Being stressed before an interview is completely normal. Everybody wants to show the best of themselves, and get the job as a result! But what if the interview is in English, and your knowledge of this language isn’t as strong as it could be? There’s no need to be stressed just because you’re not speaking your mother tongue. We gathered 7 most common job interview questions and provide tips how to respond to them.
1. What other jobs have you applied for?
This question may sound easy at first – all you have to do is name a few. Well, hold on a second. What if there were so many you can’t remember? What kinds of things do they want to hear?
There are two main things the company wants to learn from this question. First: how focused are you? And second, how well do you understand your own skills in the context of the current market?
A company that’s searching for, say, a marketing specialist, won’t be too keen to hire a person who also applied to be a salesman in a toy store, a social media manager and a bookkeeper. It just doesn’t add up. Choose three positions that are quite similar, describe them well, and then mention the main theme that strings them all together.
EXAMPLE: “In addition to this job, I’ve also applied for a B2B Marketing Specialist position in a beauty company, a Marketing Specialist position with an American beverages distributor, and as a Marketing Coordinator in an FMCG-specialised advertising agency. What I’m looking for in all these positions is the ability to use my expertise in cultivating strong relationships with clients.”
2. Why did you leave your last job?
This is a tough question no matter what language it’s asked in. It requires both honesty and diplomacy. Even if your last boss was a jerk, you don’t want to say that explicitly – because then your prospective new boss will wonder what you’ll say about them at your next interview. Don’t complain, but try to give an impression of what was lacking in your last job by describing what you’d like to find in your next job. If the problem was in fact your boss or colleagues, you can say that the atmosphere in the company wasn’t exactly your dream one. This way you open the door for a question about you dream atmosphere – not the past one. Turn your answer from past to future while giving just enough info to make the interviewer believe you’ve actually answered the question.
If the reason you left your job was the workload (either too much or too little), or you were underpaid, just say that what you had been offered when signing your past contract didn’t exactly match the reality.
EXAMPLE: “Unfortunately the company management has undergone extensive personnel changes recently, and the working atmosphere isn’t the same as it used to be.”
3. How do your skills match the job description?
Some interviewers ask this question in an even simpler way: “How would you describe the job you’re applying for?” It’s a test to see if you’re prepared and to make sure you have some idea what you’re getting yourself into. Make sure you show you understand what they want the job to be, not what you want the job to be!
A day before an interview, spend some time reading about the company and main scope of duties regarding this position. Try to understand the company’s history and culture, its main clients/customers, any new initiatives, etc. Then discuss the job’s duties in that context.
Also remember that employers are looking not just for skills, but also for culture fit. They want to know not only that you can do the job, but also that you're a good person to work with. So make sure you touch on both of these points.
Sometiems it can be difficult to understand your own skill set or to describe your personality. If you really have no clue, ask your three closest family members or ex-colleagues who are your friends about your biggest professional strengths. You’ll get some nice list of your advantages. But before going all “Oh, stop it!”, spend some time matching these pros to the qualities that are required on this specific position. Be able to name at least three qualities and say why these features would be helpful in the position.
EXAMPLE: “I've worked in lead-generation for over a year, and I can also say that I’m very creative, and this can help me a lot when creating lead magnets. I am also open-minded and friendly, so I won’t have any problems getting to know my new team.”
4. Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
You may think “Phew, that’s a long time – I don’t even know what I’m having for lunch!” Or if you’re applying for an internship: “Probably in an executive position”. That’s not necessarily the right answer.
The company wants to see that you are willing to join them on a long-term basis, that you want to work to earn your position there, and that you have a genuine interest in your own career development. This is actually a good opportunity to do some serious thinking about what you want from your career.
EXAMPLE: “In 5 years’ time, I would like continue working in the marketing field, which I’m passionate about because it’s a field that’s evolving and growing in really exciting ways. I hope to grow and learn many new skills that would help me develop.”
5. Why do you want to work for us?
This is the question of the recruitment process. It can easily determine whether you get to stay or go.
Before thinking about the ultimate answer, get to know the company! Think about what caught your eye when you decided to apply. Imagine yourself working there, and think about what you’d like best about your job. What makes this company more interesting than its competitors?
Think not only about why you would be happy to work there, but also why the company would be happy to have you!
EXAMPLE: “Aside from marketing, my biggest passion is the beauty industry. I did a cosmetic chemistry course, I love reading about new ingredients, I even have my own very little laboratory, where I test different combinations for fun. Your company is the oldest/biggest/most prestigious beauty company in the country/world. And I can bring a perfect mix of marketing and beauty knowledge into your company.”
6. Describe a situation where you had to deal with a conflict at work.
That’s a tough question, not only because it is very complex. It requires self-awareness and delicacy.
You can either describe a situation where you caused this conflict (only if you got your lesson out of it and you can emphasize it!) or a conflict between co-workers, which you either fixed or found a way to work with. The spectrum is quite wide. The most important thing to show is how your presence helped improve the situation, not make it worse.
These “describe a situation when…” questions are generally very common during the job interviews. It’s good to have a catalogue of a few stories ready to go which you can deploy as needed when these questions come up. They should be stories from work that can show your different features, your personality, and your behaviour in different situations. In any case, describe the situation, then describe what you learned from it.
EXAMPLE: "At the beginning of my career, I worked as in intern in an IT company. I am a very open-minded, positive person and couldn’t really understand that IT is an industry where you have to be very focused on what you are doing. I was talking a lot and trying to be friendly. I didn’t know that not only this does not help me make new friends, but also really irritates my co-workers. I was lucky I had a very nice Team Leader, who explained to me in private, that he appreciates it, but advised me to behave a bit more discreetly. I understood then, that having professionalism and adaptation skills means knowing what’s needed most by the team. In this case it meant letting the team just focus on the task at hand."
7. If you were a biscuit, which biscuit would you be?
These types of oddball questions are very popular among big tech companies and many immense corporations. They seriously do test your creativity level. Interviewers know you can prepare answers in advance for 10,000 questions and you still wouldn’t have an answer ready for this one.
Don’t think about the funniest answer. Your response has to have a meaning. Think about different type of cookies and their real main features. Cheesecake is puffy, brownie is very rich. These are the qualities you don’t need to literally transfer to your own personality. Think about their deeper meaning.
EXAMPLE: “I think I would be a punch cake – not everybody likes me, but when they do, they can’t really imagine their life without me. At the outside look very plain and simple, but I have a lot of great qualities hidden inside.”
If you’ve got an interview coming up, feel free to connect with any of our specialist Business English teachers who can help you practice answers and speak confidently. And good luck! ?