What are Hiring Managers Really Asking?

Hiring managers want to get to the bottom of your personality, problem solving skills and soft skills during an interview. As such, your future boss may ask very specific interview questions. Read on to learn the reasons why you hear these common questions during an interview.

1. "What Do Your Skills Bring to This Company?"

This is your chance to add value as you try to stand apart from other candidates. Hiring managers want to know what a company gets for the money it invests in you. Offer a solution to a company's problem as an answer to this question.

2. "Why Are You Applying for This Job?"

You should answer this question by telling why your skills, experience, qualifications and motivation are the perfect fit for this position. Hiring managers must know if you have what it takes to get the job done. Having a great answer at the ready for this question can impress your interviewers.

3. "Tell Me About Yourself"

This open-ended question is a good way to start a conversation. It also gives you a chance to set the pace by talking just enough but not too much. Give an even-handed yet excited answer. Try to make this question more about what you can do for the company because you have the necessary background for the position.

4. "What Are Your Greatest Weaknesses?"

Hiring managers already know what your greatest weaknesses are simply because they know what they're looking for in a candidate. If you lack a certain skill or qualification, then that's your greatest weakness. Any past issue brought up by a previous supervisor could also be a greatest weakness. Now is not the time to surprise your future boss with a different answer.

5. "Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years?"

This question lets you reassure hiring managers that you're in it for the longer term. Yes, you might admit you want a promotion within that time frame, but your answer also gives the company a way to gauge your ambition and see if you truly understand the employer's inner workings.

6. "What Have You Achieved up to This Point?"

Your boss wants to know if your talents are right for the job. Tout recent successes, because it's all about "what have you done for me lately?" Sound confident in your answer.

7. What Do Your Co-workers Say About You?

This question is a chance for some honesty, but it also gives interviewers some insight as to your level of calm. Does this question make you fidget or nervous? That might be a telling sign that you fudged some aspects of your qualifications.

How you answer these interview questions might be equally as important as the answers themselves. Hiring managers have very specific reasons for asking these personality-based questions, since they want to feel comfortable around you and trust you. Be honest, polite, intelligent and calm as you answer everything during an interview, and you should do just fine.

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