17 Interview Questions You Must Be Able To Answer

"To be prepared is half the victory" - Miguel De Cervantes

A large part of your success at job interviews comes down to the ammount and type of preparation you do. In particular, preparing yourself for the types of questions you’re likely to be asked.

Below are 17 questions you must be able to answer prior to attending most types of interviews. This is NOT a definite guide to interview questions (there’s no such thing) – but instead a set of core questions that makes you go through a thought process before attending interviews.

If you can answer these questions for yourself, it allows you to answer most types of non technical questions in most interviews (by non technical, I mean questions not related to your functional area – eg Sales, Accounting etc).

The 17 Questions:

Questions about your career choices and decisions

1. What made you enter xyz industry / profession?

2. What’s the biggest highlight of your career to date? Why was it a highlight?

3. What’s your biggest career mistake to date? What did you learn from this mistake?

4. Where do you see your career going in 3 years (…or 5 years, 10 years time)

Questions about each of your roles

5. What made you take that particular role on?

6. What were your reasons for leaving that particular role?

7. What did you deliver in each of your roles? Can you quantify these achievements?

Questions about your redundancy

8. How many people in your team were laid off?

9. Why do you think you were one of the individuals selected for redundancy?

Questions about you

10. What type of work / roles have you enjoyed the most? What was it about them that you enjoyed?

11. What types of work / roles have frustrated you the most? What was it about them that was frustrating?

12. What are key strengths? Can you provide me with a specific example to back each of them up?

13. What are your key weaknesses / development areas? What are you doing about them?

14. How would you describe your personality and working style?

About your application

15. What made you apply for this role / organisation?

16. Why do you feel you’d be suited to this role?

17. What’s unique about you? How are you different to all the other people we’re meeting?

Yes, there are many more questions that can be added to this list. And yes, you will rarely be asked all 17 questions – and rarely will they be phrased in the above language. But being able to answer the questions above prior to an interview enables you to apply those answers to most types of non technical questions.

All you then need to do is adapt and tailor your answer to a) the actual question being asked of you and b) the specific needs of the employers or recruiters sitting in front of you and you’re well on the way to separating yourself from the competition.

By Sital Ruparelia, Cross posted on the 6 Figure Career Management Blog

Comments

[Rockon]

Hi...
Thanks for great information.
Thanks again.

[John]

Those dreaded questions !

Here's another:

Interviewer asks - Do you think I'm an arrogant SOB for taking calls during the interview, seeing that you were so kind to come in for the interview in the first place?

YES. I like those short, easy to answer ones.

[Tina]

I have found when I can actually get into a facility for a face-to-face, that most hiring managers are VERY arrogant and know that the applicants far surpass the positions available and they feel you need to sit there and "take" it....but then I wonder, if they are treating me like this at an introduction to one another, how does the company treat employees after they are hired?

[Jim]

Develop a group of CAR stories
C = challenge
A = approach
R = result

All and I emphasize all of the above questions can be covered with well developed CAR stories

[Eric Raynard]

Found this piece particularly insightful. I am a recruiter who coaches people on how to interview well. Hope you don't mind ... I linked to it on my blog at www.raynard.us.

Thanks,
Eric

[AustraliaWorks]

hi sital! thanks for your post, it was a lovely read and you supplied some great questions! anyway if you have a moment please also check this list i compiled of the 50 most commonly asked interview questions, why they are asked, any hidden motives and exactly how to answer the questions!
50 most common interview questions and answers

[interview questions]

Eileen
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interview questions

[Doug Stowell]

Excellent set of questions. I have interviewed many people in my career and all my interviews include these 17 questions,

Doug

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