Top 30 Interview Questions - From a recruiters hiring playbook

Top 30 Interview Questions

In this video, Don Georgevich discusses the top 30 interview questions that employers commonly ask during job interviews. He explains what employers are looking for in your answers and provides tips on how to craft a natural and genuine response.

Tell Me About Yourself

• Employers want to hear about your journey through your career and what got you interested in the field.

• Share your passion with them and tell them what got you excited about it.

• Talk about the journey you went through in your career to develop that passion.

Why Is There a Gap on Your Resume?

• Employers want to hear that you were doing something else to better yourself while you were looking for a job.

• They don't want to hear that no one would hire you or your hard luck story.

• They want to hear that you were doing something related to your field such as attending free seminars, trainings, or reading books.

What Are Your Strengths?

• Employers want to know what skills and qualities make you stand out from other candidates.

• Be specific and provide examples of how these strengths have helped you succeed in the past.

What Are Your Weaknesses?

• Employers want to see if you can identify areas where improvement is needed.

• Be honest but also show how you are working on improving those weaknesses.

Why Do You Want This Job?

• Employers want to know why this job is important to you and why it aligns with your career goals.

• Show enthusiasm for the company's mission and explain how this position will help further your career.

Why Should We Hire You?

• Employers want someone who can bring value to their organization.

• Highlight specific skills or experiences that make you uniquely qualified for the position.

Can You Describe a Time When You Overcame an Obstacle?

• Employers want to see how you handle challenges and problem-solving.

• Provide a specific example of a challenge you faced, what actions you took to overcome it, and the positive outcome.

Can You Describe a Time When You Worked Well Under Pressure?

• Employers want to know if you can handle stress and tight deadlines.

• Provide an example of a time when you had to work under pressure and how you managed to complete the task successfully.

What Are Your Salary Expectations?

• Employers want to know if your salary expectations align with their budget for the position.

• Do research on industry standards for similar positions and provide a range that is reasonable.

Why Did You Leave Your Last Job?

• Employers want to know why you left your previous job and if there were any issues.

• Be honest but also show that you are looking for new opportunities for growth.

What Are Your Long-Term Career Goals?

• Employers want to see if this position aligns with your long-term career goals.

• Show enthusiasm for the company's mission and explain how this position will help further your career.

Can You Describe a Time When You Had to Work With Someone Difficult?

• Employers want to see how well you can work with others, even in challenging situations.

• Provide an example of a difficult coworker or team member, what actions you took to resolve the situation, and the positive outcome.

What Motivates You?

• Employers want to know what drives you in your career.

• Be honest but also show how this motivation has helped you succeed in the past.

Can You Describe Your Leadership Style?

• Employers want someone who can lead teams effectively.

• Provide examples of leadership roles or experiences where you demonstrated effective leadership skills.

The Secret Combination To Interview Success

Don Georgevich explains the three elements of communicating in a job interview and how to succeed.

7-38-55

• 7 percent related to content, 38 percent related to voice and tone that you use in an interview, and then 55 percent is related to your body language.

• Good posture, sitting up straight, and keeping shoulders back can make you feel more confident and help your voice come out stronger and clearer.

Body Language

• Your body language is doing most of the communicating in a job interview.

• Good posture can make you feel more confident and help your voice come out stronger and clearer.

Tell Me About Yourself

Don Georgevich explains what employers are looking for when they ask "Tell me about yourself" during a job interview.

Passion

• Employers want to hear about your journey through your career and what got you interested in the field.

• Share your passion with them and tell them what got you excited about it.

Answering Common Interview Questions

In this video, the speaker provides tips on how to answer common interview questions. The speaker emphasizes the importance of aligning oneself with the company's values and mission when answering questions.

What Gets You Excited About Your Work?

• Employers want to know what motivates you.

• Align your answer with the company's vision and mission.

• Share your passion for a beautiful, green planet or whatever their mission is.

Why Are You Applying for This Position?

• Find out what the company's core values are.

• Align yourself with their values and mission.

• Let them know that you have a deep passion for what they do.

Walk Us Through Your Resume

• Don't read your resume; give a brief recap of your experience.

• Start with education and briefly cover grades and clubs.

• Talk about subsequent jobs up to present.

Why Do You Want to Work Here?

• Align yourself with where the company is going.

• Find out their values, mission, and goals.

• Contribute to their overall mission by aligning yourself with them.

Why Are You the Best Person for the Job?

• Understand their pains and problems throughout the interview process.

