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101 Interview Questions

101 Interview Questions

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What Interview Questions you will be asked in a job interview.

Knowing the questions you are going to be asked during an interview is essential, once you know the interviewers question you can prepare your interview answer.

I would add what is more important than knowing the interview question is knowing why they are asking the question in the first place, as this will tell you what experience or skill you need to highlight with your answer.

Today you will learn the most common 101 interview questions; all you need to do is prepare your answers.

101 Job Interview Questions

  • Tell me about yourself?
  • Why did you pick our company to apply for?
  • Why should we hire you?
  • What is your current experience in this role?
  • What are your strengths?
  • What are your weaknesses?
  • If you could sum yourself up in one line, what would it be?
  • Do you have any questions for me?
  • Have you ever done anything you are embarrassed about?
  • Why do you want to work here?
  • Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
  • Tell me about your ability to work under pressure.
  • What has been your greatest accomplishment?
  • What is your long-term goal?
  • Why are you a good communicator?
  • Do you consider yourself to be a good manager?
  • What is your definition of great customer service?
  • Describe a time when you dealt with conflict.
  • Why did you leave your last position?
  • How would your co-workers describe you?

Tricky Question, Killer Answers

  • How would your manager describe you?
  • Are you a team player?
  • What is your philosophy towards work?
  • Can you work well under pressure?
  • How do you manage projects?
  • Do you consider yourself successful?
  • Give an example of when you have had to work alone
  • How do you motivate people?
  • Have you ever delivered a presentation?
  • Describe a situation you took full responsibility for a project
  • How do you define success?
  • What motivates you to do your best on the job?
  • How do you establish a working relationship with new people?
  • How long do you expect to work for us?
  • What are some of your expectations for your future employer?
  • How do you handle that stress?
  • Describe a work-related problem and how you solved them.
  • Do you possess any relevant work experience?
  • Have you ever dealt with an unsatisfied or angry customer?
  • How do you think you will compensate for your lack of experience?

How to answer any interview question

  • Why did you choose your career?
  • How have you changed during your career?
  • How do you approach challenging problems?
  • How do you evaluate yourself?
  • How do you ensure you meet sale targets each week
  • If you disagree with your supervisor on an important issue of the job, what will you do?
  • What do you know about our company?
  • Do you understand the meaning of equal opportunities and diversity?
  • How to answer tricky interview questions    
  • Tell me about a suggestion you have made and the outcome from this  
  • Tell me about a time that you contribute to a team activity
  • What is your main career aim?
  • How can social media websites promote our business?
  • What was the most useful criticism you received? Who was it from?
  • How would you describe the pace at which you work?
  • Describe a typical workday.
  • What amount of money are you worth?
  • What has disappointed you in a job?
  • What would your previous supervisor say your strongest point is?
  • Are you willing to travel?
  • What do you feel about diversity in the workplace? Do you think it is important?
  • Do you consider yourself overqualified for this position?
  • Do you know anyone who works for us?
  • What one word describes you?
  • Do you possess a criminal record?
  • How do you prioritize your work to meet deadlines?
  • What is your typing speed – words per minute?
  • How do you handle rejection?
  • How long have you been looking for a job?

How to answer tricky interview questions   – over 60 questions and answers

  • Tell me the difference between good and exceptional.
  • What is more important to you, the money or the work?
  • What did you do when you had a deadline and didn’t make it?
  • Would you consider yourself an organized person?
  • What ITC packages can you use?
  • Describe what qualities would you like to see in a supervisor?
  • What new skills have you developed recently?
  • Would you say you are under qualified?
  • How do you relate to your co-workers?
  • Please explain the gap on your CV?
  • Give me an example of when you have handled large amounts of money
  • How do you relate to your boss?
  • How would you promote our services?
  • If you were hiring someone for this job, what would you look for?
  • What position do you take when working on a team?
  • Have you ever been fired?
  • Can you explain how you initiate communications with customers?
  • What can you contribute to our company?
  • Have you ever had to fire anyone? How did you feel about that?
  • What would you do if your employer instructed you to do something that was unethical
  • What significant trends do you see in our industry?
  • Do you know the history of this industry?

How to answer tricky interview questions    

  • In hindsight, how could you have improved your performance at previous jobs?
  • Why did you stay in this position for such a short time?
  • Name reasons why you would leave a job?
  • Tell us about a time when you failed to meet a deadline
  • What does excellent customer service mean to you?
  • What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
  • Please list three areas of yourself,  you feel have opportunities for improvement
  • What would you consider as your biggest achievement to date?
  • Please tell us about any relevant experience.
  • What do you like least about your job?
  • Can you provide examples of when you have given outstanding customer service

 Tricky Questions Killer Answers

Interview Additional Support:

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Are you one of these 10 people who will never pass a job interview?

