10 Most Common Interview Questions | Interview Preparation

Do you want to feel confident and well-prepared for any interview?

Even though each company has its own unique interview process, there are some common questions that you’re likely to encounter in almost every interview.

We offer general tips and preparation strategies for these common questions, including our recommendations on how to answer them effectively. However, it’s important to tailor these sample responses to fit your personal profile and personality.

10 Common Interview Questions:

1. Tell me about yourself.
2. What are your greatest strengths?
3. What are your greatest weaknesses?
4. Why are you leaving (or did you leave) your current position?
5. Why should I hire you?
6. Why do you want to work at our company?
7. What changes would you make if you joined our team?
8. Can you work under pressure?
9. Tell me about your work at your last company.
10. Give me an example of when you demonstrated good team spirit.

Before diving into how to answer these questions, here are a few general tips:

Be positive and confident Always maintain confidence during interviews. A positive and optimistic attitude is beneficial.

When discussing past experiences or personal examples, avoid focusing on negative aspects. Instead, highlight how all experiences, whether positive or negative, have been valuable learning opportunities.

Be honest Honesty is crucial. Misrepresenting your skills or experiences can create unrealistic expectations and cause problems later. Interviewers appreciate sincere candidates, and honesty can prevent issues during background checks.

Pay attention to your body language

• Dress appropriately (business formal for men; formal or Indian ethnic wear for women).
• Sit upright.
• Smile.
• Shake hands confidently.
• Maintain eye contact when appropriate.

For more information, check this article about formal dress codes in India on LinkedIn.

Read about the company and role Research the company and the specific role you’re applying for before the interview.

• Visit the company’s website to understand their core products or services.
• Familiarize yourself with their Vision, Mission, or Values statements and incorporate them into your answers to make a good impression.
• Thoroughly read the job description and requirements to understand what the potential employer is looking for, and demonstrate how you are a good fit during the interview.

Now, let’s delve into how to answer the 10 common interview questions:

1. Tell me about yourself

Here are some sample answers to this question:

1. Your full name and where you live: “My name is Rahul Desai, and I live in Andheri West.”
2. Your educational qualifications: “I completed my HSC from Maharashtra Board in 2016 with a score of 66%.”
3. Skills or knowledge that you have: “I have completed an MS-CIT course and my typing speed is 20 words per minute.”
4. Experience that you have, if any: “I worked in a call center for 10 months, where I was involved in sales and marketing.”

After providing your basic information, elaborate on how your skills, qualifications, and experience are relevant to the company’s requirements.

This is where your research about the company and the role will be beneficial.

Another approach to answer this question is to follow your introduction with a question to understand what the interviewer is specifically looking for in this role.

This way, you can focus on highlighting the skills or experiences that are most relevant to the position, saving time and making your responses more targeted.

2. What are your greatest strengths?

This question is an opportunity for you to showcase your best qualities. Before any interview, mentally prepare a list of your greatest strengths.

Have one or two specific examples for each strength, drawn from your most recent and impressive achievements.

As a general guideline, here are some of the most desirable traits that employers look for:

• A proven track record as an achiever, especially if your achievements align with the employer’s needs
• Honesty and integrity
• Being a team player who fits well with the company culture
• A positive attitude
• Good communication skills
• Dedication and a willingness to go the extra mile for excellence
• Having clear goals and a sense of purpose
• Enthusiasm and high motivation
• Confidence and leadership skills

3. What are your greatest weaknesses?

Prepare well for this question and respond carefully to avoid casting doubt on your ability to do the job. However, you also don’t want to seem arrogant or dishonest by claiming you have no weaknesses.

A good way to answer this question positively is to:

• Choose a weakness that is not critical to the job you are applying for.
• Explain how you have identified the weakness and are working on improving it.

This approach demonstrates that you are humble enough to admit your weaknesses and motivated enough to work on them.

Always aim to make your response sound authentic and honest. You can achieve this by preparing and memorizing your answer beforehand.

4. Why are you leaving (or did you leave) your current position?

Never speak negatively about your previous industry, company, boss, colleagues, or customers. Be honest when answering this question, but frame it so you don’t come across as blaming others or yourself.

Adopt a positive approach: Here are some ways to answer this question:

• You want to learn specific skills or gain experience not available in your current or previous position.
• You want to work with more skilled and experienced people.
• You seek opportunities for professional or financial growth.
• You aim to expand your horizons and learn a new skill set.

Prepare a brief reason for leaving each position in your past experience.

If you were fired from your previous position, be honest about it. Explain that you understand why it happened from the company’s perspective and hold no hard feelings. This demonstrates professionalism and maturity.

5. Why should I hire you?

Identify the company’s needs and expectations from a potential hire. Only then can you effectively answer this question better than other candidates.

Walk through each of the position’s requirements and explain why you meet them well. Whenever possible, include numbers and statistics from your past performance, as data is more convincing than just words.

For example:

Job requirement: A person who can politely talk to customers and handle their issues.

Possible Reason for hiring you: “I believe I am a great fit for this role because I worked as a Customer Service Executive for 2 years. Thanks to the training I received and my experience handling over 120 customer grievances every week, I am confident in my ability to understand and resolve your customers’ issues effectively.”

6. Why do you want to work at our company?

This question tests whether you’ve researched the company. As mentioned before, read about the company, their website, their services, and their Vision, Mission, and Values statements thoroughly before the interview.

Some reasons you can mention are:

• You are excited about the company’s products and services and want to contribute to their success.
• You are inspired by the company’s Vision and Mission and want to make an impact.
• You are eager to be part of the company’s excellent work culture.
• You believe this company is the best place to learn, grow, and develop your skills.

7. What changes would you make if you joined our team?

This question is often asked to candidates applying for senior or management positions.

A good way to answer this question is to:

• List the top two or three areas where you think changes would have the highest impact.
• Outline ideas or actions on how you would address these areas.
• If possible, include estimated costs and timelines for your proposed actions.
• Provide examples from your past experience or training whenever relevant.

8. Can you work under pressure?

While the obvious answer is “Yes,” it’s important to make your response believable.

Think of a specific incident where you handled pressure well and use that as your example.

Prepare and memorize this example so you can use it whenever this question arises.

9. Tell me about your work at your last company.

This question is commonly asked to candidates with prior experience. The intent behind this question is usually to find out:

• Was your recent experience relevant to their requirements?
• What were your responsibilities, and how well do they align with the responsibilities of this role?
• How was your performance in your last role, and will you perform well in this role?

Focus your answer on these aspects: your expertise or skills, your responsibilities, and your performance.

10. Give me an example of when you demonstrated good team spirit.

Interviewers often ask this question to ensure you are a good team player and will get along well with others. Teams where individuals prioritize the team’s interests tend to perform better.

To answer effectively, provide a recent and relevant example.

Describe a situation where you set aside your own interests, ego, or opinions, and how this helped the team perform better as a whole.

These are some of the basic interview questions commonly asked by many companies across various industries. We hope these suggestions on how to answer them are helpful. Remember to stay confident, prepared, and positive.

Once you feel ready for interviews, you can start looking for jobs on Lucknow Job Seekers.