• Relate back to them by giving examples of things you've done before that are related to what they're trying to do.

Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years?

• Understand where the company is going and talk about how you see yourself fitting into their future.

What Interests You About This Position?

• Relate it back to what the company is doing.

• Find out what kind of projects they're doing, who they're helping, etc.

**** The video contains background music but no relevant information is conveyed during those times.

Why are you passionate?

In this section, the speaker talks about how to answer the question "Why are you passionate?" during a job interview.

What gets you excited about wanting to work there?

• Explain what really gets you excited about wanting to work for the company.

• Let them know that you can contribute in a lot of different ways that are going to help.

Why are you a good fit for this position?

In this section, the speaker talks about how to answer the question "Why are you a good fit for this position?" during a job interview.

Talk about your past experiences

• Talk about your past experiences and education related to the job description.

• Get information about the position, job description, and goals.

• Relate your past experiences back to what they're looking for.

Tell me about a time where you dealt with a tough challenge

In this section, the speaker talks about how to answer behavioral questions during a job interview using STAR format (Situation, Task, Action and Results).

Use STAR format

• Talk about a situation where there was a challenge.

• Describe the action taken to solve the problem.

• Wrap up with results and tell them how it turned out.

Why should we hire you?

In this section, the speaker talks about how to answer "Why should we hire you?" question during an interview.

Sell yourself

• Understand all pains and problems that they're experiencing or where they want to grow or what their mission is.

• Relate back why you feel like you are a good fit for them and why you're going to help them.

• Pick out unique things about your experiences.

What are your weaknesses?

In this section, the speaker talks about how to answer "What are your weaknesses?" question during an interview.

Talk about a weakness that you have already overcome

• Talk about a weakness that isn't related to the job and what you did to overcome it and that it's not a weakness anymore.

• Pick a problem that is related to your work and explain how you overcame it.

• They want to see progression; you had a problem, addressed it, and now it's not a problem anymore.

Behavioral Interview Questions

In this section, the speaker provides tips on how to answer behavioral interview questions.

Tips for Answering Behavioral Interview Questions

• Behavioral questions require you to talk about a time when you faced a challenge or had to go above and beyond your daily duties.

• Talk about something extraordinary that you did in response to an unexpected situation.

• When asked about reaching a goal, discuss your process for setting goals and how you worked towards achieving them.

• Explain why you left your last job by highlighting that you were seeking greater challenges and growth opportunities.

• When asked about your strengths, tie them to what the interviewer is looking for in the job description.

• Discuss what makes you unique and relate it back to the job requirements when asked about your greatest strengths.

• When asked what you are most proud of, focus on career-related accomplishments rather than personal ones.

• Describe what you do in your current job as it relates to the position being interviewed for.

What Not To Say During An Interview

In this section, the speaker provides tips on what not to say during an interview.

Tips on What Not To Say During An Interview

• Avoid talking negatively about previous employers or colleagues.

• Don't lie or exaggerate your qualifications or experience.

• Avoid discussing salary expectations too early in the interview process.

• Don't ask questions that could be easily answered by researching the company beforehand.

How To Follow Up After An Interview

In this section, the speaker provides tips on how to follow up after an interview.

Tips on How To Follow Up After An Interview

• Send a thank-you email or note within 24 hours of the interview.

• Reiterate your interest in the position and highlight any relevant qualifications or experience.

• If you don't hear back within a week, send a polite follow-up email to inquire about the status of your application.

Management Style

In this section, the speaker discusses the importance of having a management style and being genuine about it during an interview. They also emphasize the need to provide examples of how one's management style has been effective.

Importance of Management Style

• Having a management style is important for managers.

• Being genuine about one's management style during an interview is crucial.

• Providing examples of how one's management style has been effective is necessary.

Discussing Mistakes Made

• It is important to discuss mistakes made in a career-related context during an interview.

• The interviewer wants to know how candidates recover from their mistakes and take responsibility for them.

Passion for Work

• Candidates should be passionate about their work and aligned with the company culture.

• This question helps weed out candidates who are not aligned with the company culture.

Knowledge About Company

• Candidates should research the company before going into an interview.

• Knowing specific details about the company shows interest and enthusiasm for the position.

Excitement About Job Opportunity

• Employers want to know what got candidates excited about a job opportunity.

Job Interview Tips

In this section, the speaker provides tips on how to answer common job interview questions.

Answering "How did you find out about us?"

• Dig deeper and tell them where you found the job posting.

• Express your passion and excitement for the position.

