64 Common Interview Questions You Must Prepare For to Land the Job
Below is a list of common interview questions to prepare for! Don’t get caught at your next job interview with a blank stare on your face, fumbling through an answer you’ll later regret.
Whether you’re applying and interviewing to be a nurse, a teacher, or a manager, these top interview question examples fit every job.
Land your dream job by preparing intentionally for these 64 questions below.
TOP COMMON INTERVIEW QUESTIONS TO PREPARE FOR:
- About Your Background
- Job Specific
- Work Environment and Preferences
- Customer Service
- Behavioral
- Leadership and Supervisory
Common Interview Questions About Your Background
- Tell us about yourself. (Focus on relevant experience, education, and training). Be sure to see my article HERE for full details on how to nail this interview question!
- Why do you want this job? Be sure to see my article HERE for full details on how to nail this interview question!
- Why are you leaving your current job?
- What did you like most about your current or most recent job?
- What did you like least about your current or most recent job?
- Tell us about your greatest professional accomplishment.
- Tell us about your greatest challenge at work.
- What are your strengths?
- What are your weaknesses? What is your plan to cope with, improve on, or overcome these weaknesses?
- What would your current boss say are your strengths and weaknesses?
- How do you build and maintain professional relationships?
- What are your core values and why? Give an example of when you have demonstrated these values.
- How will I, as your supervisor, know when you are overwhelmed at work?
- What feedback have you received from a supervisor or peer regarding your work?
- Describe your communication style.
- What are your short and long term career goals? Where do you see yourself fin 5 years?
Common Job Specific Interview Questions
- What do you know about our company/organization?
- Based on the job description and what you know about our organization, what do you believe are the main duties of this job?
- How do you envision a typical day in this job?
- What parts of this job are you very comfortable and competent in?
- What parts of this job will require further development for you? How will you go about ensuring you accomplish this?
- How will you integrate into the team if you are selected?
- What makes you the best candidate for this position?
- How does this position fit into your overall career goals and plan?
- What would you do if you lacked the resources or training to successfully complete a project asked of you?
- What questions to you have for us?
Common Interview Questions About Work Environment and Preferences
- Describe your ideal work environment.
- Describe your ideal work team.
- What do you need in order to stay engaged and motivated in your work?
- Describe your ideal supervisor and your worst supervisor.
- What are your thoughts on work-life balance? How do you practice work-life balance?
- What would make you want to leave this job?
Common Customer Service Interview Questions
- Who do you believe the customer is for this position?
- What does exceptional customer service look like to you?
- How do you handle high-pressure demand in a customer service role?
- How do you respond to an irate customer?
- What do you do when you don’t have an immediate answer for a customer, and no one else is around to help you?
- Would you ever make an exception to the rules for a customer? When and why?
Common Behavioral Interview Questions
(“Tell us about a time you…”):
- Had a conflict at work. With who? What was your role?
- Made a mistake, and what was the outcome?
- Received constructive feedback from a supervisor. What did you change about yourself as a result?
- Disagreed with a company decision. What was the decision and why did you disagree with it? Did you support it anyways? Why or why not?
- Demonstrated leadership at work.
- Worked on a group project. What was the project? What was your role? What challenges did you face?
- Had to say no to a request. What were the circumstances around the situation?
- Gave feedback to a colleague, customer, or your supervisor.
- Were overwhelmed at work. What was the work? How did you cope?
- Were working under a very tight deadline.
- Went above and beyond on an assignment.
- Went out of your way to assist a colleague.
Supervisory and Leadership Interview Questions
- Describe your leadership philosophy and style.
- How do you demonstrate leadership if you are not in a supervisory position?
- How do you build a culture in a work group?
- Who is your mentor or role model? Why?
- Have you mentored or coached someone else? Tell us about that relationship.
- How do you handle conflict between your employees?
- How would you establish yourself as the new leader of a workgroup?
- How would you get to know the employees on your team?
- What do you do if one of your employees is consistently underperforming?
- How do you handle disciplinary issues at work?
- What is your idea of professional development for your employees?
- How do you determine what your employees need to stay motivated and succeed?
- What is your experience with succession planning?
- How do you give recognition to your employees?
These are some of the most common interview questions to prepare for ahead of your next job interview. Practice answering these common interview questions by brainstorming ideas, reflecting on your past experience, taking notes, and practice out loud with a friend. Or even your mirror!
For more tips on how to rehearse for your job interview, also check out this helpful article: How to Rehearse for an Interview.
Don’t memorize your responses because you don’t want to sound rehearsed and robotic. There are also many ways to ask these same interview questions, and you want to be sure you are listening in the moment to the exact wording of the question. Make sure you hit on the various points of every interview question, and give clear examples and explanations.
Comment below with any other tough interview questions you’ve been asked in the past and wish you had prepared for!
Good luck out there! I hope this list of common interview questions to prepare for leads you one step closer to your dreams.
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11 Comments
Joi
I think this is a post that everyone should keep! You never know when you’ll need it.
Caitlin
Thanks Joi! I hope it will be of use to many people now or in the future.
Cynthia
Thanks for compiling this extensive list. I’m helping someone prepare for acquiring a new job after the virus, and this will be an excellent place to start!
Caitlin
That’s wonderful! I’m glad the article is timely so you can help a friend. There are several other articles I’ve written around interview preparation and success that you could share as well 🙂 Thanks for reading!
Arunas
Informative and useful article! I think the most important thing to keep in mind throughout the interview is to be yourself as these are people you could potentially be spending a lot of time with.
Caitlin
I completely agree – I always tell candidates to try to relax, take a breath, and most importantly be themselves. If the hiring team doesn’t want you for exactly who you are, chances are you wouldn’t have been happy there anyways!
Natalie
Such a helpful post! Thanks for sharing these questions and in their separate categories really help!
Caitlin
You’re welcome, glad it’s helpful!!
ปั้มไลค์
Like!! I blog quite often and I genuinely thank you for your information. The article has truly peaked my interest.
g
Thanks very nice blog!
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