Interviewing for new jobs can feel intimidating. However, often interviews consist of very common, expected questions about your background. Preparing answers for popular questions asked frequently across roles and companies will build confidence.
Reviewing this list of the 20 most typical interview questions along with sample responses will get you ready for all kinds of common job interview scenarios. Learn what details to focus on and what interviewers want to evaluate with each type of question.
1. “Tell Me About Yourself”
This open-ended request to introduce yourself sets the tone for the whole interview. Keep responses succinct to under five minutes using these key tips:
Focus on:
- Current or most recent job title and company
- How many years experience you have in the field
- 1-2 sentence summary of past companies, roles, education
- Personal branding statement aligned to the open role
- A key achievement, certification or connection to the new employer
Example response:
“I’m a Senior Marketing Manager with over 7 years of digital analytics and campaign strategy experience at both boutique agencies and in-house teams. On the agency side I worked with big name clients like Target and Lowes optimizing multi-channel digital programs. Most recently I managed all paid social channels for Wayfair’s Southern California ecommerce division. Achievements included improving conversion rates by 15% over 2 years through iterative audience segmentation. I’m passionate about data-driven omni-channel campaign planning which is what excites me about the Director of Growth Marketing role here at Fabletics overseeing retention campaigns across both online and mobile contexts.”
Do:
- Keep it concise under 5 minutes
- Smile and make eye contact with interviewers
- Align to the role qualifications
Don’t:
- Discuss personal life details not related to work
- Use filler words like “um” or “uh” frequently
- Repeat the exact same bullet points listed on your resume
2. “What Are Your Greatest Strengths?”
This question allows you to highlight 2-3 top skills that indicate you will excel in the open position. Outline relevant strengths using this structure:
- Skill name – Clearly state the skill itself such as writing, relationship building, data analysis. Quantitative skills like coding languages are always impressive.
- Example – Briefly explain a scenario or job duty where you leveraged that skill to accomplish something quantifiable. Use numbers whenever possible.
- Transfer – Connect that strength’s value directly to job requirements listed in the role description by saying something like “This would allow me to improve campaign conversion rates by refining audience targeting as needed in the Marketing Coordinator role.”
Example response:
“Some of my greatest strengths are building external partnerships and data-driven content strategy. For example, while running marketing for our software engineering blog readership grew over 500% in 2 years thanks in large part to collaborations I spearheaded with industry influencers and subject matter experts. This type of partnership and analytics-optimization background would enable me to grow subscribers across all of Techmark’s channels and improve lead funnel velocity in the Director of Audience Development role.”
Do:
- Discuss 2-3 relevant strengths
- Provide clear examples
- Connect strengths to the role/company needs
Don’t:
- Use generic strengths like “hard working”
- Forget to explain how strengths relate to key requirements
- Go on too long or ramble aimlessly
3. “What is Your Greatest Weakness?”
The key here is to surface something that isn’t a huge hindrance to job success. Strategic answers involve:
- Prefacing with how you actively work to improve your limitation.
- Aligning your weakness to a skill already strengthened by another strength you possess.
- Discussing a past weakness you have recently overcome.
- Framing a negative as context to a positive attribute (ex: My perfectionism means it’s hard for me to delegate but I involve my team…).
Example response:
“I tend to get involved in a lot of projects simultaneously which can lead to feeling overwhelmed. However, I’ve improved my workload and time management skills drastically over the past year. I now plan ahead strategically so deadlines don’t pile up. I also delegate items matching teammate strengths so we achieve more together, without anyone getting burned out even during busy seasons. My involvement stems from being passionate but I keep perspective by…”
Do:
- Surface a limitation you work actively to improve
- Align weakness to complementary strengths
- Keep tone positive
Don’t:
- Raise a weakness that would severely hinder performance
- Use a cop out answer like “I’m too much of a perfectionist”
- Speak negatively about past managers or employers
4. “Why Do You Want This Job?”
With this question, interviewers evaluate what excites you specifically about their company and open role versus just needing any position that pays. Tailor responses using details from job listings and company websites about:
- Their products/services
- Known office culture attributes
- Shared values between their mission statement and your motivations
- New projects mentioned in recent news that interest you
Example response:
“Your Head of Product Marketing role really appeals to me because of Shopify’s incredible growth empowering entrepreneurs to turn creative passions into thriving businesses. I love analyzing digital commerce trends across platforms. In my last Marketing Specialist role at Handshake, I actually optimized student conversion funnels but always admired Shopify’s elegant platform features for scalable growth. I want to apply my CRM, email and analytics experiences to help small business owners succeed through personalized, insightful product education campaigns.”