• Avoid giving a generic answer like "I found it online."

Answering "What are your salary requirements?"

• Use websites like salary.com to get an idea of what the position pays in your area.

• Give a range that covers what you're willing to accept, but don't sell yourself short.

• Don't give a number that's too high or too low.

Dealing with pressure

• Talk about a situation where there was pressure and explain how you diffused it.

• Follow up with an example of how you have dealt with pressure before.

• Provide proof by telling a story of how you handled pressure in the past.

Answering "Are you open to relocating?"

• Be honest about whether or not you're open to relocating.

• If you're open, ask for more details about where they want to relocate you.

• This question is meant to test your flexibility.

Describing your dream job

• Tell them what you love doing and what makes you passionate.

How to Answer Common Interview Questions

In this section, the speaker provides tips on how to answer common interview questions.

How to Answer "What is Your Dream Job?"

• The dream job has to come from inside your heart.

• Align your passions with the company's mission and what they're doing.

How to Answer "Why Are You Changing Careers?"

• Describe what wasn't fulfilling about your old career and what you are looking for in a new career that will fulfill you.

• Talk about the transition; what made you excited about your old job and then how that faded away.

• Don't make it about money. Make it about what's in your heart.

How to Answer "Do You Have Any Questions for Us?"

• Ask them questions that will help you determine whether this is a place that you want to be.

• Ask them questions that are going to help you make a decision about whether you want to work there.

• Some good common questions to ask are:

• What is the next step?

• What would you expect me to accomplish in the next six months?

• How long does your hiring process take?

The speaker emphasizes not asking stupid or irrelevant questions during this part of the interview.

Top 30 Job Interview Questions and Answers

In this section, the speaker discusses five questions that job seekers should ask during an interview to help them make a decision about whether they want to work for the company or not.

Key Questions to Ask During a Job Interview

• Don't ask questions where they've already indirectly answered them throughout the conversation of the interview.

• What is the key to succeeding in this role?

• Employers want to hear that you are interested in helping them grow and achieve their goals.

• What will the day-to-day routine be like?

• This question can help you understand more about their culture and what they are looking for.

• Only ask questions that will help you make a decision about whether you want to work there or not.

• All of these questions that you should ask should be interview questions back to them to either qualified this position or this company or disqualify them.

• The goal of asking these questions is either to qualify or disqualify the employer based on your preferences.

Complete Interview Answer Guide

In this section, the speaker introduces his book, "Complete Interview Answer Guide," which contains over 140 different job interview questions and answers.

Features of Complete Interview Answer Guide

• The book has over 140 different job interview questions and answers.

• It covers all of the interview questions you are likely to get asked.

• The book comes in e-book, physical hard copy, audio and video formats.

• The guide shows you how to frame your answers in a way that they sound good and attractive to the employer.

Conclusion

In this section, the speaker concludes by encouraging job seekers to use his book to prepare for their next interview.

Final Thoughts

• Reading the "Complete Interview Answer Guide" before an interview can help you connect all the dots and sound more confident during the interview.

• The guide provides deeper insight into what employers are looking for and offers sample answers.

Preparing for an Interview

In this section, the speaker talks about how to prepare for an interview and deliver your best performance.

Tips for a Successful Interview

• Prepare thoroughly by doing all of your homework and preparation steps.

• Show up in the perfect state of mind and be your best self.

• Deliver your very best during the interview, regardless of whether you get hired or not.

• Learn something from each interview, even if you don't get the job.

Don't Let Rejection Get You Down

In this section, the speaker discusses how to handle rejection after an unsuccessful interview.

Dealing with Rejection

• Don't let rejection be a reflection on your abilities, skills, experience or passion.

• Employers can be fickle and may have no interest in hiring you at all.

• Don't let negative experiences beat you down; stay passionate about every interview opportunity.

The Importance of Body Language

In this section, the speaker emphasizes the importance of body language during an interview.

Using Body Language Effectively

• Body language accounts for 55% of communication during an interview.

• Use good posture and sit up straight to convey confidence.

• Use hand gestures when speaking to emphasize points and show enthusiasm.

• Be alive and present during the interview to make a positive impression.

The Power of Vocal Tone

In this section, the speaker discusses how vocal tone can impact an interviewer's perception of you.

Improving Your Vocal Tone

• Vocal tone accounts for 38% of communication during an interview.

• Express yourself clearly and enunciate your words.

• Use inflection to make your speech more engaging.

• Even mediocre answers can be improved with good vocal tone and body language.