In this article, I will give you my 11 best interview questions and answers and brilliant examples. If you have a job interview coming up for any role or any organization, make sure you stay tuned because I promise to help you be the successful candidate now to achieve that goal. This is what I will cover during this post, so I am going to give you one challenging interview questions to help you prepare for your job interview. I strongly believe these questions will come up during your interview. I will also give you proven top scoring answers to all 11 interview questions. I will give you some really important tips, essential tips for passing your job interview.
Let’s get straight in to the interview questions and answers.
Tell me about yourself
The first interview question, but I strongly recommend you prepare for is tell me about yourself. This is going to be the first interview question you will need to answer or respond to. It makes sense for you to get a brilliant answer prepared because then that gives you confidence for the rest of your interview. Now my advice is to give a powerful, positive response that shows you already have the skills needed to match the job description, and more importantly, you can add value to their company in the role. Here’s a great example answer to help you. Tell me about yourself. Here we go.
- Over the years, I have built up a diverse set of skills, qualities and experience that are a match for this job description.
- I have experience in managing lots of varied tasks, collaborating with others as part of a team, and of communicating positively with customers and clients.
- I have a track record of achievement. For example, in my last role, I helped the company successfully launch numerous new products and services and this was achieved by using innovative marketing techniques and providing great customer service.
- Now, I am the type of person who will never shy away from difficult challenges. I am a fast learner, which means you won’t have to spend time constantly supervising me, and I will always embrace changes positively to ensure your company stays at the forefront of this industry.
- If you hire me, I will take responsibility for my ongoing development and I will act as a positive role model for your business in everything I do.
Now that is a brilliant, positive answer that is going to resonate in a good way with the hiring manager. You are starting off and you are talking about the fact that you have the skills and qualities needed to match the job description, and that’s an important thing to say. You are then moving on and explaining that you have experience in managing lots of tasks and also collaborating with other people, which is essentially teamwork and those are good things to mention in your response. You then talk about a track record of achievement. That’s a great thing to say when responding to the question and give an example. You are then telling the interviewer the type of person you are that you’re never going to shy away from difficult challenges and the fact that you are a fast learner. And more importantly, you will always embrace change positively and then you are finishing off and saying what you will do if they hire you. And again, that’s really important so it’s a cracking answer to help you answer that first question. Tell me about yourself.
Why do you want to work here, or why do you want to work for us?
Here’s the second interview question for you. Why do you want to work here, or why do you want to work for us? This common interview question is being asked, simply because the interviewer wants to know that you have researched their company before applying for the job.
You do not need to spend a lot of time researching the company, but make sure you do carry out some research because if you haven’t carried out any research, they can’t be sure you will stay working for them for the long term so before I give you the example, answer what should you research in preparation for your interview? Well, my advice is to take a look at their website about us page. Find out a little bit about what the company is about and also their history. Take note of their products and services. Just have a quick look online to see what products and services they offer and don’t forget to follow them on social media and be sure to take note of their latest news stories because all of these things give you something to talk about during the interview.
When responding to the question, Why do you want to work here? Let me give you my example response, and you can then use this as a template. Here we go.
- I want to work here for several reasons. Now, having researched your company, it is clear you support your staff.
- You have ambitious plans for the future and you are a socially responsible employer.
- I want to work for a company where I will feel proud to go to work every day and where I will be pushed and challenged in my role because this will help me to continually develop as a person.
- Finally, I want to work here because you have a track record of achievement. Now, we spend a lot of time at work, and I want that time to be put to good use with an organization that is constantly achieving.
That is a brilliant template answer that you can use now. Don’t go anywhere because I still have 9 more common questions that I want you to prepare for.
What are your greatest strengths?
Here’s the next question for you, and I’m sure you will agree. This question is going to come up during your interview, and this question is what are your greatest strengths? My advice is to make sure you match your strengths with the requirements listed on the job description so here’s a great way to answer this tough interview question. What are your strengths. Here we go.
- My strengths include the fact that I am a good collaborator. I enjoy working as part of a team and I’m not afraid to take on difficult challenges that are outside my comfort zone.
- Other strengths include the fact that I am a good communicator now whilst speaking with customers, clients or company stakeholders.
