As people say new year, new all. And this year I started with a new work, after some 4 years on the same company. I had great experiences and opportunities at my old job, make great friends, but one must move forward and continue learning and looking for better opportunities. And for that one should be prepared, in this case, prepare for interviews.
I have had many interviews during the last year, and thought of creating a small guide, tips to help you go thru that process. I will explain some very common interview questions, and some tips and examples on how to answer them.
This looks very uncomfortable
Disclaimer: This is based on my experience and what I have read on internet and talked with friends. Follow it at your own risk.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Could also ask like what are your long term goals, what do you expect from this job?
The point here is to talk about your career hopes and aspirations, and how they can align to the company. I see myself in a stable job that allows me to grow professional and personal. helping the company grow doing this and that.
What is your greatest strength? What are your strengths and weaknesses?
A helpful way to be prepared for this is to create your own SWOT table:
"swot-analysis-diagram" by paul_danger_williams is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Strengths: What are you good at? Better if related to job position.
Weakness: What are you not so good at? Maybe not good at presenting, but if the role is not needed, that will not affect. Do I criticize myself too much?
Opportunities: Where can you improve? I'm not good at using this software, but I'm taking a course.
Threats: This is for you, what could make it difficult for you to not reach your goals.
From those, only strengths and weaknesses are asked, but it is useful to identify the four of them.
Why do you want to leave your current job?
Your face when leaving your work for a better opportunity, and leaving all your tasks to Mark
First they want to know if you were fired. Then they want to understand why you're quitting. Better salary, better opportunities, professional growth are valid reasons to quit a job.
Another reason could be different work arrangements, work from home or office, or mix.
Another valid reason is the company you work with changed, how they work and culture changed, maybe new management took over, and you don't like how they work.
Laid Off can happen too. Example: The project I was working on got canceled, and as the company didn’t have any openings in other projects they had to let me go.
I have been working for my current job for the last four years and during the time I learned a lot I had a lot of opportunities to grow to learn your stuff. At this moment I reach a point where my current job doesn't offer me opportunities, new challenges.
Well I was working on my current job during the last 4 months and I received training on this tool, as I was going to work on this software, but unfortunately there was some issue with the client and the planned projects, something external out of my control, so the company had to close some projects so I was really new at the work, and they decided to to let me go so that's why I'm I'm looking out for new opportunities.
Why do you want to work here?
Use smart words, HR loves smart words
Similar to above, better salary is a good answer, but not only that. I believe this position will help me to my goal of being a Sales Manager. I used to do this, so I feel I'm fit for this position. I read your company has grown last year, so it seems like a good opportunity to join. I would like to work here because I know your company does this well, and I like how they work....
What are your salary requirements?
For this you need to do research, how the company or similar are paying other employees. And check if you feel confident, ask for an amount. Usually, the amount you answer is the one they will offer you, so calculate how much you need, and compare online what the salary is for that role.
What is the professional achievement you’re most proud of?
Think about something you did that was great, like getting an important client to register to a subscription, but also explain how you did it, why it was important for the company, step by step how you achieved it. This question is perfect to show off everything great you have done.
Sometimes they will ask you about mistakes you have made. Choose one small or medium mistake, but also explain how you overcame it, what you did to solve it, what you learned about that mistake.
At the end, the best strategy is to be prepared, and to keep calm. Study the position, study what have you been doing, research the company, and in some cases even the interviewer.