Do:
- Research their products, services and culture in advance
- Tailor response linking their priorities to your motivations
- Convey genuine passion
Don’t:
- Use a vague answer like “I need a job”
- Go too long or formal reciting the job description
- Fail to personalize for that specific role and company
5. “Why Should We Hire You?”
Summarize your fit for both the job description itself and signals throughout the hiring process about core competencies they desire. Outline 2-3 quantifiable achievements that demonstrate how you meet or exceed key qualifications they seek related to past job scope, goals, technology platforms used, level of leadership experience etc.
Example response:
“Along with closely matching each requirement you outlined in the job description itself, I think my master’s degree focusing on Machine Learning applications sets me apart as a leading candidate for this Data Science role. During my capstone project on predictive analytics at Johnson & Johnson, my algorithm model achieved more accurate forecasting than existing systems, catching anomalies up to 3 weeks sooner. I have also stayed on top of trends in R, SQL, Python and new breakthroughs in AI ethics policies which seems crucial for privacy priorities this school district prioritizes. My goal if hired is to build automated district reporting dashboards applying data science models that enhance resource allocation and improve graduation rates over time by pinpointing early risk detection.”
Do:
- Summarize 2-3 top qualifications from your background
- Reference specific skills listed in the job description
- Share relevant metrics and achievements
Don’t:
- Use cliches like “I’m a hard worker”
- Exaggerate or lie about your experience
- Speak negatively about past colleagues or managers
6. “What is Your Expected Salary Range?”
Research average pay for that role before the interview on sites like Glassdoor, Payscale and LinkedIn to formulate an appropriate response. You want to give a reasonable range based on your years of closely related experience. If asked for a specific number, deflect to a range by saying:
“Based on average rates for Social Media Managers with my 7 years experience in the Chicago area, I would expect between $65,000 to $75,000. However I’m open to learning more about total compensation here related to things like performance bonuses and annual raises over time.”
Do:
- Research average pay for that role in advance
- Provide a reasonable range based on your experience
- Stay flexible to consider total compensation
Don’t:
- Deflect completely from stating numbers
- Declare you have no salary expectations or requirements
- Get locked in to one strict number without considering bonuses
7. “Why Did You Leave or Are Leaving Your Current/Previous Job?”
Even if you have strong reasons for wanting to depart, avoid bashing past employers. Keep responses upbeat and focused on growth opportunities. Consider framing around:
- Wanting work that more closely aligns with long term career goals
- Seeking roles with greater development, leadership scope
- Changing life priorities like less travel or better work/life balance
Example response:
“I learned so much helping XYZ Company expand from 15 to over 100 employees globally over the past 5 years. Now that we have strong leadership teams in place across divisions, I feel I can transition knowledge smoothly to align with my passion for mentoring students. I’m hoping to find a university role training future marketers through teaching opportunities you offer here which I don’t have capacity for in my intense corporate Director position currently.”
Do:
- Keep responses professional regarding past roles
- Redirect to shared priorities with the potential new employer
- Project a positive tone
Don’t:
- Speak negatively about managers, colleagues or company practices
- Provide overly personal life details
- Dwell on the past without showing enthusiasm for future
8. “Describe Your Long Term Career Goals”
Align aspirational roles you discuss with logical upward moves from the open position. Balance ambition with realism. Outline a rough timeline for achieving aims. Descriptions could involve deepening expertise in current channels or expanding skill sets across new disciplines or markets.
Example response:
“My goal if hired as a Social Media Specialist for megabrand accounts here would be to demonstrate strong ROI through inbound lead generation and community engagement. After excelling for 2-3 years, I’d love to expand into an integrated marketing role with more campaign strategy influence alongside the PR, experiential and branding teams. With 5 or so more years mastering 360 campaigns at Brandhive Agency, I aim to lead integrated marketing for a global hospitality brand like Hilton or Hyatt in their corporate headquarters. I believe this Social Specialist position offers the exact experience needed to work toward that long-term CMO potential in roughly 8 years.”
Do:
- Map goals demonstrating logical growth from role
- Present realistic timelines for advancement
- Balance ambition with humility
Don’t:
- Contradict skills needed for that immediate job
- Share goals mismatched to company size or structure
- Claim you have no particular goals or growth paths desired
9. “What Are You Most Proud Of Professionally?”
Choose a story demonstrating transferable skills or strengths relevant to the company’s goals. Use the STAR method to concisely summarize the Situation, Task, Actions and Results driving quantitative or qualitative success.
