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101 Interview Questions you Should Know How to Answer

By Kinexus on 16 August 2016

101 Interview Questions 1

They say practice makes perfect, so we’ve put together 101 interview questions that will help you prepare and hopefully deal with any curve-balls you may encounter.

Whilst the list of potential questions is endless, if you can start by thinking about how you would answer the questions below, you should be more than prepared.

Tips to get you started:

  • Don’t write out essay answers to each of the questions. Instead, jot down some dot points to talk around.
  • Practice your answers while looking in the mirror or with a friend. Answering them out loud is what’s going to help clarify your thoughts.
  • To become more succinct in your answers and build your body language confidence – do as many mock interviews as you possibly can… Even if you have to practice to your dog!
  • Don’t forget to include figures in your answers. Get some numbers, percentages and quotas for as many answers as you can. This really helps to illustrate your successes.

101 Interview Questions

  1. Are you overqualified for this job?
  2. Are you willing to travel?
  3. Describe a decision you made that was unpopular and how you handled implementing it.
  4. Describe a difficult work situation / project and how you overcame it.
  5. Describe a stressful situation at work and how you handled it.
  6. Describe a time when your workload was heavy and how you handled it.
  7. Describe a typical work week in your current / previous role.
  8. Describe how you managed a problem employee.
  9. Describe the gap in your employment history.
  10. Describe your work style.
  11. Did you ever make a risky decision? Why? How did you handle it?
  12. Do you consider yourself successful in your career to date?
  13. Do you need other people around to stimulate you or are you self-motivated?
  14. Do you prefer to work in a small, medium or large company?
  15. Do you take work home with you?
  16. Give an example of a goal you didn’t meet and how you handled it.
  17. Give an example of a goal you reached and how you achieved it.
  18. Give some examples of teamwork.
  19. Have you been in a situation where you didn’t have enough work to do?
  20. Have you ever had difficulty working with a manager?
  21. Have you ever made a mistake? How did you handle it?
  22. Have you gone above and beyond the call of duty? If so, how?
  23. Have you had to convince a team to work on a project they weren’t thrilled about? How did you do it?
  24. Have you worked with someone who didn’t like your work?
  25. How are you different from your competition for this role?
  26. How can our company offer you what your previous company could not?
  27. How did you fit in with the company culture?
  28. How did you get along with your previous manager, co-workers and subordinates?
  29. How did you impact the bottom line?
  30. How do you evaluate success?
  31. How do you go about deciding what to do first when given a project?
  32. How do you handle a challenge?
  33. How do you handle criticism?
  34. How do you handle failure?
  35. How do you handle stress and pressure?
  36. How do you handle success?
  37. How does this job fit in with your career plan?
  38. How will your greatest strength help you perform in this role?
  39. How would you describe the pace at which you work?
  40. How would you describe yourself in 3 words?
  41. How would you feel about working for a younger manager?
  42. If you could have any job in the world what would it be?
  43. If you know your boss is 100% wrong about something how would you handle it?
  44. Is there anything else we should know about you?
  45. Is there anything I haven’t told you about the job or company that you would like to know?
  46. Tell me about how you worked effectively under a time pressure or with conflicting deadlines.
  47. Tell me about something you would have done differently at work.
  48. Tell me about yourself.
  49. Tell me something about you that’s not on your resume.
  50. What applicable attributes/experience do you have?
  51. What are some things that bother you?
  52. What are the most important rewards you expect in your business career?
  53. What are the most significant trends in your field?
  54. What are you looking for in your next job? What is important to you?
  55. What are you passionate about?
  56. What are your hobbies?
  57. What are your salary expectations?
  58. What can we expect from you in the first 60 days on the job?
  59. What can you do for us that is better than the other candidates?
  60. What did you do in your last job to increase values?
  61. What did you think of your previous manager?
  62. What do you do if you disagree with a co-worker?
  63. What do you do when you feel unmotivated in your role?
  64. What do you do when your schedule is interrupted? Give an example of how you handle it.
  65. What do you expect from a supervisor?
  66. What do you find are the most difficult decisions to make?
  67. What do you know about this company?
  68. What do you like and dislike about the job after hearing more information on what it’s about?
  69. What do you think is the most important hurdle facing this business today?
  70. What have you learned from your mistakes?
  71. What interests you about our company / product or service?
  72. What is good customer service in your opinion?
  73. What is the biggest criticism you received from your boss?
  74. What is your biggest failure in your professional career?
  75. What is your greatest professional career success? How did you achieve it?
  76. What is your greatest strength?
  77. What is your greatest weakness?
  78. What is your professional development plan?
  79. What major challenges and problems did you face? How did you handle them?
  80. What management style gets the best results out of you?
  81. What motivates you?
  82. What part of the job will be the least challenging for you?
  83. What philosophy guides your work?
  84. What strategies would you use to motivate your team?
  85. What type of work environment do you prefer?
  86. What were your responsibilities in your last role?
  87. What will you do if you don’t get this position?
  88. What will your references say about you?
  89. What won’t you miss about your last job?
  90. When could you start work?
  91. When you work on multiple projects how do you prioritize?
  92. Where do you want to be in five years?
  93. Which parts of this job would be the most challenging for you?
  94. Which was most / least rewarding part of your last role?
  95. Who was your best boss and who was the worst?
  96. Why did you leave / are you leaving your current / last job?
  97. Why did you choose a career in ……?
  98. Why did you decide to join your previous company? Did the job live up to your expectations?
  99. Why do you want this job?
  100. Why should we take a risk on you?
  101. Why weren’t you promoted at your last job?

Now that you know your answers and you’ve rehearsed them, spend time in the hours before the interview reflecting on your career chronology to date rather than repeating your answers over and over in your head. With your detailed career history top of mind (instead of the exact wording of how you’ll respond to “what is your greatest weakness?”), it will help you answer anything you haven’t prepared for as well as help preventing your answers from sounding robotic and impersonal.

Good luck!

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