Career specialist interview questions and answers

Wouldnt it be great if you knew exactly what questions a hiring manager would be asking you in your next job interview?

We cant read minds, unfortunately, but well give you the next best thing: a list of more than 40 of the most commonly asked interview questions, along with advice for answering them all.

While we dont recommend having a canned response for every interview question [in fact, please dont], we do recommend spending some time getting comfortable with what you might be asked, what hiring managers are really looking for in your responses, and what it takes to show that youre the right person for the job.

Consider this list your interview question and answer study guide.

  1. Tell Me About Yourself.
  2. How Did You Hear About This Position?
  3. Why Do You Want to Work at This Company?
  4. Why Do You Want This Job?
  5. Why Should We Hire You?
  6. What Can You Bring to the Company?
  7. What Are Your Greatest Strengths?
  8. What Do You Consider to Be Your Weaknesses?
  9. What Is Your Greatest Professional Achievement?
  10. Tell Me About a Challenge or Conflict Youve Faced at Work, and How You Dealt With It.
  11. Tell Me About a Time You Demonstrated Leadership Skills.
  12. Whats a Time You Disagreed With a Decision That Was Made at Work?
  13. Tell Me About a Time You Made a Mistake.
  14. Tell Me About a Time You Failed.
  15. Why Are You Leaving Your Current Job?
  16. Why Were You Fired?
  17. Why Was There a Gap in Your Employment?
  18. Can You Explain Why You Changed Career Paths?
  19. Whats Your Current Salary?
  20. What Do You Like Least About Your Job?
  21. What Are You Looking for in a New Position?
  22. What Type of Work Environment Do You Prefer?
  23. Whats Your Work Style?
  24. Whats Your Management Style?
  25. How Would Your Boss and Coworkers Describe You?
  26. How Do You Deal With Pressure or Stressful Situations?
  27. What Do You Like to Do Outside of Work?
  28. Are You Planning on Having Children?
  29. How Do You Prioritize Your Work?
  30. What Are You Passionate About?
  31. What Motivates You?
  32. What Are Your Pet Peeves?
  33. How Do You Like to Be Managed?
  34. Do You Consider Yourself Successful?
  35. Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years?
  36. How Do You Plan to Achieve Your Career Goals?
  37. Whats Your Dream Job?
  38. What Other Companies Are You Interviewing With?
  39. What Makes You Unique?
  40. What Should I Know Thats Not on Your Resume?
  41. What Would Your First 30, 60, or 90 Days Look Like in This Role?
  42. What Are Your Salary Expectations?
  43. What Do You Think We Could Do Better or Differently?
  44. When Can You Start?
  45. Are You Willing to Relocate?
  46. How Many Tennis Balls Can You Fit Into a Limousine?
  47. If You Were an Animal, Which One Would You Want to Be?
  48. Sell Me This Pen.
  49. Is There Anything Else Youd Like Us to Know?
  50. Do You Have Any Questions for Us?
  51. Bonus Questions

Classic Questions

These frequently asked questions touch on the essentials hiring managers want to know about every candidate: who you are, why youre a fit for the job, and what youre good at. You may not be asked exactly these questions in exactly these words, but if you have answers in mind for them, youll be prepared for just about anything the interviewer throws your way.

1.
Tell Me About Yourself.

This question seems simple, so many people fail to prepare for it, but its crucial. Here's the deal: Dont give your complete employment [or personal] history. Instead, give a pitchone thats concise and compelling and that shows exactly why youre the right fit for the job. Muse writer and MIT career counselor Lily Zhang recommends using a present, past, future formula. Talk a little bit about your current role [including the scope and perhaps one big accomplishment], then give some background as to how you got there and experience you have thats relevant. Finally, segue into why you wantand would be perfect forthis role.

Read More: A Complete Guide to Answering Tell Me About Yourself in an Interview [Plus Examples!]

2.
How Did You Hear About This Position?

Another seemingly innocuous interview question, this is actually a perfect opportunity to stand out and show your passion for and connection to the company. For example, if you found out about the gig through a friend or professional contact, name-drop that person, then share why you were so excited about the job. If you discovered the company through an event or article, share that. Even if you found the listing through a random job board, share what, specifically, caught your eye about the role.

