Improve interviews by preparing answers to common interview questions.
Get ready for interviews with common questions, questions to ask the employer, and illegal interview questions.
Common interview questions
- Tell me about yourself.
- Why are you interested in working for this company?
- Tell me about your education.
- Why have you chosen this particular field?
- Describe your best/worst boss.
- In a job, what interests you most/least?
- What is your major weakness?
- Give an example of how you solved a problem in the past.
- What are your strengths?
- How do others describe you?
- What do you consider your best accomplishment in your last job?
- Where do you see yourself in three years?
- Think about something you consider a failure in your life, and tell me why you think it happened.
- How do you think you will fit into this operation?
- If you were hired, what ideas/talents could you contribute to the position or our company?
- Give an example where you showed leadership and initiative.
- Give an example of when you were able to contribute to a team project.
- What have you done to develop or change in the last few years?
- Do you have any questions for me?
Questions to ask the employer
- What are the responsibilities and accountabilities of this position?
- How well is the position defined?
- Can its duties be expanded?
- Please describe an average day on this job.
- What is the history of the position?
- Why is it vacant?
- What aspects of this job would you like to see performed better?
- What are the key challenges or problems of this position?
- Where can I go from here, assuming that I meet/exceed the job responsibilities?
- How would you describe the ideal candidate?
- What are the employer’s short- and long-range objectives?
- What are some outside influences that affect company growth?
- Where does the company excel? What are its limitations?
- When and how will I be evaluated?
- What are the performance standards?
- With whom would I be working?
- Who would be my supervisor?
- Who would I supervise?
- What is the department’s environment like?
- When will you make the hiring decision?
- May I call you for the decision?
- When is a good time?
Illegal questions
- What is or was your spouse’s name or line of work?
- Have you ever filed a Workers’ Compensation claim or been injured on the job?
- Do you have any physical conditions that would prevent you from performing the job?
- Have you ever been arrested?
- What is your hair/eye color?
- What is your height/weight?
- Have you ever been hospitalized?
- If so, for what condition?
- Have you ever been treated by a psychiatrist or psychologist?
- If so, for what condition?
- How many days were you absent from work because of illness last year?
- Are you taking any prescribed drugs?
- Have you ever been treated for drug addiction or alcoholism?
Source: Creative Job Search, a publication of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.