What Are the Most Common Interview Questions?

When preparing for a job interview, it’s difficult to predict the questions you’ll be asked. But there are some questions and question types that come up regularly.

Interviewers often ask questions related to aspects of the job description and information in your application. So, make sure the job requirements and the things you’ve highlighted in your resume and cover letter are fresh in your mind on the day of your interview.

This article lists some of the most common job interview questions, explains what interviewers are looking for in your answers, and shows you how to anticipate the kind of questions you may be asked in a specific interview.

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What are the most common job interview questions?

The questions you’ll be asked in an interview depend on the position, company, interviewer, and stage of the hiring process. Common question topics include your professional background, motivation, skills, work experience, and suitability in terms of the practical requirements of the job (working hours, travel, etc.).

Here are some of the most common interview questions along with hints on what the interviewer may be trying to find out.

You shouldn’t try to prepare a memorized answer to a long list of possible questions. Instead, familiarize yourself with the main types of interview questions and think about the information and examples you would use to answer them.

Tell me about yourself

“Tell me about yourself” is one of the most common opening interview questions. It’s usually an invitation to give a brief professional introduction, rather than a request to talk about your personal life.

A strong answer will typically mention some of the following:

• Your current or most recent role
• Relevant work experience
• Relevant education, training, or qualifications
• Key skills or strengths
• A notable achievement or project
• Why you’re interested in the position

Think of your answer as a short introduction that highlights the parts of your background that are most relevant to the opportunity.

Questions about your motivation

Interviewers usually want to know why you want the job as well as whether you can do it so they can assess how serious you are about the opportunity and how committed you’re likely to be.

Common motivation questions include:

• Why are you interested in this position?
• Why do you want to work here?
• What interests you about our company?
• What are you looking for in your next job?
• What motivates you at work?
• What are your career goals?
• Where do you see yourself in five years?
• What type of working environment do you prefer?

To answer “Why are you interested in this position?” you can connect something specific about the role with your experience, interests, or career goals. For example, you might be attracted by the type of work, the opportunity to take on more responsibility, the organization’s field, or the chance to develop a particular skill.

Make sure you research the organization before the interview so you can give a specific answer to “Why do you want to work here?”

Questions about your fit

Common questions that can provide interviewers with information about how well your skills, experience, and personal qualities match the role and the organization include:

• Why do you think you’d be a good fit for this company?
• What can you bring to this role?
• What type of team do you work best in?
• Why should we hire you?
• What are your strengths?
• What are your weaknesses?
• How would your coworkers describe you?

For questions such as “Why should we hire you?” or “Why do you think you’d be a good fit?” focus on the requirements of the position and explain how your relevant skills, experience, and strengths would help you succeed in the role.

When answering “What are your strengths?” mention qualities that are relevant to the job and give examples. For instance, instead of simply saying that you’re good at solving problems, you could briefly mention a situation where you identified and solved an important problem at work.

For “What are your weaknesses?” choose something genuine but avoid a weakness that would make it difficult to perform an essential part of the role. Explain what you’ve done to improve in the area you mention so your answer demonstrates a willingness to develop.

Once you’ve thought about how you’d answer questions about your strengths and weaknesses, you can draw on some of the same qualities when answering “How would your coworkers describe you?”

Tell me about a time when …

Questions beginning with phrases like “Tell me about a time …,” “Describe a situation where …,” and “Give me an example of …” are called behavioral interview questions.

Instead of asking you to describe a skill directly, the interviewer asks for evidence of how you used it in a real situation.

For example:

• Tell me about a time you solved a difficult problem.
• Give me an example of when you worked under pressure.
• Tell me about a time you disagreed with a coworker.
• Describe a situation where you had to adapt to change.
• Tell me about a time you made a mistake.
• Give me an example of when you took initiative.
• Tell me about a time you had to prioritize competing tasks.
• Describe a time when you dealt with a difficult customer.
• Tell me about a time you received critical feedback.
• Give me an example of when you demonstrated leadership.
• Tell me about a time you learned something quickly.
• Describe a situation where you improved a process.