Read More: 3 Ways People Mess Up the [Simple] Answer to How Did You Come Across This Job Opportunity?

3.
Why Do You Want to Work at This Company?

Beware of generic answers! If what you say can apply to a whole slew of other companies, or if your response makes you sound like every other candidate, youre missing an opportunity to stand out. Zhang recommends one of four strategies: Do your research and point to something that makes the company unique that really appeals to you; talk about how youve watched the company grow and change since you first heard of it; focus on the organizations opportunities for future growth and how you can contribute to it; or share whats gotten you excited from your interactions with employees so far. Whichever route you choose, make sure to be specific. And if you cant figure out why youd want to work at the company youre interviewing with by the time youre well into the hiring process? It might be a red flag telling you that this position is not the right fit.

Read More: 4 Better Ways to Answer Why Do You Want to Work at This Company?

4.
Why Do You Want This Job?

Again, companies want to hire people who are passionate about the job, so you should have a great answer about why you want the position. [And if you dont? You probably should apply elsewhere.] First, identify a couple of key factors that make the role a great fit for you [e.g., I love customer support because I love the constant human interaction and the satisfaction that comes from helping someone solve a problem], then share why you love the company [e.g., Ive always been passionate about education, and I think youre doing great things, so I want to be a part of it].

Read More: 3 Steps for Answering Why Do You Want This Job?

5.
Why Should We Hire You?

This interview question seems forward [not to mention intimidating!], but if youre asked it, youre in luck: Theres no better setup for you to sell yourself and your skills to the hiring manager. Your job here is to craft an answer that covers three things: that you can not only do the work, but also deliver great results; that youll really fit in with the team and culture; and that youd be a better hire than any of the other candidates.

Read More: 3 Better Ways to Answer Why Should We Hire You?

6.
What Can You Bring to the Company?

When interviewers ask this question, they dont just want to hear about your background. They want to see that you understand what problems and challenges theyre facing as a company or department as well as how youll fit into the existing organization. Read the job description closely, do your research on the company, and make sure you pay attention in your early round interviews to understand any issues youre being hired to solve. Then, the key is to connect your skills and experiences to what the company needs and share an example that shows how youve done similar or transferable work in the past.

Read More: What Interviewers Really Want to Hear When They Ask What Can You Bring to the Company?

7.
What Are Your Greatest Strengths?

Heres an opening to talk about something that makes you greatand a great fit for this role. When youre answering this question, think quality, not quantity. In other words, dont rattle off a list of adjectives. Instead, pick one or a few [depending on the question] specific qualities that are relevant to this position and illustrate them with examples. Stories are always more memorable than generalizations. And if theres something you were hoping to mention because it makes you a great candidate, but you havent had a chance yet, this would be the perfect time.

Read More: 3 Smart Strategies for Answering What's Your Greatest Strength?

8.
What Do You Consider to Be Your Weaknesses?

What your interviewer is really trying to do with this questionbeyond identifying any major red flagsis to gauge your self-awareness and honesty. So, I cant meet a deadline to save my life is not an optionbut neither is Nothing! Im perfect! Strike a balance by thinking of something that you struggle with but that youre working to improve. For example, maybe youve never been strong at public speaking, but youve recently volunteered to run meetings to help you get more comfortable when addressing a crowd.

Read More: 4 Ways to Answer What Is Your Greatest Weakness? That Actually Sound Believable

Questions About Your Work History

The meat of any job interview is your track record at work: what you accomplished, how you succeeded or failed [and how you dealt with it], and how you behaved in real time in actual work environments. If you prep a few versatile stories to tell about your work history and practice answering behavioral interview questions, youll be ready to go.

9.
What Is Your Greatest Professional Achievement?

Nothing says hire me better than a track record of achieving amazing results in past jobs, so dont be shy when answering this interview question! A great way to do so is by using the STAR method: situation, task, action, results. Set up the situation and the task that you were required to complete to provide the interviewer with background context [e.g., In my last job as a junior analyst, it was my role to manage the invoicing process], then describe what you did [the action] and what you achieved [the result]: In one month, I streamlined the process, which saved my group 10 person-hours each month and reduced errors on invoices by 25%.

