Practice Answering These 5 Questions Before the Interview

Are you worried about the type of questions you'll be asked at your next job interview? If so, you aren't alone. Fortunately, hiring managers tend to ask a lot of the same questions, regardless of the company or type of job available. So, when you're prepping for your next job interview, practice answering these questions.

Tell Us About Yourself

If you're asked this question during a job interview, don't reiterate points on your resume. The interviewer wants to see how well you communicate your answer. Craft an answer that covers five basic points: your name, current job status, past accomplishments, an overview of your personality, and why you're the perfect person for the job.

Why Are You the Right Person for This Job?

Interviewers ask this question to get a good idea of how much you actually know about the position and the company. To prep for this question, go through the job posting, connecting each of the desired skills listed to a job or project you previously completed. That should give you a few decent answers as to why you're the best candidate for the job. Additionally, take some time to research the company and its culture. Then, craft a few sentences that tell the interviewer why you'll fit right in.

What Are Your Biggest Strengths and Weaknesses?

This is one of the most common job interview questions because it tells interviewers whether you know yourself well enough to provide an appropriate answer. Tackle the question with an answer that includes three really good strengths and one weakness that doesn't affect the actual job. For example, if you're applying for a position as a truck driver, you might say your biggest weakness is working as part of a team and emphasize that this weakness is why you chose to be a truck driver, so you could work alone. You could also use the self-improvement angle by telling the employer about a weakness and emphasizing what you're doing to overcome it.

Describe a Situation Where You Dealt With an Angry Customer. How Did You Handle It?

During a job interview, expect to be asked behavior-related questions similar to this one. They are used to gauge how well you handle difficult situations. Remember, humans make mistakes, and the person interviewing you knows this detail. Good employees aren't the ones who "don't make mistakes." They're the ones who learn from the mistakes they make. To answer this question, tell the interviewer about a situation you faced and describe how you handled it in a calm, professional manner.

Where Do You See Yourself Five Years From Now?

This is one of the only common interview questions that's pretty straightforward. When a hiring manager asks this question, he simply wants to know if you plan to work for the company five years from now. If you do, you should also tell the interviewer what level of job you plan to strive for over the next five years.

When you prepare for an interview beforehand, you're more likely to come across as confident. But the best part about practicing the answers to common questions before your job interview is that it helps eliminate any nervous feelings you might have before the big day.

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