101 Job Interview Questions and Answers

Interview Question, Interview Tips,

Answering Traditional Interview Questions

Okay. So I think we can both agree that it’s pretty obvious that being able to properly answer the commonly asked interview questions is crucial if you hope to beat out your competition and get a job offer from your next interview.

Unfortunately for most people, knowing this and executing this are usually two different things.

Why?

Because most people don’t have a plan… A formula….

…. A way to answer every single interview question that ensures that your answer leaves the hiring manager’s jaw hanging open with astonishment and has them writing you up a job offer before you even stand up to leave the interview.

The reality is, most job seekers simply roll into their interview with no plan and try to “freestyle” their way through the interview.

Look, you might be able to string words together off the top of your head like Eminem, but we’re not auditioning for parts in 8 Mile here, we’re trying to get a job.

So leave the rhyming couplets behind and sharpen your pencil because you’re about to learn the step-by-step method that I know will give you an incredible advantage when you’re in front of the hiring manager.

And now, for our feature presentation…”

Normally these words would signal you to lean back in your movie theater chair, put on your 3D glasses and start shoveling buttery popcorn into your face for the next two-and-a-half-hours.

But in this case, while your job interview does have the potential to be an Oscar-winning drama (and hopefully not a B-rated bust), we’re not talking about the silver screen.

The “feature presentation” I’m talking about is in reference to the most important part of the entire interview process.

The Job Interview Questions (and Answers).

“It’s Not About You, It’s About Them”

Before I break down our step-by-step method, there is something you need to understand. Actually, I’ll take it a step further. This idea is something that from here on out…

You need to live by.

As the title of this section says, “It’s not about you, it’s about them.“

Take that in for a second.

Say it out loud a few times. Let it rumble around in your head for a bit.

So what exactly does it mean?

Well to this point, you’ve probably approached your job interview something like this…

“I worked at Company X for six years…”
“I am highly proficient in the following skills….”
“I love working with children because…”

This is the point where my hand slams down on a big buzzer like in the Family Feud.

Why?

Because the company doesn’t care about you.

Okay, that is a little harsh. It’s not that they don’t care for you and your well-being (although I would argue that a lot of the major corporations simply don’t… but this is a discussion for another day), it’s that there is something that they are a LOT more interested in…

Themselves.

Now, I don’t mean to make the company sound like a selfish, controlling and manipulative ex-boyfriend, but the reality is, the reason they are conducting a job interview in the first place is because they have a specific goal in mind.

They are trying to fulfill their needs.

They have a specific individual in mind for this position, and it’s the person who is best able to satisfy these needs.

The company knows exactly who they are going to hire, long before this person even enters the interview room.

Now, they obviously don’t know the actual name of the exact individual they are going to hire (that wouldn’t be fair), but they do know the type of person that they want and more importantly, they know the knowledge, skills and abilities that this person MUST possess.

If you’re anything like I was just over a decade ago, the very mention of interview questions is enough to make your temperature rise like a bad fever and your palms to sweat as if you were holding a never-ending tree pose during a hot yoga session.

But why the anxiety?

What is it about these simple little phrases that end with a question mark that causes us to lose our minds and run for the hills?

Well, much like anything else… it’s the fear of the unknown.

You’re afraid of not knowing what interview questions are going to be asked. You’re afraid of giving the wrong answer.

But more than anything, you’re afraid that if you don’t answer all of the questions in the most perfect way possible, you’re going to walk out of the interview room with no offer and make the long, shameful trek back to your parents’ basement.

And I’m not exaggerating. Even about the parent’s basement.Just ask Jeff (a story for a different day).

Here’s the deal: You should be a bit nervous.

There are hundreds of typical interview questions that you could be asked, and there are a right and a wrong way to answer each one of them.

Not only that, but you could be asked these questions at any stage of the 2016 interview process, from the phone interview (for help with these check out our article 8 Phone Interview Tips That Will Land You A Second Interview) all the way to the panel or group interview.

One little slip could mean the end of your chances if one of your competitors is able to do what you can’t and give smooth, confident answers to every question.