How to Answer Common Job Interview Questions

Most job interviews are high-stakes situations. After all, a lot of work went into you getting your foot in the proverbial door. Fortunately, there is a lot you can do to prepare for these conversations —?especially when it comes to common interview questions.

Tiffany Uman , who is a career strategy coach, joins us on the latest episode of #GetHired with Andrew Seaman to share her expert tips for answering these common queries, including tell me about yourself, where do you see yourself in five years, and more. You can listen to it all on the latest episode of the podcast.

You can find a transcript of the conversation below. Also, you can listen to the episode above or?by clicking here.

Andrew Seaman: You applied for the job, heard from the recruiter or hiring manager, and now the real work begins. Preparing for the interview. From technical to conversational, interviewing for your next role can take on many forms. In this episode, we're talking about the most common interview questions and how to answer them.

From LinkedIn News, this is Get Hired, a podcast for the ups and downs and the ever-changing landscape of our professional lives. I'm Andrew Seaman, LinkedIn's Senior Managing Editor for Jobs and Career Development, bringing you conversations with experts who like me, want to see you succeed at work, at home, and everywhere in between. Today's guest has coached everyone from young career starters to seasoned professionals. Tiffany Uman is a career coach with over 13 years of corporate leadership under her belt. She's been on both sides of the interview table. In this episode, she's sharing everything she's learned about successfully answering common interview questions. Before we get to those questions though, I asked Tiffany to share some basic interview tips. Specifically, how the heck do you overcome nerves before and during the interview?

Tiffany: I'd say the first, it's a little bit of a mindset shift, right? And they are really counting on you to show up, to showcase your track record, your abilities, your competencies, your wins, your accomplishments, so that they can really help make the best decision for what their needs are. And so it's an important reminder of really converting that negative nervous energy into positive excitement. It's great to be able to try to be as natural and authentic as you can in that setting to not let that discourage you from being as confident as you possibly can.

I'd say the second, especially in interviews, is when controlling those nerves to practice deep breathing, really trying to compose yourself with micro deep breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth. It has a very immediate calming, physiological effect on your body. But another quick tip in controlling that nervous energy is actually using your hands as a tool to let that energy flow through. So you could fist your hands together or almost triangulate your hands so your finger points are touching each other and push against your fingertips as a way of releasing that negative energy.

And you could better control your body language so that you're still kind of getting those nerves out there, but it's not showing up in your body language as obviously as it otherwise would. I'd say a last key tip Andrew, that's really important in controlling nerves is remembering that interviews are conversations. They're really not interrogations. It might feel like that sometimes with the questions you're getting, but they're not out to get you.

Andrew: I think those are all really great pieces of advice, and you mentioned wanting to sound natural, but people also, they need to prepare. So what are the benchmarks and the hallmarks of good interview prep?

Tiffany: Oh I love that question. Okay, preparation is definitely key. I think there is a fine line of over preparing though in a way that will make you sound very robotic in an interview setting. What you can do though is obviously have active examples prepared in your mind that you've practiced, that you've shared out loud, that you can actually bring into the dialogue and the conversations you're getting in the interview. Ones you really want to highlight, the responsibilities and competencies of the role from that job description as best as you can. Examples are amazing because it's a way of telling stories and interviewers remember stories. It's going to help you be a lot more memorable and impactful in your delivery, and it's your opportunity to share that with them in a really fun and dynamic and meaningful way.

Andrew: Something that I've heard recently from people who are in hiring positions and people who consult with HR departments is that a lot of job seekers, they're showing up unprepared for the interview, without knowing much about the company. And you really should have a good solid foundation of what the company does and sort of its business, right?

Tiffany: A hundred percent. I mean, that's interviewing 101 right there. If you are putting your time and energy into interviewing in an organization, you really should know what you're walking into, what they stand for, their mission, their values, and there's a lot of things that you can do as a candidate to prep. And it could be looking at their LinkedIn company page. It could be looking at their social channels. It could be looking at any latest news reports that they might have had. You could speak with people actively working there, right? This is an opportunity to show that this is a place you genuinely really want to work at, and they're going to see through it if that's not the case and if you haven't done your homework.

Andrew: And part of that homework are the common interview questions that you're likely going to be asked, which is obviously kind of the meat of our discussion here today. The first one to start off with is really what would happen probably at the top of all interviews, which is tell me about yourself. How would you suggest a job seeker use that opportunity to introduce themselves to the interviewer, whether it be a recruiter, hiring manager, or someone else from the company?

