Standard Job Interview Questions

Here are some interview questions to help prepare yourself for the interview. Confident, honest answers are always the best.

  1. Tell me about yourself.
  2. What do you want to do with your life?
  3. How would you describe your ideal job?
  4. Why did you choose this career?
  5. When did you decide on this career?
  6. What goals do you have in your career?
  7. How do you plan to achieve these goals?
  8. How do you evaluate success?
  9. Describe a situation in which you were successful.
  10. What do you think it takes to be successful in this career?
  11. What accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction in your life?
  12. If you had to live your life over again, what would you change?
  13. Would you rather work with information or with people?
  14. Are you a team player?
  15. What motivates you?
  16. Why should I hire you?
  17. Are you a goal-oriented person?
  18. Tell me about some of your recent goals and what you did to achieve them.
  19. What are your short-term goals?
  20. What do you see yourself doing five years from now?
  21. Where do you want to be ten years from now?
  22. Do you handle conflict well?
  23. Have you ever had a conflict with a boss or professor? How did you resolve it?
  24. What major problem have you had to deal with recently?
  25. Do you handle pressure well?
  26. What is your greatest strength?
  27. What is your greatest weakness?
  28. How much training do you think you'll need to become a productive employee?
  29. Why do you want to work in the _____ industry?
  30. What do you know about our company?
  31. Why are you interested in our company?
  32. How familiar are you with the community that we're located in?
  33. Will you relocate? In the future?
  34. Are you willing to travel? How much?
  35. Is money important to you?
  36. How much money do you need to make to be happy?
  37. What kind of salary are you looking for?

Don't just read these questions--practice and rehearse the answers. Don't let the company interview be the first time you have actually formulated an answer in spoken words. It is not enough to think about them in your head--practice! Sit down with a friend, a significant other, or your roommate (an especially effective critic, given the amount of preparation to date) and go through all of the questions. Make the most of every single interview opportunity by being fully prepared!