Common Job Interview Questions

The longest part of any job interview tends to be the questions asked of the candidate. It is also the cause of the most stress. We worry whether we will be able to answer the questions convincingly, whether anything will come up to catch us out and if our answers are as impressive as those of the other candidates. It is the case that the more we know in advance about the questions to be asked, the more comprehensive our preparation and the more confident our delivery on the day. Whilst it is impossible to accurately predict every single question that will be asked in an interview, we can guess and estimate most of the likely areas to be covered.

The following are the top 20 most common job interview questions:

1. Tell me more about yourself?
2. Can you tell me about your current/last job?
3. Why do you want to leave your current job?
4. What has been your greatest achievement in your working history?
5. Can you tell me a problem that you have had to deal with?
6. What would you do if you had a problem that you could not deal with? Perhaps you're faced with a difficult customer.
7. Which of all your jobs have you found the most interesting, and why?
8. What are the most satisfying and the most frustrating aspectfas of your present job?
9. What hobbies do you have?
10. What are your strengths?
11. What are your weaknesses?
12. What do you see yourself doing in five years' time?
13. Why should we employ you rather than another candidate?
14. Tell me what you know about this organisation?
15. What do you think you can contribute to this company?
16. If I were to call up your former employer, what would they say about you?
17. What makes you think you can do this job?
18. Why are you looking for a job?
19. What have been your most significant achievements?
20. What three words best describe you?

Think about how you would answer each of these and give yourself every chance of success in the interview.