The "usual suspects" - 5 typical job interview questions.
Interviewing for a job can be a challenge. In addition to preparing for questions about your experience and qualifications, you also need to be ready for questions about yourself as a person. After all, your potential employer wants to know not only if you can do the job, but also if you will be a good fit for their company culture. Here are five tough questions you may be asked in a job interview, along with advice on how to answer each one. (Need more interview advice? – click here.)
1. Why are you interested in this position?
This question is designed to test your motivation for wanting the job. To answer it, try to connect your skills and experience to the specific duties of the position you’re applying for. For example, if you’re applying for a marketing position, you could say that you’re interested in the position because you love finding creative ways to get people’s attention and you have a knack for writing catchy copy.
2. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
When an interviewer asks this question, they’re trying to get a sense of whether or not you have the skills and personality traits required for the job. To answer it, highlight one or two of your strengths that are relevant to the role, then talk about how you’re working on improving any weaknesses that could hold you back in the role. For example, if you’re applying for a sales position, you might say that one of your strengths is being able to build rapport with people quickly, but that you’re working on being more assertive when it comes to closing deals.
3. Describe a time when you had to handle a difficult customer/client interaction.
This question is designed to see how well you handle difficult situations. When answering it, be sure to describe a situation that was truly challenging for you, then explain how you handled it in a way that resulted in a positive outcome.
For example, maybe you once had a customer who was extremely angry and demanding refunds for products they never purchased from your store. In this situation, it would be helpful to describe how calmly and confidently you were able to diffuse the situation by clarifying what had actually happened and offering them a discount on their next purchase instead of giving into their demands for a refund.
4. Are you comfortable working independently or do prefer working as part of team?
This question is designed to see if your personality and working style would be a good fit for the role. If the position requires someone who is able to work independently with minimal supervision, then it’s probably not ideal for someone who needs constant guidance and collaboration in order to be productive. Likewise, if the role requires lots of team collaboration, then an applicant who prefers working independently might not be the best fit. Choose an answer that aligns with what the job description is asking for.
5 .What are your salary expectations?
Answering this question can be tricky because you don’t want to low-ball yourself or price yourself out of contention for the role. The best way to approach this question isto do some research on salaries for similar positions in your area before the interview so that you have concrete data to back up whatever salary range you name as your expectation. If possible, try to avoid naming an exact number so that there’s some room for negotiation later on down the line .
Preparing ahead of time by coming up with thoughtful answers to common interview questions will help ensure that you make a great impression during your upcoming job interview . Answering these five questions thoughtfully and honestly will give your potential employer a much better sense of whether or not you’re right for the role .
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