While some tough job interview questions catch us off guard, we can see others a mile away. How we answer job interview questions will make the difference between getting and not getting the job. We all have questions that we would rather not be asked during an interview. But how can one fully prepare for a difficult interview?

The answer to this question really comes down to intense preparatory work. Simply put, do your homework. Make sure you know your resume thoroughly and expect questions to come up from your work history. Also, expect questions about the company you want to work for and what kind of future you want in that company, and finally, expect questions about yourself. You should use several large lists of questions in preparation for the interview. Below you will find a list of difficult job interview questions, which should be helpful in preparing for the job interview.

While the questions below are fairly standard and can be expected in most job interviews, you should also create your own questions. When creating your questions in preparation for an interview, you really need to sit down and think about what you would ask if you were the interviewer. Remember that the person interviewing you also has a job to do. If you can give a good answer to most of the questions below and the questions you have created, you have increased your chance of getting the job you are looking for.

Obviously, during a job interview, regardless of your personality, you need to be friendly and polite. Try not to appear nervous too. The most important thing is that you try to appear confident in yourself, but not to the point of appearing arrogant. Remember, the interviewer is not only trying to select the best candidate for the position, but they also want to be sure that you will be compatible with other employees that you will work with. Also, remember that the interviewer is doing his or her best to find any red flags that may be present in your past work history.

The following is a list of questions to expect in most job interviews. They most likely won’t ask you all of these questions, but you can expect some of them. Many of these questions come from About.com and some were created by our staff.

Job Interview Questions: Employment History

What is the name of the company you worked for and what positions or positions did you hold?

When were you employed by this company?

What were your expectations for your previous job and to what extent were they met?

What were your initial and final compensation levels?

What were your responsibilities?

What major challenges and problems did you face? How did you handle them?

What did you like or dislike about your previous job? Which was the most and least rewarding?

What was the greatest achievement and failure in this position?

Why are you leaving your current job?

Why did you get fired? What was the aspect that you enjoyed the most about your previous job?

Job Interview Questions: About Your Supervisors and Co-workers.

What was it like working for your supervisor?

What do you expect from a supervisor?

Who was your best boss and who was the worst?

What is the ideal coworker? What is the ideal boss?

Job Interview Questions: About You

What is your greatest weakness?

What is your greatest strength?

In terms of your current or last position, describe a typical work week for yourself. Do you take work home?

How many hours do you normally work a week, including work done at home?

How would you describe the pace at which you work?

How do you handle stress and pressure? In terms of your career, what motivates you to move up and achieve greater success?

Which are yours expectecions of Salari?

What do you think are the most difficult decisions to make?

Tell me about you. What has been the biggest disappointment in your life?

What have been your greatest achievements in your life?

What are you passionate about?

What are your hobbies?

What do people criticize most often about you?

When was the last time you were angry? What happened?

If you could relive the last 10 years of your life, what would you do differently?

If people who know you were asked why they should hire you, what would they say?

Do you prefer to work independently or in a team?

Give some examples of teamwork.

Were you responsible for any major projects in your last position? If so, briefly describe the project for which you were responsible.

What type of work environment do you prefer?

How do you evaluate success?

Have you ever made a work-related presentation to a group of people of more than 10 and, if so, how did it work?

If you know that your boss is 100% wrong about something, how would you handle it?

Describe a difficult work situation or project and how you got through it.

Describe a time when your workload was heavy and how you handled it.

What have you been doing since your last job?

Job interview questions: about the new job and the company

What interests you about this job?

Why do you want this job?

What applicable attributes or experience do you have?

Are you overqualified for this job? What can you do for this company?

What do you know about this company?

Why do you want to work here?

What challenges do you look for in a position?

What can you contribute to this company?

Are you available to travel?

Is there anything I haven’t told you about the job or the company that you would like to know?

How do you plan to move up within our company?

What is the highest level you want to promote within our company?

Why should we select you for this job?

Again, the key to a successful job interview is preparation. When you are fully prepared, you will tend to be less nervous. Of course, it is very likely that you will be presented with a question or two that you did not expect. This is why preparation also involves having the knowledge base that you can expect the interviewer to draw on.

Here I am not referring to the knowledge required to get the job done. Anyway, that should be a fact, otherwise you would not have been asked to attend the interview. Here I’m talking about knowing yourself and your attitudes, and being able to present your attitudes in a way that the interviewer can appreciate. It does not hurt that the interviewer knows what really motivates you, if the interview goes in that direction.

Make sure you show an enthusiastic attitude. Be sure to present to the interviewer a willingness to learn and a desire to advance in the company you are about to work for. You don’t want to sound like you’re lacking in seriousness and definitely don’t come off as arrogant. Try to appear enthusiastic and positive in a mature and professional way. If you are an enthusiastic and positive type of person by nature, then half the battle is won. The point is to be yourself, but try to present the best of who you are.

Remember this, many employers prefer a less educated candidate with less credentials who is bright and willing to learn, to one who is more prepared but does not have the right attitude. A good example of this is the entrepreneur who wants to start a new business. For him or her who is starting a new company, hiring someone who is bright and has the right attitude is extremely important. More important than previous education. In this case, the entrepreneur is looking for someone who is not afraid of taking risks and is highly goal oriented. Here it is very important that you show the interviewer your ability to work as part of a team. The 9 to 5 type worker who expects to work basically the same hours 5 days a week would not be a good fit here. And the interviewer needs to know this.

To conclude, in the end, most interviewers look for the right attitude for the job they are trying to fill. If you also have the right credentials along with the right attitude, your chances are vastly increased. If you can answer most of the questions above, show an enthusiastic attitude, and present yourself in the best possible light, you should be successful.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *