1. What are your strengths?
The consensus is to go for quality, not quantity here. Candidates should give a short list of strengths, and back each one up with examples that illustrate the strength.
Also, they should explain how these strengths will be useful in the job they’re applying for, and use this question to say something interesting about themselves. Whilst this is one of the most common interview questions it is also one of the best interview questions to ask early in the interview process.
2. What are your weaknesses?
Candidates should talk about a real weakness they’ve been working on improving. For instance, they’re not good at public speaking, but they’ve been taking a course to help them improve. This questions and the question above are two standard interview questions candidates should always be prepared for.
Or maybe they feel that they’re easily distracted when working online but have installed software that helps them stay on task. Answers like these show a desire for improvement, self-awareness, and discipline.
3. What grades did you get in college?
If they got excellent grades, this will be easy to answer. If not, look for a legitimate reason. Maybe it took them a little while to find the right major, or maybe they were doing excellent work at a job, internship, or extracurricular activity while going to school.
4. What were your responsibilities when you worked at job x?
A good candidate is able to talk in detail about their responsibilities. These should match up to what is expected for the job and even exceed it. The responsibilities should also match what they’ll need to perform the job they’re applying for.
5. Why do you want to work here?
This is one of the most asked interview questions. Look for an answer that shows they’ve done research on the company, and are truly excited about specific things they can do on the job. This not only shows enthusiasm for the work and basic preparation skills but gives you clues about the cultural fit.
6. How many people were on your team at your last job?
This is a good interview question for screening people with management positions on their resume. The number of people on their team should match what you would expect for the position.
7. Where do you see yourself in five years?
The candidate should show that they’ve thought about this question, have plans, and that those plans align with the job and a career path that is possible at the company. General interview questions like this are still valuable and should always be included in your interview sheet.
You want to see that this candidate is a good long term investment.
8. What will your previous manager/supervisor say when I ask where you needed to improve?
A good answer goes in-depth and reflects positively on both their manager and the work they did, and lines up with other information you’ve been able to gather. This is one of the top 10 interview questions we recommend for all hiring managers. Candidates will often reveal information here they would not reveal if you asked them “What do you need to improve”
9. Why do you want to leave your current company?
This is in most hiring managers’ top ten interview questions and is also one of the standard interview questions in any solid interview process.
The candidate should focus on the positives about why the job they’re applying for offers them better learning or career opportunities, chances for advancement, aligns more closely with their long term goals, or is a better fit for them.
10. What was your starting salary and final salary at job x?
This is a top interview question for checking credentials. The pay should match their seniority level. You should also see that it has risen at least by what you’d expect during their time at the company.