10 People Who Will Never Pass a Job Interview

Employers often feedback that time and time again the same type of person is refused a job offer, even though job hunters now have access to a wide range of interview techniques through Employment E-Books, Interview Articles and Career Coaches.

Don’t make the same mistake as others and come across at the job interview as one of these 10 people who will never secure a job offer:

  • Someone with poor personal appearance – no effort made with their appearance, interviewees have been known to turn up in jeans and t-shirts
  • Showing a lack of interest and enthusiasm – Yawning during interviews and answering questions with “yes” and “no” answers shows a lack of interest – you need to sound passionate and answer all interview questions with examples
  • Being late to the interview – again employers see this as a lack of interest and commitment
  • Discussing money throughout the interview – employers agree that people who over-emphasis on money are more likely to leave the job in the first couple of months leaving the employer with the job of re-recruiting
  • Criticising past employer – this is often seen as passing the blame onto someone else – you need to discuss what you did for self-development: Interview Questions and Answers
  • Lack of confidence, lack of eye contact and showing nervousness – there are several techniques to help you prepare for an interview and to increase your interview confidence; a common mistake many interviewees make is failing to practice their interview questions  
  • Being a ‘Know-it’ all – the opposite to having a lack of confidence is being overconfident which can lead to you coming across as aggressive, employers look at which interviewee will fit in with the team and company environment
  • Asking no questions about the job – employers are looking for someone who is interested in their company and the job sector, this is because someone who is not interested will not work at the same level as someone who wants to make this job sector their career.
  • Unable to sell themselves; poor voice (often to quite or to loud), poor diction, poor grammar on CV and Cover Letter and no evidence-based interview answers: employers look and recruit people who have a career plan, job goals and can prove with evidence that they are the best person for the role. Interviewees need to understand what the employer’s essential criteria are and to discuss these points throughout the interview.
  • Having strong prejudices and opinions; you can often recognise when someone has a strong opinion or prejudice and I would add these strong opinions often come out during a job interview. When your opinions do not match that of the interviewer you will quickly lose rapport and any possibility of a job offer.
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Job Application Form Details

Generally speaking, career professionals only stay in one role for around 3 years before “job hopping” to a new external or internal vacancy this is because the days of a “job for life” are far behind us.

One of the common mistakes that must be avoided, made by job hunters if losing their application form details, many job hunters will spend hours writing a CV or Application Form,  secure a job role and then destroy their application form and hard work. Two to three years later they start applying for new vacancies, completing new application forms only to find they cant remember their referees address or what year they completed a certain qualification.

We have made a list of all the essential information you will need for a job application form, along with some additional job application form tips. Keep this secure! You will need it again.

If you’re ready for a career change and feel unsure what your next step up the career ladder should be, contact a Career Coach for expert advice.

The Basics; Personal Information:                                        

  • Name
  • Address
  • Phone Number –Mobile and Home Number
  • E-mail Address
  • Eligibility to Work in UK
  • Criminal Convictions – are they spent?

Position Applied For Information:

  • Title of the job you are applying for
  • Job Reference Number
  • When you can start work

 

Education:

  • Schools, Colleges and Universities Attended including Dates
  • Qualification Type
  • Achievement Level
  • Any in-house Certificates

Employment Information:

  • Company Name, Address, Phone Numbers and E-Mail
  • Line Managers Name
  • Dates of Employment
  • Salary – at time of leaving  
  • Reason for Leaving
  • Periods of Unemployment
  • This is needed for the previous 5 years as a minimum

References:

  • Referees Name
  • Address and Contact Details
  • How you Know this Person (Friend, Manager, etc )

Tips for Completing Job Applications:

  • Complete all boxes or record NA if the question is not applicable to you
  • Follow all instructions IE using black ink
  • Write clearly using capitals
  • Send a covering letter
  • Check for spelling and grammar mistakes
  • Record employment history and education in chronological order
  • Check your referees’ are still contactable and happy to provide you a reference
  • Target your application form to the job role you are applying for
  • Ensure you have evidence that you posses the essential criteria on the job specification
  • Sign and date your application form

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How to Persuade and Influence Your Managers, Colleagues and Employees

How to Persuade and Influence Your Managers, Colleagues and Employees – Instant Download PDF

How would it feel to have the power to Persuade and Influence Your Managers, Colleagues and Employees? These powerful techniques should only be used to improve your communication skills, not to Get Anything You Want! This is an instant download PDF document, FREE for a Limited Time ONLY

These techniques should be learnt and practiced before using them to gain more job offers and promotions or to motivate your staff to do what you want them to do!

