Top 15 Interview Questions and answers with Examples

1. Tell me about yourself?

99.9% of the times interview starts with this question. Why? Because before anything else, the interviewer wants to know two things..

Actually, they are not really asking you to "tell them about yourself". They are asking you to tell them about your skills, experience and why you are a good fit for this role. They want to know only about your professional background and experience. Please do not speak of your favorite movies or your favorite cricketers, do not talk about your personal life story. There's no one interested. The only thing that interests an interviewer is whether or not you are the right one for this job. You must keep your chin up and answer with a good smile on your face.

Important points to include in your answer:

1. Education history in short

2. Job Experience or skills related to job

3. Work history (Only for experienced candidates)

4. Company you worked at

5. What position you held

6. How long you stayed in that position

7. Major responsibilities in that position.

Answers to avoid:

1. "Hi, I am Alex, I wanted to be an actor. but my parents wanted me to do engineering"

2. "Well, I’m from Florida. I was born in 1994 and spent most of my childhood hunched over a piano, striving to become a concert pianist (which I now am). I love outdoor games like Basketball and mountain biking."

Sample Answers:

1. "I'm an extremely curious man. I'm always hungry to learn things, so I like reading a lot and watching documentary films. I am very encouraged by productive environments, and I like to get things organized and done properly because I feel self-worth. I have learned really how to communicate openly in recent years, how to be more constructive. It has helped me in different aspects of my life and I'm excited about it."

2. "Well, I am currently a D Watson account manager, where I manage our high-quality client. Previously, I worked in an agency that has three major national brands of healthcare. And while I was really happy with my work, I would like to have the opportunity to dig deeper into one particular healthcare organization, which is why I am so excited about your organization "

3. "I began my career in Web Developing, but a few years ago, I was drawn to the Mobile Application development space. I’ve always been skilled at solving problems and working towards common goals. My experience of successfully designing and developing Websites led me to consider Mobile Application development, and I’ve been building a career as a Mobile application developer for the last four years."

2. Why should we hire you?

Interviewers are looking for exact situations that demonstrate that you are the best candidate for the position. To make an impact with this question you really need to know how to sell yourself to the interviewer. You may get this question in a few different forms. Such as "what makes you a good fit for this role?" or "why are you the best candidate for this position?" Either way, follow these fours steps to help you stand out from all the other candidates.

Step 1 - Do your research about the company and the role you are applying for. Research the company’s website, their LinkedIn page, social media.

Step 2- Demonstrate how your skills and expertise or experiences are the perfect match for this role. To do this, carefully look through the job description and highlight three key areas that you know you demonstrate you excel in. Most job descriptions are broken up into three separate parts, major key responsibilities, specific job functions and qualifications. Take out one item from each area that you can match directly to your career accomplishments.

Step 3 - You must draw up a story about each item highlighted in step 2 in order to properly sell yourself to the employer. Let's say, for example, that the job description requires somebody with excellent analytical skills. In this case, if analytical skill is in one of your strength, consider a situation which demonstrates your analytical skills in action and explains the results you have achieved.

Step 4 - Show your uniqueness, because they want to know what distinguishes you from all the others. Now is the time to demonstrate what separates you from everyone else who is giving an interview for this role. Make sure the position you are applying for is related to your unique talent or strengths.

You should share your knowledge of your work experience skills related to the job and your career. The interview question, "why should we hire you?" is actually very similar to another popular interview question, “What are your strengths?” However, your answers are going to be structured slightly different.

Answers to avoid:

1.“You should hire me, because I'm a hard worker.”

2.“You should hire me because I work well with others.”

Sample Answers:

1. (a) For Freshers: "I'm a fresher I have practical knowledge and I can do hard work for my organization. I will put all my efforts into the progress of the organization being punctual and sincere. I can complete the work on time."

(b) For Experienced: With reference to my previous work experience I possess all the requirements for this job. I am sincere with my job and would never let you down in any way. I promise you never will regret your decision to appoint me to your company

2. "I'm the right person for the job because {Some skills or expertise related to job }and I believe in this because {some previous achieved results from those skills}."

3. What are your strengths?

Now, why are they asking this? Simple. They want to know that you know your strengths, so that you have the focus to do what you do. Let's start with strengths. I am good at this. I am great at that. Anybody can say it. But to make it more believable, you also need to tell 'How' or 'Why'. Some strengths that you can talk about are Adaptability, hard-working, flexibility, persistent, self-motivated and quick learner.