Read More: The Perfect Formula for Answering What Is Your Greatest Accomplishment in an Interview

10.
Tell Me About a Challenge or Conflict Youve Faced at Work, and How You Dealt With It.

Youre probably not eager to talk about conflicts youve had at work during a job interview. But if youre asked directly, dont pretend youve never had one. Be honest about a difficult situation youve faced [but without going into the kind of detail youd share venting to a friend]. Most people who ask are only looking for evidence that youre willing to face these kinds of issues head-on and make a sincere attempt at coming to a resolution, former recruiter Richard Moy says. Stay calm and professional as you tell the story [and answer any follow-up questions], spend more time talking about the resolution than the conflict, and mention what youd do differently next time to show youre open to learning from tough experiences.

Read More: 3 Ways Youre Messing Up the Answer to Tell Me About a Conflict Youve Faced at Work

11.
Tell Me About a Time You Demonstrated Leadership Skills.

You dont have to have a fancy title to act like a leader or demonstrate leadership skills. Think about a time when you headed up a project, took the initiative to propose an alternate process, or helped motivate your team to get something done. Then use the STAR method to tell your interviewer a story, giving enough detail to paint a picture [but not so much that you start rambling] and making sure you spell out the result. In other words, be clear about why youre telling this particular story and connect all the dots for the interviewer.

Read More: The Best Way to Answer Tell Me About a Time You Demonstrated Leadership Skills in a Job Interview

12.
Whats a Time You Disagreed With a Decision That Was Made at Work?

The ideal anecdote here is one where you handled a disagreement professionally and learned something from the experience. Zhang recommends paying particular attention to how you start and end your response. To open, make a short statement to frame the rest of your answer, one that nods at the ultimate takeaway or the reason youre telling this story. For example: I learned early on in my professional career that its fine to disagree if you can back up your hunches with data. And to close strong, you can either give a one-sentence summary of your answer [In short] or talk briefly about how what you learned or gained from this experience would help you in the role youre interviewing for.

Read More: Heres the Secret to Answering Tell Me About a Time You Had a Conflict With Your Boss in an Interview

13.
Tell Me About a Time You Made a Mistake.

Youre probably not too eager to dig into past blunders when youre trying to impress an interviewer and land a job. But talking about a mistake and winning someone over arent mutually exclusive, Moy says. In fact, if you do it right, it can help you. The key is to be honest without placing blame on other people, then explain what you learned from your mistake and what actions you took to ensure it didnt happen again. At the end of the day, employers are looking for folks who are self-aware, can take feedback, and care about doing better.

Read More: 3 Rules That Guarantee You'll Nail the Answer to Tell Me About a Time You Made a Mistake

14.
Tell Me About a Time You Failed.

This question is very similar to the one about making a mistake, and you should approach your answer in much the same way. Make sure you pick a real, actual failure you can speak honestly about. Start by making it clear to the interviewer how you define failure. For instance: As a manager, I consider it a failure whenever Im caught by surprise. I strive to know whats going on with my team and their work. Then situate your story in relation to that definition and explain what happened. Finally, dont forget to share what you learned. Its OK to faileveryone does sometimesbut its important to show that you took something from the experience.

Read More: 4 Steps for Answering Tell Me About a Time When You Failed

15.
Why Are You Leaving Your Current Job?

This is a toughie, but one you can be sure youll be asked. Definitely keep things positiveyou have nothing to gain by being negative about your current employer. Instead, frame things in a way that shows that youre eager to take on new opportunities and that the role youre interviewing for is a better fit for you. For example, Id really love to be part of product development from beginning to end, and I know Id have that opportunity here. And if you were let go from your most recent job? Keep it simple: Unfortunately, I was let go, is a totally acceptable answer.

Read More: 4 Better Ways to Answer Why Are You Leaving Your Job?

