10 Interview questions you need to know in English

Question 1: So, tell me about yourself… 

This is the most common question to start with in an interview.

Be prepared to say a few things about your accomplishments, strengths, and a quick summary of your career. This is not about your hobbies, interests or childhood. Be sure to keep your answer brief with a 1-minute to 90-second answer.

Question 2: Reasons You Want this Job

Example Questions:

• “Why are you interested in this position/job?”
• “Why are you interested in working at XX Company?”

With these questions, you should highlight what about the job is of interest to you. Is it the interaction with clients and problem-solving? Is it saving money for the company through accounting? Or growing sales of a product you believe in?

Focus on what you will actually do in the job and what excites you about the position, not the benefits or salary or day-to-day tasks.

Question 3: Your Job History

Example Questions

• “Why did you leave your last company/position?”
• “Why are you leaving your current company/position?”

With this question, you want to be careful. You don’t want to complain or make negative statements about your previous/current company or supervisor. But you do need to be honest at the same time.

Some common reasons you might have for leaving a job include:

• Looking for a new challenge (but be prepared to talk about what that challenge is and make sure it fits the current job)
• Looking for opportunity to grow your career (maybe that isn’t possible in your current company)
• Current company is struggling financially (it is ok to mention this if is true and known publicly)
• Recent or upcoming move to new location
• Want to work in a position that better highlights your strengths (be prepared to talk about them specifically)

Question 4: What Makes You the Best

Example Questions

• “Why would you be the right choice for this position?”
• “What makes you the best candidate for this position / this job?”
• “Why should we hire you?”

Here the focus is on what makes you unique and what can you do for the company (how will you improve or benefit the company)?

This is an opportunity to focus on your strengths or some of your accomplishments. Then you should talk about how these strengths or your abilities would benefit the company – what will you do for the company that no one else can do?

Question 5: Common Tell Me About Questions

Example Questions

• Tell me about …
• A time you dealt successfully with a complaint or difficult customer successfully.
• Your highest accomplishments or the accomplishment you are most proud of.
• A time you made a mistake in your job. How did you handle it?
• A time you handled a high-pressure situation.
• A situation in which you showed real leadership.
• A time when you disagreed with your boss.

What are …

• Your strengths?
• Your weaknesses?
• Your greatest challenges in this profession?

Like the questions in number 4, these are critical to answer well. In these questions, the interviewer is looking for specific examples of your strengths, your skills, and abilities. They want a real story, a concrete example.

They also want answers that are quantifiable. What does that mean? It means to show the quantity of something so it can be measured. Examples include:

• I increased sales by XX% in 3 months by …
• I reduced the wait time for customers by XX% by …
• I signed on XX new clients by …

Consider the skills you will need in this new position and make sure your stories highlight those skills. You want to show the interviewer that you can do this job and you will do it better than anyone else.

Question 6: What Do You Know about the Company

Example Questions

• “What do you already know about our company?”
• “What do you know about our competitors?”
• “What makes you a good fit for our company?”

With these questions, the interviewer wants to see what you know of the company and its product or service. Don’t just repeat what is on their website or brochures. Show that you know something about the specific industry and the company’s role in the industry. Talk about their competitors or their marketing strategies that you are familiar with. Talk about the company culture or values, what is it known for and why you are a good fit.

This shows that you took the time to learn about the company and that the job opportunity is important to you.

Question 7: Goals and Problem-Solving

Example Questions

• “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”
• “What are your career goals?” 
• “What would you do in your first 3-4 months here?”
• “What would your first 30 days look like in this job?”

The focus here is how you set goals, how do you achieve goals and how do you solve problems. An interviewer wants someone who is ambitious and will get the job done.

The first days and months in any new job will require learning, focus, getting to know your colleagues and learning to solve new problems in the company. Highlight how you have done this successfully in the past and how you plan to do this in your next position.

Question 8: Motivation

Example Questions

• “What is most important to you in your current position?”
• “What is most important to you in a new position?”
• “What is most important to you in a career?”
• “What are you looking for in a company?”

Again the focus is on goals but also your motivations. Think about why you want this job. What is your motivation to be successful in this position? Will this job really help you accomplish your career goals? Is this job (or is the company) really a good fit for you? It is best to be honest with yourself and in your answer.

Question 9: Job-Specific Details

Example Questions

• “What salary range were you looking for?”
• “Would you be willing to relocate?”
• “Would you be willing/able to travel often?”
• “What is your availability?”
• “How would your ideal work day look?”

This is a chance to talk about the requirements for and offers of the position. The hardest question is often about salary. You don’t want to offer a number that is too low or too high. It is best to do some research on the common salary for that position and for someone with your qualifications.

Question 10: Closing Questions

Example Questions

• “Do you have any questions for me?”
• “Are there any questions you’d like to ask?”
• “Is there anything you wish I had asked about but didn’t?” (This is my favorite question as an interviewer!)

Now it is your turn to ask some questions. And you definitely should. These questions should be related to the job, company culture, expectations, etc. (not the benefits package, salary offer, vacation time, etc.)