Respond only with the relevant skills and strengths when answering this question. Prior research is also involved so that you know what is best for the job in advance.

Sample Answers:

1. "My strength is my ability to cope with change. I was able to turn around a negative work environment as a customer service manager at my last job and developed a very supportive team. "

2. "I am very cooperative and I always preferred working in groups. Members work with a number of people within the project teams that I led and are motivated by various creative tasks. I have increased productivity by 15 percent and retention by 25 percent in three years since I began running my current team."

4. What are your weaknesses?

We all have weaknesses and that's not a bad thing. Always keep in mind that your weakness should not have a negative impact on the interviewer. Don't sound overly critical of yourself and just pick one of your 'weaknesses' and turn it into a positive. First, think about the things that you are not good at. Now think about the initiatives you have taken to overcome that weakness. The only thing Interviewers are looking here by asking this question is:

Do you acknowledge your weaknesses so that you can work on improving them?

Never talk of weakness, unless you have overcome something, and if that makes sense, it will bring a positive outcome. And in that way, you answered this question without hitting the bush, without making a terrible critique of yourself and transforming the nature of the conversation into something positive.

Answers to avoid:

1. "I am too perfect"

2. "I work too hard"

Sample Answers:

1."I'm proud that I'm a ' big - picture ' person. I must admit that sometimes I miss small details, but I always make sure that I have somebody on my team who's detail-oriented"

2."I can be too critical of myself. One pattern I noticed over the course of my career is that I often think I could have done more. This led to burnout and negative self-conversations earlier in my career. One solution I have implemented in the last three years is to pause actively and celebrate my accomplishments. This not only helped my own self-esteem but it also really helped me to value and acknowledge my team and other support systems."

5. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

The interviewer would like to know whether you are ambitious and whether your long-term objectives are consistent with the company. Stress that you're interested in a long-term career and exhibit your enthusiasm. It's all right if you don't know what you want to do in five years, but show how keen you're to join. Ambitious and assertive characters are in high demand for certain roles, especially in sales-related positions. Please keep this in mind. So, feel free to clearly state that you are looking to grow with the company, learn from the best, and ultimately, when you are ready, take on more responsibilities. You need to show them you are committed and you are not here to find a quick solution to your unemployment. But rather, you are thinking of them as your last destination in your corporate career. Simply, you are not here to wait for the next best offer.

Answers to avoid:

1."I see myself on your position."

2."The CEO of this company"

3."At a better opportunity somewhere else"

4."I do not know what I am going to do tomorrow, you're asking about five years."

Sample Answers:

1."I see myself growing in management for five years and demonstrating my abilities for leadership."

2."For the next five years, I am looking forward to spending in an organization, which I feel shares all its values, particularly with [ some values ]. When the time is right, hopefully five years from now, I would like to demonstrate my ability to lead and contribute to its growing success."

3."It's difficult to say now, where I'm going to be in 5 years. But I guarantee one thing. In this role, I will do my best and make my best efforts to have a wonderful career with your team and your organizational leadership. And I hope I will take on more leadership roles to make your hard work easier."

6. What you know about this company?

Research about the company in detail their projects, competitors, owners, and the parties. Research about the company's current issues. Be prepared, otherwise, you will most likely kill your opportunity. It's not good to go interview for a company you don't know much about and odds are that you won't get the job because you'll come off uninterested. Visit the Company's official website in order to get more information. Google the company and you may find some of the articles related to the company read them also. This research will also help you to relate to the company with some of your own skills, interests or experiences.

Sample Answers:

1. "It is one of America's most rapidly growing companies. The company's working environment is excellent. People are proud to be a part of this company, as its employees are fully supported by the company. There are numerous branches around the world, therefore I have a good chance to demonstrate my talent. "

2. "I like doing {some skills related to company} and honestly, that's one of the reasons WHY I'm drawn to your company, because I really believe in your mission to {Describe one of the company's missions or projects} ."

7. What are your future goals?

Typically, the interviewer will ask you because they want to know how long you are planning to stay at their company. Here, too, preparation is good because you need to figure out how to articulate the goal. While no one can really know where they will be in their career 5 or 10 years from now, it will not be taken seriously to beat around the bush kind of answers. Then you can say that you have been thinking about the future and have thought about career planning, that nobody knows for sure where the company is going in 5 years, but ideally you are expecting to move the ladder in this company and be able to continue to assist the company in that way based on your performance. In fact, you want to tell them that the job you interview fits in with your career plan, so they think you will be committed to it for a long time and will not just use it as a pinnacle and leave after one year because many things go into hiring someone. Even if you are unsure that this position will actually play a part in your future, you can say it will play an essential role in your future and that you will be ready to move into those shoes. These include short-term goals and long-term goals.