16.
Why Were You Fired?

Of course, they may ask the follow-up question: Why were you let go? If you lost your job due to layoffs, you can simply say, The company [reorganized/merged/was acquired] and unfortunately my [position/department] was eliminated. But what if you were fired for performance reasons? Your best bet is to be honest [the job-seeking world is small, after all]. But it doesnt have to be a deal breaker. Frame it as a learning experience: Share how youve grown and how you approach your job and life now as a result. And if you can portray your growth as an advantage for this next job, even better.

Read More: Stop Cringing! How to Tell an Interviewer You've Been Fired

17.
Why Was There a Gap in Your Employment?

Maybe you were taking care of children or aging parents, dealing with health issues, or traveling the world. Maybe it just took you a long time to land the right job. Whatever the reason, you should be prepared to discuss the gap [or gaps] on your resume. Seriously, practice saying your answer out loud. The key is to be honest, though that doesnt mean you have to share more details than youre comfortable with. If there are skills or qualities you honed or gained in your time away from the workforcewhether through volunteer work, running a home, or responding to a personal crisisyou can also talk about how those would help you excel in this role.

Read More: How to Explain the Gap in Your Resume With Ease

18.
Can You Explain Why You Changed Career Paths?

Dont be thrown off by this questionjust take a deep breath and explain to the hiring manager why youve made the career decisions you have. More importantly, give a few examples of how your past experience is transferable to the new role. This doesnt have to be a direct connection; in fact, its often more impressive when a candidate can show how seemingly irrelevant experience is very relevant to the role.

Read More: How to Explain Your Winding Career Path to a Hiring Manager

19.
Whats Your Current Salary?

Its now illegal for some or all employers to ask you about your salary history in several cities and states, including New York City; Louisville, North Carolina; California; and Massachusetts. But no matter where you live, it can be stressful to hear this question. Dont panicthere are several possible strategies you can turn to. For example, you can deflect the question, Muse career coach Emily Liou says, with a response like: Before discussing any salary, Id really like to learn more about what this role entails. Ive done a lot of research on [Company] and I am certain if its the right fit, well be able to agree on a number thats fair and competitive to both parties. You can also reframe the question around your salary expectations or requirements [see question 38] or choose to share the number if you think it will work in your favor.

Read More: Here's How You Answer the Illegal What's Your Current Salary Question

20.
What Do You Like Least About Your Job?

Tread carefully here! The last thing you want to do is let your answer devolve into a rant about how terrible your current company is or how much you hate your boss or that one coworker. The easiest way to handle this question with poise is to focus on an opportunity the role youre interviewing for offers that your current job doesnt. You can keep the conversation positive and emphasize why youre so excited about the job.

Read More: What Interviewers Really Want When They Ask, What Do You Like Least About Your Job?

Questions About You and Your Goals

Another crucial aspect of an interview? Getting to know a candidate. Thats why youll likely encounter questions about how you work, what youre looking for [in a job, a team, a company, and a manager], and what your goals are. Its a good sign if your interviewers want to make sure youll be a good fitor addto the team. Use it as an opportunity!

21.
What Are You Looking for in a New Position?

Hint: Ideally the same things that this position has to offer. Be specific.

Read More: 4 Steps for Answering What Are You Looking for in a New Position?

22.
What Type of Work Environment Do You Prefer?

Hint: Ideally one that's similar to the environment of the company you're applying to. Be specific.

Read More: 3 Steps to Answering What Type of Work Environment Do You Prefer?

23.
Whats Your Work Style?

When an interviewer asks you about your work style, theyre probably trying to imagine you in the role. How will you approach your work? What will it be like to work with you? Will you mesh well with the existing team? You can help them along by choosing to focus on something thats important to you and aligns with everything youve learned about the role, team, and company so far. The question is broad, which means you have a lot of flexibility in how you answer: You might talk about how you communicate and collaborate on cross-functional projects, what kind of remote work setup allows you to be most productive, or how you approach leading a team and managing direct reports. Just try to keep it positive. And remember, telling a story will almost always make your answer more memorable.

Read More: How to Answer What Is Your Work Style? in an Interview [Plus Examples!]

24.
Whats Your Management Style?

The best managers are strong but flexible, and thats exactly what you want to show off in your answer. [Think something like, While every situation and every team member requires a bit of a different strategy, I tend to approach my employee relationships as a coach...] Then share a couple of your best managerial moments, like when you grew your team from five to 15 or coached an underperforming employee to become the companys top salesperson.

