Answer These 10 Questions before Looking For a New Job

It’s not a question. Job searching is hard.

In fact, studies show that every corporate job advertised attracts about 250 applicants but only 4 to 6 of the applicants will get an invitation for an interview, and only one will be hired.

And if you are looking for a new job, make sure you can answer these 10 most common interview questions to increase your odds of securing the job you want.

According to Nelson Harvey, a recruiter at Best Essays, many people looking for jobs always find it hard to answer some of the most asked interview questions. Surprisingly, most of the questions are so common that hiring managers and recruiters will expect you to answer them without hesitating.

Remember, even if you were able to answer the questions in previous interviews, practice so you can answer them smoothly in your next interview.

So to help you stay composed before looking for a new job, we’ve collected the most common and popular interview questions and how to answer them smoothly and without hesitating.

Practice Answering Interview Questions Before Looking for a New Job

Ideally, you should respond to the questions in a way that convinces the hiring manager you are the best for the position. To provide strong answers to the interview questions, you must prepare beforehand, learn about the questions to expect, and understand what you should focus on as you respond to them.

Preparing in advance will help you feel confident and eliminate interview stress so you can feel comfortable during the interview.

Review the 10 most common interview questions and how to answer them before looking for a new job.

#1. Tell me about yourself

“Most job seekers find this question hard to answer given that it is very broad and open”, says Lucas Michael, a hiring manager at Rush Essay, a case study writing service provider. “In fact, most job seekers ramble and talk about themselves in general terms”, he says.

The hiring manager wants to know who you are in relation to the job. They are not really interested in what your favorite food or color is. Also, the hiring manager is not looking for information about where you come from or why it took you longer to get your degree. A good story can do but it must relate to the role you are interviewing for. Speak about your experience and qualifications, briefly in a way that shows the hiring manager you are the one he/she is looking for.

#2. Why should we hire you?

Remember, the hiring manager has your resume sitting in front of him. So he knows your achievements and accomplishments. He wants to know whether you are the best person for the role. Since you don’t know the qualifications and achievements of other candidates and you can’t compare yourself to them, you just need to demonstrate your suitability to the job.

You need to convince the hiring manager why you are the best applicant. You need to be brief as you explain yourself and focus on what you can bring to the table in case you are hired for the job. Give examples of problems you tackled and solved in previous jobs.

#3. What are your weaknesses?

As Simphroza Collins, the author of essaytyper, says, “what are your weaknesses” is the most feared question of all. However, it is one of the most common interview questions you can expect. Remember, everyone has weaknesses, and admitting that you are weak doesn’t deny your chances of landing the job. In fact, hiring managers will be happy to know that you have weaknesses but you are working on improving. For instance, you can say that you are trying to improve your communication skills by taking classes. Avoid saying things like, “I am a workaholic” or “I am a perfectionist.” The interviewer is really looking for examples that are interested in self-improvement.

#4. What is your greatest strength?

The hiring manager knows that you’ve got what it takes to deliver to their expectations in case you are hired, but he wants you to prove that you are qualified for the position. Most job seekers will say “I am a hard worker”. Well, although this is a strength, it does not answer the question properly. The best way to respond to this question is to talk about qualities that make you the best person for the job. How those qualities will help the company or the hiring manager. Use examples from your life and previous positions. You can even talk about things that you may not have been good at but through education and experience, you became an expert. It is very important to use examples and instances to show your strengths. Don’t just tell about them.

#5. Why do you want to leave your current job?

The hiring manager wants to know what made you decide to leave your current job and why you want this specific role.

Do not speak ill about your current boss or what you dislike about the current job. You need to show the hiring manager what interests you have for that new role. You could say that the current job does not offer you opportunities to grow as an individual. Show the hiring manager that although you want the best for the company, you also want to see yourself growing and that’s what was lacking in your current job. It cannot be stressed enough that you should avoid talking negatively about current or past employers. This will never look good for you.

#6. What are your salary expectations?

“The hiring manager knows that I am supposed to be paid according to my experience, why is he asking me this question?”

This is a very tricky question but you are lucky because you are reading this article before your next interview. The hiring manager wants to know how much you want to be paid in case you are hired. If you overprice yourself you could get knocked out of the competition for the job. If you underprice yourself you could end up getting less than you are worth.

To answer this question properly, you need to prepare by checking on sites like Payscale and Glassdoor. This will give you a good idea of what to expect as a fair offer. You can also turn this question back to the hiring manager and ask him how much he pays for that role.

But if you’ve done the research and you know the salary for that particular position, don’t be afraid to give a range. For instance, if you know the salary can be around $4,566 per month, you could give a range between $4K and $5K. In addition, you can include a statement such as, “I’ve researched your company and know that you pay your employees a fair wage for their positions so I feel confident we will be able to come to a mutually acceptable offer.”

#7. How do you handle stress and pressure?

Things are bound to be stressful at work from time to time. The hiring manager wants to know how you can handle such situations. How do you handle a difficult customer? A difficult situation while ensuring operations of the company are not affected? The hiring manager knows everyone experiences stress and sometimes pressure is inevitable. So you can’t claim that you don’t experience stress. You can relate a difficult situation you came across and how you handled it. You can also talk about any stress management practices you use such as yoga, meditation, exercise, etc.

#8. What are your goals?

When the hiring manager asks you this question, she wants to know whether you are focused or not. If you have no goals for the future, chances are that you won’t help the company to grow. You need to show her that your goals align with the company. For instance, you can say “my goal is to become the general manager in a few years to come so that I can improve the company so that it can double its monthly sales.” This shows the hiring manager that although you want to climb the ladder in your career, you also want the best for the company.

#9. Tell me About a Time When You Failed

When answering this question don’t blame someone else or claim that you have never failed. You need to accept that failure is inevitable. Also, you can tell of a time you failed and how you got up from that failure as well as the lessons you learned. What they want to hear is that you learned from it and moved on. Again, specific examples are the way to go.

#10. Why do you want this job?

Show the hiring manager that you know about the job and the company. Prove that you have done your research and give specific examples of the things that intrigue you about the company, the culture, their accomplishments, and so on. This gives the hiring manager the confidence that they are hiring somebody who already knows about the company.

You must have done enough research beforehand so that you can specifically talk about what makes you the ideal candidate for the job.

Some Parting Thoughts

Lack of preparedness causes panic and you may fail to answer the most common interview questions. Sometimes you aren’t hired because you are not the ideal candidate or someone else is more qualified or a better fit. There is nothing you can do about that. Just don’t fail an interview because you weren’t prepared. If you don’t get the job, you still have a chance to improve in your next one and these 10 most common interview questions can help you improve.

Happy Career Hunting! We are here for you!

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About the Author: Justin Osborne is a writer at essaytyper and best dissertation, he loves to share his thoughts and opinions about education, writing, and blogging with other people on different blogs and forums. Currently, he is working as a content marketer at https://www.college-paper.org/.