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Oh! The joy of being shortlisted for a job interview!

After spending hours on your resume, your efforts have paid off and now it’s your turn to impress the recruiters in the interview.

In some cases, interviews can be nerve-racking. However, it doesn’t have to be that way.

Lucky for you, you’ve come across this blog that will help you with everything that you need to excel in job interviews.

The blog will answer the following questions:

• What are the top 5 interview questions and answers?
• How to answer interview questions?
• The importance of prepping/how to prepare for an interview?
• What are the questions to ask the interviewers?

Let’s jump right into having a look at the top 5 interview questions asked by the recruiters during an interview:

• Tell us about yourself.
• What is your biggest weakness and strength?
• Why should we hire you?
• Why do you want to work with us?
• Why did you leave your previous job?

In case you are looking for something more specific like profile-based top interview questions and answers, this is where you should look. You will find 180+ profile-specific top interview questions and answers with just one click.

Yep! It’s pretty amazing.

Top Interview Questions and Answers

Now, irrespective of what industry you’re in, certain questions will always be common for any interview.

Let’s begin with the most basic, and often the first question that you’ll be asked during an interview.

Tell us about yourself

This is one of the most typical interview questions asked by the recruiters.

However, if you aren’t prepared with at least a mental outline of how you’re going to introduce yourself, it can very well ruin your first impression on the recruiters.

To avoid such scenarios, here are some pointers you must include when you introduce yourself:

• Your most recent role and a short background of your previous roles
• The highlights of your professional experiences
• Some information about your educational background
• Add a personal touch by telling them your hobbies and interests
• Wrap it up by describing your current situation

What is your biggest weakness and strength?

This can be a tricky question to answer if you’re not prepared for it.

You must ensure that your strength is backed up by experiences that you have had in your personal and professional life.

As for the weakness, you must always present it in a way that hints that you are working on it and isn’t actually a hindrance to the work that the position entails.

Your answer should show your self-awareness and accountability.

For instance, your weakness can be a soft skill or a personality trait like being a little shy or lacking good humor, and so on.

Sample answer: “I’m a perfectionist, which can be a strength and weakness. I want to do things right the first time, so I spend extra time on tasks and I’m not always as fast as I’d like to be. On the other hand, I’m very thorough and I don’t leave anything to chance.”

Why should we hire you?

This is another top interview question asked by the recruiters to see what makes you unique and why you are the best candidate for the position.

If you are prepping for an interview with a sales company, well this question might be a way for the recruiters to see how you could sell their products.

Hence, it is vital that you seize the occasion and confidently talk about your skills and experiences that make you qualified for the job.

Don’t forget to talk about any skills from the requirements listed in the job listing.

Why do you want to work with us?

Your first instinct when you hear this question might be to tell the recruiter that you applied for the job because as simple as it is, you need to pay your bills.

However, don’t limit yourself to a financial reason.

Take some time to do a bit of research about the company before going in for the interview.

Read about their values and their work culture. You’ll certainly find other aspects of the company that you can respect and identify with.

Include these reasons in your answer. This will let the company know that you are in fact familiar with the company’s values and you’re genuinely interested in the position.

If the company produces different products for the market, talk about how you like their products and would love to work for a brand you personally love.

Why did you leave your previous job?

Maybe you left your previous job because you didn’t like the work culture or maybe they were just not paying you enough.

Whatever the reason might be, it’s never a good idea to bad-mouth your previous employer during an interview.

In case you were fired, own up to your mistakes and tell the recruiters how you’ve learned from the experience and how you intend to do things differently the next time around.

The last thing you’d want is for the recruiters to find out that you were lying during the interview.

It definitely wouldn’t leave a good impression on the recruiters and you could very well bid farewell to your chances of getting hired.

In another scenario, if your reason for leaving the job was because of a personal conflict with a colleague, it’s best to give other sensible reasons for leaving the job.

It would be extremely unprofessional to sit in an interview and talk about your personal feud with so and so individuals.

Sample answer: “I left my last job because my financial growth was stunted. I would have stayed if they had offered me some financial stability.”

The Best Way to Frame Your Interview Answers

As you’ve seen from the sample answers, the best way to frame your answers during an interview is to keep them professional and to the point.

Try to tailor your answers in a way that links back to the company.

Use the STAR method to answer the interview questions.

