Common Job Interview Questions: Complete With Behavioral Interview Questions, Q&A Examples, and More

Job interview questions

Common job interview questions and red flags

Job Interview Questions - Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

To get you started, here are some common interview questions for you to prepare yourself to make a great candidate.

• Tell me about yourself.

• How did you hear about this position?

• Why do you want to work at this company?

• Why do you want this job?

• Why should we hire you?

• What can you bring to the company?

• What are your greatest strengths?

• What do you consider to be your weaknesses?

• What is your greatest professional achievement?

• Tell me about a challenge or conflict you’ve faced at work, and how you dealt with it.

• Tell me about a time you demonstrated leadership skills.

• What’s a time you disagreed with a decision that was made at work?

• Tell me about a time you made a mistake.

• Tell me about a time you failed.

• Why are you leaving your current job?

• Why were you fired?

• Why was there a gap in your employment?

• Can you explain why you changed career paths?

• What’s your current salary?

• What do you like least about your job?

• What are you looking for in a new position?

• What type of work environment do you prefer?

• What’s your work style?

• What’s your management style?

• How would your boss and coworkers describe you?

• How do you deal with pressure or stressful situations?

• What do you like to do outside of work?

• Are you planning on having children?

• How do you prioritize your work?

• What are you passionate about?

• What motivates you?

• What are your pet peeves?

• How do you like to be managed?

• Do you consider yourself successful?

• Where do you see yourself in five years?

• How do you plan to achieve your career goals?

• What’s your dream job?

• What other companies are you interviewing with?

• What makes you unique?

• What should i know that’s not on your resume?

• What would your first 30, 60, or 90 days look like in this role?

• What are your salary expectations?

• What do you think we could do better or differently?

• When can you start?

• Are you willing to relocate?

• How many tennis balls can you fit into a limousine?

• If you were an animal, which one would you want to be?

• Sell me this pen.

• Is there anything else you’d like us to know?

• Do you have any questions for us?

In addition, you’ll need to be aware of red flags in an interview. Employers need a checklist of dos and don'ts about how to interview prospective employees. So, make sure you don’t exhibit a single red flag during the session. Here are some examples of the red flags you have to be aware of:

• Exhibit inappropriate communication behaviors to interviewers.

• Fail to respond effectively to follow-up questions after the initial answers.

• Don't plan to stay very long at the job.

• Talk inappropriately about the former employer(s).

• Fail to dress with care for the interview.

Questions to ask in a job interview: know about behavioral interview questions

Job Interview Questions - Photo by Alex Green from Pexels

For fellow job seekers, there are some kinds of job interview questions that you have to be aware of. Amongst them are behavioral interview questions which are based on how you acted in a specific situation. 

These types of questions are meant to gauge how you react to stress, what’s your skill-level, and how you conduct yourself in a professional environment. They also allow the interviewer to get a much better understanding of you as a candidate.

The easiest way to answer behavioral interview questions is to follow the STAR method. According to the STAR method, each interview answer should use the following structure:

• S for Situation. Describe the situation where everything happened.

• T for Task. Describe the task you had to complete in order to solve the problem/issue at hand.

• A for Action. Explain what actions you took to complete the aforementioned task.

• R for Results. Talk about the results of your actions and try to be as detailed as possible. How did your actions lead to the company or organization to function better?

Here are some examples of the job interview questions:

• How do you accomplish tasks when under a tight deadline? Give me an example.

• Describe a long term project you managed. How did you make sure everything was running smoothly?

• Sometimes, it’s almost impossible to get everything done on your to-do list. What do you do when your list of responsibilities becomes overwhelming?

• Tell me about a time you set a personal goal for yourself. How did you ensure you would meet your objectives and what steps did you take?

• Can you describe an instance where your supervisor or manager just gave you too much work with not enough time? What did you do?

• How do you handle a disagreement with your colleagues? Give me an example of when you successfully persuaded someone to see things your way at work.

• What would you do if you misunderstood an important task on the job? Give me an example.

• Have you ever had to work under someone who wasn’t very good at communicating? What happened?

• Tell me about a time when you had to work with someone completely different from you. How did you adapt to collaborate better?

• Clients can be difficult to work with sometimes. Can you describe a situation when a client was wrong and you had to correct them?