- I will always respond in a timely manner and I will never forget that I am representing your company.
- I’m also very good at organizing and planning my work, and I will willingly take on duties or responsibilities that are outside of the job description now.
- Finally. Perhaps one of my greatest strengths is the fact that I always embrace change positively. Now I see change as a positive thing, and I will work hard to help the business stay ahead of its competitors.
Now that is another cracking answer. It’s very, very positive, and I love the different strengths that you are giving here. Teamwork is really important, but you are rephrasing it by saying that you are a good collaborator. Collaborating is a good word to use. You are also saying that you are a good communicator and you are therefore demonstrating that you understand communication is really important in any job role. You were then talking about the fact that you are a good organizer and planner. You take on duties and responsibilities that are outside of the job description, and that is essentially going above and beyond what is required. Finally, you are saying that you embrace change positively and that’s important because for any organization to continually grow and develop, it needs to be adaptable to change so it can stay ahead of the competition.
Why do you want to leave your job?
Here is the next interview, question and example answer why do you want to leave your job? My advice is to keep your answer to this difficult interview question short, but do not be negative about your former employer or work colleagues. This is really important because if you are negative, I don’t think you’ll get hired. Let’s take a look at my example answer. Why don’t you want to leave your job, here we go now.
- I want to leave my job simply because I am ready for a fresh challenge with a new and exciting company that has ambitious plans for the future.
- I have enjoyed working for my employer. They’ve been very supportive and we have achieved many great things together whilst I’ve been working there. However, now is the right time for me to move on and to push myself even further with hopefully your company in this role.
You will see that that response is positive and I intended for it to be positive. There’s no negativity and I am keeping it relatively short. It’s positive, and that’s the most important thing to remember when answering that difficult interview question. Why do you want to leave your job now?
How would you handle conflict with a co-worker?
The next interview question I want you to prepare for is how would you handle conflict with a co-worker? Now, do not fall into the trap, like many candidates do of saying you would ask your manager to deal with the conflict. That is not the way to respond to this difficult interview question. Instead, make sure you take positive steps to resolve the conflict yourself so here’s another great example I wanted to help you. How would you handle a conflict with a co-worker? Here we go.
- I would try and resolve the conflict myself. I believe we, as responsible and mature coworkers, should attempt to resolve any conflict before involving our manager.
- I would first assess whether I was doing anything to contribute to the conflict before speaking to the other person in private to find an amicable way forward for the sake of the wider team.
Again, I’m sure you’ll agree that that is a professional answer and you would want to hire someone who gave that type of response.
What can you bring to the company?
Question number six, What can you bring to the company? This is a difficult question to answer, and it catches a lot of people out because they don’t prepare their response in advance. Now, understandably, the interviewer will want to hear what you can do for their company in the position so think about your strengths again when answering this common interview question and think about what the employer will want from the successful candidate so here’s another great example answer to assist you. What can you bring to the company? Here we go.
- I can bring numerous things to your company. I can bring a positive can do attitude that rubs off on other people. I can bring a level of skill, knowledge and experience that is a match for the job description.
- I can also bring a creative mindset, which means I will always seek ways to help your business grow through innovative ideas, and I will always try to help you save money by using resources frugally.
That’s another really good answer, a positive answer that demonstrates what you can bring to the company and don’t forget, you are always focusing on adding value to their organization in the role that you are applying for.
What is your greatest achievements
Here is the next question. Question number seven. What is your greatest achievements? Now, the trick to answering this difficult interview question is to make sure you give, where possible, a work related achievement that benefited a previous employer so if the hiring manager hears that your greatest achievement is work based, they are even more likely to hire you so here’s my example answer to help you. What is your greatest achievement? Here we go.
- My greatest achievement is helping the team I was a part of in a previous role when a significant sales contract for our employer.
- We worked hard over a three month period to put together a tender that the client would find hard to turn down. Now, whilst working on the tender, we focused on creating something that the client would benefit from long term.
- It was a great achievement because the competition was fierce and we worked solidly as a team utilizing each other’s strengths, and you can see why that type of answer will resonate positively with the interviewer.