Read More: How to Answer Whats Your Management Style?

25.
How Would Your Boss and Coworkers Describe You?

First, be honest [remember, if you make it to the final round, the hiring manager will be calling your former bosses and coworkers for references!]. Then try to pull out strengths and traits you havent discussed in other aspects of the interview, such as your strong work ethic or your willingness to pitch in on other projects when needed.

Read More: 3 Strategies for Answering How Would Your Boss or Coworkers Describe You?

26.
How Do You Deal With Pressure or Stressful Situations?

Heres another question you may feel the urge to sidestep in an effort to prove youre the perfect candidate who can handle anything. But its important not to dismiss this one [i.e. dont say, I just put my head down and push through it, or, I dont get stressed out]. Instead, talk about your go-to strategies for dealing with stress [whether its meditating for 10 minutes every day or making sure you go for a run or keeping a super-detailed to-do list] and how you communicate and otherwise proactively try to mitigate pressure. If you can give a real example of a stressful situation you navigated successfully, all the better.

Read More: 3 Ways Youre Messing Up the Answer to How Do You Deal With Stressful Situations?

27.
What Do You Like to Do Outside of Work?

Interviewers will sometimes ask about your hobbies or interests outside of work in order to get to know you a little betterto find out what youre passionate about and devote time to during your off-hours. Its another chance to let your personality shine. Be honest, but keep it professional and be mindful of answers that might make it sound like youre going to spend all your time focusing on something other than the job youre applying for.

Read More: How to Answer What Are Your Hobbies? in an Interview [Its Not a Trick Question!]

28.
Are You Planning on Having Children?

Questions about your family status, gender [How would you handle managing a team of all men?], nationality [Where were you born?], religion, or age are illegalbut they still get asked [and frequently]. Of course, not always with ill intentthe interviewer might just be trying to make conversation and might not realize these are off-limitsbut you should definitely tie any questions about your personal life [or anything else you think might be inappropriate] back to the job at hand. For this question, think: You know, Im not quite there yet. But I am very interested in the career paths at your company. Can you tell me more about that?

Read More: 5 Illegal Interview Questions and How to Dodge Them

29.
How Do You Prioritize Your Work?

Your interviewers want to know that you can manage your time, exercise judgement, communicate, and shift gears when needed. Start by talking about whatever system youve found works for you to plan your day or week, whether its a to-do list app you swear by or a color-coded spreadsheet. This is one where youll definitely want to lean on a real-life example. So go on to describe how youve reacted to a last-minute request or another unexpected shift in priorities in the past, incorporating how you evaluated and decided what to do and how you communicated with your manager and/or teammates about it.

Read More: A Foolproof Method to Answer the Interview Question How Do You Prioritize Your Work?

30.
What Are You Passionate About?

Youre not a robot programmed to do your work and then power down. Youre a human, and if someone asks you this question in an interview, its probably because they want to get to know you better. The answer can align directly with the type of work youd be doing in that rolelike if, for example, youre applying to be a graphic designer and spend all of your free time creating illustrations and data visualizations to post on Instagram.

But dont be afraid to talk about a hobby thats different from your day-to-day work. Bonus points if you can take it one step further and connect how your passion would make you an excellent candidate for the role you are applying for, says Muse career coach Al Dea. Like if youre a software developer who loves to bake, you might talk about how the ability to be both creative and precise informs your approach to code.

Read More: 3 Authentic Ways to Answer What Are You Passionate About? in a Job Interview

31.
What Motivates You?

Before you panic about answering what feels like a probing existential question, consider that the interviewer wants to make sure youre excited about this role at this company, and that youll be motivated to succeed if they pick you. So think back to what has energized you in previous roles and pinpoint what made your eyes light up when you read this job description. Pick one thing, make sure its relevant to the role and company youre interviewing for, and try to weave in a story to help illustrate your point. If youre honest, which you should be, your enthusiasm will be palpable.

