Frequently asked interview questions

Reviewing common interview questions can be an effective part of your interview preparation. Below we have gathered together a number of frequently asked questions, which may be helpful in preparing for an interview.

Work experience

• Describe your activities during a typical day in your last position.
• Whom did you report to and who reported to you?
• Describe the most significant project you have worked on so far.
• What are your major responsibilities?
• In what type of position are you most interested?
• How did you obtain your last position and why did you leave?
• What position have you enjoyed the most? The least? Why?
• What kind of career progress did you make in your last position?
• Do you think you were fairly compensated for the work you did? Why or why not?
• Which region or city would you prefer to work in?
• Which of your skills / competencies would you get use of in your new position?
• What do you see yourself doing five years from now? How do you plan to get there?

General questions

• What is your salary expectation?
• What do you know about our company?
• What other companies are you considering?
• How long have you been looking for a position?
• How did you find out about this opening?

Initiative

• Tell me an innovation you introduced in your current role. How did you implement it?
• Describe an experience when you took considerable risk. What were the results?
• In which areas do you feel you would like to develop further? How will you do that?
• In what ways do you think you can make a contribution to our company?

Leadership skills

• Describe your leadership style.
• How would the people who work for you describe you?
• What makes an effective leader?
• What do you enjoy most about being a leader? Least?
• What have you found to be the most difficult aspect of being a leader?
• What would you say are the factors most critical to the team success?
• What is your most important role as a team leader?
• What type of employees do you find the most difficult to manage?
• Describe a leadership situation, which the most difficult was to overcome.
• What do you do to encourage others to do their best?

Interpersonal skills

• Describe a situation when you had to work with a person you disliked.
• How do you spend your time outside of work?
• What are your career goals? What influenced you in setting these goals?
• Describe a situation in which your views were in conflict with another team member. How did you work it out? What was the impact on your relationship?
• What does open door policy mean to you?
• What are your own special abilities?
• How important is communication in your present position?

Conflict handling

• Give me an example of a situation in which you were not proud of your performance. What did you learn from this mistake?
• Describe a situation that seemed hopeless at the time, but you were able to overcome. How did you do it?
• Tell me about the last time that you lost your temper at work.
• Tell me about a conflict with a co-worker and how you resolved it.
• Tell me about a time when your boss criticised your work.