Interview questions – common get to know you questions

The aim of this article is to discuss some of the most common interview questions. These questions are part of the general, get to know the candidate section of the interview.

Tell me about yourself….

This is the chance to give a general a quick overview about myself. Mainly candidates focus on their academic and professional background. I think that it is a good idea to expand the subject matter and talk about my personal side as well. It is a good idea to be careful and make sure a concise summary is given and not a long a rambling history of my life. Plus, I try to avoid just repeating what my CV says. Normally this is one of the first questions in the interview and give both me and the interviewer a chance to settle into the interview.

What are your weaknesses….

While I understand why this question is asked I believe that a better question is “In the last 6 months, what areas have you identified about work that you believe can be improved and what are you doing to improve them?”

As a blanket question about weaknesses can make no sense. Imagine that we are having a conversation and that we are trying to get to know each other. Do you really think that it is a good idea for me to ask you to list your weaknesses…. So, the conversation would be something like this –

Me: that is very interesting, thank you for telling me about your last holiday but what I really want to know is what are your weaknesses? What is wrong with you? There must be something wrong with you and I need to know what it is now!!!

This would result in a drink being thrown in my face. But it seems to be a question that is asked in all interviews. Maybe in my next interview as a candidate I will ask the hiring manager what is their weakness as a manager….

Hiring managers ask the candidates for their weakness although everyone will have a prepared answer like “my weakness is that I am so dedicated to clients and to my employer that I forget to go home”.

In theory the answer that I am meant to give is to state a weakness and then say how I am working on improving it. This is meant to show that I am humble and always seeking to improve. But again, what value does this answer give as the interviewer and I both know that it is a prepared answer.

In one interview when I was asked this question and I replied “my weakness is my back hand in tennis, I play tennis a lot but my back hand is my weakest stroke. So, each time I play tennis I pay special attention to when I hit a good back hand so I can recreate that movement again and again.’’ The result was a surprised look and short pause from the interviewer.

While I am taking a what I hope was seen as funny view of the question I believe that in the e interview process the hiring manager is trying to find an employee that has a level of humility and is not an a*seh*le.

Why should I hire you? / What are your strengths? / What makes you perfect for this role?

This is your personal sales pitch where I state how awesome I am and the value I can bring to the role and company.

Why do you want to work here? / Why did you apply?

This is a test to see if I have done any research on the company and industry. If I have applied for the job then I will have already decided why I want to work there and what value I can add.

What are your salary expectations?

In most job adverts a salary is not listed. This makes it hard to determine what the company is willing to pay and therefore if it is worth my time in applying. In the world of multinational companies that are based all over the world the same job will have a different salary in each country.

If it is an internal promotion then it is likely that the salary will be a small % increase to the salary the employee has now. In most companies, the salary that an employee enters the company with determines their future salary no matter the salary of the future jobs. For example, a person enters the company at 40k and after 2 years applies for a promotion the salary increase will be 5 to 10%. Although if an external candidate were selected the salary for the same role could be 60k.

It is best to do as much research as possible on salary before the interview.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? / What are your goals? / What is your career path?

Here the company wants to assure itself that I will not be leaving in 6 months as the hiring process is expensive and time consuming to hire. It is probable that the hiring manager does not know where they will be in 5 years and it is likely that the company will go through many organisational changes in the next 5 years so no one knows what they will be doing.

In general, the answer I will give shows my dedication to my continued progression with learning and personal growth along with career progression.

What motivates you?

This is a vague question as I can honestly say that I am applying for the job as I want to earn money. I believe that this is the motivation behind most people when they apply for a job as there are countless volunteering and unpaid positions available to anyone who wants to work for free.

While it is not a good idea for me to say that the reason I applied is money it is important have a reason to go to work. For me, I am interested in helping people and companies achieve their goals. This is the reason behind my articles. I want to be the best possible project manager so I can help people and companies achieve their dreams. Ideas are easy, execution is hard. I am great at delivering and executing projects.

Why did you leave your previous job?

There are many reasons why people change jobs but the most common ones are bad boss, office politics, poor pay and no career path. While I would never say this in a job interview this is what the hiring manager is thinking. So, the answer here needs to link back into my strengths, that I am looking for a new challenge, I have always been interested in X industry etc.

How do you manage pressure and stress?

Jobs involve deadlines which can cause stress. It is important for my health and sanity to be able to manage pressure and stress. For me I run, cycle, swim, play tennis with my kids, read, watch movies and TV shows. I try to do anything I can to disconnect from work. As long as I remember that the most important things in my life are my health, family and friends then I am OK. From a fear setting perspective in general the worst that can happen at work is that they fire me.

Give an example of where you faced a difficult situation and overcame it?

All jobs involve solving problems so it is important to have a few examples of where I solved problems.

What are you most proud of? / What is your greatest achievement?

I can answer from an academic, professional and personal perspective to this question and it is a good idea to do so. Here I can show that I am a well-rounded person.