Interview Questions | Most Influential Way to Handle the Most Common Interview Questions and Answers

Hello there…!!
So, you are preparing for a job interview and looking for some common interview questions which are asked in almost all the interviews. Luckily, you are at the right place. Here, in this article, we are not only going to discuss the most repetitive interview questions but the most effective way to answer it. As, in Value Slaps, we always try to provide some extraordinary content to our readers, we are also gonna discuss the logic behind all those answers, so that you could change or modify it as per your own requirement and circumstances.

There is no hard and fast rule which could describe the questions which will come to any particular interview. It totally depends on the mind of the interviewer and the type of interview you are going to attain. Though, there are few basic interview questions whose chances of being asked in an interview are quite higher than others. So, let’s begin with the most common interview questions and answers.

1) Tell me about yourself:

This question seems so much simpler if one couldn’t understand the trick behind it. This is the only reason that most of the candidate’s answer to this question doesn’t satisfy the interviewer.

You have to understand that the interviewer has nothing to do with your personal life, your relationships, your family background and all. The employer also gets all your educational and past job experience history from your resume. Now, the question arises why then the interviewer asks this question? The trick behind this question starts from here.

The interviewer actually wants to know that information about the candidate which is suitable for the job they are providing. And if your answer doesn’t consist anything like this, it would be considered as an ordinary answer only.

Final Tip: While answering this question, mention a little about your personal life like your family background and your place of living followed by a little description about your educational and past job experience history and then explain those of your skills and hobbies which are suitable for that kind of a job. Always remember, your answer should not be too long or too short. For example, if you are giving an interview for a BPO sector’s job, your answer to this question should be like this:

Sample Answer: “My name is Harry Smith. I live in New York City. I have four members in my family including me. I have completed my education from Harvard University. I have two years of work experience in BPO sector. I just love to talk to new people especially from all over the world and this is the only reason I have chosen this work as my career option.”

You always have to use some common sense while answering. Like, if the employer asks you “Harry, tell me something about yourself”, then don’t start your answer by mentioning your name as the interviewer already asks you the question using your name.

2) Why are you interested in this job? Or why do you want this job?

Again, this question is asked to know whether the candidate is passionate about the job or not. Because if you do not like the job and you want to do it only because of money or some other reasons, you would not ever be able to do it with perfection and to achieve the higher level of productivity. So, just like the above answer, here also you have to mention your passion for the job. For example, if you are giving an interview for a job of sales & marketing, your answer should be like this:

Sample Answer: “As per my belief, sales & marketing is the backbone of any business organization without which no business could grow positively and achieve its targets. And I, having very good communication skills and marketing knowledge, find myself perfect for this job post as I could convince people easily to boost up the sales of the organization.”

3) What is your greatest strength?

This question allows you to represent yourself in your own words. You could showcase your answer in the best way possible to explain your greatest strengths. As it’s one of the most common interview questions, most of the candidates give similar kind of answers to the interviewer like, I am hard working, I am adaptable to any kind of environment, I am dedicated towards my work etc. Many of the people advise to explain the similar factors as the strength but I don’t. There is nothing wrong in these factors but the only problem is the interviewer used to be very familiar with this kind of answers and it makes them feel that the candidate has learned the answers from any commonly found article on common interview questions and answers. It always leaves an ordinary impression on the interviewer’s mind and reduces your chances of getting hired.

Always remember, don’t copy from others and try to be unique to the extent possible. Don’t mention any strength in your answer if you don’t actually have it as it will put you in trouble at the end if the interviewer asks any cross-question.

Sample Answer: “Sir, I believe in the continuous development of myself through continuous learning of new things in my personal as well as professional life. I love to take new or challenging kind of work projects as it gives me the opportunity to learn something new and at the end of the day, I found myself in a much stronger position.”

4) Tell me some incident which explains your strengths? Or when did you get to know about your strength?

This is a cross-question asked most of the time by an interviewer just after the above question. Through this question, the interviewer tries to find out whether you actually have the strength you just mentioned and if you have it, have you achieved anything because of it. So, if you are telling anything as your strength, be prepared to answer this question which could also come to you. You could explain any incident from your previous work experience or if you are a fresher, you could explain anything from your educational life.

Sample Answer: “During my previous job, we got a work project which was totally new to all of us. It was a big opportunity for our company but due to lack of knowledge in this particular work, no one was willing to handle it. Finally, I took this work. It was a tough task for me and I spent a lot of time over and above my working hours to get it done on time. Finally, I completed it. I got appreciation from my past employer as well as a lot of knowledge due to that particular work.”

5) What, according to you, is your biggest weakness?

This is one of the most difficult interview questions to answer. A small mistake while answering it could finish your chances of getting hired. Always remember, don’t ever mention any of your weaknesses which could create difficulty for you to do the job which you are going to give the interview for. Don’t also tell that you don’t have any weakness as we all have some weaknesses. You should mention only those of your weaknesses which could be eliminated in future. And also mention the interviewer that how you are working on your weakness to remove it in near future.

Sample Answer: “Whenever I get a work, I use to get so much involved in it. I use to do it with all my focus. I could not concentrate at other things on the same time. But recently, I have completed a lot of work projects where I had to manage multiple things at a time. So, I believe, soon I will achieve the perfection in it as well.”

6) What are your career goals?