Interviewers typically use behavioral questions to look for evidence of soft skills such as:

• Communication
• Teamwork
• Problem-solving
• Adaptability
• Leadership
• Time management
• Prioritization
• Initiative
• Accountability

A useful framework for answering these questions is the STAR method:

• Situation: Briefly explain the context of the “story” you’re going to tell.
• Task: Describe what you had to do and wanted to achieve.
• Action: Explain what you did.
• Result: Describe what happened and what you learned.

You don’t need a different story for every possible behavioral question. A strong example situation can often be adapted to demonstrate several skills depending on which details you emphasize.

For instance, a story about your role in introducing a new system could potentially answer questions about problem-solving, initiative, communication, attention to detail, or process improvement.

Aim to have a few useful examples fresh in your mind rather than memorizing dozens of complete answers.

Questions about your resume and career history

The interviewer may want you to expand on information you’ve included in your resume, asking you to go into more detail about a role, responsibility, achievement, qualification, or career decision, for example.

Common questions that an interviewer might want to ask after reading your resume include:

• What were your main responsibilities at X?
• Tell me more about this project.
• Why did you leave X?
• Can you explain this gap in your resume?
• Why are you looking to leave your current position?
• Tell me more about your current role.
• Why were you only at X for Y months?
• Why did you move from X to Y?
• What did you learn in your role at X?
• I see that you mentioned X on your resume. Can you tell me more about that?

Before the interview, prepare for this type of question by rereading the exact resume and cover letter you submitted.

Pay particular attention to things that are likely to make an interviewer curious, such as:

• An impressive achievement they may want you to explain
• A significant change in responsibilities
• A promotion
• A move between industries or types of role
• A short period of employment
• A gap between jobs
• An unusual qualification or career path
• A skill that is especially important for the position

Make sure you can explain these points clearly and consistently with the information in your application.

If you need to discuss a difficult work situation—for example, one that led you to leave a job after a short time—avoid criticizing your previous employer or coworkers. Describe the situation or work environment in objective, nonjudgmental terms, focusing on how you responded constructively and what you learned from the experience. This will help you present yourself as someone who handles difficult situations constructively and professionally.

Career change interview questions

If you’re changing careers—or making a significant change of direction within your profession—interviewers may want to understand both why you want to make the change and how your previous experience has prepared you for it.

Common career change interview questions include:

• What interests you about this field?
• Which of your skills are transferable to this position?
• What do you think will be the biggest challenge in transitioning into this role?
• How does this role fit your long-term career plans?

Strong answers demonstrate that the change is deliberate and well considered. Explain what attracts you to the new direction and support your answer with evidence, such as relevant:

• Transferable skills
• Responsibilities from previous jobs
• Training or qualifications
• Personal projects
• Freelance or volunteer work
• Experience gained outside your main job

Don’t spend too much time explaining why you want to leave your previous career; keep the focus on why you’re well equipped to make the switch.

Practical questions

Some interview questions are less about your skills and experience and more about whether a practical aspect works for both you and the employer.

For example, you might be asked questions like:

• If offered the position, when could you start?
• Are you available to work evenings or weekends?
• Are you comfortable working on-site five days a week?
• Are you willing to travel for work?
• Are you comfortable with the amount of travel this role requires?
• Would you be able to work at short notice?
• Are you available during our busiest time of year?
• What are your salary expectations?

Common interview questions for new grads

If you have limited professional experience, interviewers are more likely to ask about your education, internships, extracurricular activities, projects, or reasons for entering the field.

Common interview questions for graduates and entry-level candidates include:

• Why did you choose to study X?
• Why did you choose your major?
• What did you learn from your degree?
• Which college project are you most proud of?
• Tell me about a group project you worked on.
• What did you learn from your internship at X?
• How has your education prepared you for this position?
• Why are you interested in this industry?
• Why are you interested in this particular role?
• Tell me about a time you had to meet a difficult deadline.
• Tell me about a time you worked successfully as part of a team.
• Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?

You can use examples from college, internships, part-time jobs, volunteering, sports, societies, or other activities if you don’t yet have enough full-time work experience to answer a question.