DOWNLOAD NOW – How to Persuade and Influence Your Managers, Colleagues and Employees Feel free to pass this article on to your friends or to post it on your website

Good Luck 

EMPLOYMENT KING                                                      

Your Life, Your Career, Your Future                                   

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Building on your Career

Building on your Career                                               

Generally people fall into two categories when it comes to building on their career; the first group will often find a job that they enjoy, work hard at it and only apply for new vacancies when they need to – often in cases of redundancies and I would add a re-active person, will wait till the last minute (final day before being made redundant) before they starting applying for a new position.

The second group, who are more pro-active, will continue to build on their career throughout their current position and I would add continuing to build on your career does not been “just job searching” you will agree, that a pro-active person who does come across a great opportunity will apply for the new position, advancing their career.

The advantage of building on your career means you are ready when it comes to applying for a new position wherever this is due to redundancies or an opportunity to advance up the career ladder.

 

How to Build on Your Career:                                                      

Become an Industry Expert; as the old saying goes “knowledge is power” the linked article will explain everything you need to know to quickly become an Industry Expert

Make Professional Contacts; collect and give out business cards, attend networking meetings – in many job sectors, it’s about who you know and the image you project

Let it be know you are keen to Advance Your Career; this will increase the opportunity for you being recommended for a promotion or interview offer

Collect Evidence of your Expertise and Abilities; keep copies of supporting e-mail, appraisals, employee of the month certificate, anything that can be used at a later job interview  

Continue to Update Your CV; add new positions, duties and qualifications, when it comes to applying for a new position, you will only need to make a couple of updates to your application

Keep a look out for New Opportunities; don’t wait until you hate a job before you leave, keep an eye out for positions that will advance your career, this can be both internal and external vacancies

Create a Careers Plan; Use a Careers Advisor to help your write a careers plan (or write one yourself) with short, medium and long term goals, recording a plan of action has been proven to increase your ability to follow it through, resulting in a new step up the career ladder

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How to Get Any Interviewer to Agree With Everything You Say

How to Get Any Interviewer to Agree with Everything You Say

 

Imagine you are attending a job interview and for some reason you get a feeling the employer is not fully convinced you are the right person for the job, how does this make you feel? As the nerves increase, your mind go’s blank and you start to forget your carefully planned interview questions and answers.

If you new how to get the employer to agree with whatever you wanted them to, what would you tell the employer to improve your chances of gaining a job offer?

Some employers will interview you, checking each answer, looking for your errors and/or weaknesses, if you could plant a suggestion knowing the employer would agree with it, would this improve your chances of employability or improve your interview confidence?

I agree these techniques are powerful, so don’t share them with every job searcher out there or everyone will be getting employers to agree with them. I would add, like all effective persuasion techniques this one is easy to learn!

 

Pacing and Leading

The pacing and leading technique has been around for a long time, often used in sales, all you do is pace the interviewer’s current situation, creating a “yes” set, followed by a lead – your suggestion or command.

During an interview session, we would pace the interviewer, as a hypnotist would pace his client, by pacing their current experience;

Hypnotist “as you are sat in the chair, listening to my voice….” The client can only agree with the pacing “Yes I am sat in a chair, yes I am listening to your voice”

As the client agrees, you add in your suggestion or command; Hypnotist “you are starting to feel sleepy” the client will carry on saying yes “…yes I am feeling sleepy”

Basically you Pace, Pace (pace again if you like) and then Lead.

Let’s look at this from in an interview situation, you cant say to an interviewer “you are sitting down, listening to my voice, you want to give me the job” or you can’t for that matter, start to dangle a gold watch in front of his face, swinging it from side to side saying “give me the job, give me the job” in these two situations you will probably be asked to quickly leave.

You can pace and lead any interviewer and I would add you need to pace and lead the interview without it being too obvious – pace and lead the conversation as part of your interview answers.

“You have recently won a new contract (Interviewer; “yes”) and you want to ensure your team meet the contractual specifications (Interviewer; “yes”) from my CV you can see me leading your team successfully achieving all the contractual targets (interviewer; “yes I can see you leading my team..I will offer you the job”) I will do this by XYZ”

The interviewer won’t be shouting out “yes” but will be agreeing internally, imagining you “leading the team successful” This technique is about getting the interviewer to visualise what you want them to do, because if they visualise it, they feel more compelled to do it, this is due to people associating emotions to their visualisations.

