The 13 Most Classic Questions On a Job Interview

The interview is the most important stage of a selection process. It is the moment when, looking into the eyes of the candidate, the recruiter can prove intuitions and take all possible doubts. Just after that, he’ll be able to hit the hammer on the hiring or not.

This is the moment of truth. Candidates have to do everything to charm the recruiter. Overcoming anxiety and answer the recruiter’s expectations at the same time is no easy task. So I’ll present you the most traditional questions during a job interview and what are the best ways to answer them. Check out.

1. Why are you changing jobs?

That’s the first question among the most dangerous in a job interview. Therefore, extreme caution is necessary to answer it. The candidate who decide to drop the word from their previous employment falls into disrepute at the outset.  That sounds bad. Passes the impression of a professional adamant that on the first change of course, prefer a drive. The way to talk about this issue in a convincing way is to refer to the current moment of his own career and plans for the future.

2. Why were you fired?
One of the main tight skirts in a job interview when the recruiter is, without any shame, seeking to know the context in which the candidate was disconnected from the previous company. The subject is very delicate and requires a lot from the candidate. The best strategy, experts say, is to be honest. And in some cases, to use an euphemistic tone.

In this context, for example, the candidate can strategically say that he diverged from the new goals of the company. Or, admit that was a moment in which he could not contribute fully to the needs of the company. The important thing is to be careful not to damage his own image or badmouth the company.

3. Why do you want to work here?
Not worth replying that this was his childhood dream. Therefore, it is essential to study about the values of the company before the interview and show the recruiter that your career path is aligned with that vision.

The candidate has to be very aware of his own achievements and intentions and from that, knowing very well to tell his story.

4.What major achievements have you reached throughout your career?
To answer questions like this, you must do a thorough evaluation of your career development before the interview. After all, according to experts, this type of topic demand accurate information on the facts that made your professional past memorable. If I do not have results that support and prove my strengths,  Iwill not do any good.

5. What are your major failures?
Here is the proposal of the recruiter to understand how you react in difficult situations. So do not be afraid to report problems that you have faced in other jobs. Focus, however, in how have you managed to circumvent the difficulties and the lessons you took from each situation. The idea, according to experts is trying to show that the failures in the end contributed to your growth in career.

6. What are your strengths?
List the very qualities is not always an easy task. However, speak about it in a classy way is essential during a job interview. Remember that this is the time to show the recruiter that you have the necessary characteristics for the position in question. However, be careful not to fall into the empty narcissism. You need to show practical examples of these qualities.

7. What points in your behavior still need to be developed?
To answer the question about shortcomings, most of the candidates consider themselves as a professional perfectionist. Everyone wants to transform a shortcoming in quality too.

Before this cliché, recruiters are soon on the back foot. Now, if you really are a perfectionist, the hint is to give a practical example that proves this characteristic. And, to show it is sincere, tell about other shortcoming. But, be careful not to shoot yourself in the foot. Choose an issue that does not interfere much in your work efficiency and contextualize it.

8. What are your motivations?
The goal of the recruiter with this issue is to assess whether the professional profile is consistent with the structure of the company. Everyone needs to be motivated to continue to produce well and nobody wants to hire a professional who, in a few months, lose contentment in work. So for your own sake, do not try to conceal a standard response. Be honest with yourself and show what is the ideal company to your profile.

9. Can you work under pressure?
Dealing with the pressure on the labor market is a position that requires time and learning. So the candidate needs to show practical examples that prove that he can do well in such situations. Do not just answer yes or no. Always bring an experience that clarifies what you want to tell.

10. Tell us about your family? What do you do in your spare time?
Recruiters today already understand that professional and personal life are linked. So, with that question, the proposal is to understand how personal routine influences the dynamics during the office hours. As the candidate speaks, the recruiter wants to identify which values he has. The point is not to try to be perfect, but show how you manage the principal conflicts of life.

11. What are your salary requirements?
The trick for that time of the interview is to try to postpone the most your response. Explain that the value of the remuneration can only be set when you understand all the challenges of the job. If the recruiter insist on an answer, tell him what was your last salary.

12. What are your plans for the future?
At this point, the recruiter wants to identify if your career strategy is aligned or not with the pace of the corporation. Not always, however, it is easy to have at the tip of the tongue projects to a very distant future. If this is your case, do not despair. Be sincere and show consistency in plans for medium and short term.

13. Why should I hire you?
This question requires the candidate extreme coherence with all the information that went to the recruiter during the selection process. It is at this point that becomes relevant the professional who knows how to do better personal marketing. The personal profile just determine, the gleam in the eye, the will to even want to do.