In addition to recruiters assessing and evaluating your skills through your CV, how you respond and present yourself during the interview is incredibly significant.
An interview serves as your gateway to join a business, a company. Preparing for and answering interview questions on your own will boost your confidence when facing recruiters. It's possible that with seemingly simple questions, you might find yourself at a loss and lose points if you don't know how to respond. Regardless of the job you're applying for, the level, or the industry, you should read through these clever responses to commonly asked interview questions below to make an absolutely remarkable impression on recruiters.
1. Can you tell us about yourself?
To make an impact in interviews, it's essential to start with an impressive self-introduction. Clearly state basic information such as your name, age, address, marital status, and briefly touch on your strengths and accomplishments in your past work. This is a key criterion for recruiters to assess a candidate's capabilities.
Present your introduction concisely, coherently, and in an easily understandable manner within about 2 minutes. Avoid rambling on and creating a sense of boredom for the recruiters. Practice responding in an impressive manner to captivate recruiters' attention right from the very beginning.
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Common Interview Questions
What are your career goals? First and foremost, you need to clearly define both your short-term and long-term career goals. Present a career direction related to the job you are applying for, along with reasons like wanting to enhance your specialized skills, aiming for a long-term commitment, etc. Avoid setting career goals that are too distant or not aligned with the company's development. Based on your response, recruiters will determine if your goals are in line with the company's direction.
Why did you leave your previous job? This is a commonly asked interview question that isn't easy to answer. You should provide an answer that won't negatively impact your interview outcome. You can mention that you left your previous job because the career path there no longer matched your goals, limited personal development opportunities, you wanted to seek new challenges in a more dynamic environment, etc.
What are your strengths? Prepare a list of strengths that are relevant to the position you are applying for and ensure they align with it. Emphasize standout strengths that have been effective in your work, along with specific examples.
What are your weaknesses? Admit your weaknesses skillfully and provide solutions or methods you've used to overcome them. You can mention weaknesses like forgetfulness, being too straightforward in work, etc. Make sure the weakness you mention doesn't significantly affect the job you're applying for.
What are your key skills? To make an impression with recruiters right from the interview questions, describe the skills you possess that are most relevant to the position you're applying for. List 3-5 special skills like expertise, soft skills, previous work experience, etc., that are suitable for the job requirements. It's even better if you provide specific evidence of how you've applied those skills in previous work, along with the achieved results.
What do you know about our company? One of the common interview questions is about your understanding of the company. Therefore, before participating in the interview, research the company's background, founding process, operating philosophy, culture and mission, industry activities, etc.
Why are you applying for this position? The purpose of this question is for recruiters to understand if you've researched the position you're applying for. Mention your experience in a similar role, demonstrate your passion, commitment to your pursued career, and assert that your expertise aligns well with the job you're applying for.
Why should we choose you? In this question, you need to present a solution to the company's problem by explaining how your experience and skills will contribute. Highlight the differentiation of your experience and skills compared to other candidates. Don't forget to include data and achievements to enhance persuasion with recruiters.
Have you done this type of work before? Recruiters might already know the answer to this question, and how you respond will affect the interview outcome. Focus on your unique qualities that show your suitability for the job. This helps recruiters consider giving you a chance even if you don't have extensive experience in that position.
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Be confident to answer all the questions of recruiters
How do you complete assigned tasks on time?
You should show the recruiter that you know how to manage tasks by proactively planning, reporting, and tracking progress. Also, emphasize your vision and commitment to both quality and deadlines. This will help ensure tasks are completed on time.
What kind of manager do you prefer to work with?
For this question, honestly share your preference for a competent and caring leader. Explain that when working with such managers, you can learn a lot, including task management, employee communication, problem-solving, and knowledge sharing.
If your supervisor makes a mistake, would you offer feedback or ignore it?
This is a challenging interview question. You can tell the recruiter that you would choose an appropriate time to privately discuss the matter with your supervisor for the benefit of the entire team.
What are your thoughts on business travel?
With regards to business travel, your response should be "yes" or "no". If your answer is "yes" and you enjoy business travel, you can share impressive past business travel experiences, demonstrate readiness for business trips, and mention how you achieved the company's goals. However, ask about the frequency and timing of trips to maintain a balanced work and family life.
In the case that you are unable to travel for business, research the job nature carefully before applying. If you encounter this question during an interview, answer honestly to ensure clarity from the beginning.
How can a company hire you when you need more experience?
You should describe the skills you currently possess with confidence and cleverness. You can say that for a managerial position, you only have 2 years of experience, but with high expertise and many skills, a proactive spirit, you can perform well in your role.
How did you arrange your time to attend the interview?
Your answer should impress the recruiter by prioritizing the job and arriving for the interview ahead of schedule. With this answer, the recruiter assesses your genuine interest and need for the job you're applying for.
Are you applying to other companies as well?
For a significant role, you shouldn't say that you've sent your CV to many other companies and are waiting for responses. Share that you truly want to be hired, work, and contribute in this position and company.
Tell me about your successes and failures.
For your successes, choose something related to the job requirements that you're proud of and discuss how it makes you a good fit for the company. For failures, focus more on how you handled and learned from them, while highlighting lessons learned.
What do you do when your work hours end, but other employees are still at the office?
With this question, the recruiter evaluates your attitude and behavior. You can answer that first, you'd like to understand the reasons behind their late departure. If it's work-related, you'd offer assistance if needed. However, if it's personal reasons like traffic or leisure, you'd politely request to leave.
Do you have any questions for us?
Research the company beforehand and prepare interview questions for the recruiter like work processes, task reporting, work environment, regulations, working hours, etc. if you're hired.
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You have to prepare for all interviews
Responding to Interview Questions is Your Opportunity to Showcase Yourself to Employers and Increase Your Chances of Being Hired. Through this, we hope you have gained useful information to create a positive impression and stand out in front of employers compared to other candidates.
Navigos Search wishes you to achieve your dream job within reach. Feel free to visit Navigos Search's LinkedIn and Facebook pages for more interview tips, HR articles, and trending industries.