Example Interview Questions

• What is it that interests you about this position?
• Why do you want this position?
• What are you looking for in your next job?
• What challenges do you seek in your next position?
• What are your goals in five years’ time? Ten years?
• How do you intend to achieve those goals?
• Are you willing to travel?
• Why do you want to work for this company? What is important to you?
• Can you tell me a bit about our company?
• Why should we hire you?
• What are your salary expectations? (Short-term and long-term).

Behaviour-based questions

These types of questions ask you to give examples from your life experience. You will be required to tell a story.

• Tell me about a time when you and a superior were in conflict with one another. How was it resolved?

• Tell me about a time when you handled conflict with your boss, colleagues or subordinates
• Give me an example of a previous situation that reflects your organisational abilities.
• Tell me about one of your accomplishments, and provide an example of an occasion that demonstrates your style of work or skills in achieving these accomplishments

Answering behaviour-based questions

Try to provide behaviour-based answers wherever possible, even if a traditional question has been asked. These answers will make your interview more memorable and meaningful to the interviewer.

Always take plenty of time before your interview to think of examples to the above situations so that you can be as fully prepared as possible. Provide crisp, precise answers and do not drift away from your original point when answering the questions.

Never place any blame on anyone and never criticise or complain about a previous position or person that you worked with. Be diplomatic in your responses and ensure that you give answers that reflect what steps you took as an individual and a team to resolve any problems. Also never give replies only with the goal to please your interviewer, unless you are an excellent actor there are few chances that your answers will hit the target.

Sample Competency-Based Interview Questions

Relationship Building

• Can you describe a situation in which your communication skills made a difference to the situation?
• Describe a situation in which you had to explain something complicated to a colleague or client.
• What was the outcome?

Leadership

• Tell us about a situation where you were required to get a team to improve its performance. What problems did you face? How did you address those problems?
• Describe a project or situation where you had to use different leadership styles to reach your goal.

“Tell me about yourself” Questions

This is a very common interview question and it can be incredibly easy to simply ramble on about yourself and provide plenty of information about yourself without really planning an answer. The best answers to this question are to-the-point, interesting, informative and give you an edge against your competitors.

Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

This is a short description of yourself that describes your biggest strength and explains how a company will benefit from hiring you with respect to this strength.

 What is your greatest weakness?

This is another common interview question and can be a challenge for many interviewees as it requires you to speak negatively about yourself. It’s important to answer this question as calmly and competently as possible. Try to turn a negative situation into a positive one. Be honest in your response – choose a weakness that is fixable, such as nervousness, or delegation skills, and describe how you are taking initiative to improve that weakness, learn and grow.

What is your greatest strength?

This question is far easier to answer than the above question, but always bring in strengths that relate to the position you are interviewing for. Refer back to the job description to describe skills that relate to the position.

Questions to ask at the end of the interview

At the end of any job interview you will always be given an opportunity to ask questions. Never decline this opportunity. You are still in an interview and are being assessed on your questions. This is also your opportunity to gauge whether you are still eager to be hired for the position.

• How would you describe the work culture here?
• What training opportunities are available?
• How do you envision the company evolving within the next five years?
• What challenges will I inherit from this position?
• What are the most enjoyable aspects of the role?
•  How is performance measured and reviewed?

Closing the Interview

Although first impressions are paramount, last impressions also count, so it is essential to leave a positive, memorable last impression. If you are still interested in the position, explain that you are now even more convinced that this position will represent the kind of challenges you seek in a position. From here, enquire about the next interview stage. Finally, thank the interviewer for taking the time to meet with you.

Good luck!