While cliche at this point, some of the most common job interview questions are fiendishly tricky. They continue to be popular with interviewers because most applicants don’t quite understand that the questions are sometimes meant to get a reaction from you, rather than a straightforward answer.
While the specific answers you give should depend on each unique situation, the guidelines we’ve given below can help increase your chances of getting that job. Try practicing answering these questions with a friend the next time you’re up for a job interview.
1.) “Why do you want to leave your current company?”
This can be tricky, but you want to avoid bad-mouthing your current company, even if it’s what you want to do. Keep your answers related to finding better opportunities for growth or needing a challenge. Most employers would likely want to hear those kinds of answers.
2.) “Why do you want to work here?”
Chances are the interviewer is just probing you to find out if you’ve done any research about the company. It’s already implied that you applied for the job because you want the salary, so there is usually no need to mention that. Instead, keep it relevant to other parts of your current situation.
Perhaps your answer should be that you want to work in a place closer to home, or perhaps you would like to enjoy the other non-monetary benefits offered by the company such as scholarships and training. If you are a PWD, you can even mention that you heard the company was PWD-friendly, if that is the case.
3.) “Why were you fired?”
In most cases, interviewers who ask this want to test your ability to be objective and work through your emotions. This question often has no easy answers and can be quite triggering, especially if you were fired for legitimate reasons. If you were fired and still got the interview, chances are the interviewer already called your previous company regardless and got their side, so that fact that you are already being interviewed is a good sign.
Try to be as truthful and as matter-of-fact as possible without divulging any needlessly damaging details. Sometimes all the interviewer wants to see is if you can be truthful in a serious situation.
4.) “Tell me about yourself.”
This request can seem frustratingly open-ended. Most of the time, what the interviewer actually means is “what is it about you that makes you the best person for the job?”.
Knowing this, your answers should be related to your professional experience, or your school experience if this is your first job. You should be able to give a situation where you were able to harness your personal qualities (such as accountability, resourcefulness, creativity, or any positive traits) to create a positive outcome.
For instance, you can say that you feel that you have demonstrated leadership skills, which led to a reduction in employee turnover or a reduction in customer service complaints. The answer should include a positive trait of yours and how it resulted in a good outcome for your previous company.
5.) “Are you applying for other jobs?”
The interviewer is probably trying to gauge your interest in the position. If you are applying for multiple jobs, avoid giving away how much you might be interested in the others.
You can say that you are still early in your job search, or that you are most excited about the job that they are offering. This can prevent the interviewer from excluding you from the second or final interviews.
Now that you understand how to answer these common questions, it’s time to check Mynimo for the best job openings close to home. Mynimo’s powerful local search functions make it easy to find the jobs closest to your hometown.