What’s your biggest weakness?
Question eight. Perhaps one of the hardest interview questions to answer correctly. What’s your biggest weakness? Now this question is again pretty much guaranteed to come up during your job interview. Be very careful how you answer it. My advice is to give a weakness that is not a requirement of the position you have applied for so here’s another great example answer to help you. What’s your biggest weakness here we go.
- My biggest weakness is the fact I find it difficult to say no to people. I have a tendency to say yes to everything.
- In the past, this has led to me taking on too many responsibilities. Now, whilst I am always able to complete all of my responsibilities.
- I need to be more mindful in situations like these. However, another strength of mine is that I am aware of my weaknesses and I always seek ways to improve.
That’s a really strong answer to that difficult but common interview question. What’s your biggest weakness.
Tell me about a time you made a mistake
Here is the next interview question. Question number nine. Tell me about a time you made a mistake. Wow, this is a really hard interview question to answer correctly. How would you respond to it? Well, my advice is to tell the interviewer about a genuine mistake you made how you owned up to the mistake and apologized, and that’s the important part and then what you did moving forward to put things right. Don’t fall into the trap of saying I never make mistakes because I’m really good at my job. You have to give an example because we all do make mistakes, but it is how you respond to the mistake. That’s the most important part. Here’s another really good example answer to assist you. Tell me about a time you made a mistake. Here we go.
- I recall sending out the wrong customer order one day due to the fact it was a very busy time for the business. Now, the mistake was due to the fact I was distracted by speaking to another customer on the telephone whilst processing their order. Now, as soon as I realized I had made the mistake, I apologized.
- I informed my manager and I took proactive steps to prevent the same situation from reoccurring. I also put a double check system in place to make sure no customer ever received the wrong order again. Now, whilst making mistakes is rare for me, if ever I do make a mistake, I will always be honest about it and look for ways to improve.
I’m sure you will agree that that’s another great example answer that’s going to help you pass your job.
What motivates you?
Interview question number 10 comes up often during interviews, but there is a specific way to answer it. Now the question is what motivates you? Now, one of the best things to be motivated by is goals. I have loads of goals in my life, and that means that I’m always moving forward so if you have goals in your life, it means you will continually strive to improve and achieve great things. Here’s my example answer to assist you. Question 10 What motivates you? Here we go.
- I am motivated by continuous personal improvement, by providing for my family and by having workplace goals that ensure I am constantly moving forward.
- I believe that if you have a goal to work towards in your life, you will always be happy.
- At present, I am saving up for a deposit to buy my first home and I realize the only way I will achieve that goal is if I work hard and perform well at work.
That’s a clever way, a smart way to answer that difficult interview question. What motivates you?
Why should we hire you?
Question 11. Why should we hire you now? This interview question is guaranteed to come up during your interview. Don’t be afraid to sell yourself and my advice when they ask this question, which is likely to be towards the end of your interview, is to put together everything that you’ve talked about during the interview. This is your opportunity to sell yourself, give it in depth bond so that is positive and that demonstrates to the hiring manager. You can easily add value to their company. Here’s another great example answer to assist you. Why should we hire you? Here we go.
- You should hire me for several reasons. I’m a very positive person who enjoys the challenge of working on difficult tasks and projects over the years.
- I have built up numerous transferable skills and qualities that I believe are a solid match for this job description.
- I have experience of working alone and also collaborating as part of a team.
- I am a solid communicator who will take good care of your customers and clients, and I will always go above and beyond what is expected in the role.
- You should also hire me because I appreciate you have worked really hard to build up your business and being someone who is adaptable to change.
- I can be relied upon to support you in your long term commercial goals.
- You should also hire me because I am a fast learner. This means you won’t have to spend your valuable time closely monitoring or supervising me.
- Finally, you should hire me because I will always take care of my ongoing professional development. This means the skills and knowledge I possess will always be purposeful and relevant to the position.
I love that answer because you are giving numerous reasons why they should hire you. It’s a really, really good example response now.
That’s it for the best interview questions and answers. It’s really good to make connection with like minded professionals such as yourself. Thank you very much for reading, and I wish you all the best for passing your job interview. Have a brilliant day!