“Your company has been established for over 34 years and you specialise in selling Egyptian Antiques abroad and in the UK, you are looking to recruit someone like me with a passion for history along with the skills and experiences to sell antiques”

Did you spot the pacing and leading?

“You have already said you are looking to employee a young and enthusiastic person with a creative mind who can handle responsibility, give me the job and I will use my creativity and enthusiasm to add value to your company”

Alone using just one pacing and leading statement will not gain you millions of job offers, I would add you are trying to influence the employer thoughts and image of you throughout the job interview and when the employer imagines “giving you the job” “recruiting someone like you” or “seeing you leading the team” or any other embedded command you have told them to do, you are more likely to gain more job offers, wont you?

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One Line to Secure a Job Interview

With so many people being made redundant and an increase in small company closers, you can see why the demand for every job vacancy has arisen.

To beat the competition, you only need One Opening Line! If you knew which one sentence would secure you a job interview, would you add it to your application?

As we all know, employers quickly skim through your CV and Covering Letter, what they do all read is your opening line, it makes sense for this opening line to be the best sentence on your CV or Covering Letter.

Before writing your opening line, you first need to know what essential skills, qualities and experiences the employer requires, all you have to do is show you have these in your opening line.

Ask yourself, what is the one thing the employer would want me to achieve? This could save outgoing cost, increase productivity, make a profit, moving people forward with their life, it doesn’t matter what the employer requires of you, it’s about how you can prove you will achieve this in just one line.

Now you know what the employer requires, the type of person they are looking for, to add value to your opening line you need to evidence that you can achieve what you say you can achieve, you can do this by relating it to your own experiences.

This simple technique is how our CV Writing Service achieves maximum success with our customer CV’s

Example Opening Lines:                                                                                                 

  • “Successfully tripled company profits within a 12 month period by….”
  • “My leadership skills and innovation quickly turned around a company producing a high loss into a profitable company by….”
  • “Saved X company over 1 million pounds, by creating a new system to take raw materials to production to the sale of goods bypassing expensive third parties”
  • “Increased productivity and reduced sickness which lead to an increase in profits by 35% year on year”
  • “Experienced in successfully managing multimillion pound projects…”
  • “With over 10 years experience as a keynote speaker, delivering inspiring talks to groups of over 500 delegates…”
  • “My ability to problem solve along with my keen eye for detail, allows me to quickly find areas of high cost; in every company I have worked for this skill has helped me to decrease overhead payments leading to higher profits”
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3 Unstoppable Tips for a Covering Letter

3 Unstoppable Tips for a Covering Letter.

 

We all talk about having a targeted CV, gaining Job Interviews and Passing your first week at work, but many of us underestimate the importance of a Covering Letter. Every CV and Job Application Form needs to be sent with an accompanying Covering Letter, as our research has shown that 50% of employers wont even read a CV/Application Form sent without that all important Covering Letter.

To help you write a Covering Letter we have record 3 unstoppable tips for cover letter or you can use a Cover Letter Template – make it easy for yourself.

Wearing Your School Tie                                                

The most common mistake is made by addressing the cover letter to “whom it may concern” You will agree that you need the employer to feel associated to you, which means you need to make a connection and I would add once you have a connection you are more likely to gain a job interview offer.

Humans don’t like “new people” (animals protecting their territory) so you need the employer to find a reason to want to meet you (at the interview) research has shown that people can be influenced by similarities, even something as small as having the same name or coming from the same town (the old school tie routine) will unconsciously make someone more agreeable and you more likable.

The first way to make a connection is by addressing the letter to a named person and I would add the easiest way to gain a name is to telephone the company as ask for it.

Have a Chat                                             

The best tip is to keep the cover letter conversational, show your personality while at the same time highlighting your transferable skills needed by the employer.

As the employer reads your covering letter and application, they start to create a picture of you which is often distorted; the language you use on your covering letter will either create a positive or negative image of you.

A little cheat is to re-read the job advert, visit the company website and the job specification and copy the language your new employer uses.

Have they talked about “solving problems, fixing things and getting away from X?” or have they discussed “Achieving goals, meeting targets and having a positive future” You can use Away From or Towards Motivational Language to speak the employer’s language – hitting their motivational buttons.

