Here’s How to Answer Seven Common Interview Questions

After working in recruitment for 15+ years, I have a set of go-to questions I like to ask candidates.

From their experience to their passions to their preferred working styles, the right questions can reveal so much about a candidate. The answers help recruiters and hiring managers to get a better sense of the person beyond their resume.

Whether you’re preparing for an upcoming interview or are a recruiter looking to add a few new questions to your arsenal, here are a few of my favourite interview questions and how to approach answering them all.

Question 1: "Explain something that you know well?"

This question is one of my all-time favourites because it tells me how you organize your thoughts and communicate your ideas.

I'm not necessarily looking for a work-related answer. You can talk about anything that excites you — software development, baking, knitting, etc. I'm looking for a few specific things. For example, how well can you break down information into bite-sized nuggets? Is there a logical progression to your story? Can you summarize effectively?

Here's how to organize your answer:

• Start with the big picture

• Identify the tasks

• Prioritize what's next

• Share milestones for success

I once answered this question in an interview by explaining how to grill a steak. I broke the process down into four key elements:

• Prep the steak - pat to dry, allow it to sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes

• Prep the grill - coat your cast iron with olive oil, preheat on high for 5 minutes before grilling

• Prep the station - place your kosher salt, pepper grinder, butter and fresh rosemary all within reach

• Prep the stomach - put on Sade, drink a tall glass of water and wear stretchy pants

From there, I went into detail about how to grill the steak itself.

All in all, it took me about three minutes to answer this question. A great answer feels like a conversation, not a rapid-fire information download or a vague overview.

Question 2: "Can you tell me about the best team you've been a part of? Why was it the best team?"

Recruiters are looking for candidates that play well with others. But rather than asking a leading question like, "Do you prefer working alone or as a part of a team?" - this version is more open-ended and gets candidates to reflect more on their past experiences.

With this question, I'm digging for whether you can tell me about how your previous team supported one another and if you can see beyond yourself and speak to the group's success as a whole. I'm also curious about how you influence others and how others influence you.

Be sure to avoid speaking in general terms here, i.e. "I love working on a team!" Be explicit and name the team. And yes, I do recommend using names when appropriate.

In the below, see how this first example is so much more impactful than the second:

Example 1:

"Deborah, one of my managers when I was at The City of Calgary, taught me the importance of setting stretch goals for myself and my team."

Example 2:

"My former manager taught me the importance of setting stretch goals for myself and my team."

Using names in this context reinforces why this team is an example of the best one you've been a part of - the people on it left a positive impact! You don't always have to use an example from the workplace. Maybe you have some volunteer or extracurricular experiences that would also apply.

Question 3: "What do you enjoy most about your current role? What will you be happy to leave behind?"

When recruiters ask this question, they're trying to get a sense of your attitude and see if you start sharing grievances about the places and people you've worked with. Your tone reveals a lot.

However, when I ask this question, I genuinely want to know whether or not this role we're talking about will provide you with the priorities you're looking for. I want to find opportunities that challenge you in the right ways. Positions that help, rather than hinder, your career objectives. Though it's okay to walk away from something that isn't a good fit, I don't want a candidate to step into something where you immediately want to run out the door.

As a recruiter, scheduling is my least favourite thing to do. I dread it! But there are plenty of other parts of being a recruiter that keep me motivated.

You'll notice right away that I mentioned a specific task - scheduling. It's easier to keep a positive tone, and how not liking this task has informed my subsequent job search. In this same example, I can speak to how I managed this task successfully until I realized that I wanted to be part of a recruiting team with more coordination support that would own this function instead. When talking about what you dislike doing, I highly recommend focusing on tasks and potentially a general work environment, not people.

We all have things we don't love about our jobs. I want to figure out what gets you out of bed in the morning and what you're less keen on doing.

Good recruiters want to see you succeed, thrive, and progress.

Question 4: "Sooner or later, we all make mistakes. Tell me about a mistake you made in a recent role, why you made the choices you did, and what you learned from the experience."

This interview question can be challenging for a few reasons. It's not easy to talk about mistakes in the first place. Also, certain cultures view mistakes/failure much differently than we do in North America. We recruiters may need to explain that a failure story can be a positive step toward success.

Ultimately, what I'm looking for when I ask this question is what you've learned from your mistakes and how you've prevented the same mistakes from happening again. Mistakes are inevitable. Our work is iterative, and sometimes, people miss the mark in predicting what their stakeholders need or want.

What's vital is that you express that you're okay with getting things wrong and know how to course-correct fast. It's not about dwelling on the past. It's about what's possible for the future and how your experience has prepared you for where you are today.

Lastly, you don't want to be playing the blame game. You want to outline the mistake and keep the conversation action and task-oriented. Even if others were involved in the error, this isn't an opportunity for you to point fingers. Keep the example to refer to yourself strictly.

Question 5: "Tell me about the best manager you worked with. What about them worked so well for you?"

I want to understand how I set you up for success with this question. What communication styles do you prefer? How do you like to be managed? Are there work styles that you find motivating? Is there any management approach that you find de-motivating?

What I love about this question is that it works on two levels. It helps me determine if your preferred management style would align with your future team. It also helps me get to know the person behind the resume. Sometimes, learning about a person who made a significant impact on your career and how they've helped you become the person you are today can be as valuable as hearing you talk about your own experiences and accomplishments.

Do you know what will make an answer to this question exceptional?

Once you've highlighted the above, don't stop there. Use this as an opportunity to weave the essential skills from the job into your response. For example, let's say the job requires you to have the ability to advocate for the customer to internal stakeholders. Take the second half of your answer to talk about a manager who helped you hone these skills.

Here's what that looks like:

"One of the strongest managers I've ever had taught me the importance of sharing customer feedback and insights to various internal stakeholders, from Product Management, Engineering, Support, Marketing, and Sales. As a result of this manager, I became a master at building and fostering relationships."

From here, you can share some of the practices you use.

Question 6: "Tell me about something you have taught yourself in the last six months."

What I'm looking for with this question is how you set goals for yourself and how you achieve those goals.

Roles and job descriptions can change over time, so recruiters assess a candidate's potential for growth. Companies want to hire team members who take the initiative to develop themselves in new ways.

It doesn't matter if you pick a work-related example or something from your personal life. What matters most is explaining what you learned, the steps involved in learning this new skill and how you're using this new skill in your day-to-day life.

Question 7: "Describe your process for doing XXXX."

With this question, you want to talk through your process. Doing so helps break down how qualified you are for the role you've applied to.

For instance, if you're an analyst, this question is asked to investigate your process for collecting data. For a product manager, this question might explore how you validate a problem statement that you need to solve.

Interview teams ask this question because it helps identify the depth of your experience. The team learns what you think are the critical components of a process and the associated tasks. It's about understanding if your approach aligns with what the company is looking for. If there are gaps, the team may be able to train up.

You know you've nailed answering this question if you shared a faster way to accomplish a task. Or you've talked about a tool you use that the team is now excited to learn about.

It’s impossible to learn a candidate’s whole story from their resume or LinkedIn. At the same time, hearing a candidate’s response to questions like “Tell me about yourself” or “What’s your greatest weakness?” isn’t achieving much either.

I love the questions above because they help me to understand a candidate. While it’s always my top priority to hire an individual who has the right skills to succeed in the role their applying for, I think it’s also crucial for recruiters to dig a little deeper and see what else they bring to the table.