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A Guide To Common Job Interview Questions And Answers

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I think I’m yet to meet anyone who actively enjoys the job interview process. Sure, there are those infuriating people who suffer from no job interview stress and glide through the meeting as if their careers didn’t depend on it, but even they don’t actually enjoy it – they just don’t let it affect them. And 90% of the time, this external confidence is simply because they know exactly what to expect from the job interview questions.

How do they know? Simply because interviewers are an unoriginal breed and there’s a set of questions which have served us fine for years. We won’t change if we don’t have to! There’s the occasional wildcard job interview question, but even those will usually be a variant of these (phrased differently, but looking for the same sort of response) or they’ll be so off the wall that they’re just looking for honesty and a candidate who isn’t intimidated.

This list of job interview questions and answers isn’t exhaustive (if it were, this article would extend for several pages), but it provides the basic questions that it helps to be prepared for. I’m going to be writing another article in the future about the very tough interview questions that some vindictive employers ask and how to deal with them, so watch this space if you find this list useful.

So, here’s my beginner’s guide to answering interview questions

“Tell Me a Little About Yourself”

This is a peculiar one and may serve a few purposes – the most important of these, I believe, is allowing you to get comfortable in the job interview environment. An interviewer who dives straight in to the interrogation is going to see a lot of anxious candidates. There isn’t a set answer here, because it’s such an open question – just see it as a short speech to promote yourself. Briefly outline your recent work and any significant achievements you’ve earned along the way.

It’s essential you don’t go on and on when answering this interview question, babbling about everything from your childhood to your current job – they’re looking for an overview of who you are, and if you ramble, you’ll have defined yourself as a rambler!

“What would you say your strengths are?”

Every interviewer loves this question, because it gives them quick answers. It’s also one of the better ones to be asked in a job interview, because it gives you a free license to shamelessly self promote! The key concern here is not to go overboard – if you do, you’ll come across as conceited. It’s also wise to tailor your answer to this question to the type of role being advertised. Read the job description carefully, and match your skills to the question – if it’s a role that involved a lot of proofreading, then mention your meticulous attention to detail, if it’s a copywriting position, emphasise how articulate you are – and so on.

Don’t lie here, because it’ll be really obvious and embarrassing when you’re found out. If you claim to be articulate, but struggle to put two sentences together without misusing a word, your credibility will be damaged and you won’t be working for the company any time soon.

“What’s your main weakness?”

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<h1>A Guide To Common Job Interview Questions And Answers</h1><br />by Gail Kenny<br />I think I’m yet to meet anyone who actively enjoys the job interview process. Sure, there are those infuriating people who suffer from no job interview stress and glide through the meeting as if their careers didn’t depend on it, but even they don’t actually enjoy it – they just don’t let it affect them. And 90% of the time, this external confidence is simply because they know exactly what to expect from the job interview questions.<br /><br />How do they know? Simply because interviewers are an unoriginal breed and there’s a set of questions which have served us fine for years. We won’t change if we don’t have to! There’s the occasional wildcard job interview question, but even those will usually be a variant of these (phrased differently, but looking for the same sort of response) or they’ll be so off the wall that they’re just looking for honesty and a candidate who isn’t intimidated.<br /><br />This list of job interview questions and answers isn’t exhaustive (if it were, this article would extend for several pages), but it provides the basic questions that it helps to be prepared for. I’m going to be writing another article in the future about the very tough interview questions that some vindictive employers ask and how to deal with them, so watch this space if you find this list useful.<br /><br />So, here’s my beginner’s guide to answering interview questions<br /><br />“Tell Me a Little About Yourself”<br /><br />This is a peculiar one and may serve a few purposes – the most important of these, I believe, is allowing you to get comfortable in the job interview environment. An interviewer who dives straight in to the interrogation is going to see a lot of anxious candidates. There isn’t a set answer here, because it’s such an open question – just see it as a short speech to promote yourself. Briefly outline your recent work and any significant achievements you’ve earned along the way.<br /><br />It’s essential you don’t go on and on when answering this interview question, babbling about everything from your childhood to your current job – they’re looking for an overview of who you are, and if you ramble, you’ll have defined yourself as a rambler!<br /><br />“What would you say your strengths are?”<br /><br />Every interviewer loves this question, because it gives them quick answers. It’s also one of the better ones to be asked in a job interview, because it gives you a free license to shamelessly self promote! The key concern here is not to go overboard – if you do, you’ll come across as conceited. It’s also wise to tailor your answer to this question to the type of role being advertised. Read the job description carefully, and match your skills to the question – if it’s a role that involved a lot of proofreading, then mention your meticulous attention to detail, if it’s a copywriting position, emphasise how articulate you are – and so on.<br /><br />Don’t lie here, because it’ll be really obvious and embarrassing when you’re found out. If you claim to be articulate, but struggle to put two sentences together without misusing a word, your credibility will be damaged and you won’t be working for the company any time soon.<br /><br />“What’s your main weakness?”<br /><br />The flip side to the gift of the вЂ<br /><h2>About the Author</h2><p>Gail Kenny is the managing director of Puregenie – a recruitment agency for <a href="http://www.puregenie.com">online jobs in the travel industry</a>. The site caters exclusively to talented individuals with skills and experience to succeed in the online environment.</p> <br /><h3><a href="http://www.content4reprint.com/career/a-guide-to-common-job-interview-questions-and-answers.htm" title="A Guide To Common Job Interview Questions And Answers">Article Source:</a> <a href="http://www.content4reprint.com" title="Free high quality articles">Content for Reprint</a></h3>