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What are the most common interview questions?

By Anne McKinney, Prep Publishing

How will you answer the critical interview questions?
Put yourself in the interviewer’s position and think about the questions you’re most likely to be asked. Here are some of the most commonly asked interview questions:

Q: “What are your greatest strengths?”
A: Don’t say you’ve never thought about it! Go into an interview knowing the three main impressions you want to leave about yourself, such as “I’m hard-working, loyal, and an imaginative cost-cutter.”

Q: “What are your greatest weaknesses?”
A: Don’t confess that you’re lazy or have trouble meeting deadlines! Confessing that you tend to be a “workaholic” or “tend to be a perfectionist and sometimes get frustrated when others don’t share my high standards” will make your prospective employer see a “weakness” that he likes. Name a weakness that your interviewer will perceive as a strength.

Q: “What are your long-range goals?”
A: If you’re interviewing with Microsoft, don’t say you want to work for IBM in five years! Say your long-range goal is to be with the company, contributing to its goals and success.

Q: “What motivates you to do your best work?”
A: Don’t get dollar signs in your eyes here! “A challenge” is not a bad answer, but it’s a little cliched. Saying something like “troubleshooting” or “solving a tough problem” is more interesting and specific. Give an example if you can.

Q: “What do you know about this organization?”
A: Don’t say you never heard of it until they asked you to the interview! Name an interesting, positive thing you learned about the company recently from your research. Remember, company executives can sometimes feel rather “maternal” about the company they serve. Don’t get onto a negative area of the company if you can think of positive facts you can bring up. Of course, if you learned in your research that the company’s sales seem to be taking a nose-dive, or that the company president is being prosecuted for taking bribes, you might politely ask your interviewer to tell you something that could help you better understand what you’ve been reading. Those are the kinds of company facts that can help you determine whether or not you want to work there.

Q: “Why should I hire you?”
A: “I’m unemployed and available” is the wrong answer here! Get back to your strengths and say that you believe the organization could benefit by a loyal, hard-working cost-cutter like yourself.

In conclusion, you should decide in advance, before you go to the interview, how you will answer each of these commonly asked questions. Have some practice interviews with a friend to role-play and build your confidence.

Prep-Pub.com (Opens New Window)

Source: Prep Publishing


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