Sample Answers:

1."My short - term objective is to get a job in a reputable enterprise, in which I can use my skills and improve my career. My long - term objective is to be valued in the organization"

8. What's been your biggest failure to date and how did you deal with it?

Here interviewer wants to know if you're the type of person that learns from his mistakes and doesn't repeat them. Failure is really part and parcel of life. We all fail, but the important thing is how you react to failure. So tell the interview panel that you view failure as a chance to improve and develop.

Answers to avoid:

1. "I never failed in my life"

Sample Answers:

1. "My biggest failure to date is failing a course during my study. The main reason that I failed was because of a lack of adequate study time, but I immediately learned from my mistakes and flaws and decided to resist the test immediately. I worked hard and spent lots of time studying. Finally, I passed the test. I've certainly learned a lot from my initial failure and I always make sure I'm fully prepared for all I do now. It is very important to think about your own performance, particularly if things don't go as planned. I would now like to see failure as an opportunity for improvement and development ."

9. How do you cope with the pressure?

A lot of jobs require you to deal with pressure. Interviewers want to make sure that they hire best for each role. If they know that a certain role sometimes involves stressful situations, they may want to verify that a candidate can react to that environment in a constructive rather than destructive manner. Tell the interview panel you are aware of how important it is to remain calm whilst under pressure and follow your training. Tell them that you always focus on the task in hand and never hesitate to ask for help if needed.

Answers to avoid:

1."I don't get pressure while working"

2."I don't panic during pressure moment"

Sample Answer:

1."Okay, I understand the pressure is very much part of any job. In particular, having studied the person specification for this job I'm applying for, I understand that it will be a common theme within the job. I cope with pressure by remaining calm, maintaining a focus on the task in hand, and also remembering my training and procedural guidelines. Now, when the pressure is on, I believe far too many people forget their training and that's when mistakes can occur. Now, although I haven't had to do this often if I ever feel I cannot complete a task properly and to the best of my ability, I would never be afraid to ask for assistance or guidance. I would much rather do the perfect job with the aid of assistance or advice, than push ahead and make a mistake that could cost the company dear"

2. "Stress can motivate me to a great extent. I always support healthy pressure that gives me an insight into what my colleagues need of me and when. I have good work quality. I had stressful situations that united me with my team and saw some of our best work coming from pressure"

10. Can you tell me about a mistake you made at work and how you handled it?

Everybody does make mistakes at work, the interviewer wants to know here is that you take responsibility, you admit to it, but then you resolve it. So, honesty and integrity are really important. So what you're doing, you've identified it, you're being honest, you're acknowledging it, you're letting your boss know, then you're resolving it. So once you've resolved, you are then putting things in place to make sure it doesn't happen again. Again, it's demonstrating that you're taking responsibility, but also you are honest. It's really important that an employer employs people who are honest.

Answers to avoid:

1."I've never really made a mistake."

2."I don't make mistakes"

Sample Answers:

1. "Yes. One particular time I was working in the company warehouse, I made a mistake and the company did not have sufficient stock available over a busy seasonal period. As soon as I noticed I had made the mistake, I informed my line manager as I feel honesty and integrity are essential in a situation like this. Now, whilst my supervisor was annoyed with the mistake I'd made, he was thankful that we had the opportunity to try and rectify it. Now, I asked him to give me the opportunity to sort it out, which he agreed to. I immediately contacted our supplier to see if there was any way the additional stock I had missed could be shipped to us in time for the seasonal period. Although it took some time and persuading, the supplier agreed to ship the additional stock the next working day, much to my relief. Then I tried to put things in place in order to make sure that I did not again make the same error."