Read More: 5 Easy Steps to Answer What Motivates You? in an Interview

32.
What Are Your Pet Peeves?

Heres another one that feels like a minefield. But itll be easier to navigate if you know why an interviewer is asking it. Most likely, they want to make sure youll thrive at their companyand get a glimpse of how you deal with conflict. So be certain you pick something that doesnt contradict the culture and environment at this organization while still being honest. Then explain why and what youve done to address it in the past, doing your best to stay calm and composed. Since theres no need to dwell on something that annoys you, you can keep this response short and sweet.

Read More: 6 Tips for Answering What Are Your Pet Peeves? in an Interview

33.
How Do You Like to Be Managed?

This is another one of those questions thats about finding the right fitboth from the companys perspective and your own. Think back on what worked well for you in the past and what didnt. What did previous bosses do that motivated you and helped you succeed and grow? Pick one or two things to focus on and always articulate them with a positive framing [even if your preference comes from an experience where your manager behaved in the opposite way, phrase it as what you would want a manager to do]. If you can give a positive example from a great boss, itll make your answer even stronger.

Read More: 3 Easy Steps to Answer How Do You Like to Be Managed? in an Interview

34.
Do You Consider Yourself Successful?

This question might make you uncomfortable. But you can think of it as an opportunity to allow the interviewer to get to know you better and to position yourself as an excellent choice for this job. First off, make sure you say yes! Then pick one specific professional achievement youre proud of that can be tied back to the role youre interviewing forone that demonstrates a quality, skill, or experience that would help you excel in this position. Youll want to explain why you consider it a success, talk about the process in addition to the outcome, and highlight your own accomplishment without forgetting your team. Zooming in on one story will help if you feel awkward tooting your own horn!

Read More: How to Answer Do You Consider Yourself Successful? Without Feeling Like a Show-Off

35.
Where Do You See Yourself in Five Years?

If asked this question, be honest and specific about your future goals, but consider this: A hiring manager wants to know a] if you've set realistic expectations for your career, b] if you have ambition [a.k.a., this interview isn't the first time youre considering the question], and c] if the position aligns with your goals and growth. Your best bet is to think realistically about where this position could take you and answer along those lines. And if the position isnt necessarily a one-way ticket to your aspirations? Its OK to say that youre not quite sure what the future holds, but that you see this experience playing an important role in helping you make that decision.

Read More: How to Answer Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?

36.
How Do You Plan to Achieve Your Career Goals?

Having goals shows interviewers you care, are ambitious, and can think ahead. Having a plan for how youll achieve your goals demonstrates your self-motivation as well as organizational and time management skills. Finally, the fact that youve accomplished past goals youve set for yourself is proof of your ability to follow through. All together, these are indications that you can not only set and achieve goals of your own, but also help your prospective boss, team, and company do the same. To craft your answer, make sure you focus on one or two goals in detail, explain why the goals are meaningful, communicate what milestones are coming up, highlight past successes, and connect back to this job.

Read More: How to Answer How Do You Plan to Achieve Your Career Goals? in an Interview

37.
Whats Your Dream Job?

Along similar lines, the interviewer wants to uncover whether this position is really in line with your ultimate career goals. While an NBA star might get you a few laughs, a better bet is to talk about your goals and ambitionsand why this job will get you closer to them.

Read More: The Secret Formula to Answering What's Your Dream Job? in an Interview

38.
What Other Companies Are You Interviewing With?

Companies might ask you who else youre interviewing with for a few reasons. Maybe they want to see how serious you are about this role and team [or even this field] or theyre trying to find out who theyre competing with to hire you. On one hand, you want to express your enthusiasm for this job, but at the same time, you dont want to give the company any more leverage than it already has by telling them theres no one else in the running. Depending on where you are in your search, you can talk about applying to or interviewing for a few roles that have XYZ in commonthen mention how and why this role seems like a particularly good fit.

Read More: How to Answer What Other Companies Are You Interviewing With?

39.
What Makes You Unique?

They genuinely want to know the answer, Dea promises. Give them a reason to pick you over other similar candidates. The key is to keep your answer relevant to the role youre applying to. So the fact that you can run a six-minute mile or crush a trivia challenge might not help you get the job [but hey, it depends on the job!]. Use this opportunity to tell them something that would give you an edge over your competition for this position. To figure out what that is, you can ask some former colleagues, think back to patterns youve seen in feedback you get, or try to distill why people tend to turn to you. Focus on one or two things and dont forget to back up whatever you say with evidence.

