Five Common Interview Questions You Should Have Answers Ready For
Since today’s job market is more competitive than ever, you need to be prepared to wow and interviewer as soon as you walk in the door. Differentiating yourself from your competition is crucial, whether you’re applying for corporate attorney jobs or fast food fryer positions. A key step to preparing for an interview is having appropriate responses ready for common interview questions. Below are five common interview questions that almost every interviewer asks, as well as suggestions for appropriate responses:
1. Tell me about yourself. Yeah, this is more of a statement than a question, but it’s a standard request that you should have a canned answer for. Highlight your education and qualifications, but also mention any nonprofit work that you may have under your belt. Don’t ramble, and keep it fairly short.
2. What is your greatest weakness? This is probably one of the most common interview questions that interviewers ask – and it’s kind of a trick. Come up with something that’s actually positive, like “I spend a lot of time paying attention to details, but I just like to make sure all of the Ts are crossed and the Is are dotted.”
3. Why do you want to work for this company? This is a popular one with corporate attorney jobs – you need to know what about the company is different than its competitors, and the only way to do that is to do some homework. Find something unique about the company’s corporate culture or business model, and make sure it’s nothing obvious that lots of interviewees will say. Again, you want to stand out from the competition, not blend into it.
4. Why did you leave your current position? Whatever you do, don’t hint that it had something to do with not getting along with your bosses or coworkers. Try to frame it in a positive way, if you can. Don’t talk poorly of your previous employer, no matter how badly you hated your job.
5. Do you have any questions for me? This is probably the most important out of the common interview questions you’ll be asked. Make sure you ask several questions, beyond what the starting pay is. The 20 minutes of time you invested in researching the company and developing good questions could be what lands you the job.