The 50 most common job interview questions

Business Insider ^ | 11/05/2019 | Jacquelyn Smith and Erin McDowell

[SeekAndFind]

• When it comes to preparing for a job interview, anticipating which questions you'll be asked is the first step.
• Glassdoor sifted through tens of thousands of interview reviews to find the questions hiring managers most frequently ask.
• You should be prepared to tell your interviewer your greatest strengths and weaknesses, salary requirements, and more.

You've heard it a million times: Practice makes perfect.

That's especially true when it comes to interviewing for jobs.

The very best thing you can do is prepare. And the best way to prepare is to think about and rehearse (but not memorize!) responses to the questions you'll most likely be asked.

Not sure what those will be? The online jobs and career community Glassdoor sifted through tens of thousands of interview reviews to find the questions hiring managers most frequently ask. 

Some of these common questions could pop up in your next job interview. 

1. What are your strengths?

This is your chance to highlight your most appealing attributes and anything that isn't on your resume.

2. What are your weaknesses?

Don't panic when you're asked this dreaded question. Read this article to learn how to tackle it.

3. Why are you interested in working for [insert company name here]?

Be honest, but don't mention things like the great vacation policy or the awesome free snacks.

4. Where do you see yourself in five years? 10 years?

Dale Kurow, a New York-based executive coach, says that your response to this question can tell the company if you have the requisite work ethic, attitude, and loyalty to be a good hire in the long term.

[AzNASCARfan]

I posted this “Brain Teaser” type question that was on a friends recent job application test...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3787984/posts
It was something he took and returned the via email and added an answer to them in the email, that he thought it was a trick question and it needed a none of the above option...
I was a little surprised when he told me they gave him an interview, but he did not get the job.

[EEGator]

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

1. What are your strengths?

I show up on time, sober and do my job. I keep my mouth shut about anything thing personal I may find out about my co-workers in the course of doing my job.

2. What are your weaknesses?

I dislike people who do not show up on time, sober and do their job.

3. Why are you interested in working for [insert company name here]?

I have a mortgage.

4. Where do you see yourself in five years? 10 years?

Earning money

I actually did use the number three answer and got the job. You have to judge the interviewer carefully but sometimes a sense of humor and honesty will take you over the top.

[meatloaf]

I never asked questions or called references. In a small field it was simple to call someone who knew someone.

[EEGator]

That’s a fine theoretical encounter.

[yesthatjallen]

These are the same BS question they've been asking since forever.

This is one of my favorites:

Why do you want to leave your current company?

Now, they always advise you NOT to say anything bad about your last job. Essentially the HR person wants and expects you to LIE.

Most of the others are ridicules and pointless as well.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

What does this have to do with the job and who the heck is going to give an honest answer?

[Raycpa]

I would fire me too but I’m afraid of getting an age discrimination suit.

[gnarledmaw]

Ive told a vaguely similar story around here more than once so Ill just give you the short version...

I a number of years back I was at an IT interview when the question was asked, “Whats your favorite kind of tree?”

This was the first time I had been asked this type of question that didn’t seem germane to the conversation at hand and didn’t see where it was going.

Im kind of a tree weirdo so somewhere between confusion as to where this question was going and trying to pick a favorite I sat there with various trees flashing through my mind. Realizing that the answer was taking to long I blurted out what I was thinking at that second, “Black walnut.”

This is where she then asks, “What is it that you like about that tree and how do you intend to bring that to the workplace?”

I burst out laughing and that for all intents and purposes ended the interview. Somehow I knew that “valuable hardwood with tasty nuts” was not the answer she was looking for.

[yesthatjallen]

I was once asked my astrological sign.

I responded in stunned silence.

I realized instantaneously, by my own reaction, I would not be getting the job.

[outofsalt]

“Have you ever been in a… in a Turkish Prison?”
“Do you like movies with Gladiators?
“Have you ever seen a grown man naked?

[Political Junkie Too]

an IT interview when the question was asked, “Whats your favorite kind of tree?”

I believe the correct answer would be "binary."

-PJ

[Political Junkie Too]

I was once asked my astrological sign.

Tell them that it doesn't matter because your weekly horoscope only goes out to Thursday.

-PJ

[outofsalt]

Note to self; Read the other replies before posting (#50)

[Tijeras_Slim]

We were both lucky to beat the master to it.

[blueunicorn6]

“Where do you see yourself in five years?”

In a mirror, unless they outlaw mirrors before then.

[gnarledmaw]

Im familiar with what youre referring to. That, while IT related, would not have been an appropriate answer for this particular role either. This was definitely in the realm of how a person thinks not how in depth is their knowledge.

Ive screwed myself over with too cleverly answering these types of questions with a technical answer in interviews also. They apparently thought I was being a smartass by not playing along. Again, short version of an old story. I had been asked a question that was entirely flawed in its premise and I thought I could see what they were referring to. I hit that ball so far out of the park I would think that I sent it into orbit. At the end of my answer the panel was clearly not impressed and I could see that I had stepped on some toes. I didn’t get the job.

In this particular story I was eventually vindicated. I found out a couple of years later that that ball had landed. A headhunter came to me and asked me to lead a team at that same company to correct the problem that I had told them they were creating years earlier. I wasn’t about to walk into that mess and denied his request with a smile on my face.

[Political Junkie Too]

Yeah, I was being snarky.

That said, I'm glad I got one job out of college and stayed at that company for 38 years. I never had to interview again.

-PJ

[Larry Lucido]

1. What are your strengths?

In college, they called me the little bulldog.

My friends call me small and prestigious.

I enjoy understanding.

I am aware.

[Thank You Rush]

I used to hate the “tell us about yourself.” In the ‘50’s and ‘60’s, jobs were easy to find and I never failed to get a job when I wanted to change but that didn’t mean the interviews were easy. I got call backs when I least expected them. Stayed home after our daughter was born until she was in Jr. High school and by then computers had come on the scene so I took computer classes...the good old Lotus 1-2-3 and I’ve forgotten what the basic one was named...before Windows Operating System..You can tell how long ago that was.

[Sergio]

bkmk