List of 20 Questions That We Can Ask In an
Interview
1. Telling
about yourself.
Asking about you is a way to break
the ice at an interview and make you feel more comfortable. It's also a way for
the interviewer to determine if you're a good
fit for the job.
2. What
were your responsibilities?
Know what's on your resume, so you
can discuss what you did at the other jobs you've held. When you're describing
your responsibilities, try to mention those that match the new job's
requirements.
3. What
did you like or dislike about your previous job?
What you liked - and what you didn't
like - about your last job or the company you worked for is an indicator of how
you might feel about this position if you were to be hired..
4. What
were your starting and final levels of compensation?
Hiring Managers will want to learn
how much you earned to see if you're a competitive candidate for the company
from a salary perspective. Be honest when discussing how much you were paid
because employers can ask about salary when checking your
background.
5. What
major challenges and problems did you face? How did you handle them?
With this question, the interviewer
is trying to understand how you handle issues and problems.
6. What
is your greatest strength?
When answering questions about your
strengths, focus on the abilities you have that are key to success in the job
for which you're interviewing. Don't be too humble. It's important to make the
hiring manager aware of your qualifications.
7. What
is your greatest weakness?
8. How
do you handle stress and pressure?
What you do when work gets
stressful? Do you stay calm under pressure? Or do you have a difficult time in
stressful situations?
9.
Describe a difficult work situation or project and how you overcome it.
When you're responding to questions
about what you did on the job, be prepared to share an actual example of a
challenging situation at work, what the issue was, and how you helped resolve
it.
10.
What was the biggest accomplishment (failure) in this position?
Let the hiring manager know what you achieved,
again sharing examples from your most recent job.
11. How
do you evaluate success?
Your answer to this question will
give the interviewer a sense of your work ethic, your career goals, and your
life goals. Tailor your response to fit what you expect to achieve if you were
to be hired by this employer.
12. Why
are you leaving or have left your job?
There are many different reasons
for leaving a job. You could be moving on because you want more opportunities
for growth, you may be looking for a salary increase, perhaps you're
relocating, or you have another reason you're
leaving your job. Be consistent in your
answer when meeting with representatives of a prospective employer, because
they may compare notes.
13. Why
do you want this job?
Why did you apply for this
position? What do you find most interesting about the job and the organization?
With this question, the employer wants to know why you think this job is a
match for your career objectives.
14. Why
should we hire you?
The best way to answer this
question is to discuss what you can do for the company. What do you bring to
the table? What will you achieve if you were to be hired? This is an
opportunity to sell yourself to the hiring manager.
15.
What are your goals for the future?
When you respond to questions about
your future goals, it's a good idea to mesh your objectives with what the company might offer
as a career path. At the least, make sure your goals involve staying with
this company for more than a short-term basis.
16.
What are your salary requirements? - Best Answers
Questions about salary can be
tricky, especially if you don't know what the job pays. One approach to
answering this question is to say you're flexible, based upon the entire
compensation package including benefits.
17. Who
was your best boss and who was the worst?
This question is designed to
discover what type of leadership and management style works best for you.
18.
What are you passionate about?
What's most important to you? What
do you love doing? The answers to this question don't have to be all bout work.
19. Questions
about your supervisors and co-workers.
Did you get along with your
manager? Have you worked with difficult colleagues? How you interact with
supervisors and co-workers will provide the interviewer with insight into
your interpersonal and communication
skills.
20. Do
you have any questions for us
The last question at a job
interview is usually one about what you want to know about the job and the
company. Be ready with a list of questions to ask.
List of
Illegal Questions
1.
Do you have any physical or mental disabilities?
Why it’s
illegal: The Americans with Disability Act (ADA)
says it is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a qualified
applicant or employee with a disability. Private employers with 15 or more
employees, as well as state and local government employers, must abide by the
ADA.
2.
When are you planning to have children?
Why it’s
illegal: Sex is a federally protected class, which means an employer
cannot discriminate against a male or female job applicant. A hiring manager
simply may have concerns about the applicant’s ability to perform the job
duties (such as travel or work overtime), says Lisa Schmid, employment law
attorney at Nilan Johnson Lewis. If that’s the case, the interviewer needs to
ask the candidate directly about job-related responsibilities (e.g. “This job
requires five days of travel per month. Do you have any restrictions that would
prevent you from doing that?”).
3.
Will you need time off for religious
holidays?”
Why it’s
illegal: Religious discrimination is prohibited, so employers are barred
from basing hiring decisions on a person’s religious beliefs, observances, or
practices.
4.
What country are you from, or what is
your nationally?
Why it’s
illegal: National origin is a federally protected class. Consequently,
employers cannot base hiring decisions on whether an applicant is from a
different country or of a specific ethnicity.
5.
How often are you deployed for Army
Reserve training?
Why it’s illegal: Because
military status is a federally protected class, companies cannot make
employment decisions based on a job candidate’s past, current, or future
military membership or service.
Similar off-limit questions:
1.Will you
be deployed any time soon?
2.What type
of discharge did you receive from the military?
If you
happen to be in a situation where an interviewer asks you an illegal question,
how you respond is entirely based on your comfort level. You could simply state,
“That doesn’t affect my ability to perform the duties of this job,” and leave
it at that. Or, if you feel the potential employer has crossed a line, you have
every right to end the interview and leave. Granted, this is a difficult thing
to do if you really want or need the job, but on the flipside, would you really
want to work for someone who indicates a bias?
