Common Interview Questions and Sample Answers

The ten questions to prepare

1. Tell me about yourself.
2. Why do you want this job?
3. Why are you leaving your current job?
4. What are your strengths?
5. What is your biggest weakness?
6. Tell me about a time you handled a difficult situation.
7. Where do you see yourself in five years?
8. Why should we hire you?
9. Do you have any questions for us?
10. What are your salary expectations?

Frameworks that work

Use 'Present – Past – Future' for 'Tell me about yourself': one line about what you do now, one about how you got here, one about why you're excited about this role.

Use STAR — Situation, Task, Action, Result — for every 'tell me about a time' question. Two sentences of setup, then what you did and what happened. End with a number if you can.

Sample answers

• 'Tell me about yourself.' — 'I'm a data entry specialist with three years of AP experience. I currently process about 300 invoices a week in QuickBooks at 98% accuracy. I'm looking for a role where I can bring that same reliability to a larger team.'
• 'Biggest weakness?' — 'Early in my career I tried to hold every request in my head. I now use a written daily list and end-of-day review, which has completely eliminated missed follow-ups.'
• 'Why should we hire you?' — 'Your posting emphasizes speed and accuracy under deadline. My last three quarterly assessments were 12,400 KPH at 99%, and I've never missed a monthly close date. I can bring that same consistency here.'

The one question you must ask

Always ask 'What does success in this role look like in the first 90 days?' It shows you're thinking about impact and it gives you a straight answer about what the job is really about.

Salary expectations

If you must give a number, give a range you're comfortable with based on current listings for the role in your city. It's also acceptable to say: 'I'd like to learn a bit more about the scope of the role first — what range is budgeted for this position?'