• We all make mistakes sometimes we wish we could take them back. Is there a time that comes to mind where you wish you had handled a situation with a client or colleague differently?

• Can you give me an example of when you had to adapt to a new and sudden change in the workplace? What happened?

• Tell me about a time when you successfully delegated tasks to your team.

• Can you tell me about a time when you had to perform a task or work on a project you had no previous experience with before? How did you approach this situation and what did you learn?

Job interview questions and answers

Job Interview Questions - Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko from Pexels

We’ve also got you covered with job interview questions and great examples of answers to correspond to.

Q: So where are you right now in terms of salary, and what are your salary expectations if you make this move? / What are your salary requirements?

A: I have learned a lot more about the company, the position, and the compensation package since I gave that initial salary range. Given what I’ve learned, I would be more comfortable at [your counteroffer].

Q: Why did you apply for this position?

A: I’ve heard great things about the work environment here from a few colleagues. And when I saw this job posting, it seemed to match my skills very closely. For example, I saw on the job description that you need somebody who’s an expert in Java programming. This is what I focused on in both of my previous positions, and was even the focus of my academic work before graduating from university. I consider myself an expert in Java and it’s a skill I hope to continue specializing in.

Q: What type of work environments do you prefer?

A: From the research I've conducted, it appears your company operates in a collaborative environment that fosters professional advancement. This is my ideal working environment, as I thrive working as part of a team. I prefer working in a group where team members can encourage each other and share their ideas. I also enjoy working for a company where I know I can continue to grow my skills both personally and professionally.

Q: What did you do during this gap in your employment?

A: The company and I had different expectations. In reflecting on that experience, I realize there are some things I could have done differently. I learned a great deal, and I’m excited about the opportunity to bring that maturity to my next job.

Q: What are your career development goals?

A: My primary focus is on continuing to develop my leadership skills, and I believe the best way to do that is to constantly challenge myself. I've always strived to take on greater responsibility with each of the companies I've worked for previously; I think my vision goes toward the big picture and I want to exploit that talent to the best of my ability.

Q: Tell me about your previous employment/previous roles.

A: I previously worked as a marketing manager within an agency. In my role, I was responsible for directing a team of six and pulling together strategies and plans to maximize the marketing efforts of the company. I was in charge of project management, ensuring that each team member knew what their role was and that everyone was able to work to the same strategy effectively, on time and under budget. As well as working closely with my team, I also had to work with a group of contractors and provide regular reports and updates to the senior management team. From this experience, I’ve learned a lot about how to make the most of a project and how to work closely with different team members. I’ve been proud of how each member was able to feel confident enough to make suggestions on ways to ensure the success of the project and it’s been great to see the campaign outcomes achieve their key deliverables.

Questions to ask during job interview

Job Interview Questions - Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko from Pexels

When the inevitable, “So, do you have any questions for us?” part of the interview comes, answering this question is important. Ask some of these job interview questions to the hiring manager to make sure you’ve covered all your bases.

• What are the common career paths in this department?

• Can you elaborate on the day to day responsibilities this job entails? / What does a typical day look like?

• How will my responsibilities and performance be measured? By whom?

• Could you explain your organizational structure?

• What computer equipment and software do you use?

• What is the organization's plan for the next five years?

• What challenges has this company faced in the last few years? What challenges do you anticipate in the coming years? (give you insight into the pain points the company experiences)

• What’s the most important thing I could do to help within the first 90 days of employment?

• What are the common career paths in this department?

• Can you tell me about the team I’ll be working with?

• Who will I work with most closely?

• Who will I report to directly?

• What’s the company and team culture like?

• How would you describe the work environment here—is the work typically collaborative or more independent?

• Can you tell me about the last team event you did together?

• Is there a formal mission statement or company values? (Note: Make sure this isn’t Google-able!)

• What’s your favorite office tradition?

• What are the most important things you’d like to see someone accomplish in the first 30, 60, and 90 days on the job?

• What are the performance expectations of this position over the first 12 months?

• How will I be trained?

• What training programs are available to your employees?

• Are there opportunities for advancement or professional development?

• What are the biggest challenges that someone in this position would face?

• What sort of budget would I be working with?

• Is this a new role that has been created?