11. What is your greatest accomplishment?

Most people get this question mixed up with the other popular interview question, "what is your greatest strength?" The greatest strength question is about the quality you possess. Whereas the greatest accomplishment question requires you to talk about an achievement that you made during your previous career. First approach towards answering this can be, Pick an accomplishment that demonstrates the best qualities the company is looking for in their ideal candidate and how your skills your expertise and your talents are the perfect fit. Pick an accomplishment that relates directly to the position you're applying for. The accomplishment you share needs to be a direct match. Pick an accomplishment that was recent. To show your relevance in the marketplace, pick an accomplishment that wasn't too long ago. Something that you can share that happened within the last little while. If you're a student and you don't have a lot of work experience to pull from, use success from your educational accomplishments.

Here's how you can structure your answer, using the star approach.

S: Situation

T: Task

A: Action

R: Result

Describe the situation. Then you move on and explain what the task was. What was your end goal? So what did you want to achieve during handling this difficult situation? Describe the action steps you took to get to the end goals. Explain the result that you achieved from that accomplishment. To keep your accomplishment positive and professional, don't talk about a challenge that you overcame in your personal life.

Sample Answers:

1. "In my previous role as academic dean, I had the privilege of hiring thousands of faculty members. My team has exceeded retention objectives and growth goals under my leadership. I was awarded the excellent colleague of the year by the College President. Only three people are selected every year to receive the nomination."

2. "My biggest achievement in my previous position has been as a business analyst. In order to facilitate business document collection and analysis of business needs, I have developed an innovative business system. This enables the company to quickly understand the problems and needs of our customers and to make a quick decision."

12. Why did you leave your last job?

Never speak badly or criticize your previous employer. Regardless of what happened, who did what, you always need to answer this question positively. If you do otherwise, you will appear unprofessional, and the hiring person will most likely not want that at their company. Explain what you learned from past experience then share your reason for the job change and related to the career goals.

Answers to avoid:

1."I left because my boss sucks"

2."I got fired"

Sample Answers:

1. "I left because the philosophy of work differed."

2. If you got fired - "Unfortunately, I was let go, but I understood the reasoning and realized what I had to work on and improve and I'll become a much better team member as a result of it.".

3. "I'm grateful to my previous organization because I learned a lot from it and changes are needed for everyone to build their skills, and your organization is a great platform for personal growth and financial support where I can learn more."

13. Why do you want this job?

Through this question, the interviewer wants to know why you want this job in particular? So tell them, what motivates you to work for this company or job position? Don't give a general answer. It indicates that you have not done your research. This is how you answer the question correctly.

1. Research about the company and the role you are being offered. Check their website, follow their media coverage, talk to friends who are working there and figure out what is it about the company that appeals the most to you.

2. Align your skills with the role. Now your next statement should highlight how your skills go along with the vibe of the company and the role.

Put half of that effort in reading about the company. Find out what is common between the company and you because after all, getting a job is like getting into a relationship with the company.

Answers to avoid:

1."I want this job because I need money".

2. "It's a great company, so I would like to work for it."

Sample Answers:

1. "I believe that I can satisfy the job requirements with my proven record in leading multi-functional teams. This role is also exciting for me because I like the idea of helping to develop cutting - edge software products."

2. "Well, I respect the software products of your company and would like to welcome the opportunity of working with the best in the business. I also have friends from the field who have told me about respect for your company's employees and how you are creating an excellent environment for rewarding innovation. I believe that my proactive style would fit in here — with this role in particular. "

14. What are your salary expectations?

Try to avoid giving an exact number while answering this question. What if you were making $80K at the previous job and you say that? If they were prepared to pay $90, you just shot yourself in the foot. As a fresher, you should never share your salary requirements. If the hiring manager insists on getting an idea, give out a number in ranges. Before going to the interview, check out the salary ranges for your role. Find the lower end as well as higher-end for that role. So, when they ask for your expectations, then you can just say between this and that. You just made research and came up with a methodological figure. You are not greedy nor desperate. This is the industry standard based on your research.

Sample Answers:

1. "It's a big platform to start my profession, and I want to enhance my knowledge and skills and experience so I expect a salary in accordance with my capabilities and company standards, which will further me in my financial needs. Salary is not the first priority for me."

2. "My current salary is 10,000 dollars per year and salary hasn't been more important to me, yet as an industry-standard, I expect salary according to my position and my skill and experience that can help to preserve a standard level of my personal and economic needs."

3. "I am sure that within industry standards the company will offer a decent wage. I don't want to become rich, I just want a chance to show my value to the company. At this point, this is my only priority."

15. Do you have any questions for me?

How much attention did you pay? Here, you can already have a few potential questions in your mind, from which to choose which one is best suited to your meeting and what was or was not covered so far.