الاسئلة الشائعة في مقابلات العمل وكيفية الاجابة عليها

الاسئلة الشائعة في مقابلات العمل وكيفية الاجابة عليها ( باللغة الانجليزية) 

نقلا عن موقع fish4.co.uk

Here’s our definitive list of the most commonly asked interview questions:

o Tell me about yourself

o What are your weaknesses

o Why should we chose you for this job

o What are your hobbies outside of work

o Where do you see yourself in five years’ time

o Why are you leaving your current position

o What are you main strengths

o Why do you want to work here

o What motivates you

o Do you prefer working by yourself or in a team

o What are your salary expectations

o Tell me about an achievement you are proud of

o Tell me about a challenging situation and how you overcame it

o What do you know about the company

o What would your colleagues say are your best qualities

o What experience can you bring to this job from your previous role

o What makes a good team leader/manager

o What do you consider to be your biggest failure

o How do you deal with pressure at work

o Why is there a gap in your work history

1. Tell me about yourself

This question will usually be the first you encounter in the interview. Here, the interviewer is looking to get a sense of what you’re like as a person and get an overview of your experience and work history.

Keep it short and sweet and focus on the elements you really want to talk about, do not simply regurgitate the work history on your CV. It’s important to be bright, positive and relaxed to make sure you make a great first impression.

2. What are your weaknesses

The biggest mistake you can make with this question is to say that you don’t have any weaknesses. The interviewer is looking to employ a human and not a robot, so avoid this answer as you risk looking arrogant and ruining your chances.

Use this question as an opportunity to identify something you would like to improve on. Identify a weakness, but then suggest ways in which you can resolve it. Employers are much more likely to respond to an answer like this as it shows that you are willing to invest time into your own professional development and are not complacent.

3. Why should we choose you for this job?

This question is a difficult one as it is basically asking you to blow your own trumpet, and say why you are better than the other candidates. However, there is a tactical way to do this so don’t just dive straight in.

This question gives you the perfect opportunity to show why you are suited to the job. Bear in mind that it’s likely that other candidates have the same or similar qualifications as you, so here you need to show what makes you different, and what skills you can bring to the role that maybe others can’t.

4. What are your hobbies outside of work?

Often, employers will ask questions about your personal life to get an insight into your personality, and to gauge how well you are likely to fit in with their existing employees. Although this question is relatively informal, make sure your answer is sensible.

If you’re part of a sports team or community group, this is a great thing to mention as it shows that you can work in a team or enjoy helping others. If you enjoy reading industry blogs or watching webinars on the weekend, it’s great to mention this too. But, if you don’t do these things, don’t lie. Cycling, watching the cricket or trying out new recipes are all good enough answers!

5. Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?

For this question, the interviewer is looking for an answer that shows you have goals and are ambitious. Be honest but realistic.

Avoid talking about money, or about starting up your own business as these are not the intentions your potential employers will be looking for you to have.Instead, contextualise your ambitions to fit in with the role and company as this will show the interviewer that you are committed and driven.

6. Why are you leaving your current position?

The worst thing to do when faced with this question is to speak about your current employer or colleagues in a negative way. This will make you look unprofessional, and alluding to rifts between you and your manager or colleagues will make you appear difficult to work with.

Instead, focus on why the role you’re applying for appeals to you and why you’re looking to explore new opportunities. Your answer should reflect your aims for positive personal development.

7. What are your main strengths?

For this question, don’t fall into the trap of reeling off a list of generic qualities. Instead, focus on 3 or 4 key strengths that you think make you suited to the role.
Give examples from your previous experience for each strength to demonstrate your capabilities to the interviewer.

8. Why do you want to work here?

This question gives you the perfect opportunity to show that you have thoroughly researched the company you’re applying to. Show that you have a good understanding of the role and what is required by speaking about how it aligns with your personal career goals.

When answering this question it’s important to keep the focus on the employer and explain what you can do for them, and not the other way around.

9. What motivates you?

There’s no right or wrong answer for this question as everyone’s answer will be different. In this instance, the interviewer is looking to find out what makes you tick, and what you really value. Therefore, your answer needs to reflect this. Whatever your answer is, make sure you say why.

Be careful saying that money is what motivates you, as although honest, it can lead your employer to worry about you leaving the company at the first sign of an opportunity with a with a bigger salary.

10. Do you prefer working by yourself or working in a team?

This question is a tricky one as both are hugely important. Show that you are aware of the benefits of both and that you understand that you need to be comfortable working in either scenario.

It’s fine to have a preference, as many of us will prefer one to the other, but the key is to make sure you can demonstrate that you can do both.