Example STAR response:
SITUATION – Struggling Midwest skincare startup with minimal brand awareness
TASK – I was hired to drive brand visibility and website ecommerce sales
ACTIONS – Optimized SEO priorities to elevate keywords rankings across targeted product lines from page 5+ to page 1-2 of Google in under 3 months
RESULTS – Web traffic increased 400% Quarter over Quarter while improving conversion rate 66% through enhanced site navigation post-audit
Do:
- Choose a success demonstrating key transferable skills
- Use the STAR method concisely
- Discuss results tied to quantitative business impact
Don’t:
- Ramble or repeat resume bullet points verbatim
- Get sidetracked outlining irrelevant context
- Fail to explain contributions showing you exceeded expectations
10. “What Motivates You?”
Align motivational descriptors with words from the job listing like fast-paced, collaborative culture, high-growth, innovative, team-oriented or detail-focused. Share what energizes you using qualitative descriptions or anecdotal stories versus vague cliches.
Example response:
“I thrive working in highly collaborative cultures focused on measurable disruptive innovation like I read Cellcentric aims to achieve. For example, when working at Highmark Health as a Process Engineer designing wearable device prototypes, I loved brainstorming each Monday on whiteboards with the software and experience design teams. Our whole team motivated each other sharing wild ideas to improve patient care post-hospitalization journeys through connected tech and passionate health advocates. I live for that combination of human-centered design thinking balanced with complex engineering puzzles to solve. My hope is to gain more context on Cellcentric’s big visions for tech-driven advancement in senior care ecosystems.”
Do:
- Align motivations to required technical abilities or soft skills listed
- Provide colorful qualitative descriptions
- Share what unique problems at company excite you
Don’t:
- Offer vague “motivational” cliches
- Forget to tie motivations directly back to specifics at company itself
- Harp only on compensation motivations
11. “What is Your Greatest Accomplishment?”
Surface metrics showing excellence beyond general job expectations. Use PAR statements to frame accomplishments addressing the Problem, Actions and Results yielded:
Example PAR response:
PROBLEM: Demand for coding bootcamp far exceeded the 25 students per 3 month cohorts we could accept with just 3 full-time instructors on staff
ACTIONS: I developed a 90 hour per month virtual instructor training program focused on educational methodology and edtech systems mastery
RESULTS: We doubled the number of graduating students from 100/year to over 200/year by expanding cohorts to 50 learners each
Do:
- Surface excellence beyond general job expectations
- Use the PAR method clearly: Problem. Actions. Results.
- Include metrics quantifying business impact
Don’t:
- Confuse with listing core job responsibilities
- Forget quantifiable details anchoring the accomplishment
- Fail to explain the “so what” business value resulting
12. “Tell Me About a Time You Demonstrated Leadership”
Using the STAR method, describe a situation exemplifying skills like conflict resolution, vision setting, team motivation/mentorship, external partnership, management excellence etc. Share the positive business impact numbers associated with your actions.
Example STAR response:
SITUATION – Trying to improve patient appointment show rates months into new remote health program
TASK – I mentored a cohort of 15 nurse health advocates specializing in qualifying and onboarding eligible seniors onto our system
ACTIONS – Developed automated SMS reminder system while guiding daily outreach strategies based on persona segmentation
RESULTS – Show rates for first appointments improved 22% over 12 months amongst my mentee cohort’s patients
Do:
- Use the STAR method succinctly framing situation
- Illustrate skills like influence, team development, etc
- Share examples tied directly to positive metrics
Don’t:
- Describe a scenario not truly showcasing leadership
- Leave out what exactly you achieved results-wise
- Spout leadership jargon without specific story examples
13. “Why Do You Want to Leave Your Current Job?”
Even if strong motivations exist, avoid bashing current employers. Redirect to shared priorities with the new potential employer. Suggest wanting:
- Closer alignment between work and long term career development aims
- Greater work-life balance through flex schedules
- Less frequent travel or commute if relevant
- Skill development unavailable currently
Example response:
“I’ve sincerely enjoyed working onsite for a beloved global brand like Coca Cola these past three years. Promoting iconic beverages provides steady stimulation. Looking ahead at life priorities, I hope to transition into a Digital Marketing Analyst role enabling me to work partially remote. I aspire to start each day riding bikes with my twins before sitting down to analyze campaign analytics. I believe I can achieve better work-life integration, continue leveraging my Google Ads certifications and social media content insights in an agency position like the open role here.”
14. “Do You Have Interview Questions For Us?”
Yes, you should always prepare at least 2-3 questions signaling engagement with company goals and the position’s value. Jot these down pre-interview but only reference your list once they invite questions from you.
Smart options include:
- Asking for deeper explanation around day-to-day responsibilities or challenges unique to the role. This showcases how focused you are on the nitty gritty versus just wanting any job.
- Inquiring about short term goals or pending projects mentioned during your discussion so far. Continuing conversational threads emphasizes retention and interest.
- Requesting insight from the interviewer’s own experience about workplace culture, typical career trajectories from this role or how teams interface cross-functionally.