The Only Time You Get To Brag

We often shy away from bragging about ourselves, don’t we? Well most of us do.

You need the employer to know how good you are, why should they employee you and what you can offer that other employees cannot.  If you don’t brag, they won’t know! The important factor here, is it’s not about how much you brag about yourself, it’s about what skills, qualities and experience you brag about, which means you need to know what skills, qualities and experiences the employer feels are their essential criteria for the position you are applying for? Record all these in your covering letter and application.

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Glossery of Application Terms

Have you ever completed a job application form and as you are completing the many sections you find yourself not understanding all of the employer’s application language? What do you do, Guess? Research? Or Panic?

To help you, we have written a glossary of terms for you to use to check you have the correct meaning to each term, helping your application be the best it can be. To help other job hunters, you can add a new Application Term and Descriptions that we have not added in the comments below.

Glossary of terms

Accredited training Nationally recognised training
Annual leave Paid holidays employees are entitled to
Apprenticeship Apprenticeships; Participants earn while they learn – combining practical work with accredited  training
Appraisal   A yearly or quarterly appraisal of your work normally undertaken by your line manager
Block release training The release of apprentices from their workplace to attend full-time vocational study
Bonus An additional payment made by an employer for good performance, meeting targets or greater productivity
Business hours Usually Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5
Casual work Employment with various working hours depending on the need of your employer
Commission A fee or percentage paid to a salesperson on each sale
Curriculum Vitae (CV) Written summary of a person’s educational qualifications, employment history and personal details.
CV writing service A service that will create, design and write your CV
Danger money Payment for work that involves some risk. in addition to your normal wage
Deductions Money taken out of your pay for payments such as health care
Dependant A person who is wholly or partly supported financially by someone else.
Discrimination Unfair treatment of someone, because of their colour, politics, race, religion, gender or other personal attribute which does not relate to work performance
Dismissal When an employer ends an employees employment
Flexitime Employees can start and finish work earlier or later than the normal times – hours need to be made up or extra days off can replaced hours overworked
Freelance Completing a project for someone at an agreed price
Full-time work 35- 40 hours; Full-time workers are eligible for annual leave and sick leave
Gross pay Pay before tax and other deductions have been taken out
Income tax Tax deducted from an employee’s wages by the employer and paid to the government
Job sharing One full-time job is shared by two or more employees
Maternity and paternity leave Time off while paid to cover a period of several weeks before and after the birth of a child
Minimum wage The lowest wage which may legally be paid to an adult employee –varies due to age
Net pay Pay after deductions have been taken out
Off-the-job training Training taken place outside of your work place
On-the-job training Training taken place inside your work place
Overtime Time worked that exceeds your contracted hours
Part-time work When you work less then 35 hours a week; Part-time workers are still eligible for annual leave, sick leave, etc
Piecework You are paid per number of “pieces” you pack or produce
Probation period A trial period that enables an employer to assess if an employee meets the job specification
Promotion Advancement to a job higher up the career ladder
Redeployment Movement of an employee between jobs in the same organisation
Redundancy pay Compensation paid by an employer to an employee whose services are no longer required
Reference A statement about your personal qualifications and character written by a third person
Retirement The end of employment, due to your age
Salary The amount of money you will earn whilst in employment
Seasonal work Work that is only done at certain times of the year
Self-employment A person who works for themselves
Shift work Working various patterns of hours; work may be rostered into two or three shifts over a 24-hour period.
Sick leave Paid leave to sick employees
Study leave Leave given to employees to attend courses of study that are approved by their employer
Trainee A person who is being trained by experience members of staff
Union An association of people working in one industry able to negotiate on behalf of employees with employers
Voluntary work Working for no pay
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CV Writing Secrets

Click here to download your e-book today: CV Writing Secrets E-Book For a short period, you can down load a free copy of the employment e-book, CV WRITING SECRETS GUIDE.

learn how to make your CV work for you, securing you more job interviews then ever before:

CV Writing Guide E-Book Content:                                                                                    

  • What Headings do you need on a CV?
  • How to Improve Your CV
  • Power Word’s
  • 10 Tips for a Perfect CV
  • Does Your CV Secure You Job Interviews?
  • What is a Targeted CV?
  • CV Templates
  • How to get rid of gap’s in your CV
  • Free CV Review
  • Web CV

This free offer will not last, if your CV does not do it’s job securing you job interviews you will need to learn the secrets of CV writing. The good news is, these techniques are easy to learn. CV Writing Secrets E-Book

  •  Feel free to share this e-book on your own website             

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