Read More: A Simple Way to Answer What Makes You Unique? in Your Job Search [Plus, Examples!]

40.
What Should I Know Thats Not on Your Resume?

Its a good sign if a recruiter or hiring manager is interested in more than just whats on your resume. It probably means they looked at your resume, think you might be a good fit for the role, and want to know more about you. To make this wide-open question a little more manageable, try talking about a positive trait, a story or detail that reveals a little more about you and your experience, or a mission or goal that makes you excited about this role or company.

Read More: The Right Way to Answer What Should I Know Thats Not on Your Resume?

Questions About the Job

At the end of the day, the people on the other side of the hiring process want to make sure you could take on this role. That means they might ask you logistical questions to ensure that timing and other factors are aligned, and they might have you imagine what youd do after starting.

41.
What Would Your First 30, 60, or 90 Days Look Like in This Role?

Your potential future boss [or whoever else has asked you this question] wants to know that youve done your research, given some thought to how youd get started, and would be able to take initiative if hired. So think about what information and aspects of the company and team youd need to familiarize yourself with and which colleagues youd want to sit down and talk to. You can also suggest one possible starter project to show youd be ready to hit the ground running and contribute early on. This wont necessarily be the thing you do first if you do get the job, but a good answer shows that youre thoughtful and that you care.

Read More: The 30-60-90 Day Plan: Your Secret Weapon for New Job Success

42.
What Are Your Salary Expectations?

The number one rule of answering this question is: Figure out your salary requirements ahead of time. Do your research on what similar roles pay by using sites like PayScale and reaching out to your network. Be sure to take your experience, education, skills, and personal needs into account, too! From there, Muse career coach Jennifer Fink suggests choosing from one of three strategies:

  • Give a salary range: But keep the bottom of your stated range toward the mid-to-high point of what youre actually hoping for, Fink says.
  • Flip the question: Try something like That's a great questionit would be helpful if you could share what the range is for this role, Fink says.
  • Delay answering: Tell your interviewer that youd like to learn more about the role or the rest of the compensation package before discussing pay.

[Need help responding to a question about your salary requirements on an application form? Read this.]

Read More:3 Strategies for Answering What Are Your Salary Expectations? in an Interview

43.
What Do You Think We Could Do Better or Differently?

This question can really do a number on you. How do you give a meaty answer without insulting the company or, worse, the person youre speaking with? Well first, take a deep breath. Then start your response with something positive about the company or specific product youve been asked to discuss. When youre ready to give your constructive feedback, give some background on the perspective youre bringing to the table and explain why youd make the change youre suggesting [ideally based on some past experience or other evidence]. And if you end with a question, you can show them youre curious about the company or product and open to other points of view. Try: Did you consider that approach here? Id love to know more about your process.

Read More: How to Answer the How Would You Improve Our Company? Interview Question Without Bashing Anyone

44.
When Can You Start?

Your goal here should be to set realistic expectations that will work for both you and the company. What exactly that sounds like will depend on your specific situation. If youre ready to start immediatelyif youre unemployed, for exampleyou could offer to start within the week. But if you need to give notice to your current employer, dont be afraid to say so; people will understand and respect that you plan to wrap things up right. Its also legitimate to want to take a break between jobs, though you might want to say you have previously scheduled commitments to attend to and try to be flexible if they really need someone to start a bit sooner.

Read More: 4 Ways to Answer the Interview Question When Can You Start?

45.
Are You Willing to Relocate?

While this may sound like a simple yes-or-no question, its often a little bit more complicated than that. The simplest scenario is one where youre totally open to moving and would be willing to do so for this opportunity. But if the answer is no, or at least not right now, you can reiterate your enthusiasm for the role, briefly explain why you cant move at this time, and offer an alternative, like working remotely or out of a local office. Sometimes its not as clear-cut, and thats OK. You can say you prefer to stay put for xyz reasons, but would be willing to consider relocating for the right opportunity.