11. What are your salary expectations?

Usually you will have a good idea about the salary on offer so answering this shouldn’t be too difficult. Suggest a range of pay you would be happy with, but do not name a specific amount.

Do your research into the industry and what other companies pay their employees for the same role to inform your answer before the interview.

12. Tell me about an achievement you are proud of?

This question is very popular with employers so you need to make sure that you have an answer ready. Generally-speaking, the interviewer is looking for a work-related or academic answer, so you’re best to avoid talking about your personal life unless you can relate it to work.

Although you may have a number of accomplishments you are proud of, you’re best to choose one that you can speak about in detail. Explain what the situation was, the challenges you faced, how you dealt with it and the outcome in a concise and confident manner. Show enthusiasm and speak proudly about your achievements to invoke a positive response in the interviewer.

13. Tell me about a challenging situation and how you overcame it

For this question, the interviewer is testing your ability to be resilient and cope under pressure. Your answer should focus on a work-related dilemma and you should discuss clearly the measures you took to overcome the problem.

This question gives you the opportunity to demonstrate how you can use your initiative and act with integrity. Don’t fall into the trap of criticising your company or colleagues and trying to present yourself in a superior light as this will come across unprofessional and arrogant.

14. What do you know about the company?

In order to answer this question well, you must show awareness of what the company does, including the different service areas it offers, who their main clients are, and have a good idea about the size of the company. You should also research the history the business and find out as much as you can about when it was started, and what the company has achieved.

It doesn’t matter how competent and qualified you are for the role, if you turn up to the interview unprepared for this question, you run the risk of completely ruining your chances of getting the job.

15. What would your colleagues say are your best qualities?

The interviewer is looking to assess your relationships with your colleagues and how you engage with other team members to test whether they think you’ll be a good match for their team. Avoid giving vague or hyperbolic claims as this will make you seem out of touch and disengaged.

Instead, prepare for this question prior to the interview by asking your existing colleagues what they would say about you and think about examples you can use to back their comments up. Qualities that your future employers would likely want to see include being positive, hard-working, dependable and easy to get along with.

If you have already left your position and do not feel comfortable contacting your old coworkers, think back to previous appraisals and use the positive feedback you received to form your answer.

16. What experience can you bring to this job from your previous role?

For this question you need to explain how your previous experience can translate into this role and how it will enhance your performance. This should be fairly easy to answer if you’re applying for a job which is similar to your existing role as a lot of your previous experience should correspond directly. Ensure that you have specific examples you can use in your answer and talk about what you have learnt from previous roles.

The difficulty comes if you’re switching from one industry to another, or if you’re starting a new career path. If this is the case, focus on transferable skills that you can bring to the role such as being self-motivated, working in a team, time management skills, using your initiative and great communication skills.

17. What makes a good team leader/manager?

This is a difficult question as most people will have different ideas about what makes a good manager. If you’re applying for a managerial role, or if there is potential for you to progress into one from the position you’re applying for, you need to show a good understanding of the most important qualities to have to manage people effectively.

Setting realistic goals, giving constructive feedback and providing support to team members to help them build their skills set are all good examples of excellent management qualities.

18. What do you consider to be your biggest failure?

The key with this question is to see it as a positive and as an opportunity to discuss your personal growth. The biggest mistake you can make with your answer is to say that you haven’t had any failures. This will come across defensive and will damage your credibility.

Choose an answer that you can draw positives from and explain what you learnt from this failure. It’s important to be accountable for your own mistakes, so avoid blaming your failure on anyone else. Instead, explain why you failed, and how you used this failure as a springboard for success.

19. How do you deal with pressure at work?

A good way to approach this question is to explain the measures you put in place to prevent an issue from spiraling into a stressful situation, for instance balancing projects effectively and keeping to a tight time schedule. Give an example of when you were faced with a difficult situation and how you kept a cool head.

The interviewer will be looking for you to demonstrate that you are able to work well under pressure and stay focused on the task in hand. Getting overwhelmed by stress can be counter-productive, especially when working in a team so employers will look to avoid hiring candidates who crack under pressure.

20. Why is there a gap in your work history?

As awkward as it may be, if you have a significant gap in your work history you need to have any answer prepared as it’s likely that the interviewer will ask you about it.

Whether you took some time out to travel, to have children, or if you were let go from a previous job, ensure that you speak about it in a positive way. Explain what the break taught you and how it contributed to your personal growth.

Do not lie about gaps in your work history or the dates you were at a particular company as your potential employer can easily check up on this, so you probably won’t get away with it.