Questions about new technologies

You may also be asked about your use of new technologies if they are relevant to the role. For example:

• How have you used AI in your work?
• Which AI or automation tools have you used?
• Can you give me an example of how technology has helped you work more efficiently?
• How do you decide when it is appropriate to use AI?

If you get a question like this, focus on a concrete example and explain what you used the technology for, how you checked the quality of the result, and what difference it made to your work.

How to predict interview questions

In many cases, you can make a reasonably good prediction about the topics the interviewer will want to discuss by looking at the available information.

Review the job description

Start with the job description and identify:

• Key hard skills (e.g., experience with specific tools or systems)
• Key soft skills
• Important responsibilities
• Required experience
• Qualifications
• Anything described as “essential” or “required” is particularly important

Then turn each requirement into a possible question. For example, if the job description says you need to be able to manage competing priorities, possible questions include:

• How do you prioritize your workload?
• Tell me about a time you had several important deadlines at once.
• What do you do when you realize you won’t be able to complete everything on time?

If it says you need to communicate technical information to customers, you could think about how you could answer:

• Tell me about a time you explained something complicated in simple terms.
• How would you communicate technical information to someone without specialist knowledge?
• Give me an example of when clear communication helped you solve a customer problem.

Compare the job description with your application

Next, compare the requirements with the resume and cover letter you submitted, and think about where the interviewer might identify gaps in your skills or areas where your experience isn’t strong enough.

For example, suppose the position requires project management experience and your resume says: “Coordinated the rollout of a new customer support system across three departments.” Follow-up questions to this could be:

• Tell me more about the system rollout.
• What was your role in the project?
• What challenges did you face?
• How did you coordinate the three departments?
• What was the result?

Basically, anything important enough to put on your resume is something you should be prepared to talk about in more detail.

Research the company

Company research can help you prepare for questions about motivation and fit.

Make sure you know the basics about:

• What the organization does
• Its main products or services
• The customers or users it serves
• Its industry
• The specific team or department, if this information is available
• Important priorities mentioned in the job posting

This information will help you prepare for questions such as:

• Why do you want to work here?
• Why does this position interest you?
• What do you know about our organization?
• Why do you think you would fit this team?

Think about the interview format

The kinds of questions you get can also depend on who’s interviewing you and what stage of the process you’re at. For example, an initial conversation with a recruiter may focus more heavily on:

• Your general experience
• Why you applied
• Availability
• Salary expectations
• Basic job requirements
• Practicalities such as working hours and travel

A conversation with the hiring manager—your potential future boss—may go into more depth about:

• Your technical or role-specific experience
• Projects and achievements
• How you approach problems
• How you would work with the team

How to prepare for common interview questions

Good interview preparation doesn’t mean writing and memorizing a script for every likely question. Instead, make sure the most relevant information is fresh in your mind so you can answer common questions confidently and naturally. Completing the steps on this checklist will help:

• Reread the job description.
• Reread your resume, cover letter, and other application materials.
• Research the company.
• Prepare a concise answer to “Tell me about yourself.”
• Prepare reasons why you want the job and want to work for the organization.
• Think about your main strengths in relation to the role.
• Decide how you would discuss a genuine weakness.
• Prepare around five flexible example “stories” for behavioral questions.
• Make sure you can explain career moves, short jobs, or gaps in your resume.
• Think about your salary expectations and availability in terms of working hours and travel.
• Prepare some questions to ask the interviewer.

Frequently asked questions about the most common interview questions

What are the most common STAR interview questions?

STAR interview questions are among the most common interview questions.

Common STAR method interview questions (aka behavioral interview questions) include questions about:

• Working with others (e.g., “Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a colleague who you thought was being unreasonable.”)
• Solving problems (e.g., “Describe a situation where you identified and solved a problem.”)
• Leadership and responsibility (e.g., “Give me an example of a time when you took responsibility for something that was not going to plan.”)
• Learning or growth (e.g., “Tell me about a time when you used feedback to help you improve your work.”)

Use Quillbot’s free AI Paraphrasing Tool to help you strike the right tone in your cover letters.

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