15. “Are You Interviewing With Other Companies?”
Don’t lie if you truly aren’t at any other interviews currently. However you can pivot to expressing enthusiasm about this opportunity exceeding others you’ve engaged with previously.
If actively interviewing elsewhere, focus on commonalities across the companies or roles versus slighting competitors. Redirect with a version of:
“I’ve explored a couple analyst opportunities supporting marketing automation platforms. However I’m particularly excited about open channels for customer journey insights and creative ideation I heard Enthuse’s analytics teams get to actively collaborate around. I prioritize learning cultures fostering big cross-functional vision plus in-depth technical mentorship which seems strong here.”
16. “When Can You Start Working Here if Offered the Role?”
Unless you have a conflicting major obligation, express maximum flexibility to align with their ideal timeline. If already employed:
- State you can provide 4 weeks notice to aid current employer with transitions.
- Note you have unused vacation weeks you can leverage strategically.
- Volunteer willingness to utilize evenings or weekends during offboarding to begin training.
If currently unemployed, share your start date availability is completely flexible. Reiterate enthusiasm at the prospect of potentially joining their team.
17. “Describe a Time You Faced a Challenge or Had to Problem Solve”
Use the STAR method to summarize a work scenario where analytical skills helped you conquer a struggle. Demonstrate how obstacles ultimately transformed into opportunities. Include metrics around beneficial changes achieved over time as a result of your efforts.
Example STAR response:
SITUATION – Ad account kept getting suspended before campaigns could optimize due to outdated billing
TASK – As hiring manager for social advertising, I had to overhaul processes amid 2021 tracking updates
ACTION – Created internal videos to uplevel client payment automation, mapped new metrics flows in Flourish visual, identified priority channels by profitability
RESULT – Optimized account workflows reduced suspensions by 32% plus led to winning new managed services contracts based on new visibility into ROI by channel
18. “Why Do You Want to Change Careers or Industries?”
Explain logical connections between past experience and how you envision directly applying specialized skill sets or knowledge to new environments. Maintain a positive tone regarding previous roles while redirecting focus to growth goals ahead.
Example response:
“I cherished helping Merrill Lynch clients strategize investment plans tailored to individual retirement priorities over the past decade. My most fulfilling accomplishments included earning top advising rankings for client loyalty three years straight. Moving forward I want to shift from financial planning to fintech products improving access itself. Everything I loved solving complex patterns while consulting families on wealth management prepared me to understand consumer needs shaping your app’s money management features. My vision is to blend economic psychology insights with UI design thinking for this Product Manager role overseeing user experience testing.”
19. “Tell Me About a Time You Disagreed With a Decision”
Recounting conflicts can feel tricky but challenges met maturely, with nuance, distinguishes leadership skills. Describe your perspective. Explain constructive steps you took to address concerns. Share resolutions yielding team growth.
Example STAR response:
SITUATION – Our 10-person company leadership team shifted marketing resource allocations away from event sponsorships without consulting wider revenue team members
TASK – As both an individual sales contributor and sales team mentor, I felt responsible advocating for our booth visibility needs while respecting growth decisions
ACTIONS – Drafted constructive email petitioning for compromise like partial sponsorships, scheduled leadership meetings to explore pros/cons collaboratively, identified alternative exposure options across lower cost channels
RESULT – Leadership welcomed sales team feedback creating newly aligned guidelines for joint decision transparency and increased budget access to test alternative guerrilla event marketing concepts
20. “Do You Have Any Questions For Me or About the Role?”
Yes, close your interview by asking 1-2 thoughtful questions. Tailor queries based on conversational details you gathered about leadership philosophies, award winning projects teams got to work on, newly released products you could help improve, technologies they embed across operations etc. Pose strategic questions indicating business acumen and cultural fit.
Example Questions:
- “I’d welcome hearing your perspective on characteristics that allow fast growing startups like Fabletech to maintain values like radical candor and quality collaboration. How do teams uplift each other when scaling pressures arise?”
- “I read Fabletech won Most Innovative Analytics Solution from the Venture Capital Consortium last year – what specific lessons do you feel that award winning project reinforces for how cross-functional delivery teams can iterate toward visionary outcomes?”
In Conclusion
Preparing for a variety of likely interview questions reduces anxiety and builds confident clarity. Use this guide covering 20 of the most common interview prompts as a master checklist. Draft 2-3 sentence talking points addressing your background strengths, motivations and qualifications to easily customize responses.
Listen actively to blend interviewer insights into situational answers. Ask strategic closing questions affirming cultural fit. With dedication to interview practice utilizing these examples, you will spotlight stellar potential collaborating with any new employer. Best of luck showcasing the value you bring through stellar interview conversations ahead!
