Common job interview questions - score points with good preparation

A decision on your future career can be made in just a few short minutes – the job interview is one of the most nerve-wracking moments in life. However, it is also a unique chance to show your potential employer that you are the right candidate. The interviewer would like to learn as much about you as possible during your interview and will ask some of the common interview questions to determine your motivation, qualifications, strengths, and weaknesses.

Using all of these jigsaw pieces the interviewer then tries to put together an overall picture of who you are. Remember that those who are armed for the interview can give specific answers and score points. Some questions are asked in just about every interview and are thus common interview questions:

Tell me something about yourself

Even if this is not a question in the truest sense, it is still one of the common interview questions. You do not need to provide a novel that covers the time between your birth and the interview. You should filter out a few key pieces of information that are significant to your interviewer and the desired job. Compile a few keywords in advance and be open without being too personal.

Why do you want to work in this company?

This question - which is very clearly one of the common questions asked in job interviews is used to find out whether or not you have done your homework. Company history, guiding principles, visions - these things should sit comfortably. Ideally, you can even make a connection to your qualifications. Explain how you will bring the company further and show that you stand behind the company philosophy.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Without doubt, this is a classic interview question. And there is a reason for this: your answer reveals much about who you are. In terms of your strengths, an unhealthy confidence is out of place. Do not purport to be the best in your field or even perfect. "I deal well with stress and like to learn new things" is a possible answer that scores points. With regard to your weaknesses, keep things in proportion and work towards a goal. Specify things that are easy to work on. For example, a lack of knowledge about a PC application is easy to deal with by taking courses.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Your answer to this common interview question should be goal-oriented and realistic. Avoid mentioning that the vacant position is perhaps only a springboard. An answer such as "I would like to develop myself further and take on more responsibility in the future" will be positively received by the interviewer.

Why should we choose you?

A stressful question, but it is also one of the common interview questions. Your potential employer would like to know how you deal with stressful situations. Stay calm and take some time to answer. Then repeat some of your most important qualifications and specify their connection to the job's range of duties. Calmly and succinctly state that you can fulfill the requirements and take on the challenges.