Interview Questions and How to Answer Them

Interview Questions and How to Answer Them

Have you been recently called for an interview? Do you have an idea of questions that will likely be asked, and you have no idea how to go about it? Well, you are in luck as we will be analyzing some common interview questions and providing answers to them.

For each of the interview questions written here, we will be giving you a rough sketch of what the employer truly wants to know and how you can answer brilliantly. Nevertheless, you should ensure that your competencies, experiences, and skills match those the employer requested in their job ad.

As a candidate for an interview, you should provide the interviewer with relevant, concise, and detailed answers. These are what the employers will want to hear. When you prepare this way, it signifies that you are confident and not fearful of the unknown.

It is vital to note that when preparing for an interview, surprise questions are not so common. Over eighty-five percent of the questions asked are quite predictable.

Before delving into the interview questions and their answers, we must let you know that you will have to come up with your own answers when asked these common questions.

Avoid giving stock replies.

Tips On Interview Questions And How To Answer Them

Some of the popular interview questions include:

1. Tell us about yourself

You should bear in mind that the interviewer already knows some things about you from your cover letter and resume. The interviewers may have gone as far as searching about you on LinkedIn, Facebook, or even Twitter.

Irrespective of the position you are applying for, you will be asked this question. It can take the form of “Can we know you or Who are you.” While this question seems simple, it is quite tricky.

Do not give unnecessary personal details about who you are, as the recruiter only wants to know how you fit into the role and their work environment. Carefully frame your response around what will make you the best fit for the position.

What you are meant to talk about are:

• Who you are professionally
• Give a highlight of your competencies, and;
• Talk about why you are currently applying for that position.

Although you may want to talk about the good stuff, your answer must be relevant and concise.

2. What exactly are your strengths

Sometimes this question comes as hard to crack and confusing, and it is normal to feel some way talking about your strong points without bragging. If you want to answer this question successfully, you are to:

• Talk about your hard skills
• Talk about your transferable skills, and;
• Talk about your personal traits

As you talk about these skills or assess them, ensure that they are closely linked and relevant to the job role you applied for. While answering, do your best to stay away from your personal qualities and focus on your professional traits.

Even though the question seems simple, it can mess the whole interview if you did not take your time to reassess yourself to know your strong points and communicate them properly to the employer.

While you answer the question, keep in mind that the employer is searching for a good fit and trying to create a picture of you based on your answer. Ensure that the strengths you mention are your real strengths capable of adding value to the company.

3. What are your weaknesses

When you hear this question, it may sound awkward as you are meant to be pitching yourself at an interview, not highlighting your weak points. It gets confusing as you are meant to talk about your weak points and not threaten the role you applied for.

However, try not to give cliché answers as recruiters focus on how you answer the question and not the answer. To answer this question, you should be self-aware. Be able to recognize your weakness and be cautious of choosing a weakness that will not affect your position.

You should be truthful, and as you talk about your weakness, you will earn points by telling the recruiter the efforts you are taking to manage the weakness you stated.

4. Reasons why you are leaving your current job

This question can throw any job seeker off-balance, especially when you were never prepared for it. Most job seekers leave their current jobs for the sole reason of getting a better offer. However, this cannot be the answer you tell the recruiter.

To handle this question, you will need to provide an answer closely linked to you moving forward in your career. Nobody will frown at this answer when it has to do with your career.

Some answers you can provide to this question are:

• You wish to learn
• You want to relocate
• You desire career growth and development
• You need a career change
• You desire to improve your work-life balance

Endeavor not to throw your answers at the recruiter, but take your time to ensure you provide the ideal answers. This is also an opportunity to tell the recruiter about your interest in the position.

Avoid being negative about your previous employer and avoid answers that can be linked to the company’s finance or poor management.

 

READ ALSO: HOW TO WRITE A GOOD CURRICULUM VITAE (CV) FOR A JOB APPLICATION IN NIGERIA

 

5. Why you should be hired

Most job seekers are confused when asked this question. When you are asked this question, the recruiter wants to know why you are the best person for the job. Even though the question is straightforward, you need to be careful when answering.

 The entire interview boils down to this one question, and you able to be prepared for it. The best response you can give centers around proving to the recruiter that you can excellently perform the task, and you will be an amazing addition to the team.

Let the recruiter know that you have the ideal experiences and skills that will make you stand out from every other candidate. However, if you are a fresh graduate and asked this question, this is the only valuable chance you will have to prove that you are the ideal candidate.

Please do not say you are idle or it is hard to find a job. Instead, you are to compose your answer in a way that shows your interest in the job role and your enthusiasm that you truly want to be a part of the company.

You can talk about your interest in development and learning and your vision to add to the company’s general growth. All employers will love to employ a person with the right spirit.

6. Where you see yourself in the next three to five years

This question is used to trap job seekers in a corner, and some may never recognize it. The first thing to note is that employers do not ask this question because they are interested in what you want to do with your life.

Their major reason for asking this question is to know how long you plan to remain in the position and if your vision tallies with the company. While it may be tempting for you to pour out your genuine intentions, there are better ways to answer.

The Best approach to this question is to have an idea of the long-term goals that will help you grow from this particular position. You are to conduct research on the company, know the career path for the job role, and research the development opportunities, if any, and share the same visions with the company.

When you know of all these, you can provide the ideal answer to the question. The recruiter wants to know if you will be available for a long period. They want to hire someone that will take the job role seriously.

Conclusion

These are some of the popular questions every recruiter asks, and you el only be thrown off balance if you do not prepare. Study hard for these questions by assessing yourself and having an idea of what you can bring to the company.

Ensure your skills and experiences over the years are in line with the job role. Once you are prepared, you can ace every interview that comes your way.