Read More: The Best Responses to Are You Willing to Relocate? Depending on Your Situation

Questions That Test You

Depending on the style of the interviewer and company, you could get some pretty quirky questions. Theyre often testing how you think through something on the spot. Dont panic. Take a moment to thinkand remember, theres no one single correct answer or approach.

46.
How Many Tennis Balls Can You Fit Into a Limousine?

1,000? 10,000? 100,000? Seriously? Well, seriously, you might get asked brain-teaser questions like these, especially in quantitative jobs. But remember that the interviewer doesnt necessarily want an exact numberthey want to make sure that you understand whats being asked of you, and that you can set into motion a systematic and logical way to respond. So take a deep breath and start thinking through the math. [Yes, its OK to ask for a pen and paper!]

Read More: 9 Steps to Solving an Impossible Brain Teaser in a Tech Interview [Without Breaking a Sweat]

47.
If You Were an Animal, Which One Would You Want to Be?

Seemingly random personality-test type questions like these come up in interviews because hiring managers want to see how you can think on your feet. Theres no wrong answer here, but youll immediately gain bonus points if your answer helps you share your strengths or personality or connect with the hiring manager. Pro tip: Come up with a stalling tactic to buy yourself some thinking time, such as saying, Now, that is a great question. I think I would have to say

Read More: 4 Steps for Answering Off-the-Wall Interview Questions

48.
Sell Me This Pen.

If youre interviewing for a sales job, your interviewer might put you on the spot to sell them a pen sitting on the table, or a legal pad, or a water bottle, or just something. The main thing theyre testing you for? How you handle a high-pressure situation. So try to stay calm and confident and use your body languagemaking eye contact, sitting up straight, and moreto convey that you can handle this. Make sure you listen, understand your customers needs, get specific about the items features and benefits, and end strongas though you were truly closing a deal.

Read More: 4 Tips for Responding to "Sell Me This Pen" in an Interview

Wrapping-Up Questions

When it comes time for the interview to wind down, you might have a chance to add any last thoughts and youll almost certainly have time to ask the questions that will help you decide if this company and role might be great for you. In fact, if they dont leave time for you to ask any questions at any of your interviews, that might be a red flag in itself.

49.
Is There Anything Else Youd Like Us to Know?

Just when you thought you were done, your interviewer asks you this open-ended doozy. Dont panicits not a trick question! You can use this as an opportunity to close out the meeting on a high note in one of two ways, Zhang says. First, if there really is something relevant that you havent had a chance to mention, do it now. Otherwise, you can briefly summarize your qualifications. For example, Zhang says, you could say: I think weve covered most of it, but just to summarize, it sounds like youre looking for someone who can really hit the ground running. And with my previous experience [enumerate experience here], I think Id be a great fit.

Read More: How to Answer Is There Anything Else Youd Like Us to Know?

50.
Do You Have Any Questions for Us?

You probably already know that an interview isnt just a chance for a hiring manager to grill youits an opportunity to sniff out whether a job is the right fit from your perspective. What do you want to know about the position? The company? The department? The team? Youll cover a lot of this in the actual interview, so have a few less-common questions ready to go. We especially like questions targeted to the interviewer [What's your favorite part about working here?] or the companys growth [What can you tell me about your new products or plans for growth?] If youre interviewing for a remote role, there are some specific questions you might want to ask related to that.

Read More: 51 Great Questions to Ask in an Interview

Bonus Questions

Looking for more interview questions? Check out these lists of questions [and example answers!] for different types of interviews.

  • Phone interview questions
  • Remote interview questions
  • Second interview questions
  • COVID-related interview questions
  • Diversity and inclusion interview questions
  • Internship interview questions
  • Account management interview questions
  • Accounting interview questions
  • Administrative assistant interview questions
  • Brand management interview questions
  • Customer service interview questions
  • Data science interview questions
  • Digital marketing interview questions
  • Financial analyst interview questions
  • IT interview questions
  • Nursing interview questions
  • Product marketing interview questions
  • Project management interview questions
  • Retail interview questions
  • Sales interview questions
  • Software engineering interview questions
  • Teaching interview questions

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