General Interview Questions

1. Basic Interview Questions:

– Tell me about yourself.
– What attracted you to this company?
– What do you know about our company?
– What do you know about this industry?
– What are your strengths?
– What are your weaknesses?
– Why do you want this job?
– What’s your ideal company?
– Why should we hire you?
– Where would you like to be in your career five years from now?
– What can you do for us that other candidates can’t?
– What were the responsibilities of your last position?
– What did you like least about your last job?
– What are your salary expectations?
– Are you willing to relocate?
– What questions do you have for me?

2. Behavioral Interview Questions:

– Can you describe a time when you went above and beyond the call of duty at work?
– How did you handle criticism of your work?
– Tell me about a time when you had to give someone difficult feedback. How did you handle it?
– Have you ever been on a team where someone was not pulling their own weight? How did you handle it?
– What is your greatest failure, and what did you learn from it?
– How do you handle working with people who annoy you?
– If I were your supervisor and asked you to do something that you disagreed with, what would you do?
– Describe how you would handle a situation if you were required to finish multiple tasks by the end of the day, and there was no conceivable way that you could finish them.
– Tell me about a time where you had to deal with conflict on the job.
– If you found out your company was doing something against the law, like fraud, what would you do?
– What was the most difficult decision you’ve made in the last two years, and how did you come to that decision?
– What’s the most difficult period in your life, and how did you deal with it?
– What was the last project you led, and what was its outcome?

3. Career Development Questions:

– What are you looking for in terms of career development?
– How do you want to improve yourself in the next year?
– What kind of goals would you have in mind if you got this job?
– If I were to ask your last supervisor to provide you additional training or exposure, what would she suggest?

4. Getting Started Questions:

– How would you go about establishing your credibility quickly with the team?
– How long will it take for you to make a significant contribution?
– What do you see yourself doing within the first 30 days of this job?
– If selected for this position, can you describe your strategy for the first 90 days?

5. More Questions About You:

– How would you describe your work style?
– What would be your ideal working environment?
– What do you look for in terms of culture — structured or entrepreneurial?
– Give examples of ideas you’ve had or implemented.
– What techniques and tools do you use to keep yourself organized?
– If you had to choose one, would you consider yourself a big-picture person or a detail-oriented person?
– Tell me about your proudest achievement.
– Who was your favorite manager, and why?
– What do you think of your previous boss?
– Was there a person in your career who really made a difference?
– What kind of personality do you work best with and why?
– What are you most proud of?
– What do you like to do?
– What are your lifelong dreams?
– What do you ultimately want to become?
– What is your personal mission statement?
– What are three positive things your last boss would say about you?
– What negative thing would your last boss say about you?
– What three character traits would your friends use to describe you?
– What are three positive character traits you don’t have?
– If you were interviewing someone for this position, what traits would you look for?
– List five words that describe your character.
– Who has impacted you most in your career and how?
– What is your greatest fear?
– What is your biggest regret and why?
– What’s the most important thing you learned in school?
– Why did you choose your major?
– What will you miss about your present/last job?
– What is your greatest achievement outside of work?
– What are the qualities of a good leader? A bad leader?
– Do you think a leader should be feared or liked?
– How do you feel about taking no for an answer?
– How would you feel about working for someone who knows less than you?
– How do you think I rate as an interviewer?
– Tell me one thing about yourself you wouldn’t want me to know.
– Tell me the difference between good and exceptional.
– What kind of car do you drive?
– There’s no right or wrong answer, but if you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?
– What’s the last book you read?
– What magazines do you subscribe to?
– What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the last year?
– What would you do if you won the lottery?
– Who are your heroes?
– What do you like to do for fun?
– What do you do in your spare time?
– What is your favorite memory from childhood?

6. Brainteasers:

– How many times do a clock’s hands overlap in a day?
– How would you weigh a plane without scales?
– Tell me 10 ways to use a pencil other than writing.
– Sell me this pencil.
– If you were an animal, which one would you want to be?
– Why is there fuzz on a tennis ball?
– If you could choose one superhero power, what would it be and why?
– If you could get rid of any one of the US states, which one would you get rid of and why?
– With your eyes closed, tell me step-by-step how to tie my shoes.

Please note that the specific order may still vary based on the interviewer’s preference and the flow of the conversation.