Last Updated on 2020-10-13 by ppcguybklyn
Like most international students in the U.S., I applied for thousands of job opportunities, experienced various interviews, got rejected hundreds of times, before finally landed a full-time job offer. The hiring culture in the U.S. is quite different from Taiwan, so I always take notes of questions in every interview so that I can prepare in advance for the next. I will write 2 interview-related articles. This one will introduce common interview questions and skills, and the next one would include paid search interviews related questions.
Questions the interviewer would ask
Q1 Briefly introduce yourself
No matter what kind of roles, companies, or industries you apply for, the first question is always “Could you tell me more about yourself?” This is also the most important question because it can not only allow you to leave a positive impression but it is also one of the only questions that allows you to freely express yourself. Therefore, you must be prepared.
The key to this question is that don’t just repeat the things you write on your resume. Most hiring managers have a basic understanding of your resume before inviting you to the interview. For most hiring managers or recruiters, personalities are as important as professional experiences, because personalities will decide what kind of people they have to work with in the future. Therefore, you should focus on your personality, how you treat others and what makes you so special in this question. This can make hiring managers understand more about your personal traits, rather than only know how your skill sets and past experience match the role.
What’s your understanding toward this position?
After introducing yourself, the hiring manager might want to know how much you understand the position you are applying for. If you are interviewing with small/ medium companies instead of big and famous ones, usually the hiring manager would spend some time explaining their business model and the job descriptions. Through this question, the hiring managers are expecting to learn your current understanding of the job, and what more information they should fill in with you.
This question is a terrific chance to express your ambition of getting this job. If you have done enough research on the position and the company beforehand and show it through an excellent answer to this question, it would be a big plus. Therefore, definitely spend some time researching what the company does, what is the details of this position before your interview. Visiting the official site and social media of that company will help a lot as well.
Q3 Why do you apply for our company? Why are you interested in this position?
To be honest, I really hate this question. I need a job to feed myself, so I apply for it. Why do you ask me the reasons? Of course, we cannot answer the question like that. The hiring wants to know what is so special about this company or this role that attracts you the most. We can use this question as a leverage to show our interest and incentive toward this company. Therefore, try your best to figure out a reasonable motivation to make the hiring manager feel you really want to work there.
Q4 Why you?
This is to some extent similar to question 3. The hiring manager wants to know your interest in this opportunity through this question. Let the hiring manager know your passion is really important! In every job opportunity, there would be many candidates with similar backgrounds and skill sets. If the qualifications are equally matched, the hiring manager would always want to hire people who are most passionate about this job. Therefore, other than demonstrating your abilities, you can spend some time explaining more about what drives you forward in this industry.
Q5 What are your biggest strength and weakness
This is a really common question. The strength is the easier part, and you would definitely want to talk about what you’re best at. However, when it comes to talking about your weakness, you might find different strategies on the Internet. Some think you cannot show your real weakness. Instead, you should say something like you’re a “workaholic” or you’re a “perfectionist”. However, in my opinion, the most important thing is showing how you conquer your weakness, and even use it to make your work better.
Q6 Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
The hiring manager would like to know what’s your plan after getting hired. I think no one would like to hire people who obviously want to stay in the company for only 1 to 2 years. Most companies want to hire people who can be developed and promoted to higher positions in the future. Therefore, the best strategy for this question would be researching the company structure, and show your ambition by saying what position within the company you want to be within 5 years. By doing so will let the hiring manager know you genuinely want to work for them instead of only wanting to strengthen your resume before moving to a better job in another company.
Questions for the interviewer
At the end of the interview, usually, the hiring manager would ask you “ Do you have any questions for us?” You cannot ask whatever you like. This is also an important part of the interview process. We can show our interests in this position by asking the right question. Below I list 3 common questions I like to ask during the interview.
Q1 How’s your experience in [Company Name]? What part of the company culture do you like most?
This question can let the hiring manager know you’re interested in the company culture. It’s also a good chance for small talk. If he/she mentions some topics you’re also interested in, you can engage and work on a good impression.
Q2 What’s your expectation on an applicant's personality or characteristics?
Use this question to show that you’re ready and eager to work there.Therefore you would like to know how to get along with your future coworkers. After the hiring manager responds, you can further explain about your opinions on working with people with specific traits.
Q3 What’s the next step of the interview? How long can I get a reply?
For my last question I would always confirm the following hiring process, and how much time it would usually take to move on to the next step so that I could be prepared for that. Also, I will use this question to know when is a suitable time to send a follow-up email to ask about the status of my application.
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