Tiffany: I love recommending a very simple three part structure for this. That structure is knowing that this isn't the time to rehash your entire resume. When they say, tell me about yourself, it's not about running through every single role, every single detail that you've had. You don't want to stay on an answer far too long, like a tell me about yourself. But give them a really good taste of really why you're the right fit for this role. They're not asking that in that question, but the underlying meaning is, tell me about yourself so that I can get a gauge if you're the right fit for what we're looking for. So sometimes reading between the lines is really helpful with this. And the three part structure I really like recommending is starting a little bit about the who you are, your background, your function of expertise, maybe how long or how many years you've been in a certain field, and even really outline your areas of expertise in that.

And I like nailing it down to maybe three core areas of expertise in that who you are piece. You could also share a little bit then in terms of what you do and that can have some key career highlights from some of your most notable roles. And the third part is really closing it off with the impact that you've had or the results that you've been able to drive. End it off with something like, this is really why I'm drawn to this particular role, because I know these are facets that will serve me very well within this position and really contribute to the mission, and I look forward to being a part of that.

Andrew: Yeah, and I really, really like that because the next question I was going to ask you about is why do you want this role or why do you want to work for this company? What should they say about that?

Tiffany: This is a really good opportunity to draw parallel with what the company stands for, their values, their mission, what they're working towards. The role is one thing, but it's also showing that there's some longevity here, right? They're going to invest in you as a new talent if you get hired and they want to know that you're in this for the long haul, whether you are or not. But in the interview, I think it's very much important for the candidate to show why this company and role is important for them and how that ties with what the company stands for. So maybe draw that type of parallel as to why not only does this role excite you, but the opportunity to be part of an organization. I think them seeing that type of authenticity come through is going to really leave a lasting impression.

Andrew: Yeah, and especially if you're interviewing with a larger company or what some people call name brands, this is where that research into the background of the company can really help because there are companies like Amazon where they have a set of principles that the company sets as this is the way we live and work, and you can employ some of those in your answers.

Tiffany: I couldn't agree more to your point Andrew, about those nuances that the company really embraces or enables in the development of their employees. Certainly bring those elements into your answer because it's going to show that you're taking it to that next step. It's not just about the role, it's about the culture and organizational structure that you're walking into that you really believe you could thrive in.

Andrew: We're going to take a quick break, more from Tiffany when we get back.

Andrew: We're back with career coach Tiffany Uman. One of the questions that people like least, but is actually one of my favorite ones, what is your greatest strength and what is your greatest weakness? What is your suggestion for that?

Tiffany: I know not everybody enjoys them, but I'm with you Andrew, I think it's really telling of someone's character and kind of the confidence they have in themselves. It also, especially on the weakness front, shows a good level of self-awareness. So let's tackle both. When it comes to, let's say your greatest strength, share an example of how you bring the strength to life in your work environments and the impact and results that that creates for an organization. So let's say you give your answer around your strength and it shows that you are really in line with one of the key things that they're looking for within the position. Usually follow up with something like, I really believe it's important for me to set myself up for success coming into any new position, and I want to be able to showcase my strengths as best as possible. How would you typically measure success in this particular role? Or something along those lines.

And it's a great way of creating that kind of two-way dialogue and making it more conversational in that sense. If we flip onto the weakness piece, so that's one I think that gets people a little bit more uncomfortable because it's like, well, what's the right answer? Is there a wrong answer? But there probably is an opportunity where you can put your foot in your mouth of sharing a weakness that is actually a core requirement for the role. So that's kind of a golden role when answering the what's your greatest weakness question? Do not share something that is one of the core competencies or responsibilities that's needed.

What you do want to do though is show a good level of self-awareness, like I mentioned, and give a legitimate weakness or opportunity area that you're working through. So you could share something that is a little bit of a sidestep to the core responsibilities of the role, but something that legitimately you're working on. And you can start the answer by sharing what that weakness is. You then move into, again, a bit of a second part of the structure, which is what you've been doing to work through that or improve on that. And the third piece of maybe the next steps with regards to this particular opportunity area, and showing that it's still a work in progress. It's something that you're really committed to focusing on and further developing moving forward. That's typically a pretty safe way of handling that question without it backfiring too much.

Andrew: I think that's really good advice. And another question that I think a lot of people dislike, and to a degree I dislike it unless it's phrased correct, which is where do you see yourself in five years? I usually like to say, what are your career goals? How should people answer this? Should they be overly honest and say, "I would love to sit on a couch and watch Netflix nonstop."? Or what is the answer that they should be working with?

Tiffany: I like your approach and even using that in the inspiration of how to answer it, which is a lot more purpose-driven and value-driven than anything else. So I don't typically recommend answering this question with, in five years from now, I see myself in X title or X role. But I really believe a more meaningful answer is going to be something along what you honestly want to feel or experience in your career at that moment in time. And if you can tie that with the evolution of this organization and something that you can see yourself really tying that back to all the better, because they're going to say, hey, that's a really good alignment there that Andrew has for what we're working towards, and we could see him being with us as we're growing in this direction.

