Top 15 Interview Questions and Answers

Wouldn’t it be cool if you knew exactly the questions which a hiring manager would be asking from you in your next job interview? Job interviews become a necessary evil right after you complete your graduation. Today we will discuss top 15 interview questions and answers in detail.

Most of the candidates break out in cold just at the mere thought of giving an interview. How do I prepare for the job interview? Which questions are they going to ask me? Will I be able to respond correctly to every single answer? What should I ask them? These are just of the few questions that run into the mind of every average interviewee.

Eventually we can’t prepare you for every single question, but we can give you easy tips to help you in balancing the answers to the difficult questions asked during the interview.

As there’s a wise saying: “If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail”. But choosing what to prepare for a job interview can be tough. There could be millions of guides on how to answer the difficult questions during interviews but not so much on which questions are most likely to be asked.

Keeping in view most of the interviewees, here we give our respondents a list of most popular typical asked interview questions:

1. Why should we hire you?
   

2. Reason behind leaving your last job?
   

3. Why have you been unemployed for such a long time?
   

4. Tell me your ability to do work under pressure?
   

5. What are your expectations from the job?
   

6. Describe your management style.
   

7. Are you a team player?
   

8. What irritates you about co-workers?
   

9. How long would you expect to work for us if hired?
   

10. How do you see yourself 5 years from now?
    

11. Do you consider yourself successful?
    

12. What is your weakness?
    

13. What is your strength?
    

14. What position do you prefer on a team working on a project?
    

15. Do you have any questions for us?

1. Why should we hire you?

Since you possibly can not know the profile of other candidates, that’s why now is the time to excel yourself and state the things that make you the best fit for the job.

Don’t just respond with the universal answers like: “I’m smart, confident and qualified and I want this job”. Of course, you do or else you wouldn’t be sitting here for the interview. It is certain that almost every single candidate for the interview is going to say nearly the same thing.

You need to be unique in your answers and individual in your style from the talent pool. The possible answer you may give could be: “If you hire me, it will be a great platform to showcase my skills. Whatever goals I set; I ensure to complete them within specified time.”

2. Reason behind leaving your last job?

Deciding to leave a job could be a tough decision. Some good reasons for leaving a job may include a company downturn, acquisition or merger, better leadership or compensation, or family circumstances may also be a factor. Sometimes it makes good sense to look for a new position because no job will be perfect ever. 

So, the best possible answer you can give is: “In order to enhance my skill sets, I am looking for better opportunities”.

3. Why have you been unemployed for such a long time?

There could be many reasons for being unemployed for a long time. For example, maybe you are preparing for some competitive exams, or you chose your family on priority for some reasons, or you maybe improving yourself in your specialization. 

So, you need to answer precisely about your absence from your career in a way like: “I enrolled myself for some advanced personality development course with some freelance work”.

4. Tell me your ability to do work under pressure?

It’s a supreme and a valuable quality of an employer to work under pressure. Performing well under the pressure can make a difference between an average employee and an excellent one. Sometimes unexpected situations occur, and a quick decision is needed. The ability to stay calm, think logically and act wisely can be a great asset to any employee.

So, preparing a solid and unique response may show to the interviewer that you are likely to perform well under pressure situations like: “I keep myself calm and focus more on multi-tasking while being patient”.

5. What are your expectations from the job?

Provide an honest review when the interviewer asks this question from you because they can easily target that if you’re manipulating or fabricating the answers. So, be honest about your expectations from the company and use you own words to explain your job duties based on the job description.

So be humble and simple in giving your answer: “Professionally advancement and good future”.

6. Describe your management style.

The sign of a best leader is he/she always keeps his subordinates close to him with everyday small meetings and encourages them more for their quality work. So, the best a manager or a leader can ever do is to know more about his/her subordinates' problems individually and provide more solutions to them in the best possible way he can do.

So, when the interviewer asks you about your right management styles, they are possibly asking you to tell them the true success story of the time when you were leading a team in your past job. 

So, you might answer them like: “I will be constantly keeping a tab of assigned work with my subordinates and seniors, finishing the assigned task before deadline”.

7. Are you a team player?

If we look practically, then every company is looking for an employee who works as a team player because its not just a pitch where being a good team player is important. So, in answer to this question you can say: “Yes the team which I was part of, have successfully completed the projects within deadlines”.

8. What irritates you about co-workers?

Being a good employee, your answer should be to the point and relevant. If you will mention irrelevant characteristics like people who pick their nose irritates you, then it will sound like an unprofessional statement. That’s why I mention the things only related to the work like: “I believe in teamwork. Even if I find anything irritating, I try to avoid it unless it personally affects me”.

9. How long would you expect to work for us if hired?

Generally, this question is the one that most of the interviewer asks to know if the candidate they are hiring is going to be good enough to bring positive changes to a company value? So, show your potential and tell them that you are worth hiring by answering like: “As long as I feel challenged professionally”.

10.  How do you see yourself 5 years from now?

Often when an interviewer asks this question, then emphasize the skills you want to learn and improve in yourself in the next 5 years. You may give different answers to this question like: “I would focus more on improving my skills”, “I see myself as a respected person in the coming 5 years”. 

Take some time to brainstorm yourself and follow this formula: “I see myself in a senior position managing an important portfolio of this company”.

11.  Do you consider yourself successful?

By asking this question, an interviewer is trying to assess and know about your past achievements and trying to figure out if you will be able to achieve more successes in the future or not? So, without feeling like a show-off, say yes confidently and highlight specific milestones that you will achieve. So, answer like this: “Yes, apart from appraisals, I think I have earned a bunch of good colleagues in my life”.

12.  What is your weakness?

Be careful how you respond to this question when asked in an interview. Keep in mind how you frame your answer to a job interview about your weaknesses as it will define your whole personality. So, most probably you may answer like: “I can concentrate on one thing at a time”.

13.  What is your strength?

The best way to respond to this question is to tell more about your self-confident projects. Craft your answer in a very professional manner and with a high degree of self-awareness. Rather than just blurting out, make sure to state a range of your strengths to demonstrate your versatility. Give an answer like: “I am a quick learner and a great team player”.

14.  What position do you prefer on a team working on a project?

Be very subtle and humble when you are asked this question in an interview. Do not claim to be comfortable with a specific role, instead say ‘any position I am capable of is an ideal position for me’.

You can more likely answer this way: “It doesn’t matter till I learn something new in every project” and so this way you are going to give a positive message to the interviewer.

15.  Do you have any questions for us?

This question is a critical part of the interview process, but it is important to ask questions because it shows your interest in the company and it will end the discussion on a high note. In contrast, if you will not ask any question, then it may seem like you have not done your homework properly.

So, in order to be more versatile/unique than other candidates, then ask a simple question that triggers the interviewer’s mind like: “When can I join?” This question will leave a good impact on your personality. 

My suggestion? Well, job interviews can be stressful sometimes. It makes you stressed about what to wear for a job interview, which document to take with you, which answer to give properly and so on. Get expert advice before an interview, do your homework properly and all you have to do is to think about your first day at your dream job place.