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Job interview questions

Terms in this set (51)

Tell me about yourself.
Common first question. Answer: talk about your work background, skills, and interests and relate them to how well they fit the job.
Why do you want to work here?
You will always be asked this in one form or another. Be prepared with a convincing answer. Never mention money.
What is your greatest strength?
Very common question. Highlight qualities that they want from the job ad: i.e. good communicator, etc. Mention multiple things, not just one.
What is your greatest weakness?
You will almost always be asked this. The correct answer of course is a weakness that is not really a weakness - I tend to use that I'm such a perfectionist that sometimes I find it hard to delegate, but I've learned that when I do I often learn new and better ways to do things.
What are the five best words to describe you?
I've also been asked for five adjectives, which makes it harder. Be prepared with five words and examples because this is a hard question to answer on the spot. Don't just list the words, but say "Leader - I often find that I will take the lead on collaborative projects" etc.
Why are you the right person for this job?
Another chance to highlight how well your skills fit the job, as well as your knowledge of the job duties.
If you were hiring a person for this position, what would you look for?
Again, demonstrate your knowledge of the skills/characteristics needed to do the job well.
Tell me about a goal you set that you did not reach.
Or: "tell me about a time you failed at something." This is another tricky one, because you need to turn it into something positive and preferably job-related.
Describe your work ethic.
Dedicated, hard worker, want to do meaningful work, etc.
Give an example of a time you worked as a team.
Very common to be asked teamwork/collaboration questions. Be prepared for these with examples of team projects from previous work experience.
Give me an example of a time when you showed good communication skills.
You will almost certainly be asked something about communication. Have examples.
What is your communication style?
Open, honest, direct, respectful, good listener, good at understanding different points of view, use multiple methods of communication - i.e., verbal but follow-up with email, etc.
Tell us about a time you used creativity to solve a problem.
Problem-solving questions often come up. Be prepared with examples.
How do you pay attention to detail?
Libraries often care about attention to detail. Be prepared to give examples of highly detail-oriented work and how successful you were.
What system for prioritizing your work do you think works best?
I've gotten this many times in library interviews, since library jobs generally require multi-tasking. Be prepared with examples of times you had to manage lots of priorities at once.
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