The best way to answer this question is to segregate your goals into two parts, such as short-term goals and long-term goals. The interviewer, through this question, tries to know that whether your goals allow you to be a part of their organization in future as well or you will just going to leave them after using their resources. For example, if you are there at an interview of any small organization and you are mentioning that my future goal is to be a part of any large multinational company, they will never gonna take you. This answer will make the recruiter understand that after getting the experience you are gonna leave their organization for sure and it will drastically reduce your chances to get the job.

Sample Answer: “My short-term goal is to be a part of any reputable organization like yours’ where I could utilize my knowledge and skills and could improve my career path as well. And my long-term goal is to be in a more reputable and responsible position in that organization where I could contribute the organization using my knowledge and experience and could make the value addition to it.”

7) Where do you see yourself in next five years?

This question is actually an alternative to the above question. The recruiter will only ask any one of the above two questions. We have included this question separately in our list as the way to answer this question will be little different than the above one. Here in this question, the interviewer is only asking for the long-term goals of the candidate. So, we would not explain our short-term goals here. Though, the purpose of asking this question is totally same as the above one but way to answer it will be like this:

Sample Answer: “Five years down the line, I see myself on a responsible position of any reputable organization like yours’ where I could utilize my knowledge, skills, and experience to make the value addition to the company.”

8) Why should we hire you?

This question allows you to showcase those of your skills, knowledge, and qualities which other candidates don’t have. If you could convince the interviewer with your answer, most probably, you would get the job for sure. Always remember, if you are not confident enough while answering this question, it will never gonna work for you. If you have something extraordinary skills over and above the other candidates, it should reflect in your confidence.

Sample Answer: “I have three years of experience in this field. I faced a variety of challenges during my professional career till yet and learned a lot from all of it. I believe that one’s responsibilities towards the company are never limited to the working hours only. And my commitment towards my work allows me to fulfill the expectations of the organization in the best way possible. Therefore I believe, if I would get the job, I would be able to fulfill my responsibilities with more passion and commitment.”

If you are totally a fresher having no work experience, then you could use few different sentences instead of the above starting sentence. For example: “I was quite serious and committed to my studies during the whole of my study life. And when it comes to professional career, I would certainly follow the same attitude here as well.” And then you could keep the remaining answer to this question same as above.

9) Why are you leaving your current job?

Now, this is again a tricky but one of the most common interview questions where most of the candidates do mistakes. Always remember, whatever is the reason making you decide to leave your current job, you need to showcase your answer in a positive way. Don’t ever badmouth your past employer, co-workers or organization as it directly leaves a negative impact on the interviewer’s mind. Try to make your answer positive.

Sample Answer: “I have learned a lot from my last organization but the opportunities and scope of work I am looking for are missing over there. The work in that organization is quite limited. This job is totally fit for me as the scope of work here is vast enough and I could learn a lot from this place and would be able to contribute to this organization in a more effective way in near future.”

10) What is your salary expectation?

There is a conflict of opinions for this question’s answer. Different people suggest different ways to answer it. Few suggest starting with a higher range of salary and few with the lower one. But believe me, it will not always work. You never know the salary range they have decided for that particular job post you giving the interview for. It varies from company to company as per the standards of the companies.

The best way to answer this question is not mentioning any particular number as your salary expectation. Let the company offer you the best salary for that job post. Always remember, if you don’t like the salary, you could always reject the job. But if you will mention any particular number as your salary expectation then if it will be higher, they will most probably choose any other candidate who will have the same knowledge and skills with a comparatively lower salary expectation and if it will be lower than their range for that job, they might think that you have poor skills and knowledge than their required standards. In both the cases, you will lose the job.

Sample Answers:
For Fresher Candidates: “As it is my learning phase, salary is not the first priority for me. It is a great platform to start my career and improve my knowledge and skills. Apart from it as you are asking, I am expecting a salary as per the standards of the organization which will be helpful for me to fulfill my economic needs.”

For Experienced Candidates: “For me learning new things, having good opportunities and scope of work is the first priority and not the salary. It is a great platform to enhance my career and improve my knowledge and skills. Apart from it as you are asking, I am expecting a salary according to my ability and as per the standards of the organization which will be helpful for me to fulfill my economic needs.”

11) Do you have any question to ask us?

This is not only a chance to ask some questions rather it’s an opportunity to impress the interviewer with your wise and logical questions. These questions would also help you to further develop yourself. So, don’t waste your chance saying I don’t have any question to ask. Don’t also ask silly questions like how many leaves I would get in total? Or shall I have to work beyond my working hours as well? Always ask smart questions to reflect your smarter personality.

Sample Answer: “First of all, thank you for giving me this opportunity. I would like to know what qualities your top performing employees have in common. OR If I will get selected, what would I have to do in order to exceed expectations in the short term?”

This kind of questions makes the interviewer understand that you are really interested in the job; you have the passion to continuously improve yourself; you are totally ready to take the responsibilities if you will get the job. It will make a great impression on the interviewer’s mind.

That’s it! All discussed above are the most “common interview questions and answers” which are asked so frequently in most of the interviews. All uncommon “interview questions” have already been eliminated from the list above. So make sure to must go through at least all these questions and answers of this article before appearing for an interview. Always remember, you need not learn all these answers rather you need to understand the logic behind all the answers so that you could modify and differently showcase the answers as well, as per the different circumstances. Good luck…!