But it could also just speak to your own personal passions and things that are important in terms of priorities. Maybe something around quality of life is really important, and that's something that you very much appreciate about this organization because as you imagine you'll grow in seniority in the next five years. So that's typically the direction I recommend going, being very purpose and value driven and tying it to the organization's evolution so they can see that as well.

Andrew: The last question I wanted to ask you about is do you have any questions for us? And I think a lot of people, they'll say, "Oh no, I think you answered everything." But that's usually not a good response. What should your response be?

Tiffany: So please do not answer with, no, I'm good. Mainly because when you answer like that, it can show a bit of a disinterest in the role, whether you want it to come off that way or not. You are about to make a very important career decision if you get hired into this role, and you probably have some questions that are going to help you make that decision. So if you say no, it doesn't let necessarily leave the best taste in the mouth of the interviewers. One thing I do really like to recommend though Andrew, is even asking certain questions throughout the interview so they don't all have to wait at the end, but this can definitely come with that prep work of just determining maybe three key questions that you'd like to answer or ask, I should say, throughout the interview and maybe leaving another two to three at the end if you have that opportunity to share some additional ones.

The good thing with the ones at the end, you could almost give yourself a little bit of liberties based off of what was shared in the interview earlier and show how you've really been paying attention and have a good attention to detail. So as an example, one question I really like recommending asking earlier on in an interview, and this could come very much even after a tell me about yourself or what are your greatest strengths? Or something along those lines, could be a question of what would make the difference between someone meeting your expectations versus exceeding your expectations in this role? And by being able to get an answer from that, it's really a golden answer because you're hearing from the interviewer really what's going to set you apart in that position. And so based off what they share, you can not only showcase some of that in your future answers, but you could even come back and have some follow up questions to that at the end of the interview.

Some questions that are great to ask at the end to really show your commitment and excitement for the position and company could be questions like, what are the top three traits that are found in your most successful leaders? If you're asking that, shows you're probably there for a little bit of the long run, at the very least, and you want to know what you can already do to set yourself up for that success. You could also ask about the team dynamic or certain leadership styles of the team that you'd be a part of. You could ask about recent initiatives that they might have done in a certain area. You could ask about a challenge that they might have overcome recently and how that's impacted the team. Just questions that really show like you're already almost working there and you're ready to hit the ground running. So be thoughtful in your questions, really take time to think about what you want to ask so you're not caught off guard and use those moments to create a lasting impression as you end the interview.

Andrew: The last question I have for you, because a lot of people, they maybe feel like they've been ghosted because they don't hear back very quickly. Sometimes they don't want to send a thank you note. What should people do after a job interview?

Tiffany: I'm still very much a big believer that gratitude goes a long way, and so I highly recommend sending a thank you note. It could be a simple, thank you again so much for taking the time with me today. I've truly enjoyed our conversation and I'm even more excited about the opportunity of joining X company name. You could then share a quick snippet about something that stood out to you in the interview or use it as an opportunity to reinforce a point that you know will really help you move into that next stage and then end it off, really looking forward to the next steps and keeping in touch from here. And then even leveraging platforms like LinkedIn, right? I mean, this is a world of resource and opportunity, and even connecting with them there, sending them a message there outside of just a generic email can help you get on their radar. If they're active on LinkedIn, you can comment and engage on their content as well. Just different ways of getting on their radar and staying top of mind as best as possible.

Andrew: Well, thank you so much Tiffany. I really appreciated this conversation.

Tiffany: Oh, thank you so much Andrew, I really appreciate being here. I hope this has helped everyone to nail their next interviews.

Andrew: That was career strategy coach, Tiffany Uman. Remember, it's up to you to put our advice into practice. Still, you always have a community backing you up and cheering you on. Connect with me and the Get Hired community on LinkedIn to continue the conversation. Also, if you liked this episode, leave us a rating on Apple Podcast. It helps people like you find the show. And of course, we'll continue this conversation next week, right here, wherever you like to listen.

Get Hired is a production of LinkedIn News. This episode was produced by Alexis Ramdaou, Lolia Briggs is our Associate Producer, Assaf Gidron engineered our show, Joe DiGiorgi mixed our show. Dave Pond is Head of News Production. Enrique Montalvo is our Executive Producer. Courtney Coupe is head of Original Programming for LinkedIn. Dan Roth is the Editor in Chief of LinkedIn. And I’m Andrew Seaman. Until next time, stay well and best of luck.