Common interview questions you should be ready for!

Most people’s biggest job-hunting fear is being put on the spot by oddball interview questions such as these (which are real):

“Describe the color yellow to someone who’s blind.” – Spirit Airlines

“If you were asked to unload a 747 full of jelly beans, what would you do?” – Bose

“Who would win in a fight between Spiderman and Batman?” – Stanford University

Offbeat questions are nearly impossible to prepare for, and they don’t achieve the interviewer’s objective–to test out-of-the-box thinking and the ability to perform under pressure. That’s the bad news.

The good news is that companies are moving away from them. Recent research shows these questions do little more than boost the interviewer’s confidence. Even companies famous for oddball questions are abandoning them.

A Glassdoor study of tens of thousands of interviews found the 50 questions you’re most likely to be asked in your next interview;

There are plenty of obvious ones like discussing your CV and saying why you were unemployed between jobs or answering why you are looking for alternative employment.

However here are the top 10 (little more interesting) questions I think are best to know!

1.       Why are you interested in working for us? This question goes along with (Who are our competitors? What is the name of our CEO?) Make sure you know the company you’re applying to.

2.       Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? It’s always smart to have a plan.

3.       What can you offer us that someone else can’t? This is where you really sell yourself.

4.       Describe yourself. / Tell me about an accomplishment you are most proud of. / Tell me about a time you made a mistake. It’s great to know yourself, especially the good and bad and have examples of these ready to share.

5.       What motivates you?

6.       How do you handle pressure?

7.       What makes you uncomfortable?

8.       How would you fire someone?  / Tell me how you handled a difficult situation. You could combine both of these questions

9.   What do you like the most and least about working in this industry? Whichever industry you love working in, why? Show your passion for the job!

10.   What questions haven’t I asked you? / What questions do you have for me? It’s always great to have at least one question to ask at the end.

Though these questions may be less exciting to prepare for than “Batman vs. Superman,” they are what you need to be ready for.

Most interviewees are only prepared for about 10 questions. For the full list of questions please see here; https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-ace-top-50-interview-questions-dr-travis-bradberry

Study the list carefully and have answers ready–but not robotically rehearsed—you want to be able to speak comfortably, and confidently about each of these topics.