, such as phone notifications and unnecessary meetings

• Simplify requirements, adjust standards and let go of perfectionism

• Prioritize

• Break projects into small steps

• Forget multitasking and focus on one thing at a time

• Stay organized

• Get support and other points of view

• Automate tasks to gain time

• Remind yourself of the goal to keep motivated

• Reward yourself for small achievements

• Give yourself short breaks

• Care for yourself through meditation, exercise, sleep, etc.

Key-words for your answer:

• Time management

• Prioritization

• Organization

• Diligence

• Adaptability

• Communication

• Problem-solving

Quick Summary

Steps to create your answer:

• Step 1: Provide a summary of how you deal with stress

• Step 2: Explain the Situation

• Step 3: Describe your Task in the Situation

• Step 4: Explain the Actions you took to revert the Situation

• Step 5: Describe the Results of your Actions

Characteristics of a good answer:

• Giving an honest answer

• Providing practical examples

• Sharing examples where you played the central role

• Displaying concrete and quantifiable results

Characteristics of a bad answer:

• Not precisely answering the question

• Not taking accountability and blaming others

• Providing examples where you didn’t play the main role

• Sharing unclear results

Final tips:

• Don’t say that you don’t feel stress, or that stress is good

• Focus on actions, not emotions

• Answer time: 1-2 minutes

Quick Summary

Criteria for picking your example:

• Relevant to the workplace

• Recent

• Highlight a special characteristic that makes you stand out from other competitors

Quick Summary

Steps to create your answer:

• Step 1: State your greatest accomplishment

• Step 2: Describe why this accomplishment is important to you

• Step 3: Explain the Situation

• Step 4: Describe your Task in the Situation

• Step 5: Explain the Actions you took

• Step 6: Describe the Results of your Actions

Characteristics of a good answer:

• Providing examples that are relevant to the work context

• Illustrating your values and priorities

• Providing an example where you played the central role

• Sharing concrete, specific, and measurable results

• Displaying the right mix of humbleness and boldness

Characteristics of a bad answer:

• Sharing an example that isn’t relevant for the role

• Sharing an example where you didn’t play the central role

• Being too humble

Final tips:

• Find the right balance between humbleness and boldness

• Have a set of 3-5 great stories prepared

• Answer time: 2-3 minutes

Quick Summary

Interviewers want to know:

• If you are aware of your value

• Your knowledge about the company’s goals and needs

Quick Summary

PRO TIP: Mix one hard skill, one soft skill, and give it a personal touch to make a killer answer.

Quick Summary

Steps to create your answer:

• Step 1: State the company’s problems or goals

• Step 2: Share your hard skill

• Step 3: Share your soft skill

• Step 4: Share your personal touch

• Step 5: Show confidence and enthusiasm about the position

Characteristics of a good answer:

• Showing knowledge about the company’s goals

• Demonstrating self-awareness

• Sharing a unique combination of skills that makes you stand out

• Having the right balance between confidence and humbleness

• Sharing skills that are connected to the company’s goals

Characteristics of a bad answer:

• Simply listing multiple skills and not providing any examples or evidence of success

• Answering why the company is a good fit for you instead of answering why you are a good fit for the company

• Not showing genuine interest in the job

• Giving too much emphasis to compensation

Final tips:

• Connect the company needs to the unique value that you can offer

• Find a balance between confidence and humbleness

• Answer time: 1-2 minutes