S	Situation: The background of your role
T	Task: The task that was assigned to you or your team
A	Action: How you completed the task
R	Result: The outcome of your efforts

During the interview, the recruiter might ask you a question that you haven’t prepared for. Don’t be startled in these types of situations.

Collect your thoughts and give a suitable answer with confidence.

In case you belong to the technical industry, it’s common for recruiters to ask you problem-solving questions during an interview.

Take a look at these common problem-solving questions asked by recruiters:

• How do you build a troubleshooting process?
• In your personal opinion, what are the skills of a great problem solver?
• What do you do in a situation when you cannot figure out a suitable solution to a problem?
• What is the first step that you take while solving a complex issue?
• What's the biggest work-related problem that you have faced in your career and how did you deal with it?

How to Prepare for an Interview?

Just like how you’d prepare yourself before an oral examination, it is important to prepare yourself before an interview as well.

As much as you’d love to be spontaneous, interviews are one of few other situations when you have to plan ahead and prepare yourself.

After all, you get only one chance to prove yourself and impress the recruiters so that they hire you.

You can not exactly request a retake on your interview because you were not able to give a suitable answer to a question or because you fumbled.

Therefore, it is extremely important to prepare yourself before the interview.

Also, don’t forget to look sharp on the day of your interview.

When you dress appropriately, your confidence will be boosted and this confidence will translate into how you answer the interviewer's questions.

However, if the job you’ve applied for calls for a phone interview here are some tips that you can keep in mind:

• Ensure that you have a stable network. If your call requires internet, double-check the strength of your Wi-Fi connection to avoid connection issues.
• Make sure you are receiving the call from a quiet place and that there are no sources of noise
• While conversing over the phone, use proper enunciation to avoid miscommunication
• Keep a steady, polite, and professional tone while conversing with the interviewer because your body language and facial expressions are not accounted for

Some of the common phone interview questions asked by most recruiters are:

• How did you find out about this job vacancy?
• Walk me through your resume
• What do you know about our company?
• Under what type of management do you work best?
• Are you willing to relocate?
• Do you have any questions about the role or the company?

Questions to Ask Interviewers

When you are close to finishing up the interview, usually, most of the recruiters will ask if you have any questions for them.

If you haven’t already thought about the questions that you’re going to ask the recruiters, you’ll probably end up saying you don’t have any questions.

Although it may not necessarily kill your chances of being hired, it won’t make for a good impression on the recruiters as it hints at a lack of interest.

Besides, wouldn’t you want to know more about your everyday schedule if you get hired?

You’ll also get clarity on how they prioritize work so that you can work accordingly and avoid unnecessary stress for yourself.

Here are some sample questions to ask during an interview:

• How is the work-life balance?
• Are there any further steps in the hiring process?
• Who will I report to if I get hired?
• Is there any probation or training period after being hired?
• What kind of benefits are provided to the employees?
• What do you expect from an employee on a daily basis?
• Does the work expectations change often?
• On what basis will my performance be measured?
• How soon can I start applying for internal job postings?
• Does your company have performance bonus incentives?
• Do you have a fixed performance review schedule?
• What is the work culture like?
• Are there any remote work opportunities?
• How is your company keeping up with the Covid measures?
• Are there ample growth opportunities for the employees?
• What is the strength of the team that I'll be working with?
• Do I have to work in shifts?
• What is the best thing about working at this company?
• Is this role a new position at your company?
• What are the biggest challenges that come with this role?

Your Ultimate Career Guide

At Hiration, we understand the importance of a good career and all the painstaking efforts that you put into being hired by your dream company.

We recognize your dilemmas and we’re here to guide you through every step.

Our AI-powered platform will assist you with anything and everything that goes into the hiring process.

• Building a stellar resume that is ATS friendly and bound to get you shortlisted
• Getting your resume reviewed by our AI-powered tools to ensure your resume meets the current industry standards
• Writing a cover letter that will make for a perfect accomplice for your resume
• Building an impressive digital portfolio to get ahead of all the other candidates
• Getting your LinkedIn profile reviewed to boost your chances of being hired
• And of course, helping you prep for any profile specific interview that you are going to face

Whatever your requirement may be, we got your back.

Go to Hiration career platform which has 24/7 chat support and get professional assistance with all your job & career-related queries. You can also write to us at support@hiration.com and we will make sure to reach out to you as soon as possible.