10 common interview questions and answers in English

THIS IS THE TRANSCRIPT FROM THE VIDEO ´TOP 10 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND HOW TO ANSWER THEM´.

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(00:07):

Hi, I'm Sabrena from Ingles Con Killian. I want to talk about the top 10 interview questions in English and how you should answer them. So let's get started.

1. TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF

The first question is very common. Tell us about yourself. If they ask you this in an interview, they do not want your life story or that you have two cats or that you love going to the mountain every weekend. You should focus on your work. So you completed a degree in social science in Madrid. You have been working in this area related to the job for the last seven years. You have also been working on a master's in (your topic), for example. And you love this area because (reason). Okay. But try to focus the question on your work. It's the same with all the questions, relate them to your work, relate them to the good things about your work and how good you are at the job.

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2. WHY SHOULD WE HIRE YOU?

Next question, why should we hire you? So this also gives you a chance to really sell yourself, be specific, relate it to what they need. Be sure that you have researched the company before you go to the interview and that you have researched what the offer entails, what they need for the job. So you should relate this answer to the job specifications. You should hire me because I have a lot of experience in project management. For example, if the job is project management, and if the job is in biometrics, you should tell them your experience in biometrics. So talk about your experience, the skills that you need for this job, tell them the skills that you have. So related+ it to the job, relate it to what they need.

3. WHAT ARE YOUR STRENGTHS?

For some people, it can be difficult to sell themselves, but you need to do that.

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And you can do it in a way that isn't too narcissistic, that's in a nice way. So for example the strengths should be related again to the job and know the specifics of the job, the strength you need, for example, for a management position is your ability to delegate, for example, or your good time management, and more specifically for the technical aspects of your job as well, that you have a lot of experience and that you have a lot of skill in a certain area related to the position.

4. WHAT ARE YOUR WEAKNESSES?

Weaknesses. Maybe this is even more difficult to answer because you need to give a real weakness. You cannot say I'm a perfectionist, it's a crap answer. You need to give a real weakness, but you also need to tell them about how you are working on it and how you are dealing with it and overcoming it.

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Okay. So for example, if you say I have had a problem with time management, but I'm overcoming that, but cause I'm very strict with the schedule and I'm very strict with times for meetings or something like that, but give a weakness, not something that's that would make them say, no, we can't hire her, she's dangerous, for example, but a weakness that you are overcoming, you are handling very well.

5. WHAT ARE YOUR CAREER GOALS?

What are your career goals? Where do you see yourself in five years? Again, a common question type because they want to see that you are ambitious and that your goals fit with their goals. Do not say that you want to be sitting in their seat. It's not good to be competition to the people who are interviewing you, but you CAN be ambitious, but be realistic. For example, in five years, you want to have gained a lot of experience with the company and you want to maybe move to the next level or something like that, but be realistic and relate it to the post.

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6. WHY DO YOU WANT TO WORK HERE?

So why do you want to work here? It's an obvious question. Again, related to this position, have your homework done about the company, talk about the good things in the company that you like and that attracted you to the company. Maybe it's the area that they're working with, the innovation, the ethos, the work-life balance. Don't say that the pay is better. Don't talk about money here. Don't say that you like it that you finish at three o'clock every day. Relate it to the work and praise the company. Don´t talk about your last company in a negative way either. This is not good. It gives a bad impression. Be professional.

7. TELL US ABOUT A CHALLENGING SITUATION IN WORK / RESOLVING A CONFLICT.

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This depends on your experience. If you don't have any experience, you might relate it to a challenging situation in your degree, for example, or in a sport that you do. If you do have work experience, you're sure to have a challenging situation. So you want to give the situation, but you also want to give the solution, how you overcame it, what solution you had for it. Someone I know had an interview as a carer and someone asked them what they would do if they had a client in the bath who couldn't care for themselves and the doorbell rang and it was somebody important and the person answered that they would pull the plug in the bath to empty the water and run quickly to answer the door. So there, you have to think about this, try to think of something in advance so that you're not in the interview with a lack of imagination, because I'm sure you have situations that you have been through.

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So give the conflict or give the challenging situation, but also how you resolved it. This is a good way that you can show your management skills or how you deal with difficult situations. So every question is an opportunity for you to show your skills if you prepare.

If you don´t have any specific work experience to draw from, use examples from other areas of your life, relating them to the skills needed in the job. For example, if the job requires management skills, talk about when you were in charge of a sports team, or a group in university. If your job requires determination and motivation (as jobs normally do!), talk about training for a difficult sports event or finishing a challenging project in college. As I mentioned before, try to have a few examples ready for this type of question.

8. WHY DID YOU LEAVE YOUR LAST JOB?

Another common question is why did you leave your last job? Be honest, don't talk negatively about your last job and be specific here as well. If you were fired for some reason, give an honest account of what happened, they're probably going to know anyway, so don't lie. If you're leaving because you don't like it or because of the money, just be diplomatic, be careful. You don't want to talk negatively about your last job. Okay. So be careful, be politically correct, and be professional.

9. WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT?

Again, this one is good to prepare in advance. If you can link it to your work, please do. Maybe you have a professional achievement that you can think of automatically. If not think about something that you achieved in your personal life, like sports achievement or, or resolving a conflict or something, but relate the achievement to the skills that you need for the job, whatever you do.

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10. DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR US?

Do you have any questions for us is quite a common question in the interview. Research the company, ask something relative. Don't talk about, for example, money or what time is lunch or things like that. This is not for the interview. You need to show that you want the job because of the job. It is a great challenge for you. It's a great next step in your career. Not because it's a convenient job or because you know, the great hours or things like that. So don't talk about that here. You can talk about that with HR (human resources) later, ask a question related to the company, even something like, when should I expect to hear from you? Something like that. But do ask a question because it shows interest. Maybe you have some questions prepared and they've already answered them as they talk to you.

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And then you can say, oh, I wanted to know, but you have already answered that. Thank you. Or something like that, if you really can't think of something new.

PREPARATION ADVICE

So basically in the interview, if you're prepared, it will be easier if the interview's in English and it's not your first language.

Practice, practice, practice - the more you practice, the more comfortable you will feel.

Try to speak English just before the interview. We do this lots of times with students who have an interview or an exam in English - we speak to them for 15 or 20 minutes by telephone to help them change the chip in their brain to English. So if you can do this, do it.

Research the company well, know the company's conditions, their values and what they stand for. So try to do your research and the job description as well. Know exactly what the job description is about and what they expect from their employees.

That's it! Some of the most common general interview questions, and some advice on preparing. Of course, there will be more specific questions related to the position, and your abilities and experience to fulfill the job requirements, so be sure to know the answers to these as well, review and study what you need to to be ready.

If you want more examples about how to answer these questions, you can find them here: Answers to the 10 most common interview questions.